John Hartigan - Opening Address, PANPA Future Forum

John Hartigan

Chairman and Chief Executive, News Limited

Opening Address Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association (PANPA)

Annual Future Forum Conference Sydney

Good morning. Today I want to talk about a tipping point that heralds the most exciting era for journalism.

The most exciting era ever. This tipping point is already upon us. It has arrived at lightning speed, with the explosion in demand for mobile devices.

 I am not consigning newspapers to the scrapheap. Not by a long shot. But this tipping point is going to change journalism forever.

In my opinion, very much for the better. My contention today is a bold one. If I am correct, it will make newspaper publishers more successful than ever.

My contention is this - We have the opportunity to move from setting the agenda each morning....to actually owning the agenda. All day. Every day.

We have a chance to attract more readers, viewers and listeners than ever before. In ways we never thought possible.

 Because until now, they weren’t possible. The editorial stars of this new age will be those who are innovative, creative and entrepreneurial.

They will be the ones who: · really understand what their audiences want; · know how to exploit the new technology; and, · can put the two together to create and publish content people will pay for.

Traditional newspaper publishers, far from being threatened by technology, should be capitalising on it.

Newspaper proprietors, managements and editors have a responsibility to take their editorial staff on this new journey. Journalists themselves have a unique opportunity to get involved. I

f they are willing to seize the opportunity, they will see how exciting and rewarding this journey can be. This means changing almost everything we do.

It means:

• Reconfiguring our newsrooms
• Re-skilling our editorial staff
• Identifying the most creative and entrepreneurial people and
• Giving them the tools and the autonomy to be adventurous and truly innovative

 

Instead of assuming that our scale and market power is unassailable, we have to start thinking like an entrepreneurial start-up.

Full transcript is attached.