PressEthic

In response to sagging newspaper sales and online competition, Gannet Co. Inc. has decided to change the way it reports news. This change, already implemented at other major news outlets throughout the world, may just save the industry. According to an article in Editor and Publisher:

“Gannett Co. Inc. will overhaul its 89 local newsrooms to report stories around the clock using text, audio and video.”

"The focus is on getting the news out as quickly as possible on the information you gathered, and at the end of the day that process helps you construct the newspaper," said [Craig Dublow, Gannett’s chief executive in a memo to employees.]

I believe this is fabulous news for the newspaper industry, which thus far, except for several of the major news outlets, has seemed resistant to change.

According to an article in Reuters:

“Web sites of papers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post break news on a 24-hour cycle and use video and blogs to enhance what print journalists produce. But at many papers, online staff operate separately from print reporters and editors.”

“Gannett's move shows that its newsrooms are trying to overcome resistance to change, said O. Ricardo Pimentel, editorial page editor of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and a former Gannett reporter and editor.”

The Reuters article also states that reporters will file stories in increments during the day and enhance their work with different forms of new media.

This may translate into stranger and longer working hours for employees, but it means that the industry is finally changing with the times. This change may be just what the news industry needs to hang on, and someday in the near future, prosper from.