Scott Flanders, the CEO of Freedom Communications in California said some strong words today:
The great challenge for communications companies today will be to monetize both the print and online audience while converting to a digital medium, Flanders said.
Newspapers are in a “pole position” in their local communities because of the content they produce.
But they must “stave off those guns coming after us,” including search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
The current “malaise of self-loathing” in the industry could be attributed to reporters – caught in a wave of layoffs in U.S. newsrooms – Flanders said.
“Some reporters will not survive the huge cultural change that needs to happen as we move to a 24-7 operation,” he said.
Well, by the same token, many newspaper CEO’s and publishers will not survive either.
This crisis is a crisis of leadership and vision.
And in many U.S. markets they have been sleeping too much.
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