Good morning, Tuesday. The weather in NY is lovelier than lovely- keeps getting better and I say keep it coming. Makes one want to wake up and enjoy the am. Love it.
And speaking of wanting to wake up in the morning, my gig has me often thinking about the future, or furthermore, the future of print. As a producer who works with photographers and illustrators, the death knell sounded many years ago, back while I was still in Miami, an many in my trade were seeking resume boosters and other avenues of employment because our breed was on the verge of extinction. And then Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post.
Now I'm not saying that print is going to make a huge resurgence, though new magazines for niche types are enjoying some popularity (my new fav is Cherry Bombe). But what's going to happen with gazillionaires like Bezos and Buffett changing the way we think of news is that content is going to continue to evolve, and the constant need for it is only going to continue to grow. I find it so interesting that Silicon Valley titans are buying newspapers- after all, Jeff Bezos pretty much changed the way all of us shop- when I was a kid, if you told me I'd be buying shoes online while I wait for a friend to meet me for a coffee, I'd think you were nuts. So it stands to reason that digital content is going to enjoy a big moment when it comes to the printed word- I'm not sure that hard copy newspapers will go away, but it's going to be fun to watch the ever evolving machine of how our news gets delivered. And with Facebook being the new town crier (I find out about stuff on Facebook before Brian Williams does), I'm intrigued by the very notion of professional newsmaking- look for a major retweak of J school educations as well as a resurgence of interest in newspapers as the younger set blurs the line between Silicon Valley (tech) and storytelling (craft). And if Bezos has anything to do with it, the news is going to get more customized, accessible, and innovative. Regardless of newsprint or online media, there's big opportunities for marketers to revisit old grey ladies and icons when it comes to telling their stories. Because in my profession, no news is simply not good news.
Cause that's what's up this newsworthy Tuesday in the 212. Buy whatever you want on Amazon may have just saved one of the most iconic news vehicles in the country. Waking up just got more interesting. XO