A week rarely passes without at least two requests coming my way for a "digital person". Normally the person asking me for references works for a traditional publication, namely a newspaper. Sometimes they are not sure what position they wish to fill. It is not always a sure bet that the opening is for a "mobile editor"---although, in most cases, it should be.
As it evolves, there is an opening in the newsroom, there are no abundant resources to go around, and editors know that this person should have an ample digital background. That is how the conversation starts.
Ironically, usually there is not a big difference between the terms "designer" and "digital person". It is as if the editors wish to engage visual journalists who can work across platforms.
This, in my view, is the most difficult person to find today, but not impossible. Recently, I have thought that the traditional ways of getting into a newsroom, and gaining promotions, has gone the way of the typewriter and the pica ruler.
Now, an interview with Marty Baron, of The Washington Post, enhances my notion. Published by Capital, the so-called "60-second interview" (impossible to ask all those questions in 60 seconds, so the title is somewhat misleading), reveals some insights of how The Post is hiring these days. No surprises, as I know at least one of their most recent hires, Jeremy Gilbert, formerly of Poynter and Medill (as well as National Geographic), is the Post's new Director of Strategic Initiatives.
In the Capital interview, Editor Baron mentions the following:
"We've said all along ....... that the goals have been digital growth and digital transformation. In order to achieve those goals, we think we need to hire people who are fundamentally digital. They've sort of grown up in the digital world, they've written primarily for digital platforms, and that's what we've been looking for. Our view is that the web is a different medium, and it calls for a different form of storytelling.
"They call for a digital form of expression, and we want to hire people who are both steeped in the subject matter but also steeped in the medium. And that's what we've looked for there. But, you know, there's certainly no bar on hiring people who've come up the traditional way."
While, as Baron says, there is no bar on hiring those coming thru the traditional routes, I doubt that those candidates will receive the attention as those who can prove that they are adept at storytelling across platforms.
There is nothing to lament about this. Indeed, this will make more working journalists polish up their digital skills, knowing that nobody is turning the clock back. It is a media quartet world waiting to be populated by practitioners who understand it and can play more than one instrument.
Of related interest
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/07/8549979/60-second-interview-marty-baron-editor-emthe-washington-postem
