Lack of innovation stifles young journalists
Now, I’d like to actually write that the toughest challenge for young journalists is money, but that’s the biggest challenge to all journalists right now. I’ll leave that for a different time.
The other challenge to young journos (and it’s actually a challenge for all digital-minded journalists, not just young) is the lack of innovation by those who call the shots.
Management has to be embrace the Web and take chances, especially in markets where the challenge from competitors isn’t an issue. If you aren’t the outlet trying new things an are reacting to your competitors, you’ve already lost. What’s the harm in trying new technologies to distribute information? If you make mistakes, you figure out where you went wrong and try again.
I want to give a personal example that’s still in the works at my shop. Last week, I went to our news director (I’m a Web editor/producer for a TV station’s Web site) and pitched a TV-like streaming webcast for high school football to be done after the TV side is finished for the night. Surprisingly, he liked the idea, but shot it down immediately for a lack of funding. We simply can’t pay the people we’d require to make it work.
What he did suggest was very unexpected — a vodcast using our sports anchors. Essentially, all it would cost would be time (mine to be exact). I filmed it with my personal HD camcorder, brought it home and worked on it in Premiere — all in a span of about 6 hours (regular work time prevented me from finishing quicker). We don’t know that it’s going to do well. We’re going to promote it as best we can, and hopefully we get more viewers to watch and stick around, which will only help drive page views, time spent, pages per visit and repeat visitors.
The industry needs young journalists (and others comfortable with digital) to try new ideas and break from the norm, and management needs to give us the leverage to try and fail before we ultimately try and succeed.
(Joe Ruiz is a Web editor/producer at a TV station in San Antonio, Texas. He can be found many places online, but the best route is via JoeRuiz.net, where he also blogs his thoughts about the industry and its continued push on the Web.)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7417b159-945b-4261-982c-3d9e93148208)
August 20th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
[...] post was originally posted at journalism.co.uk as part of the Tomorrow’s News, Tomorrow’s Journalists [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 3:16 am
Good first post, Joe.
I think your point about being in a market without competition is a good one. Competition forces you to innovate to stay ahead. Unfortunately, many young journalists, at least those hoping to start in the newspaper industry, are headed to towns where they are the dominant and in some cases only media.
I think one of the good things about national newspaper chains that is usually overlooked is that they’re more likely to spark innovation than complacency. That’s actually one of the key things that attracted me to a Gannett newsroom. (I know, I know, but I knew what I was getting into.) When I graduated, I was looking out at a country filled with possible places of employment. To me, I didn’t (and still don’t) think Gannett necessary had the right answers to the woes plaguing this business, but I did see it trying new things and, gasp, innovating. Maybe mojos aren’t the answer, data ghettos don’t effect much change, and rolling out a company-wide Web site template is a dumb idea, but at least it is moving and thinking, not playing the violin as the ship sinks. The problem is making sure you give enough time (a rarer commodity now than ever) to develop and support those things, and after you’ve given it your best shot, to have the courage to admit what doesn’t work and regroup. That and encouraging an open environment when management listens to employees, even the young ones, and gives them the freedom to come up with some new ideas and the room to try and if necessary fail.
August 21st, 2008 at 6:54 am
[...] journalism? And databases on the web, the curmedgeons wouldn’t approve of such new-fangled, innovative [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
[...] journalism? And databases on the web, the curmedgeons wouldn’t approve of such new-fangled, innovative [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[...] Negativity, cynicism and a lack of opportunities Challenging young journalists: old school ideals Lack of innovation stifles young journalists [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Meranda,
It’s never tried and true about lumping media orgs into whether they will innovate or not, so it’s very good that your shop and others are trying new ideas.
The lack of competition, albeit not necessarily able to force innovation, is a great spot for a young journo. Somebody coming out of college now or trying to break into the industry could start at a small shop and use the basic tools to build something great. Some people think they need the top-of-the-line equipment to produce a great video when a Flip would suffice. Some think they need top-of-the-line Web design skills when a WordPress blog and some extra learning could handle the work.
While it may not be high-paying, a young person willing to make the move to a small shop with a chance to mold an idea online could very well build a product that would appease its readers and help move them to their next career. As you said in your TNTJ blog, the right attitude helps. If they get the right attitude at their first shop, they have the chance to do great things.
Content’s the key. Content will drive readers to the site, which will give you a chance to do more.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 am
Joe — I am fortunate to be in a place where even though we do have to roll our eyes at some of our corporate company’s initiatives, really some of the best things it rolls out are coming from the newsrooms of other papers. (These tend to be the major metros, not so much the tiny community papers, but I’m sure there are exceptions.) So when a great idea is born at one shop, it can be shared.
My paper has a new product development team with about a dozen members from across the organization. It’s not so much about beating our competition, it’s about reaching the audience. How can we meet the needs of our community? What populations aren’t we serving well, what product(s) would they want, and can we provide it (and, since this is a business, monetize it)? I’m the youngest person on that group, but the key is, I was asked to participate. When I have an idea or suggestion, there or elsewhere, I’m never “put in my place.”
The challenge at a small shop, and my paper’s only about 40K, is resources. You need someone to develop those cool products and people to maintain it, monitor it and sell it. Yes, you don’t need to be a “computer Jesus” with the latest technology and hardcore coding skills to do cool things, but you also can’t be everything to everyone. At the end of the day, there are still only so many hours in a day and days in a week. By all means, get out there and experiment, but also realize, you won’t do it alone. Do it yourself so you can sell your editors and readers on it. But don’t try to do everything, or you’ll do everything poorly. Familiarize yourself with anything you can, so you understand it and aren’t intimidated, but in my opinion, the best journalists will take on a few skills or topics and really own them.