The fact is that the model that Mr. Singleton worships is dead—and the arrogance, mediocrity and lack of vision of newspaper executives across the nation have killed it. Newspapers had the opportunitiy to own online firms like Monster and the sites that have decimated their classified business. Their arrogance and short-sightedness in the late 90s prevented this. I remember sitting across the table from a leading publisher in 1999 who bragged about turning down a majority stake in a company called Yahoo. They repeated this mistake with hundreds of start-ups in favor of the belief that one day the Internet would disappear.

Now as newspapers are going bankrupt and advertisers are moving more and more to new media—what is the response? Its not focusing on innovation, A/B testing their business models, developing new relationships with advertisers, creating greater community with readers or building better partnerships with new media. Indeed, its not creating better content or re-evaluating how they present/slant the news. Instead, their strategy involves picking fights with firms that would destroy them tomorrow were it not for the nostalgia of what newspapers used to be. What happens if Google treats AP content as toxic and blacklists all sites from its search algorithm that carry it—like the AP’s lawyers are advocating (without knowing they are doing so because they are ignorant parasites)? The answer is that publishers will choose being listed by the search engines over the AP. The answer is Google or others will create new models to make the AP irrelevant.

When your marketing and business strategy is being developed and executed by a team of lawyers—its time to turn out the lights. Perhaps, it is already too late for them.

2 1/2 years ago Tom Mohr, the then-recently departed head of Knight Ridder Digital called for newspapers to fund a “Switzerland” that could develop common platforms and an industry-wide network. His post is here http://future-of-journalism.blogspot.com/2006/12/newspapers-tom-mohr-cronkite-asu.html. I remember thinking, at the time, that something along those lines is the only logical way to change the game.

He lamented that “not a single example of breakthrough online innovation has emerged out of a newspaper company.”

Nothing’s changed.

I have participated in endless calls with my newspaper counterparts, during which I’ve rolled my eyes as I realize getting newspapers to act together is impossible. Herding cats.

The lack of understanding about some of the most fundamental aspects of digital technology and the implications for journalism, information science, business and culture are astounding.

That said, hope springs eternal for an eureka moment on the part of our industry’s leaders along the lines of what you’ve sketched out. Unless Google’s got a job for this astrophysics major who stumbled into journalism 25 years ago!

Except for very few exceptions the reporting on the “meltdown”, the “bailouts” and the reorganization of our economy is not very good. The quality of most reporting on international issues is also pretty dismal.

So while I appreciate where you are coming from the idea that people in general “trust” the news is not borne out by experience or fact.

Then, I would have liked him to give us all a pony, a la Oprah.

I did not see Curley’s comments, or else I would have included them for balance. I didn’t include AP Mobile in the main post because, in my opinion, it doesn’t break any new ground. But after looking at it again, I do have to admit that it’s certainly better that what you’ll get from most newspapers or TV stations on mobile.

So, detention half deserved. Though, as the nuns used to say, even if it isn’t deserved this time, I probably got away with something previously, so it all evens out.

:-)

You didn’t complete your homework.

A closer view of the AP’s operations would have included the impressive work of AP Mobile.

For a primer on this, see AP CEO Tom Curley’s remarks from Monday at the AP’s annual meeting in San Diego (with embedded link to a short video about AP Mobile): http://tinyurl.com/dhq7td

Quoting Tom: “More than 1,100 of you [newspapers] have signed up to make your own branded news available on AP Mobile, and monthly traffic has topped 38 million page views. This week we started testing a paid mobile application with Blackberry. We’ll soon be rolling out a pilot program for local ad sales. Many members – like the Las Vegas Review-Journal – are pressing to become the local news leader in mobile.”

Paul Colford
AP Director of Media Relations

I hope against all hope that AP, or someone similarly situated, will take it and run.

The next original idea he comes up with will be the first one.

Dean Singleton: Failure at running his chain. Failure as an AP board member. Failure at journalism. Failure at life.