Editing vs. curation and the evolution of Forbes

Chief product officer Lewis Dvorkin writes about how Forbes magazine is evolving as the traditional role of editing is changing.

Forbes writes, “The Forbes news experience, like so many others, is evolving, but we remain steadfast in our focus on editing, or curation. The thing is, our competitors look different. They don’t so much resemble our fellow Big Media companies any more. They increasingly look like you and me — that is, members of the news audience.

“On the Web today, knowledgeable people can publish content for next to nothing. With the tools of social media, those same people can build followings for next to nothing. Both are what Forbes  and other traditional players do — for significantly more than nothing. Bottom line: there are lots of new, talented editor-curators out there who are attracting an audience using different labor, distribution and economic models.

“Forbes is adapting to this world while still adhering to what made us a trusted business news provider. In addition to our full-time staff of experienced editors and reporters, these very same talented journalists are recruiting hundreds of qualified contributors — in effect, curators — to create content that our audience wants. Forbes is ‘editing’ these curators by carefully selecting them (just as we do our full-time reporters) based on their own knowledge and skill. Then we give them the tools and support to publish expert content and attract an audience under the larger Forbes umbrella.”

Read more here.