Kristin Markway Shaw

One of the local newspapers is restructuring. (The other one isn’t doing so hot either, but I haven’t seen many public statements about changes.) I’m still puzzled about why this is a big deal. Ford isn’t producing the same cars they did twenty years ago; why should newspapers be beholden to a centuries-old, dead-tree model? Even the high schoolers can tell you what’s up.  Two high school students are getting ready to tell their principals:

1. The Web has won.

2. Learning communities have no boundaries.

3. Educators need to focus more on how to improve rather than restrict student access to the Internet.

A few minor changes and it could be the perfect message to the newsprint holdouts.

The Web has won. And bonus: we can still make money there! The Web is becoming another apendange for most people, particularly those in my generation. To have ANY hope we have to reach out on the preferred platform.

News has no boundaries. Things that happen halfway around the world can be intersting to people here in Iowa. News can break on social networks, in the comments, through pictures, and news cycles have entirely different lives given the available technology. We have to start living it 24 hours a day. No holding stories for the 5 p.m. or the next day’s edition. Your readers will get the news somewhere else if you aren’t providing it for them.

Publishers and managers need to focus on getting past the basics. Settling for a limiting CMS, sticking by text-only repeats from the paper/broadcast and generally playing it safe while not investing won’t fly anymore. It’s not enough to say, “yeah! we have a Web site!” The possibilities online are endless (to use the cliche) and if all you are giving me is text and video or audio that can’t be embedded in the article text, you are sending me the signal that you are so half-assed that I don’t need to waste my time.

Of course, I could preach on about all these things in terms of corporations as well. Maybe for another day.