The publishing times – they are ‘a-changin
Last week (Jan. 27), the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation called upon several panellists for its latest SmarTALK event: Free your content or become irrelevant – the impact of the citizen reporter.
There to weigh in on the subject and discuss the challenges being faced by traditional media in an ever-evolving publishing industry, were:
- MediaMiser’s CEO Brett Serjeantson
- Great River Inc. president and OBJ publisher Mike Curran
- Mercury Grove/NetworkHippo CEO Scott Annan
- Mediastyle owner Ian Capstick
The discussion, moderated by Jim Donnelly, editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Business Journal, offered fascinating insights as panellists tackled a handful of questions, including:
- What is the future of publishing and how are web 2.0 technologies such as social media and blogs forcing traditional media to change?
- How is the evolution of traditional media in the digital world forcing the hand of new upstarts to push boundaries even further?
- Is ‘free’ content the way of the future for all media?
- How can ordinary businesses harness the power of strong content?
Publishing soup du jour
Annan used “soup du jour” as a metaphor of sorts to describe the state of contemporary publishing. “Right now we’re in the soup,” said Annan, “and we have to wait and see where we’re going to come out.”
Capstick was particularly passionate about the citizen journalist concept, reaffirming my personal theory that no such position exists. In a changing world where the line between citizen and citizen journalist is being forever eroded, Capstick said he believed people’s “BS meters” would serve as filters for differentiating between vocational and avocational reporting. “Citizen reporting is like citizen dentistry,” said Capstick.
The future of the publishing industry, Capstick said, has been shifted and will in turn be shaped by companies like MediaMiser. “Company’s like Brett’s,” he said, “are going to help us soar.”
It’s all about evolution and integration
When answering the question of how the evolution of traditional media is “forcing the hand” of young companies like MediaMiser, Capstick used the keyword “integration” to describe how publishing houses and media chains will survive in the 21st century.
“The parent companies of these publications are not traditional media companies,” he said, citing the recent acquisition of CTV by BCE as an example. “Unless they seek to integrate themselves into the shared mediums, they are going to die.”
Curran agreed. With over 20 years experience in the publishing industry, he has witnessed fist hand the change in current from low tide to tsunami waves. Curran said what has allowed the OBJ to swim in the raging waters of a changing industry (while many publications sank) has been a business model that’s evolved with the times.
Rather than “trading dollars for dimes,” said Curran, years ago the OBJ started forming viral marketing strategies to allow it to compete in a digital world. Rather than merely selling newspaper ads, Curran said his publication has evolved and profited as a result of new media concepts such as online marketing campaigns.
The medium (still) is the message
The first to reference Marshall McLuhan, at exactly 4:55 into the discussion, Serjeanston “hit the nail on the head,” said Capstick, speaking of the significance of technology on the publishing industry now and in years to come.
“Who can live without a smartphone,” asked Serjeanston, setting up his point. “The medium is the message and people are going to flock to where the technology is. Nothing is free.”
Bringing the conversation full circle with his comment, Serjeanston seemed to shift some people’s viewpoints with his contention that no content is free. Good journalism, he said, will always cost. It will be up to those who have the means and resources to host the content to ensure publishing doesn’t die but rather transforms into an industry that can survive the 21st century.
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