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SA media businesses left behind by digital wave? 10/29/2009

After two days of lecturing on digital strategies for the print media to a class of mainly print media journalism interns I mentioned on Twitter and Facebook that my experience of South African media companies confirms a recent Forrester Consulting survey which shows a clear need for print media to catch up to consumer behavior. My engagement with the interns underscored this opinion.

The reaction I got was two-fold, one being that it reflects badly on the quality of the interns; two, that it reflects badly on the educational institutions the (2008 graduated) interns come from. Many a seasoned journalist and ex-colleague were quick to jump to the conclusion that I (also) think the new generation of reporters joining their ranks are not fit for the job – i.e. they can’t spell, and they are ignorant and lazy.

Although one or both inferences could be made from my cryptic comment and it might even be true in some instances, that is actually not the real reason for my concern. Because the interns are not to be blamed for their lack of understanding of the digital challenges facing the industry they have chosen to join.

Maybe I have expected young people of the so-called digital native generation to be ready for the new challenges just because they are young and all happen to have mobile phones and a Facebook page. That is a flawed assumption.

The real culprits in this tragic state of affairs of an industry that was once at the forefront of the digital wave in the late nineties, are manifold. And, yes it is somewhat unfair to generalise by including the entire SA media in my criticism. But what I do know from my experience with the majority of media companies in South Africa is that they are at this point way behind the digital wave sweeping the world. Sometimes I wonder if they will ever catch up again.

It is not so much about the technology or creating websites and mobi sites and Facebook groups and twitter accounts, but their ability to grasp the social dynamic in the markets they operate in. It is about moving with the consumers, with their readers, and their ability to resonate with the digital natives.

I can count on one hand the newspapers and magazines that have a well developed digital strategy and execute on it. By digital I include all digital platforms and channels available, some for more than a decade, others for the past two or three years.

What really disturbed me as a “media native” was to see how little a grasp these young interns had of the changing media landscape, the real threat of collapse of media giants, the imminent closure of more newspaper and magazine, and the challenges facing journalism. Most alarming was their lack of skills to utilise the abundance of new digital tools, and their outdated “old school” mindsets.

And that is a sad reflection on the institutions which call themselves journalism schools and academies, many who have lost contact with reality.

And it is even more of a reflection on the media companies itself who do not take the lead in showing the way. They simply do not inspire or lead these young interns to face these challenges. After several years of tertiary education and journalism training, and in this specific case, six months of exposure (i.e. hands-on work at print publications) these prospective journalists should have had a basic grasp of all things media and an understanding of the dynamics they will have to deal with.

And even if they somehow get up to speed in months to come before they are formally employed and enter the newsrooms, what will their experiences (frustrations) be in those newsrooms which have failed to inspire them in the first place?

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