Printed media are inflexible, expensive and in-viral, and that’s why its utility will last. That’s what I told nearly 100 mostly older, more established attendees of the annual American Association of Independent News Distributors conference inside the Times Square Crowne Plaza May 1. Looking on it now, having not been given my context, my words were likely a little surprising and surely unusual.
I was there because I was asked to give a lunchtime keynote based entirely on a post I wrote about print’s longevity in 2011 that was shared more recently by someone on Linkedin. (Thanks Cary!)
My setup for being there was that as an online-only technology news publisher, my continued interest in using print as a medium shows promise. Some seemed startled by my presence and my words — most there still print and deliver newspapers in the same way they have for decades. Others were kind and celebrated my outside perspective. (One attendee was tweeting)
What I told them that the way print will remain relevant, that solution is in the problem. Those qualities that challenge the future of print should instead be embraced as their value. Instead, print should be seen as specialized, premium and focused.
Below see my slides. (The only audience question I got was about technology coverage in New Jersey)