Change means nothing without a plan.
Plans mean nothing without actions. Editors, publishers, share holders, etc are all saying the industry needs to change. If I got an e-mail one day from my top editor or the publisher that said, “We must change immediately to tackle new challenges, and we must embrace the Web as our future. Big changes are ahead for this paper,” I’d respond with, “What does that mean? Thanks for stating the obvious.”
I’d want a list of exactly what we needed to change and why we need to change it. I’d further want to know the steps needed to make those changes happen and who or what departments will be implementing those changes. Otherwise it’s all just talk and buzzwords.
Every paper needs to change, some more than others. No one is immune from change, but we need more than change. We need actions, and we need people willing to do more than just talk.
My paper needs a lot of change just like yours. But it does no one good if I say we need change, and we need to embrace the Web, without considering the details.
Here is a quick list of things that need to be done at my paper:
- Databases – We need databases to help flesh out our content. But that means nothing. How are we going to produce them? We’ll need to hire someone to build them. But even if we hire someone to build them, what databases do we need to build and how can we integrate them with our traditional content? All of these questions should be answered.
- Multimedia – Every paper needs more multimedia. That tells me nothing. We need to train our print reporters and photographers to be able to create multimedia. The Web staff simply isn’t big enough to create enough on its own. Traditional journalists at Stripes need to become multimedia journalists. But that still means nothing. We need to train them, but that means nothing. A real action plan would detail how and when we would train them. And then it would detail some upcoming projects we could work on to train people with.
- New site design – Our site like almost every newspaper site is unattractive, hard to use, hard to search and not well liked by users. But we all know that. If we’re going to redesign our site, we need consider what changes need to be made, why they need to be made and most importantly how they will be made. Who is going to redesign and code the site? How well will a new design interact with our CMS?
- Blogs – Our blogs and bloggers need work. That describes almost every paper. But how will we make them better? Saying that they need to improve means nothing. We need an action plan and someone to implement those actions.
- Training – This is the four-letter word at every paper, but how can we honestly expect traditional journalists to become online or multimedia journalists without training? Magic? Is that our solution? No, if we want people to change, we need to figure out how they will change and what their new roles will be.
The devil is in the details. If you don’t know newspapers need change, you shouldn’t be working at a newspaper.
It is inappropriate for top editors and publishers to mandate change without a detailed plan for how to change. Frankly, most top editors and publishers probably don’t know what change really is needed, which is probably why their proclamations are usually so maddeningly vague. So, if you don’t know, ask someone who does.
Every newspaper has young, Web savvy people who can be a great resource. Heck your whole staff is a great resource. Ask your staff what resources they would need to implement changes.
How often do you ask random reporters, copy editors, producers, etc what they think of the product and how they would improve? Great leaders are also great listeners.
A quick check list for implementing change:
- Figure out what needs to be changed and why. A good place to start is by asking your users — the people you’re supposed to be serving.
- Figure out who or what departments will be working on what changes and when.
- Figure out how each change will occur. Start from the bottom up, not top down. The people going to make the biggest splash at your paper on the Web are at the bottom of the totem pole.
- If you need employees to have new skills, detail how they will obtain those skills. Will they be trained? If so, what kind of training will they receive and when? Or will they be expected to learn them on their own by a certain date?
- If you want your staff to become more Web savvy, why don’t you have them complete a program like Howard Owens is suggesting for non-wired journalists? Just telling people to become more Web savvy means nothing. Tell them how to do it, with a specific check list of actions that need to be completed. Offer some sort of reward or compensation for completing the list within a certain time frame.
Change doesn’t happen because you say it will. Changes happens because you make it happen.
Make change happen.
