News-Record.com

Why all these professors in a dying field? You better take the buyout.

This is no criticism of Van or Pat...

I do think they are quite knowledgable of journalism.

But, the fear I have is all of these new "professors" is that they won't teach the right things.

They have been removed from being actively involved in journalism (perhaps not accurate for Van, but is for MANY of those moving to the education field these days) because of the general inability for the newspaper field to adapt quickly enough to the new medium.

Putting them now in a position to influence future generations of new journalists is not exactly what will be the panecea to "save newspapers."

I've said it before and I will say it again: the key things to changing newspapers to adapt the internet (in the newsroom at least) is to

1) Immediately stop entering ALL contests. Period. They send exactly the WRONG feedback loop to reporters and editors.

2) STOP hiring people based on their clips. Integrate online cooperation -- and REAL -- data about their impact on the online product.

3) Start really looking at analytics and studying what you are doing well and do more of that.

4) Look at what other aspects of time people use the web for and consider integrating parts of those "news" or information into your site. Weather is a perfect example. It's the second or third most popular thing people do on the Internet. Yet, this newspaper refuses to expand its weather section to try to capture that group. It would cost about $500-$800 per month to have a completely kick BUTT weather section that would compete with TV sites and weather.com, but no one wants to do it.

5) Largely centralize the newsgathering efforts. Keep one small group to do "think pieces" or long range investigations. Everyone else needs to report in ONE silo and have everything run through about 2-3 people for decision making. Currently there are TOO MANY silos with information that never makes it to the right people who can determine if that information would be best used (and how) on the online product.

6) Emphasize speed and jobs that people do that no one typically wants to do. For years, the general message from newspapers is that those who do the least real work are those who will not be advanced or rewarded. Change the entire reward process.

7) Create an assignment desk to handle all work assignments and workflow and center all actions around that. At the end of the day, take what you have and then put it in the paper -- and let that be that. What is in the paper is just an afterthought. I have seen this exact model work in TV for a 6 o'clock newscast at perhaps the best local TV station in the nation. Why won't it work for newspapers?

8) Make NEW hires. Don't just shift people around to keep layoffs from happening. Get new blood in the door to make the changes that are NEEDED. Don't just try to hold on to who you have now because you personally like them. They are great people, but are they really who you need to move forward?

I probably could write another two to make it a smooth Top 10...

I doubt anyone will listen -- they haven't yet so why now? The bankruptcy of Tribune and the desire of McClatchy to sell the Miami Herald ought to be reason enough... but no... it's business as usual...

When will the wake up call happen??

Not to "pile on" but I forgot the main item that should wake up the News & Record: the concept that Landmark owners want to divest from newspapers....

The News & Record would be for sale now itself had the owners not decided the credit climate makes it nearly impossible..

I fear that the News & Record -- and other Landmark papers -- will view this as a breather instead of the wake up SHOUT it should be.

Some folks are finally starting to get the weather idea...

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=130&aid=155993

But, it is far from a systemic change.

What are the video efforts so far?

Pat Yack teaching journalism is scary
proposition. The University of Alaska apparently didn't look into what went on during his tenure in Jacksonville. The long-time editorial page editor was forced to quit ONLY after the local alternative weekly exposed what he had been doing for several years. It was just one in a series of troubling incidents at the paper.

The publishers of the Jacksonville paper, Morris Communications, is notorious and the newspaper's managers go right along with them. That's a dangerous situation because newspaper operators are generally given the benefit of the doubt and trusted to be acting on behalf of the public. They're viewed to be carrying on an American tradition, taking the role of the valuable and admirable fourth estate.
However, when that's not case, which is how it is at Morris, there's no industry police to blow the whistle. There's no accountability. When journalists like Jayson Blair are exposed, publishers rightfully express outrage, dole out punishments and pledge reform. But when was the last time unprofessional management practices have been exposed and punished? The Society of Professional Journalists does nothing and Romenesko reports after action has been taken only. There is no accountability, so in one-paper towns like Jacksonville, influence peddling and nepotism are rampant and unchecked. Powerful business people and the politically connected affect editorial content.
Consequently, public trust is betrayed and the American Way is threatened.

There's a measure of poetic justice in Pat Yack re-locating to Alaska. But it's a little troubling that he is being considered for a journalism department position and that Mr. Robinson considers him a credible part of an academic network. The problem with Pat and managers of his ilk is that their lack of journalistic commitment is more insidious than that of a Jayson Blair. It's institutionalized and systemic. The University of Alaska and Mr. Robinson are poignantly proving that.

Although the demise of American newspapers is lamentable, a silver lining is that marginable editors like Pat Yack will no longer have the power they once had. The Internet is decentralizing the business so the truth isn't controlled by just a few publishers and editors. Instead, committed Web-based journalists will be able to reveal things that editors like Yack refused to disclose to the public. However, he left a lot of damage behind him, jeopardized careers, dislocated families and a newspaper with a reputation that has been damaged forever. Journalists in Jacksonville are still paying the price, not to mention the public that got a raw deal and only part of the truth.