That’s the title of Tom Watson’s feature in the new issue of Canadian Business. It looks at how the big players in the Canadian media biz — The Globe, Star, Postmedia, and Sun Media — are all working different strategies as they try to figure out how to make money in a business environment that has changed almost unrecognizeably since the National Post was launched.
That’s the title of Tom Watson’s feature in the new issue of Canadian Business. It looks at how the big players in the Canadian media biz — The Globe, Star, Postmedia, and Sun Media — are all working different strategies as they try to figure out how to make money in a business environment that has changed almost unrecognizeably since the National Post was launched.
Here’s the key passage, outlining Paul Godfrey’s “digital first” strategy for Postmedia:
Godfrey, who has what he considers real money on the line, insists the Post is on the verge of profitability. And he says it won’t start bleeding again because Postmedia will dramatically attack costs associated with traditional newspapers. There will still be printed products from the old Southam chain, but they won’t be breaking news.
“Instead of taping me right now,” Godfrey says, “you’d be collecting video. The editorial guys are going to have to carry webcams. When a story breaks, we’ll issue alerts on cellphones and mobile devices. Then the story goes on the web. Editors will be digital media curators. Video clips will be sent out to all the social-networking streams. And ultimately, the stories of the day are wrapped up in print.” Four years from now, Godfrey says, Postmedia will have “a content division and a sales and marketing division. That’s it. Everything else will be centralized or outsourced.”