The Modern Journalist

“How Much More Glue Can We Sell Them?”

July 11th, 2008 | by Brad King |

Another reason I’ve been so MIA is that I’m digging through a whole series of books (which means you’re going to be seeing more book reviews in the near future).

There’s so much interesting thinking on globalization — and how technology has changed not only where we do business, but how we do business. It’s a trite statement to say just that, which is why I’m writing a book specifically about media. I want to delve into the heart of what a complete overhaul of the industry means — and what it means for the every day, average media consumer.

The effects are profound. And too far-reaching for me to explain in any detail on a blog. Or at least in this blog post (I’m 286 posts into this blog, I think we’ve gone into great detail overall).

One major theme, though, is that old adage about Rising Tides and Boats.

Journalism is going through a horrific time right now. Companies are shedding jobs faster than ever before and the industry has grown bitter. Not a day goes by that I don’t talk to a friends in the industry — and many of my adult friends are media folks — who are just pissed off and angry. They are angry their company stocks are failing. They are angry their company hasn’t prepared them for the future. They are angry that folks like me are replacing them. They are angry at themselves for not adapting.

It’s all very unfocused because their isn’t really ONE place to blame. It’s a systemic failure we seeing that can be summed up in one question, posed by Mexican president Zedillo in The World is Flat.

A Mexican newspaper recently ran a story about how the Converse whoe company was making tennis shoes in Chinca using Mexican glue. “The whole article was about why are we giving them our glue,” said Zedillo, “when the right attitude would be, How much more glue can we sell them? We still need to break some mental barriers. (The World is Flat, 431)

I read that sitting in the Anchor Grill, a little cash-only eatery around the corner from my house. I put the book down, sipped my coffee and realized the answer to that question (and even the question itself) was the exact problem facing journalism.

Friedman’s argument is simply this: in a globalized world, protectionism may keep the jobs you have now safe but it ensurs that no new jobs will be created, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

The question posed by the Zedillo is just an extension of that. And — in turn — that is an extension of the challenge journalism faces.

It starts with content (we must protect it), which ensures that fewer people will see it, interact with it and see it as relevant. You may declare your work precious, but by doing so, you will also likely limit what its relevance in a digital world.

It moves through information (let them eat cake), which ensures that fewer people will come to you for the answers that they need. Software tools like Twitter, blog CMS applications and the like allow people to easily post and share information. Here is how I found out George Carlin died: someone Twittered it, I went to Wikipedia, then to YouTube and finally to the blogs. Never once did I go to a mainstream news site — and I’ll bet I can tell you just about everything I need to know.

It makes it way up through management (we’ve been doing this for a long time, leave us alone), which ensures that no new ideas are brought up and implemented in one industry even while these same systems are implemented in new, competing industries. I’ve interviewed several media start-ups in the last 6 months — most started by ex-newspaper folks — and without question, they have each said the same thing: I am so glad I don’t have to deal with that legacy system crap anymore.

Which leads the industry as a whole into an isolationist camp, filled with people concerned (rightfully so) about their livelihoods with management unable — and ill-equipped — to make the decisions to right the ship in a modern world.

The macro view, of course, is much easier to take than the micro view. I am on the right side of the hill. I have enough technical skills to exist (right now, anyway) in a modern world. For those who don’t, they are facing the prospect of a mid-career change that has little chance of providing the same quality of life they have now.

The reality, though, is that doesn’t make much of a difference for the industry. These changes are happening and the isolationists won’t win. The globalized media company — the one that finds a way to implement new technologies and hire people who can exploit them — will win. And they will win big.

Because the right question isn’t how can we stop the job loss — it’s how can we create new ones?

And the answer isn’t write better stories or hire better copy editors. The answer is by exploiting the data structures of the Internet and delivering — and taking in — data from the very people reading your paper.

The rising tide, after all, lifts all boats.