Jim Crutchfield shares vision of newspaper, Ohio.com in 2010
In half-hour presentations at 11 a.m., 6 p.m. and 11p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, Publisher Jim Crutchfield shared his vision of what the Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com will look like in 2010. Greater integration with Ohio.com will be key, he said, stressing the Beacon Journal's role as a media company rather than a newspaper company.
"Credibility is really what we sell," said Crutchfield. To that end, news and information in 2010 will bedelivered in a continuous cycle that will involve,among others, the printed newspaper, Ohio.com, Beacon Journal Digital, CareerBuilder weekly magazine, Luxury Living magazine and "Beacon Buddy," a technology developed and named by John Vicars, information technology. Beacon Buddy will alert and link readers to the stories that interest them -- as soon asthe stories are published online. By 2010, labor costs will be in line with other newspapers (right now, the Beacon Journal is about 6 percentage points higher than comparable companies);revenue growth will be outpacing expense growth; and profit margins will have risen by about 10 percentage points.
Through advertising, trade deals on cable TV and partnerships with Cleveland sports teams, the newspaperwill have a greater presence in the Akron-Clevelandarea. Expanding market share northward will open opportunities to double revenue. Employees will understand how their roles make adifference in a workplace that will have become a model of pay for performance.A new phone system (scheduled for 2006), wireless access in the newsroom and interactive Web sites will have become the norm.
Among other changes, customers will be placing ads online, and advertisers will be selling items "not advertising" online.Through acquisitions and the development of new weekly and daily newspapers, there will be more products like 77 South to capture the smaller, local markets, freeing the Beacon Journal to focus on larger advertisersand major content initiatives.The benefits of the Mactive installation, which went live on Monday, Aug. 15, will have paid off, centralizing accounting and advertising data, giving sales staff more time for selling, and improving customer service in both departments. By 2010, sub-ZIP zoning software will have carved out 130 zones, giving advertisers three times the targeting capability than they had in 2005. Software toward that end was installed last week.Crutchfield followed up each presentation with aquestion-and-answer session.
Among other comments following the 11 a.m. presentation, he expressed sadness at the sale of the Detroit Free Press, but said heunderstood Knight Ridder's reasoning. He talked about a future in which technology would make news gatherers of ordinary citizens, citing the need for extra vigilance in the newsroom. He said he did not expect to see dramatic changes in staffing levels. [Reprinted from Hot Type]
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