Out of the woods and beyond: The future of journalism

Where can one find solid ground when so many people, working in and outside of journalism, are pessimistic about this profession? A survey by the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University looked at this dilemma. 

They interviewed 50 news leaders and this is what some notable leaders had to say on the topic of journalism, its financial success and growth.

“The pay model strategy is deceptively simple. It is making something worth paying for. You can call it marketing strategy, you can call it a digital subscription strategy. But at the end of the day, it’s making something worth paying for.” — A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times

“Quite honestly, we’re approaching what I would probably characterize as the death of the 15-inch story. Because if it can’t prove itself to be really worth the investment of time and then you create a really great, rich narrative experience with the interactive graphics and the videos as well as the narrative writing, if the story doesn’t merit that, it really then needs to be in that bucket of being much more utilitarian and much more scannable.” — Randy Lovely, who recently retired as Gannett’s vice president of community news

The business model of Texas Tribune was also discussed and applauded for its contribution to journalism. 

The survey went on to conclude with the fact that success lies in connecting content with the listener and not just focusing on producing quality content. There has to be an intellectual connection with the audience.

The panel will discuss where to go next with the results generated from this survey.