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Change, because we must

One of the speakers at this year's Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association (PANPA) on the Gold Coast said something that rang true for me. Words to the effect that "newsrooms are the most resistant to change." Can't remember who that was, but he's right. When you're dealing with the demands of getting a book out the door each day, I can personally understand why the thought of adding online to your basket of worries is not greeted with joy.

That said, one of the things I took away from the collection of well above-average presentations at PANPA was a sense that the newspaper industry understands full well the scale of change required to act in their best interest, and that of the traditional "audience", as "new" media quickly becomes the "normal" media we all use on a daily basis.

Cameron Reilly has done part of my reporting job for me with this post. He even recorded a video podcast with yours truly and Hugh Martin. Man, I agree with Hugh's sentiments. Cam, *lift* the camera up next time to look after our egos! : )

Finally, here's my pic of the better quotes from Monday's proceedings. Enjoy.

Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer

“I have quite an elaborate view of the media. At least you are mixing with someone who is held in as low a regard as you.”

Gold Coast Publications editor in chief Bob Gordon

“The only people writing letters to the editor are people over 50 with long socks.”

PANPA President Robert Whitehead

“We no longer fear change, we no longer fear the future, we no longer question our role.”

“We are one of the few media anywhere where the readers actually look forward to the advertising we carry.”

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel

“We must make sure the existing players will not be allowed to use their power to close down new forms of competition.”

Fairfax CEO David Kirk

“Media is always evolving, changing, and the audience is always fragmenting. That has always been the case but it’s fair to say it’s accelerating.”

Media analyst Jim Chisholm

“None of you would pay to watch content on your TV.”

Rebecca Huntley, author, writer & social researcher, on why “Generation Y” is different.

“Mobile phones are a reflection of who you are and an extension of your personality.”

“I actually think technology has changed this generation’s approach to time and space.”

Mark Jones, IT Editor, The Australian Financial Review (yes, I’m actually quoting myself before C. Reilly is true to his word and steals this quote for himself… heh. ; )

“What we’re seeing now is the rise of conversation journalism.”

TechBloggers

A quick thumbs up to Frank Arrigo and the Microsoft execs who hosted a 'Microsoft bloggers' brunch at TechEd in Sydney this morning.

One of the PR women there looked at me suspiciously (and I can't blame her) when I said I was impressed. The group of 20-odd people comprised of bloggers, media and Microsoft execs spent 1.5 hrs talking all things Vista. It was an open, honest conversation. We had questions and they had answers. If they didn't have answers, they said as much as they knew.

This sort of dialogue represents a subtle, but significant shift in the way tech companies relate to key influencers. Microsoft has recognised that bloggers and media are opposite sides of the same coin, and a new approach to disseminating information is now required. The press release and press conference is dead. The new era is about conversations that are open, transparent and yes, making the vendor vulnerable. But with vulnerability comes respect. And by 'respect' I don't mean that we stop asking hard questions. It's just that we expect real answers and Microsoft is one vendor apparently willing to dip their toe into this brave new world.

Retraction

Last week I wrote about a story I believed represented IP that was stolen from the AFR.

Today I received an email from my former colleague at the centre of that story who was very disappointed about the post and asked me to remove it from my blog and apologise.

I've done just that. This is the first time I can recall deleting a post. You don't do it lightly, so take that as an indication of my sincerity.

And no, I’ve not received any other correspondence or been instructed in any way by my employer.

To explain, I honestly regret that what was meant to be a cheeky post has been perceived as an attack on his character. That was certainly not my intent. Blogs, like email, can be misinterpreted. As for how the post reflected on my character, well that's just something I'll have to wear. We all make bad judgement calls, and since this is a personal blog, I'll stand up and say that was one of mine.

I’d like to make it very clear that I think Ben is one of the most talented IT journos in the country.

I heaped high praise on him during a speech to staff when he left. Despite what you might otherwise think now, I meant every word of it and have not changed my opinion.

My only option in a case like this is to set the record straight and fix the mess because I value relationships far more than competitive jousting.

Revenge of the paperback

The Om-ster notes that Boeing's "broadband in the sky" has died from lack of interest. Shame. I reckon the bigger question for all you jet-setters is whether you will be able to use a laptop at all in the future.

The British bomb scare means that there's a strong possibility we Aussies will eventually join the clear plastic bag crowd. Ironically, it's good news for those of us in the dead tree business.

Dell's spoiler

You might have noticed we ran a Q&A with Michael Dell in Monday's AFR. It's was purchased from the good folks at CNet.com.au - here's the original version.

For those of you interested in media machinations, you might be interested to know that yes, this was a good old fashion spoiler. Dell's PR machine, in their infinite wisdom, had decided they would give an exclusive interview with Michael Dell to The Australian during his flying visit to Sydney on Monday.

Naturally enough, I was none too happy when I found out a week before the event when proactively asking for an interview. I was outraged, actually. Here's my logic: Dell gets 85 per cent of its revenues from corporate IT. The AFR is the single most important daily source of IT news for the top tier of business executives in this country. Yes, I'm biased, but the most recent McNair survey of Aussie IT media backs up my argument. Meanwhile, Dell is under the hammer at the moment. What's needed is a publication that can ask the tough questions, I told them. The argument fell on deaf ears.

So I did what any good editor would do with knowledge of his competitors plans and ran the spoiler on the day of the media briefing, complete with a news story highlighting Dell's 42 per cent share price slide in the past 12 months. Can't have made Dell PR happy on the day when the Big Boss came to town. Meanwhile, turns out The Aus did not run what Dell PR people said would be a "World According To... " Q&A with Michael Dell on Tuesday, the day after the briefing. Instead they had a short news yarn, as did I.

The net of all this is that Dell missed out on getting a Q&A in either publication and managed to offend one, if not two, editors. And both publications missed out on a good opportunity to provide our readers with more insight into the world's biggest PC maker and its founder. I'd argue it wasn't me who did the spoiling.

Update: The Aus published their Q&A today, a week after the event.

Now you see it, now you don't

Telstra's Rod Breum in this post said we'd never run a letter to the editor from Ericsson's local chief Bill Zikou complaining about AFR coverage. It ran it today's paper.

But curiously, if you look at the public list of stories on Rod's blog here, it seems the post has been removed. What's up with that Rod?