Ten years from today, there will not be a single newsroom based on one medium, but multiple media run within the same unit, Larry Kramer, founder, CBS Marketwatch.com, U.S., has predicted.
Speaking on the subject ‘Future of News — The Changing Face of News Publishing Today and How Can Newsrooms Cope with it' at WAN-IFRA 2011 on Tuesday, Mr. Kramer said coordination of content would be across various media streams — TV, radio, digital (Internet and mobile), and print. He acknowledged that this transition from print to digital was worrying many. However, every company had multiple constituencies, and a changing customer base that is changing its habits constantly, and the way forward was to evolve into a media company.
New story-telling would also mean words, pictures, video, audio and interactivity (with consumers) on a single platform. Increasingly, consumers would converge with producers, being invited to create content for commercials and news, and even create products.
The four themes driving change were customer, content, curation, and convergence, Mr. Kramer said. “The consumer is now much more in control of where he buys content from, when, and how he consumes content. While this shift of power was gradual in the beginning, it is now accelerating,” he explained.
“The ubiquitous connectivity available today has created a generation of consumers that demand access to any content at any time. It is important to create what people want, and ensure that it is different from the other stuff out there. The best content will win in the end, and it is important to refine content based on changing consumer practices. Know your customers and follow them closely,” Mr. Kramer, author of C-Scape, advised.
In the process, it was also possible to educate the customer that paying for content means better content. Content-based consumption and monetisation of such content would be part of the new business model of media houses. Advertising too would pay for targeted, engaged audiences. “The key is to find audiences and reach them, learn about different segments and attack them separately,” he added.
Peter Wolf, Trend Scout, Ringier AG, Switzerland, spoke of the process of change the institution went through — from a traditional newsroom to one integrated newsroom — and making a success of it. Dietmar Schantin, executive director, WAN-IFRA, Germany, spoke of how leadership in the newsroom was crucial to take advantage of the changes in the news business. He also provided tips on preparing newsrooms for impending changes.
