You’re doing WHAT?!

It never ceases to amaze me how a concept can be explained multiple times yet be welcomed with reactions ranging from misinterpretation to mockery. I’m not sure if it is resistance to change, dismissal of clear indicators of changes in public news consumption or just those who make up the “what I heard you saying” sect of our society?

The industry reaction has ranged from those who factually reported our actions (layoffs, newsroom transformation, etc.) all the way to a few who have scoffed at our actions. There are plenty of objective accounts of our recent actions and those are to be appreciated for their factual merit. There is also a sprinkling of industry folks laying out extremely personal interpretations of our actions, some of which are patently misinformed. A case in point is the article in the Iowa Independent. “I know that adjusting a newsroom from a print-only model to a print-and-online model can be difficult…” DING – no, but thanks for playing. This has nothing to do with going from a print-only model to a print-and-online model. The Gazette has been online for years already via a web site, an e-edition, a mobile version and text alerts. A critical piece to understanding the name and role of Information Content Conductor is that person is not acting specifically towards one product, print or online. That person and their staff are product agnostic. It just goes to prove the old saying that if you are going to make a mental leap, make sure you can at least see the other side!

Interestingly enough, I have found the public consumer reaction to be more aligned to the concepts of content and information. I would reference a KGAN article as proof the consumer is highly attuned to the content and information. Run a quick article search on “content” and you get 3 very pointed uses of the word content. Do the same with the word “information” and you will get 13 hits on that word, most singing the praises of the breadth and depth of information. These are words being used by the public, not by us. Heck, KGAN is not even on one of our company sites – it’s a competitor’s site! On a side note about the article, I wanted to note many respondents to KGAN mentioned the Gazette by name, even though “newspaper” was the only term used in the question. Thank you, loyal community members!

Whether they realize it or not, the public provides us a mandate, that being they desire content that is convenient, timely and can be trusted. Some want it in print. We are there already and will continue to be there as we have been for now 126 years, providing the region’s premier and evolving print edition. Some want it electronically and we are taking bold steps to reinforce and expand our current electronic offerings. The key here is that we are retooling ourselves to create and gather content with no specific product-based agenda, make that electronic journalist’s “notepad” publicly available and still create the region’s best array of packaged news products, whether they be print or electronic.

In case you think I am just a kook, you might want to check out this article – another vote for the “upstarts, new players, that build the successful news products of the future.”

Connection: a personal family example

Our family has a wonderful event this weekend. My parents celebrated 50 years of marriage (yes, I’m bragging a bit, but it is a life event that is happening less and less). We held a fairly intimate 4 hour celebration dinner (for 24!) at the Lighthouse, laughing, recounting stories, and generally enjoying everyone’s company. My parents had a good time, so we have chalked it up as a success.

Being relatively typical Iowans, my parents were hardly looking for much of a fuss to made over this. They are such typical under-stated people. Being typical non-compliant children, however, we were certainly not going to let their desire for “no fuss” stop us. The linked picture above (digital screen scrape from the Gazette e-Edition) is the reason for this post. It was the lone public recognition of the event and I could not have been more astounded by the number and variety of congratulations that poured in to my parents, including several dozen phone calls, multiple flower arrangements and a stack of cards over 6″ inches high (minus the envelopes). I’m terribly biased in saying my parents are great folks, but the response generated by a single Milestones entry was staggering.

I have wander a bit, so let me focus on the “so what” point of this. Connecting with the community is the point. It was not hard-hitting political news, it was not a scandal, and it was not a championship trophy – just two people who love each other and have stuck together through thick and thin. Granted the Gazette was not initiator of the announcement, they didn’t host the dinner, etc. – that’s not the point and if you were thinking along those lines, you are missing the concept. The Milestones section is not a new invention, but it clearly demonstrates the incredible reach a small piece of content can have in a short period of time. The Gazette served only as a conduit for the information, but it was an incredibly vital role. We could have sent letters or announcements, we could have made phone calls, but we certainly would not have achieved the breadth of reach accomplished with the Milestone announcement. My parents heard from people that they hadn’t seen or heard from for years (meaning we wouldn’t have known where to send a letter or what phone number to call). If you think that kind of result isn’t critical to achieving a Complete Community Connection, you are sadly and deeply mistaken.

As we continue our institutional change of mindset, this will definitely resonate in my mind. The Gazette played a vital, albeit quiet, role in facilitating a critical action: a publicly available announcement that allowed interested readers to send congratulatory sentiments. In the end, my parents were very touched and a bit surprised at the response. There was a breadth of connection made in this instance that could not be replicated through other means. Before someone misinterprets this post as an implication that only a printed Milestones section is capable of these results, I will note several of the well-wishers specifically mentioned the seeing it in the e-Edition.