• Innovation is happening more at the micro level, with "mini-media" enterprises (like bloggers, Adrian Holovaty-type developers, backpack journalists)
• Journalists aren't traditionally trained to think as entrepreneurs
• Innovation is essential to survival/success in a new media world

 

Then just how do we get there from here? It wouldn't hurt for academics to start training future journalists at the undergrad level. But I wonder what we're supposed to do with folks already out here in the field. Hello, we're here with ideas. How do we get them accomplished in newsrooms with shrinking budgets? Can an institution innovate, or do you have to break out on your own (a la John Harris and Politico, or Adrian Holovaty?) to get the job done? It's a scary place to be for folks who need/want the structure of a traditional newsroom to fund and develop good storytelling. But if we can't get people to consume that journalism, what's the point?

 

I'm not sure what the answer is. I just know that I don't necessarily have the business development skills that are increasingly necessary in an online newsroom. I'm uncomfortable when bizdev people approach editorial to pitch projects based on marketing opportunities. Why should we develop content to satisfy niche readers/advertisers, without considering the content's journalistic merit first? Because we have to fund the journalism we actually want to do somehow. This system seems to discourage innovation, not encourage it -- we wind up saying no to original/innovative storytelling because we're too busy creating content we think advertisers will like enough, so that we can subsidize the cool storytelling that we don't have resources to do anymore anyway. Whew.

 

Not to be overly grim, but maybe there is something to be said for breaking from the institution to innovate. Maybe we'll begin to have more free-agent journalists who can "do it all" (as ABC has begun to hire). I'll be curious to see how newsrooms manage to innovate in this type of climate, and how individuals will (seemingly) continue to set the pace.

 

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/01/digging_deeperin_digital_age_j.html

 

-- Amanda, 2/7/08

 

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Amanda brings up a very valid point...that is, incorporating some type of coursework slanted towards business within more degree programs than just business school students. I graduated with an undergraduate business degree and with each passing year of my career, I can honestly say that I'm thankful that I received that strong foundation of basic business principles. The unfortunate thing is that the incorporation of some of these principles into other degree programs would actually benefit the student (and future professional) much better than only focusing on the fundamental topics of their chosen field.

 

Don't get me wrong...I'm not suggesting that schools need to overwhelm non-business degree seeking students with business course after business course. There would need to be a fine balance. However, schools should find a way to incorporate a focus on basic analysis, business computer applications, business case development, etc.

 

This thread actually impacts me on a personal live. I have a staff member who graduated with a Journalism/Communications degree from OSU a couple years ago. She's a bright, intelligent, young professional that has made an excellent addition to our team, but I am having to teach her how to write business cases, perform basic cost benefit analyses, create a simple speadsheets in Excel, etc. With this said, I feel that universities are remiss in not including some of this information (to the appropriate extent) within that communications curriculum.

 

Having a fundamental knowledge of some of these principles will only help that future communication professional by enabling her to develop a cost-benefit analysis as to why a story should be developed, or why she needs additional resources and/or budget dollars to perform her job...the list truly could be endless.

 

 

G. Feldmann, 2/10/08

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I think that strong business fundamentals are important for any student to learn; they can easily be applied to work and personal lives.  More importantly, since we tend to forget what we learn unless it is applied or used on a regular basis, continuing education is important for all professionals who want to stay abreast of changes occurring in their respective fields.  We should all be “sharpening our saws” in order to be relevant and competitive.  The Fellow Program at the Kiplinger School that half of our class is part of is a good example of this. 

Brandi Braun 2/10/08  

 

 

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   Some journalists should also have mid-career business education, such as an extended fellowship or even an MBA. At many news organizations editors and even reporters are expected to become managers overnight. Especially at the Associated Press for instance, reporters would be "promoted" to bureau chief, where their main job suddently became selling the news service to more members and subscribers, paying bureau bills, and trying to earn the organization more money. The Knight-Bageot fellowship is a yearlong B-school immersion for journalists. There used to be one journalist a year allowed to stay a second year and actually get an MBA.

 

   Now however with the rise of the multimedia press, I don't think anyone out there is qualified to teach the business model of online journalism ... yet.

 

   -- Terril 2/11

 

 

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I think one of the big problems is the structure of newsrooms, which aren't designed to have reporter business ideas seriously considered. That role is saved for editors. Reporters and photographers who often do get good ideas because of their field work and contact with the community, have no forum. I spent the day reporting and working with one of the Buffalo News photographers and we talked about this as we drove around the city.

 

We see the dramatic change and necessity of using new models -- multimedia and others -- but the management structure remains designed for the way business was done three decades ago: Ad departments are separate and business operations have been deliberately kept separate, on different floors and without much company-provoked interaction, so that reporters can write uninfluenced stories. Editors may get pressure to assign certain stories, but they usually serve as a cushion. They assign such stories without explaining where the ideas came from so reporters can proceed naturally, without feeling that they need to do this to please the editor, publisher, or whomever.

 

Now when business-model innovation is critical, and creative-entrepreneurial thinking from staffers seems critical, there is no direct line to the people who have the power and influence to do things, such as improve the website so that slide shows can be viewed easily, with one click, instead of five, for example.

 

--Michelle 2/11 

 

 

 

 

This is an intriguing topic because I now see myself as a journalism entrepreneur. When I left my good corporate job after 17 years in mainstream newspaper journalism to launch a non-profit, I, for some reason, did not think of myself as an entrepreneur or a social entrepreneur. Nine years later, after having learned the challenges of fund-raising (grant-writing, building and sustaining relationships), management, branding (about which I still have lots to learn) and promotions, I do indeed think of myself as an entrepreneur. It has been a long, tough climb, to say the least. Far more difficult, I believe than had I stuck with a singular career as a reporter, perhaps rising to  editor in a traditional newsroom. The upside is that as an entrepreneur, I have a whole handful of skills that I wouldn’t otherwise have acquired.

Based on my experience going from reporter to entrepreneur, some of the insights in the MediaShift piece are right on target. I was clueless about the workings of business e.g., managing a budget, cost-effective hiring and contracting out, overseeing daily operations of a newsroom, understanding philanthropy, development, etc. I wished I had had the benefit of a college course or two to teach me some of those things. Instead, I had to learn them on the job, which means learning from mistakes (That’s not much fun.), as well as successes. That said, I have taken a course here and there to learn new skills.

In teaching business skills and entrepreneurship to journalists, it’s important to include the non-profit approach or social entrepreneurship. Catalyst Ohio, The Philadelphia School Notebook and The Chicago Reporter are just a few very solid models of  independent publications that are funded by a range of foundations and individuals. Each is run by very hard-working editors who also have developed the ability to raise revenue from contributions, as well as advertising or other enterprise. Feb. 12, 2008

Charlise

I agree that having some background in business and management is extremely helpful and frequently lacking.  I have worked at and with several non-profits and those that understand basic business principals are more stable fiscally.  In addition they tend to attract successful businesses and business persons to their mission.  I have seen many agencies that provide great services and are integral to the community but that have a very difficult time in the increasingly competitive non-profit sector securing funding because they are unable to make a case for their services.  It is very hard for these agencies to step back and evaluate their services because they have so few resources to begin with but without "evidence" of their work funders are unlikely to provide resources.  People want to know what their donations "buy".  It can become a chicken and egg scenario.  I believe that this world of Web 2.0 is a wonderful opportunity for those non-profits and businesses with limited resources to reach out to communities and to partner with organizations that share a similar mission.

 

Sarah 2/17/08