The top leader in the FT today, picks up with Rupert Murdoch left off yesterday. In particular it notes that it’s not enough for newspaper editors to simply recycle print stories. Their sites must begin to work in the terms the internet sets itself. Ahem, jobbing bloggers: look to your CVs!
Mr Murdoch suggests the answer is to stop rehashing print content and start developing super-portals, enriched with audio and video content, drawing consumers into the debate by embracing blogs and interaction. That could prove a good way of building on existing websites, but the ultimate outcome of the internet revolution is impossible to predict. The Financial Times’ own website FT.com is continuing to evolve.
As Mr Murdoch says, news organisations must adapt to the latest trends more quickly. But they are fooling themselves if they think they can come up with a final answer today. Some observers believe that the idea of a top-down product selected by editors is already starting to look old-fashioned. The rise of search engines, such as Google, suggests that many consumers do not want to go to a single content site for information.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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