Categories: OLD Media Moves

Steiger: Reporters need to adapt

In a Q&A interview with PR Week about the redesign of the Wall Street Journal, Paul Steiger said that the changes to the paper will continue to force journalists to think about the best format to present a story.

Steiger said, “Back in the late 1990s, we started the relationship with CNBC. There was a real culture shock. We had a lot of reporters say, ‘No way am I going to let my story loose to TV’ or ‘I’m keeping my scoops for the morning.’ That’s over. That is so over.

“Readers understand, reporters and editors understand, that more of their impact is being felt in the 24/7 space. They have a vibrant, growing, profitable Web site to write for. And they’ve embraced it.

“The challenge is not so much keeping them interested and providing new opportunities, it’s adapting the coverage and business model[s] so that we remain a vibrant business enterprise and hopefully become more vibrant.

“The way you do that is by penetrating deeper into the Web. The acquisition of MarketWatch was a big help in doing that, along with organic growth internally. And then making the best use of our print position, which is why when everybody was trying to shy away from print, we made this huge investment to go into Saturday.

“I think this is a great place for reporters now. We still provide the best [daily] platform for long-form journalism, even as we’re offering all kinds of additional opportunities – on TV, on video, online, blogging. All of that stuff is proliferating here all the time. Today, I had three proposals from reporters for new blogs or verticals.”