Tesar-Reynes

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As a PR man, I’ve taken notice of the changes the newspaper industry has made lately. It’s no secret that print media has suffered as a result of readers going online for their news.

The Economist wrote a great article a few weeks ago, American media on the brink, about this very phenomenon. One interesting point the weekly makes is that papers are starting to refer to their online reporters as “content providers.”

This sticks out in my mind because when I first thought about writing for this blog, I thought of myself as a content provider, not a blog writer. This was my job function at my internship with Blue Cross Blue Shield. I consider it to be my job function here at Tesar-Reynes.

One of the first things I learned as a Web content editor at Blue Cross Blue Shield is that people read differently on the Web than they do in print. The newspaper industry has had to learn this too with the online editions of their papers.

In the NY Times Talk to the Newsroom column last week, Deputy Managing Editor Jonathan Landman, who is responsible for The Times’s digital journalism, spoke on the subject.

At one point, he goes into a lengthy Q&A about a column that appeared in The NY Times Magazine by Emily Gould. Gould wrote about her experiences as a professional blogger. The front-page article had mixed reviews and a total of 1216 comments.

I enjoyed the article. Gould captured all the quirks and complexities of an online life.

Those that didn’t enjoy her piece seemed to question its journalistic quality. Why wouldn’t they? Most print readers probably yawn at the perils of a blog addict.

The Potential of Online Marketing

Social media is still very alien to most. We’ve only begun to tap its potential.

I give credit to Tony for realizing this. He’s had his doubts about this blog. Don’t get me wrong – it was his idea. Sitting in that first meeting with him, I could see the sparkle in his eye.

His daughter has been very successful with her blog at Catavino. I think he saw the same potential for this blog.

I wonder how other marketers feel about the Internet. We’re only beginning to crack the code and find new ways to market our products online.

Maybe it’s the company who hires a usability team to craft a user-friendly experience for their online shoppers.

Or the advertisers who work with Web designers to create interactive online advertising (like those Orbitz games you love so much).

Or people like Tony and me working together to write this blog.

I think maybe the newspaper industry has realized this potential also. They’ve had to adjust to this new medium the same as marketers. Hell, we should all embrace it, shouldn’t we?