WHAT'S NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS

David Sullivan thinks that the old department stores fate is a good reminder  for newspapers.

And the same lessons can be learned by newspapers from the railway industry.

Today, The Guardian presents the ambitious plans of the British transport secretary Lord Andrew Adonis with this lead:

There was a time when all the world firsts in rail took place in the UK – the first modern locomotive, the first intercity line and the first train-travelling monarch. That time, however, was the second quarter of the 19th century, and for very many years now Britain’s railways have, as it were, been stuck on the slow train. No principally domestic mainline has been built in over a century, and the spread of high-speed services – from Japan in the 1960s through France in the 80s to Spain in the 90s – has all but failed to reach these shores.

Yes, there was a time… when railways ruled the transport world, like newspapers ruled the information business.

But cars and airplanes came as more fast and convenient options.

And the railway industry didn’t react,and died in many markets and in many countries.

Until the fast trains resurrected the old business.

It took time, money and courage… and the results are here.

Fantastic and very comfortable new trains rule again in many European countries.

Investing in fast trains is like investing in the new “online-centric” news organizations of the future.

And as The Guardian says:

The lesson is plain: build it – and they will come.

(Picture by Getty Images)

My comment on this lousy new story in this week’s The Economist:

Gentlemen,

Sorry but this is too much space for very little new information and few original ideas.

The crisis of many traditional mono-media (print publications and radio outlets: text or audio) and bi-media operations (television: audio+video) is that they offer very little unique and relevant content.

I read and I pay for The Economist because 90% of the time (sorry, not in this case) it adds value to the news.

It’s different, and it’s worth my money.

But 90% of what many newspapers, magazines, radio and television news operations produce is just recycled news garbage.

They are repackaging-news operations.

So, the Internet is better, faster and cheaper.

Regarding the “financial crisis” of many of the best U.S. newspaper companies (Tribune, NYT, etc.), let’s not forget that they are paying the consequences of very bad management, terrible M&As, and an irresponsible leadership that didn’t re-invest the huge profits of the recent past in their own core business.

Only the best will survive, yes, but at the same time only if they are able to re-invent themselves as “online-centric news organizations.”

That’s the real challenge.

Not the one from outside, but from inside.

What we need is more Innovation and change: more demos and less memos, more doing and less talking, more prototyping and less conceptualizing.

As always: too much analysis = paralysis.