This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, September 9
TAKEAWAY: Jeff Bezos wants to put the customer first at his newly acquired property, The Washington Post, a logical step for the man who applies that as his number-one rule at Amazon. Except that a newspaper is unlike any other business, as Bezos shall soon discover.
We now know a little bit more about the type of energy that Jeff Bezos, new and proud soon-to-be proprietor of The Washington Post, will bring to that iconic institution of quality journalism, investigative reporting of the highest level, and, of course, the legacy of Watergate .
Not that all his comments to the staff of The Post recently were very specific, but one in particular I am sure probably will be the first to signal the arrival of the Post’s new owner.
Not surprisingly, Bezos has reminded the Post team that the customers come first, something that anyone who has transacted business with Bezos’ other company, Amazon, knows happily well.
At Amazon things move fast, steadily and with little drama. You pick what you want, you order, and one click later it is done and then you get the Amazon box with what you ordered, or simply download your book to your mobile device. Done.
A newspaper is slightly different (an understatement, I know). Editors think of readers, not customers (I do know some editors who know ‘customers’). Editors and journalists generally also think of themselves as people on a mission to save the world, to protect the underdog, to reveal wrongdoing and to offer solutions to the globe’s ever-increasing problems. I doubt that many employees at Amazon come to work with all that missionary baggage in their backpacks.
But I am sure that there are many things that the Post’s journalists can learn from Bezos’ approach to business at Amazon.
Journalists and their mission
A disclaimer: I have been a consultant to The Washington Post, something that I am proud of. I had a tremendously wonderful time working with two talented individuals who are no longer there, Marcus Brauchli (still with the Post corporation, but not as editor), and Raju Narisetti (now with News Corp). Our task was to make changes in the Sunday edition of the Post three years ago. I feel that we accomplished that rather well.
The moment when one comes into the Post building, he gets the feeling that he is entering a sanctuary, an institution that inspires respect, where history echoes from every wall. Imagine the thrill of sitting in Ben Bradlee’s current office, although he was not there when I happened to be present. Doesn’t get better than that. You sit there, look around you and wonder what those walls, pictures and furniture have been witnesses to over decades of rich American and journalistic history.
Then, no matter what you decide to do while working there, you base your decision against the backdrop of the institution in which you are making those changes. As someone who has consulted with more than 600 publications during my career, I know how difficult it is NOT to forget the history (and why should we?). Eventually, however, every project moves forward, holding the past by one hand, but stepping firmly with the other into the future.
Bezos will have to do some of this, too. He knows that Amazon represents a start, while the Post is the continuity of a vast and rich legacy. Like all legacies, this one comes with its host of golden moments, assorted baggage and an occasional ghost or two.
It is a positive sign that Bezos seems to understand that legacy does not necessarily mean an obstacle to progress. He told the Post team that he was confident that old media like The Post could master the new technology landscape.
“There are arenas where the transformation was done by the incumbents,” he said, citing the example of Amazon which dominated the sale of print books and later adapted to the sale of e-books.
The journalistic crash course
However, Bezos might be wise to get a crash course on the difference between how people in almost any industry feel about their profession, and how traditional journalists feel about theirs.
He will find out that some journalists sometimes have a tendency to engage in a type of journalistic masturbation, satisfying their own needs, and NOT necessarily thinking about their readers, or should we say “customers”?
Some are also more interested in producing something for their peers, and not necessarily for the audience for which it is intended. The ultimate satisfaction may come more from peer acceptance and kudos than from what the readers.
Bezos needs to learn about how journalists think (most mean well, are passionate and relentless in the pursuit of the story), what makes them react (the thrill of that scoop), how they feel about marketing strategies that turns their newspaper into a product like chocolate or deodorant (not very fond of ushering those marketing types into their world).
What the audience wants
In fairness to publisher Katherine Weymouth, she does seem to have a soft spot for marketing and audience research. Ms. Weymouth appointed Laura Evans as Chief Experience Officer, a first for a US newspaper. We benefitted tremendously from Ms. Evans’ research and insights, some of which was implemented in the new Sunday product, as with the conversion of the Sunday Style section to a tabloid.
Journalists are men and women on a mission, Mr. Bezos. You may find that their mission could seem pointless to you, and even too expensive to pursue. It may be a mission to nowhere (is Pulitzer a destination?) but to them it is sacred, valid and uncompromising. It is a mission that involves authoritative, ethical and serious journalism. It is, in fact, the mission, and one that may have started when today’s editor was the editor of her high school newspaper.
You, Mr. Bezos, are a man on a mission, too. Your mission is to make the Post a global, financially stable organization that dispenses what those customers want, as Amazon does so well. Sort of go to a menu, make your choice, click on it and get full satisfaction. A happy customer who will come back for more. In our business, Mr. Bezos, that means coming back two hours from now for your new update, and again two hours later, and repeat the cycle six times tomorrow.
If you ask me—-and I have spent a lifetime talking to those customers in about 110 countries—-the readers’ mission is different from that of the journalists. I have said repeatedly that what gives the average newspaper editor a heart attack (the notion of upgrading the newspaper’s logo, for example), does not give the readers the common cold.
Serious, silly and profitable
The readers want the serious, but they also want to be entertained with the silly. They want to know what will happen next in Syria, but they are also fascinated by Beyonce’s new hairstyle, or the coming of age of Miley Cyrus.
I believe your Amazon team practices this already. Amazon caters to our whims and desires, the serious and the silly, and that’s why we find it convenient to come visit your store. I can buy a shark Halloween costume for my grandson, but then buy three books and two CDs, and even the replacement filters for my vacuum cleaner, all with a click. Amazon cuddles up to my mood, my impulses and my credit card.
Amazon is a serious business that does not take itself too seriously.
A newspaper such as the Post? Well, that’s another story, as you will soon find out.
Of related interest:
Bezos Is a Hit in a Washington Post Newsroom Visit
Highlight:
Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon’s founder and the prospective new owner of The Washington Post, assured newsroom employees on Wednesday that he was committed to preserving quality journalism, investing in news and making sure The Post adhered to his underlying philosophy about content: “Don’t be boring.”
A Message from Garcia for Mr. Bezos
http://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/pa_message_from_garcia_for_mr._bezos_p
For magazine lovers
Here is a publication that will delight all who love magazine and magazine design, not to mention that you will be helping one of this industry’s most talented designers and a personal best friend.
Last May, after former SPD President and design icon Bob Newman was hospitalized after suffering a severe head trauma, the design community came together to help. An online fund was established to assist with his mounting medical bills and now some of the top creatives in the world have teamed up and create a magazine to help raise additional funds.
It is great to report that our dear Bob is making steady progress, but it is a long road ahead till his full recovery. He still needs our support.
Jeremy Leslie of MagCulture and Andrew Losowsky of The Huffington Post gathered together 88 magazine makers from around the world to create My Favo(u)rite Magazine.
Go here for a preview, and details of how you may get this wonderful collection:
http://www.spd.org/2013/09/my-favourite-magazine-launches.php
For bicycle lovers
You will not find any text so to speak in this great graphic, an example of effective visual storytelling that will delight anyone who likes bicycles and wants to take a historic ride visiting every shape of bicycle and tricycle ever invented.
Go here:
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0211/4926/files/bicycle_layout_zoom.png?3057
It’s new logo for Yahoo!
For 30 days, Yahoo! displayed possible new logos. And now, finally, one has been chosen. The final Yahoo identity is really not one of the 30 iterations already shown. It features a bevelled 3D-style look, retaining the purple brand color and the famous exclamation mark, which now dances around the logo as well. In addition, the new logo abandons the previous serif font for a sans-serif.
http://www.yahoo.com/dailylogo
WAN IFRA: 6th Tablet & App Summit
October 7-8, Berlin
I am honored to be part of this program in which I will conduct about four different presentations dealing with storytelling across platforms, tablet edition design, the media quartet and the importance of design in today’s multi platform world.
There are still some places left for those wishing to attend the WAN IFRA 6th Tablet & App Summit.
Overview of the event:
http://www.wan-ifra.org/events/6th-tablet-app-summit
Program overview:
http://www.wan-ifra.org/events/6th-tablet-app-summit?view=sessions
Mario Garcia’s presentation:
http://www.wan-ifra.org/events/speakers/mario-garcia-1