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Keynote given by Richard Gingras at the Scripps Foundation Entrepreneurship in Journalism Conference at ASU's Cronkite School of Communications and Journalism
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Innovation in an Age of Disruption
Richard Gingras
01-03-12
Innovation in an Age of Disruption
Richard Gingras
01-03-12
MistakesIt’s not how many you
make. It’s how quickly you learn
from them.
InnovationIt is not a luxury.
It can’t be intermittent.1
It must be part of an organization’s DNA.2
1. Cycle of change is too rapid2. No, it’s not a Chief Innovation Officer!
Technological changeTechnological change
Technology is not the solution.
It is the playing field; it sets the rules of the game
Properly-harnessed, it can move us forward
Do not presume it can resurrect an old business model. It can’t!
The advance of technologyThe advance of technologyThe advance of technologyThe advance of technology
Exponential convergence
TechnologyIt can provide great value but only if we make it so.
It defines the palette of our medium, the tools of our
trade.
Disruption: live by it, die by itDisruption: live by it, die by it
The death of the print model was the open distribution of the Internet
Openness breaks distribution control and the opportunity to control pricing
News was fiercely competitive, not hugely profitable -- but for 1960 to 2000
• What triggered that period of near-monopolistic profitability? Television
EconomicsBusiness models change.Journalists cannot ignore the business side. They do
so at their peril.
Understand the new economicsUnderstand the new economicsUnderstand the new economicsUnderstand the new economics
Presume no economic savior Micro-payments are not a macro solution Average ad CPMs will continue to drop Subscription fees work but only if the
content has extraordinary value
Revenue: assume an RPM of $10 Expense: target Cost/MPV of $5
$10
$65
$5
Understand the new economicsUnderstand the new economics
It’s less about demographics and more about context and relevance Marketplace for eyeballs is disaggregated and open
Cross-subsidization was always crucial. Now it’s more difficult. Soft, not hard, news has long fueled profitability Niche product-focused properties – from Pop Sugar to Café Mom to
Gizmodo are winning the ad dollars
There is no significant premium for quality content – not that there ever was
Marketplace realitiesMarketplace realities
“We need to get consumers back in the habit of paying for news.” Really? They paid very little and had little choice
Real economic issue: there is too much of it Does the cover-everything model (gardening to gossip to
politics) make sense today? How does a brand differentiate and create a stronger
sense of value?
AudienceIn an overloaded content ecosystem the battle for eyeballs is waged on the
users’ terms.
Understand your audienceWhere does it come from? Today? Tomorrow?
Understand your audienceWhere does it come from? Today? Tomorrow?
45%30%
45%
25%
32%
22%33%
29%
32%
27%
9%
1%
15%
Structure & FormThe medium defines the message and its form.
It needs to be rethought. Completely.
Ephemeral anthrax attack article Persistent anthrax attack resource
Rethink content architectureRethink content architectureDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flowsDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flowsRethink content architectureRethink content architectureDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flowsDesign to leverage today’s technology and audience flows
Rethink the outputRethink the outputMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the oldMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the old””
Rethink the outputRethink the outputMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the oldMcLuhan: “Every new medium begins as a container for the old””
How can one build and maintain the pyramid of knowledge on a story? Articles, posts, facts, related docs, reader contributions,
discussion, databases, etc. etc. How do we address the read-state? The user’s knowledge?
What is the role of long-form article? Audience is low, abandonment is high How can we better achieve the objective to inform?
What is the role of the social network post?
Computational journalismComputational journalismA huge untapped opportunityA huge untapped opportunityComputational journalismComputational journalismA huge untapped opportunityA huge untapped opportunity
How can technology allow more effective use of the fruit of a reporter’s efforts?
Shouldn’t reportinggenerate persistent informationalresources?
Yes, but thethought processmust change
The RolesThe tools are different.The output is different.How can the roles not
change?
Rethink all rolesRethink all roles
What is the day-to-day role of a reporter?…when creation and publication can be in the reporter’s hands
What is the day-to-day role of an editor? …in an edition-less environment with a crowd of participants to lead, guide, and harvest
Leverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowd
More writers publishing today than ever before The blogosphere, Wikipedia More chaff, yes, but also more wheat
How can one optimally: Harvest high-quality, self-determined work Lead work into areas of interest/need Provide guidance on ethics and style Develop fair compensation models
There is a huge benefit to those who develop the skills and processes to do this well
ArchitectureProduct development
cannot stop.Every journalist should be guided to think creatively
about the product.
Tear down that wall!Tear down that wall!Tear down that wall!Tear down that wall!
Everyone must understand how the product and the business works
Business: trust makes the brand Editorial: how it all works Everyone: tracking the data Everyone: collaborating
on product development
MissionGiven a vastly different and
evolving journalistic ecosystem, the mission
and ethics need reconsideration.
It’s a very different worldIt’s a very different world “Who wants to hear the truth when they can
hear they are right!” The Internet supports any opinion, belief, or fear and gives it
greater volume.
Should the mission and tactics change? Given the greater need for media literacy and
cognitive reasoning Should the ethics that guide journalistic
behaviors be revised? Given the very different ecosystem we now work in
Optimistically speaking…Optimistically speaking…
1. The news industry is in trouble because everyone now has a printing press.
How can that be a bad thing?
Optimistically speaking…Optimistically speaking…
2. Journalism’s future will be molded by many new creative endeavors.
Nurture that!
Optimistically speaking…Optimistically speaking…
3. Journalism’s future will be stronger than its past.
It needs to be!
DiscussionDiscussion