John Temple’s paper is out of business but the former Rocky Mountain News editor and publisher isn’t. Following an exquisite takedown of the American Press Institute’s Craigslist approach to saving the newspaper industry, Temple heard from former Cox Newspapers head Jay Smith (pictured, right) and promptly asked for permission to post the veteran exec’s response (also cc’d to AP CEO Tom Curley). Smith, a former president of the Newspaper Association of America, agreed and the result is a glimpse into the thinking about missed opportunities and how to recapture them. (Via Romenesko)
Smith’s chief regrets about missed opportunities in the digital space:
— Not buying Prodigy: This occurred in the mid ’90s when several companies, including Cox, explored buying the pioneering online service. Cox is headquartered in Atlanta, a launch city for Prodigy. In one sentence, Smith sums up the frustrations so many newspaper people had at the cusp of the digital information age: “Divided over whether the focus should be on classifieds or news, the group bickered until the opportunity passed and was missed.”
— Not using AP as an industry business force: Smith thinks this one can still be “salvaged.” He explains — as we have here — that “individually, newspapers do not have the technological firepower to compete in the Internet world” (with a few exceptions like Tribune and Gannett (NYSE: GCI) with CareerBuilder and Cox with AutoTrader.com), while AP has the capacity and the access. But, he adds, “Sadly, I fear, the leaders of newspapers and newspaper companies have yet to place their faith in such a venture. Until and unless they do, our former colleagues will continue to thrash about in pursuit of the salvation they so desperately need.”
Smith, a former AP board member, may be right — I still don’t think an association like NAA is the right umbrella and AP connects a vast amount of newspapers either as members or clients. But his idea that “the AP can vacuum up and create a multitude of individual, albeit small, news and information businesses that collectively could approach something of real value for AP and its members” itself raises one of the greatest challenges: many media outlets don’t want to see the AP that way.
From his own experience, Temple isn’t sure AP is the answer either. He wants a common platform that allows for ingenuity and shared innovation a la the app development for iPhones: “I’m just not sure how we get there.”
It’s all very coulda, woulda, shoulda. Still, frankness and transparency are a start and possibly a way of moving past regrets into useful action. Worth reading the whole exchange if you’re following this debate.
Photo Credit: NAA.org
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