Do you have time to innovate?

Posted by on . 3 comments.

Mindy McAdams suggests that newsroom staffers be given 10% of their time to work on their own projects to help facilitate innovation.

The BBC implemented a 10% policy, and it has already yielded tangible results. You can now download BBC podcasts wirelessly with an iPhone and iPod Touch. This feature makes it easier for users to get BBC content, which will help spread it.

The idea of personal time is patterned after the widely publicized Google 20% time. It has worked well for Google with Web applications like GMAIL coming out of 20% time. GMAIL rocks by the way.

Most of us can agree that newsrooms are far too understaffed to allow this kind of innovation. In fact, many of you aren’t even allowed to take breaks away from your desks because you have so much work to do. McAdams realizes this will probably never happen (but we can dream!):

I admit, I have a hard time imagining that this would work in any newsroom I’ve ever seen or heard about.

But what a great idea, eh? I can easily imagine how the results could be wonderful for the end product.

Innovation that does happen at newspapers is often the result of employees working extra then from any systematic process. But that’s why so many papers are failing. There is no culture of innovation.

Innovation needs incubation.

So, do you give your staffers the time necessary to make cool products that will attract more readers?

Or are they held down by the daily grind?

And no I do not have 10% time.

  • http://www.megantaylor.org Megan Taylor

    Between jobs and classes, I don’t have time to innovate either. Can I get a 10% time refund please?

  • http://www.bymattking.com Matt King

    As a reporter who loathes stopping what I consider real work to cover breaking “news” (car wrecks and fires and such), I love the the idea of getting a half-day each week to focus on whatever I want, free of the scanner and the weather story.

    But as a reporter who cut his teeth at a paper that required two-plus stories a day, I also know my time to work on projects is mostly a matter of planning and discipline.

    My guess is reporters at a paper of any size (say 20k or higher) have more time than they like to admit.

    Coming from another angle, I think more reporters would be willing to work on their time if the pay came close to justifying it.

    That said, I’d happily take the 10 percent.

  • http://www.patthorntonfiles.com pat

    Matt,

    I think the pay issue might be part of it. What’s the incentive to innovate and work harder if you get paid poorly and your raises are below inflation?

    I know reporters spend time suffering the Web, but I’m sure Google employees do too. Innovation needs inspiration, and that’s what the Web can provide.

    I think 10% has to be company wide, otherwise it is just one employee going above and beyond. GMAIL was not created by one employee. Rather it was an employee coming up with an idea and getting other people to use their 20% time with him to make it happen.

    There needs to be a culture of innovation.