New realities of publishing

Earlier this year, a big news company asked if I’d speak to an offsite executive gathering. I asked the brief, since I tend to know there’s a reason you get trotted out. “We need to instill urgency,” was the reply.

For all the external challenges facing the publishing business these days, the biggest challenge for many organizations is overcoming complacency that sets in within any human organization.

Over my time covering this industry’s fitful transition to digital business models, I’ve noticed the gravitational pull of complacency from within legacy organizations that often chews up those embarking on meaningful change because change sucks. (As Rishad Tobaccowala says, while change sucks, irrelevance is worse.) Part of that is candor. Quibble with his use of the second person, but the Washington Post’s Will Lewis was using candor to instill urgency when reminding recalcitrant staff that this is a money-losing business that has a product problem. The blame game – journalists blame management and vice versa – doesn’t do much.

Part of the need to set what I like to call a new growth agenda for publishing requires being real about the current situation.