The executive director of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association is a well-travelled observer of the thinking by executives and practitioners on the craft and business of journalism.
When he vents a little, it pays to pay attention, because Earl Wilkinson has had enough with the "digital Taliban" and the notion they want to help the newspaper industry find solutions. He believes they're largely mischief-makers who might have good intentions for journalism but have neither interest nor aptitude to build a business plan or help newspapers survive.
"The Digital Utopiasts want the Bottom-Line Guys to fail so a new order can be imposed on how people consume information," he writes.
On the other hand, he's also frustrated with the inertia inside newspapering and the lack of identification of new value propositions that might position the business for better times.
He's interested in the middle ground, using the parameters of the digital enthusiasts to help furnish passion in the pursuit of new newspaper goals.
"How are newspapers, magazines, and professional purveyors of deep rich journalism different than the emerging chorus of clever and low cost-amateurs that are legitimately contributing to the emerging map that governs our daily lives?
I ask these questions because newspapers need to publicly provide good reasons to fight on. Many publishers believe this is a silly exercise, yet in the absence of differentiating reasons newspapers are being defined by critics who want to slit our throats and take our wallets."
When he vents a little, it pays to pay attention, because Earl Wilkinson has had enough with the "digital Taliban" and the notion they want to help the newspaper industry find solutions. He believes they're largely mischief-makers who might have good intentions for journalism but have neither interest nor aptitude to build a business plan or help newspapers survive.
"The Digital Utopiasts want the Bottom-Line Guys to fail so a new order can be imposed on how people consume information," he writes.
On the other hand, he's also frustrated with the inertia inside newspapering and the lack of identification of new value propositions that might position the business for better times.
He's interested in the middle ground, using the parameters of the digital enthusiasts to help furnish passion in the pursuit of new newspaper goals.
"How are newspapers, magazines, and professional purveyors of deep rich journalism different than the emerging chorus of clever and low cost-amateurs that are legitimately contributing to the emerging map that governs our daily lives?
I ask these questions because newspapers need to publicly provide good reasons to fight on. Many publishers believe this is a silly exercise, yet in the absence of differentiating reasons newspapers are being defined by critics who want to slit our throats and take our wallets."
