Editors should be setting the standard for the next great era of journalism

Posted by Gary Cleland at Tue, 05/01/2010 - 2:56pm in Corporate commentary

Britain's national newspaper editors begin 2010 with two assets that for most of their working lives have been inextricably linked: a strong brand and quality content.

The brand, simply enough, is the name of the paper and the associations and values it represents. The content is the journalism - the reportage and comment that qualified and talented journalists produce every day.

The package for the past century and more has largely seen the brand indistinguishable from the content. The newspaper was where the news was found. But in 2010, as we all know, the model isn't working.

There is an argument made that there is a future for newspapers in their current form - that there is life in the old dog yet - but reality suggests that there isn't. At the top, the industry has accepted that, even if some find it difficult.

Over the next 12 months and beyond I predict that, as newspapers continue seemingly as normal in the foreground, in the background we will begin to see a divergence of brand and content.

Firstly brand. There is no reason why a name such as The Daily Telegraph, The Sun or The Guardian should restrict itself only to newspapers. These names can sell many products, and any product that does not cheapen the brand will increasingly be considered and white-labelled to make the cash that is needed fund journalism.

Secondly content. Smart editors and publishers will be going back to the drawing board in 2010 to see how they can best publish and distribute the news. There is always a thirst for news. People want to know what is going on. At the very least it gives them something to talk to everyone else about.

But already newspaper websites are beginning to seem outmoded in their current form. Mobile phone technology, television or radio show syndication packages, news streams via television sets themselves - there is a dizzying number of platforms for pushing news in 2010. All should be considered.

Great journalism is not about newsprint, it is about integrity. It is a mistake for the best, brightest and most romantic in journalism to decry the cheapening of their trade with the passing of newspapers. Rather they should set the standard for the next great era of journalism.

Tagged with: journalism