Ten truths for B2B journalists

The annual conference of the American Society of Business Publications Editors (ASBPE) took place in the mid-west of the United States of America this year, in Kansas City, Missouri, 23 - 25 July, 2008. Top B2B editors from all over the country gather each year to debate issues in the industry, recognise the top B2B publications and websites at the annual Azbee awards, and honour young editors who have won scholarships from the Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI). South Africa's editor of Sales Guru, Kate Rau, was present as a recipient this year.

The fundamental truths of journalism, however, still apply in this changing world and the role of editors, particularly expert industry editors, will become increasingly important in sifting through the glut of information being pushed to global audiences - whichever media platform is deployed.

The digital divide

Keynote speaker at ASBPE this year was renowned B2B blogger and consultant, Paul Conley (paulconley.blogspot.com). A fervent evangelist of the imperative for print publishers to move to digital editions and embrace new technologies in reaching their audience, Conley spoke about the need for publishers in the US to change workflows and attitudes to ensure a future, while maintaining strict editorial ethics.

Although he sometimes feels as if he is banging his head against a proverbial brick wall, as a significant number of B2B publishers Stateside remain afraid of going anywhere near digital - not understanding new technologies, or afraid of losing revenue on their print titles.

"There are still only a small amount of journalists who know how to produce content for the web using mobile and wireless technology," he pointed out.

Ten truths

Conley had 10 truths for publishers and editors in his presentation entitled 'Putting the Web First' - and this applies to all B2B publishers, not just those in the US, as globally we are not all that different in our workflows or attitudes:

1. Web-only publishers believe that print B2B publishers are leaving money on the table. And Wall Street believes the same. Conley worries that they are right. That print publishers are continuing to miss opportunities.

2. We are all wire-service journalists now. When Conley came into journalism, wire services were the hardest jobs (everyone multitasking, working like a dog, huge newsrooms), we all knew that, he says. Daily newspapers were the second hardest. The easiest job was in B2B... We had monthly deadlines, did the same job for 30 years, mastered it, took long lunches. He explains it well, that it was sort of a trade off - the easier job, but without the perceived 'glamour' of newspapers. THOSE DAYS ARE OVER, Conley is emphatic. There are no more cushy jobs left anywhere and we will never be there again. We are all wire-service journalists now. We all have to work like animals 24/7. And it's only going to get worse. You will get crushed if you cannot work at the same level as the wire journalist, he believes.

3. You are a cost centre. Investors, brokers and publishers see editors as cost centres and a liability. Anytime you can get away with publishing with less editors, less journalists, basically less staff... publishers will. And the perennial arguments by editors about content and quality and ethics do not register with them. The bad news, says Conley, is that publishers are sending your job overseas; that amateurs are doing your job (through user-generated content and content aggregation); that marketers can do this job; and that lost jobs are lost forever… There is huge competitive pressure in the media market, particularly in the US where the market value of the top American newspaper companies has declined by billions of dollars in the past six weeks alone, and more than 2000 journalism jobs have been eliminated in the US.

4. But... the good news is that you're in charge of your future ("You don't need to tolerate a crappy job or a dumb boss!"). Conley points out that the barrier to entry to starting an online media business is low and easy, particularly with all the open source software around. He urges journalists and editors who are not appreciated to go work for yourselves, as digital media creates a freedom never before seen. The tipping point for online media is very near, he says and online is producing higher revenues than print in B2B journalism. Finally, he says, wealth is possible for ordinary journalists with extraordinary skills and knowledge.

5. The new generation of user is different. There are three key things to take note of if you want to be the best B2B media:

   • An ability to participate (in your industry).
     
   • The freedom to enhance (for your readers to engage with your content).
     
   • The possibility of a breakthrough (we in B2B have material that advances our readers' careers.)

   "All that this comes down to is something we know: copyright law. It doesn't work online any longer - most of those rights we yield to the audience now."

6. The next generation of users will be even more different. The media habits of the Net generation are as follows: they'll read that tiny text on the cellphone; they think email takes too long; they worry about the mess that print causes around the house and the planet; they multitask their multimedia (consuming up to three pieces of media at the same time all day); they increasingly have an aversion to print.

7. The generation after that will live in a media world we do not recognise. Children as young as five are already playing in virtual worlds online with avatars.

8. You can't teach culture. There's a difference between putting news online and creating online news. The difference is whether we live on the web or not. If we in the real world try take content and dump it on the web, we will lose. We live in the now, says Conley. Something is burning… take a pic and put it on the web. Blog about it. Immediately. That's the fundamental change. If our users are doing it, why are we not as B2B journalists? Conley points out that there is a fundamental change about how we think about information, how we produce and disseminate information. So if you look up from your desk and something is burning and you go onto your local media website and see no story - you then post it yourself.

9. The next generation of journalists are different (they are multitasking producers). Workflow determines priorities (it's time to pick sides - the money men find us editors difficult to be around). We need to alter the way we work, we need to stand up and be heard as professional journalists, reclaim market space and provide great, meaningful journalism on how new media can be used and how to best use it. We need to protect our jobs.

10. Ethics haven't changed online (and you shouldn't let them). Editors and journalists have a fundamental responsibility to the global audience out there to maintain ethical editorial standards - particularly in the onslaught of online. A last word from Conley: "This is who we are: we are journalists and this is a holy profession. We have made the decision to be on the side of right in the business world. If you cannot stop unethical behavior in your own company and in your newsroom, take it further. But take it up! Let us not disappoint this profession at this crucial time. We owe it to them."
    

• Marsland, along with fellow TABPI South Africa Editor's Chapter co-founder Natalia Thomson, managing editor of Now Media, were invited to ASBPE this year to host a discussion on content opportunities in Africa and international partnership opportunities.