What would you do if you were king of the world?

Last week we talked about what we’re teaching future journalists.
Today we’ll talk about what you would do with unlimited power.
Newspaper tech expert Kevin Slimp posed that question to us.
A group of us were discussing the future of newspapers in Atlanta.
He wanted to know how we would advise newspaper people.
The answers came rapid fire.
Ken Blum said, "Don’t give your content away on the Internet."
John Peterson said, "Be accountable to your readers and advertisers."
Ed Henninger said, "Constantly reinvent your company. Innovate.
"Concentrate on customer service. Keep the personal connection."
Phil Hanna said, "Grow the top line instead of constantly cutting."
In other words, work as hard on the revenue side as the cost side.
Kevin himself said, "Constantly improve your reproduction."
Bob Bobber said, "Rotate your sampling in growth markets.
Introduce more and more people to your community newspaper."
I say, "Get more local names and faces into the paper.
"Look for new ways to help advertisers survive and thrive."
Tomorrow we’ll talk about our annual cost and revenue survey.
To improve your top and bottom lines click here.

What are we teaching future journalists?

Yesterday we talked about enriching our customers’ experience.
Today we’ll talk about educating future newspaper people.
Seton Hall University invited me to teach for one reason only.
I was a working newspaper editor, not an academic.
I’m not opposed to academics but their job is difficult.
They are not out in the real world grappling with problems daily.
It's harder to see reality when you're far removed from it.
At our Atlanta summit, Kevin Slimp told a revealing story.
Kevin directs the Newspaper Technology Institute in Knoxville.
That probably qualifies him as an academic himself.
But Kevin is out in the real world working with newspaper people.
"Colleges bring me in to speak to their faculty," he said.
"I find they have little idea of the real world."
They think newspapers and TV should hire differently.
They say we should hire reporters, photographers and editors.
Not graduates who can report, photograph and edit.
They don’t want to train students with multiple skills.
They think we should hire four graduates instead of one.
One young professor saw the fallacy in this. He said:
"There’s only one problem. We don’t own the newspapers."
What can we do about this? Several things come to mind.
Why not offer internships to give students real world experience?
Why not offer faculty internships as a reality refresher course?
Why not volunteer to teach a course or be a guest speaker?
Lets not write off the academics. Lets help them do a better job.
Next week we’ll talk about what you would do as king of the world.
To improve your bottom line click here.

Are we losing our connection with our customers?

Yesterday we talked about keeping newspapers profitable.
Today we’ll talk about enriching our customers’ experience.
These insights surfaced at our think tank summit in Atlanta.
Question #1: Is outsourcing our jobs a plus or a minus?
Newspaper technology expert Kevin Slimp sees real problems.
Outsourcing can damage our connections with our customers.
Designers in India don’t understand our culture.
Outsourcing advertising and editing to them is a disconnect.
Question #2: What does it cost to replace people with technology?
Circulation trainer Bob Bobber fears we will become a commodity.
Look at the banks’ attempts to replace tellers with ATMs.
They lost the personal touch, their connection with customers.
Are we headed down the same perilous path?
Question #3: Is voicemail robbing us of that human connection?
Designer Ed Henninger warns of over-reliance on voicemail.
Lets say your newspaper didn’t arrive today. You call the paper.
You get a recording: "If you did not get your paper, press 1."
Three recorded prompts later you’ve given your name and address.
You don’t get to talk to a real person. ‘Real people’ are an expense.
Voicemail is cheaper. But is it a good experience for subscribers?
A banker friend of ours won’t have voicemail answer his calls.
He says his competitors can copy everything else he does.
He stresses the one thing they won’t copy is his friendly staff.
Too expensive, the competition says. Poppycock, he says.
His competitive advantage is that personal customer connection.
Have you maintained a personal customer connection?
Tomorrow we’ll talk about educating future news people.
To get rid of your profit killers click here.

Can you cut your way to greatness?

Yesterday we talked about models for market penetration.
Today we’ll talk about what will keep newspapers profitable.
These insights came out of last weekend’s Atlanta summit.
These are troubled times for advertisers and reader families.
That means trouble for newspapers, too.
What affects advertisers and readers directly affects us.
Many publishers are slashing budgets and laying off people.
Can you make such Draconian cuts without cutting your throat?
No one every cut their way to greatness, says John Peterson.
John is a former publisher who now advises publishers.
One of John’s clients increased margins 23% in one year.
They didn’t do it by slashing budgets and laying off people.
They did it as the primary source of local news and advertising.
They became the "owner’s manual for their community".
If it’s important to your community, it’s important to you.
Technology consultant Kevin Slimp says investing is critical.
Invest in your people. Get them the tools they need to produce.
One of his clients bought laptops for his news and sales people.
He showed he was willing to invest in them with the right tools.
What happened to morale and productivity? Of course it went up.
Think: Where can I find the dollars to invest in my people?
You can do it by smart cost controls. By producing better products.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about enriching reader/advertiser relations.
To cut costs without cutting your throat click here.

Is ‘free’ the future newspaper model?

Yesterday we talked about what the experts see for the future.
Today we’ll talk about one model for market penetration.
These predictions came out of our Atlanta summit last weekend.
Kevin Slimp sees a lot of markets as he travels the country.
Kevin heads the Newspaper Technology Institute in Tennessee.
He predicts more ‘paid’ newspapers will convert to ‘free’.
It’s a way to give advertisers greater access to their ideal prospects.
Scripps-Howard has converted many of their papers, he said.
A twice-weekly Miami newspaper distributes 2.5 million copies.
It follows the model of giving free news on the Internet.
Young people, some say, want news but won’t pay for it.
Ken Blum, author of Black Ink: The Book, sees limits to free.
Free papers work in urban markets but not community markets.
We could see urban papers go from mass to elitist audiences.
Their goal: Deliver high income readers to advertisers.
Two South Carolina publishers have gone ‘free’ and made it work.
Their advertisers pay for a higher penetration of desired homes.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about what will keep newspapers profitable.
To hold the line on your costs and expenses, click here.

Do newspapers have a future?

Yesterday we talked about learning from our experiences.
Today we’ll talk about something close to many of our hearts:
What lies ahead for newspapers and the publishing industry?
As you’re reading this, my wife and I will be in Atlanta.
I’ll talk with Ruth King on the ProfitabilityChannel.com at 10 a.m.
Then we will meet for the weekend with other consultants.
These include some familiar names you will recognize:
Ed Henninger, Ken Blum, Bob Bobber and Kevin Slimp.
We will discuss the future of newspapers in print and online.
I’ll share our insights with you in next week’s blog.
My take on newspapers’ future? It’s simple and optimistic.
The obituaries are premature. Community newspapers are robust.
They fill a need for local news and information like nothing else.
They tell about your taxes. What your local officials are up to.
About the education your children get. The safety of your town.
Who scored the winning points in the local high school game.
Who was born, got married or died. What’s on at the movies.
We don’t try to cover the world. We cover what we do best.
We should not try to be all things to all people. That’s suicidal.
Local news and sports is our franchise. Our reason for existence.
We should strive to do it better than anyone else ever could.
I hope you have time to watch Ruth and me. To do it, click here.