Scary words, perhaps.
But words of opportunity, too.
They were spoken by Betsy Morgan, former Huffington Post CEO and a participant in our recent "Google Hangout" conversation with two other digital pioneers —Larry Kramer and Merrill Brown.
The Newhouse School has launched a national search for a Professor in Journalism Innovation, a new hand who will help us navigate this "unimagined" frontier.
New journalism. New delivery. New business models.
It's a chance for the school to lead, says Brown, because "legacy media" can tend to put so much of its effort in what Kramer calls a "defensive crouch," protecting what they have. "I would challenge the notion (that big media companies) are really trying to innovate," says Brown, who was first editor in chief of msnbc.com. "I get the feeling from big newspaper companies and others that they are collecting the money until they chain the door shut, and maximizing every dollar they can in the spirit of shareholder value, and innovation be damned."
There's the opportunity, and where Kramer expects the school and its new professor to step up. "Industry will look to schools as the places that are following everything that is going on and trying to keep everyone out there abreast," says Kramer, author, consultant and MarketWatch founder.
"It's a very elusive and different market," says Kramer, a "more is less world" where our audience numbers are exploding while revenues shrink. "The important thing to know is that this real blast of technology has really allowed us to change our storytelling and enhance our storytelling, and it is really exciting."
Scary?
Not so much. We all agree it's opportunity knocking. On the other side of the door stands our new professor. We can't wait to see who's there.
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Thanks to SU alum Larry Kramer for recruiting Merrill Brown and Betsy Morgan for the chat. Steve Davis – chair of the Newspaper and Online Department – moderated. (You won't see him, but assistant professor Seth Gitner helped coordinate things.)
The idea was to get Larry together with a few well-accomplished friends in the digital world, talking about the possibilities we'll enjoy here when we make a new hire this spring — the Peter Horvitz Endowed Chair in Journalism Innovation. Please watch, and join us all in spreading the word about this new opportunity.
Who knows, maybe you will apply.
If you don't? Please tell others. Applicants can apply at http://www.sujobopps.com There, they can plug in Job # 028438 in "Search Open Positions" at the upper left.
Enjoy the Hangout, which we’ve divided into a number of parts for easy viewing and browsing. To open the complete playlist: Click the rectangle screen image next to "+" in the bottom bar of the Google videoplayer.
Peter Horvitz is president & CEO of Horvitz Newspapers, LLC. His gift to the school is funding the new Peter Horvitz Chair in Journalism Innovation. Here, he briefly discusses his contribution: Why he made it, and how he hopes it will play a role in defining the future for newspapers, and newspaper people.Q: What prompted you to make the gift funding the new Chair in Journalism Innovation?
First, I want to give back to an industry that I love. I had a very fulfilling career as a newspaper publisher and owner and feel that this is a good way to invest in the future of the newspaper industry. I also have concern about the future of newspapers because our business model has been disrupted and we don’t have the financial resources required to fund great journalism. Hopefully, the Chair in Journalism Innovation will help blaze a new trail toward the creation of great multi-media journalism funded by new sources of revenue.
Q: What do you think is the role of a journalism school in times of such great industry change?
In some ways journalism hasn’t changed and in other ways it has changed completely. We still need journalists who can report and communicate important and compelling stories. Storytelling is at the heart of great journalism. But today journalists must disseminate their stories in multiple ways and journalism schools must teach them the basic skills to do that. Yet today our industry demands far more. The economic and technological disruption of the newspaper industry requires journalists who are innovative and entrepreneurial. We need journalists who understand the link between journalism and the business models that fund their work. I look to journalism schools to provide this training and prepare young journalists to contribute in a competitive work environment undergoing tremendous change.
Q: For those of us who love newspapers, how do you see them evolving and surviving?
The key to success for any newspaper is providing unique content that people can’t get anywhere else. National and world news are commodities that people can get for free. The value of newspapers and their websites is the local news and opinion that they provide readers. I see newspapers and websites continuing to become more focused on local news and unique content funded by multiple revenue sources. They will evolve into multi-media businesses. There will be more print and online products serving niche audiences. Daily newspapers may reduce publication days depending on the revenue that supports them. There will be more consolidation of ownership, with companies owning several media businesses in the same geographic area. Production and business functions will be centralized.
Q: From your perspective and personal experience, what's been the biggest change in our business and what will be the biggest challenge going forward?
The biggest change has been that technology has created new and/or better ways to distribute content, which has caused a total disruption of the traditional newspaper business model. Websites such as Google, Craigslist, Monster, Yahoo, Autotrader, and Yahoo have captured huge amounts of revenue that once funded newspapers. Younger readers have replaced print editions with websites and apps. Newspapers must adapt to this new reality by producing unique content for these multi-media platforms and finding new revenue to fund their businesses.
Q: We still have more than 100 majors here at Newhouse in newspaper and online journalism. What do you think accounts for their optimism about our business and what does it say to you about the future?
Journalism is about making a difference in the world, and that will never change. Democracy depends on a free press. Newhouse students should be optimistic because they will be entering an industry undergoing great change but offering unlimited opportunity. They can participate in shaping the future of journalism.
Q: Given your perspective as a Newhouse alum still deeply involved with the school today, what makes it a great place to build a career, especially for the kind of innovator we are looking for?
Newhouse has always been a great place for teaching the knowledge and skills required to be successful in the fields of journalism and communications. But layered on top of these fundamentals is the opportunity to learn about other areas of interest such as business, technology, economics, entrepreneurship and innovation. All the educational resources at Syracuse University are available to the Newhouse students so that they will begin their careers with the knowledge and skills to make an immediate contribution in their new jobs.
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Betsy Morgan
Betsy is the president of The Blaze, an information network curating content, community and debate. Previously, she was the chief executive officer of the Huffington Post — and before that, senior VP for CBS Interactive and general manager of CBSNews.com. She is chair of the Poynter Institute's National Advisory Board. -
Larry Kramer
Larry was chairman, CEO and founder of MarketWatch, which eventually was sold to Dow Jones. After that, he served as the first president of CBS Digital Media. He is also a media consultant and author of “C-Scape: Conquer the Forces Changing Business Today,” a book on the changing landscape for media and related industries published by Harper Collins in November 2010. -
Merrill Brown
Merrill was the first editor in chief of MSNBC.com. He is the founder of MMB Media LLC, a consulting company, and is also a partner in Propeller LLC. Merrill also served for several years as national editorial director of News for the 21st Century: Incubators of New Ideas — also known as News21, part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education.