How many times I have a written about the need for new attitudes about online in our newsrooms? It feels like hundreds, but maybe only dozens.
Online-news deep thinker Steve Outing asked a bunch of his industry contacts if he had a magic wand to change any thing, what would be their wish.
The consensus: Change newsroom culture.
I guessed that I’d get a variety of responses. But what’s interesting is that one theme kept coming up. What we’d like your magic wand to do, news industry people kept telling me, is change the culture at our company and in our newsroom, because it’s holding us back and ensuring our ultimate failure.
Outing was kind enough to include my quote, as well.
I totally agree that the culture and attitudes of many newsrooms need to change. And indeed in some places, including my own, it is changing, at a mixture of speeds, and with mixed results.
However, I’m not sure that Steve’s suggestion of bringing in consultants is the answer. Journalistic skepticism often overwhelms what seems to be common sense.
What might work better is for the management to recognise and reward those staff who make the extra effort. It could be as simple as allowing adverts on staff blogs with a revenue share, or company incentives for the staff blogs with the most traffic etc…maybe an extra day of annual holiday?
It’s easy to see the huge gains from blogging and social tools if you’re a gregarious person who has already experienced them. It’s harder to see if you’re buried under deadlines and you only use a word processor.Give everyone the carrot of extra money/holiday/other rewards and they might avoid the stick of being stuck when the management does realise it needs to change the workforce overnight.