Multimedia business culture
Christophe Juliá, Director of Production and Support at La Dépêche summed up the situation in an interview: the direction of synergy between channels no longer always runs from the printed to the digital product. Within its successful La Dépêche Premium project - its digital pay space for subscribers - they have prepared products that are specifically designed for tablets which have later been adapted for their printed product.
This experience, which at first sight might not look particularly significant, is, in my opinion, more important than it seems: it shows that the transformation process which the newspaper industry is undergoing is advancing inexorably even in the heartlands of Europe, where so many newsrooms have proved resistant to change. The multimedia culture is the only way to deal with the future. Pigeonholing of content for the print edition, the web or a specific type of medium is no longer feasible. The journalist has to develop a story, content, in the most appropriate manner for each channel based on his/her “understanding” of the “sociological” nature of each medium -the possibilities it offers, its type of users etc.
Similarly, the rest of the areas or departments which are not the newsroom have to adjust their work and functions to this same multimedia culture: either an “integrated living being” is achieved or the company-brand in question will languish and then disappear. Without synergy, without blended business management, everything unravels and loses the power to attract the public.
This approach, which is now considered to be obvious, has taken too long to become accepted. Some companies have wasted valuable time in trying to convince and adapt their professionals to the new multimedia culture. There are various reasons for this, but rather than dwell on why this occurred, it is important to look ahead and not remain stuck in the past with the wrong policy. Our brands are still important, they still provide a benchmark for our communities: there’s still time! Let’s take this as our starting point to develop an intelligent multimedia strategy, one in which all of our professionals are involved.