Wave of the future: Working more closely with advertising
Word from the Capital Conference media convention in D.C. this week: Sounds like there will be more mixing of advertising with editorial in our future.
Louis Hau of Forbes magazine reported Thursday:
Like it or not, the newspaper industry’s increasingly grim financial outlook leaves editors with little choice but to work across the aisle. During a recent meeting at the Des Moines Register to discuss ways of revamping the paper’s online local business directory, an editorial staffer asked why the newsroom was involved in a project that was so clearly aimed at generating more advertising, Register Editor Carolyn Washburn says. Washburn’s response?
“This isn’t a news story, but it’s content and we know how to organize it better than anyone,” she recalled saying.
Washburn says cooperation between the news and advertising staff at the Gannett newspaper now runs far deeper than in the past. For instance, before key state high school sports tournaments get under way, the paper’s sports editor confers with advertising to determine what they can do together.
“It wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago,” Washburn says. “Five years ago, it wouldn’t have happened.”
Hmm. I’m wondering if some of this might be overstated. I mean, I recall when I worked in Des Moines, we’d often dream up some weird-ass idea and then see if advertising thought they might be able to sell it.
If they said yes, we were on. If not, we’d have to kill the idea or scale it back to something that would require fewer resources. Randy Brubaker — then, the sports editor; now he’s the Register’s managing editor — ran interference for me and my graphics department time and time again in situations like this.
Still, it’s an interesting story. Hau’s lede includes a good friend of ours:
As Linda Grist Cunningham took the podium to talk about integrating editorial and advertising content at a newspaper industry powwow, the Rockford Register Star executive editor couldn’t resist cracking a joke.
“I feel like I’m at an AA meeting,” she said during a gathering of newspaper editors and publishers in Washington this week. “I’m Linda Cunningham, and I’m in the business of making money.”
Read Hau’s story in Forbes.
Find more info on the ASNE meeting here.
April 18th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I absolutely agree with the evolution in our industry. At the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I work with the circulation, marketing and advertising departments throughout the year. Our communication helps with planning special sections for all sides and helps the editorial side control its alloted space. It may sound strange to some journalists but it works. Good posting, Charles.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Ayulo and Hau are right, journalists should stop being afraid of advertisers. At The Nevada Sagebrush, my role next year may, aside from editing and etc., include being a liason to the advertising department to help workout advertorials, work on special sections and come up with creative cooperation between the editorial and advertising side. Even at a college paper we’re hemorraging money like everyone else. We’ve also inheritted the student government’s debt of $80,000. Talk about a great way to start off the year. We NEEED aggressive advertising campaigns.