Visual Editors
Visual Editors, NFP was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2004.
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Robb Montgomery
Founder
Joined: 07 Mar 2004
Posts: 1504
Location: Chicago
Posted:
Fri Jul 06, 2007 3:47 am
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I asked Steve Yelvington after his Newspaper Next presentation in Kuala Lumpur a couple days ago if he knew of any U.S. newspapers that were investing in or building active skunkworks projects. He didn't specifiy any and, so I would like ask that same question of more members from the N2 steering group. This push for an indy idea lab and R&D funding is a key, if not obvious, finding and is one of the key prescriptions from the Newspaper Next project.
Innosight, the consultants hired to develop the N2 project, tell newspaper executives to embrace the idea of supporting and building skunkworks in order to develop more rapid responses to the changing news game.
Product cycles are shorter and without R&D, newspapers will find it very hard to keep pace with the changing media user expectations.
One of the key concepts, of course, is to prevent the idea lab from being poisoined by coroporate types.
Why? A skunkworks has to have a rhythm unique to the creative process and be insulated from office politics and have a separate P&L. The idea being if that if you comingle the top-down-thinking and the money in your lab, then really, what's the point?
Yahoo built their new skunkworks campus to evoke a start-up vibe and spur innovation within the company. It is called the "Brickhouse," and is formed as a new idea incubator recently opened in the trendy South Park neighborhood of San Francisco.
So, do you know of any U.S. newspapers who have actually built or are planning to fund a true skunkworks in the next six to 20 months? Are we there yet or are we still at the seminar stage with the framers of this initiative?
Add your name to the list:
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_________________
Where in the world is Robb?
Last edited by Robb Montgomery on Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:05 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Yuri Victor
Contributing editor
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: Times of Northwest Indiana
Posted:
Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:54 am
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We don't have a skunk works project per se.
But, essentially The Times has given me the creative freedom to do my own thing.
Since I started in the newsroom June 1, we have released a new product every week and I'm booked to continuing releasing a new product every week through September 1. These aren't small projects either, but complete packages.
I've released a health publication, 18-24 entertainment publication, yellow pages package, mapping tools, story/multimedia tools and created a CAR team with weekly online CAR projects. etc. In the next month, I'm releasing a bridal publication, a new CMS for multimedia and database projects, a Spanish publication and much much more.
I like the "corporate types," so I involve them as much as possible. I work with marketing and sales to make sure readers and advertisers are best served. But, then again, our Marketing Director is Theresa Badovich. Working with her is the most fun I have every week.
We still have a lot of problems, but we're improving every day. |
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