The Washington City Paper posted a leaked memo of The Washington Post with their 10 Web principles. The memo was directed at the newsroom staff and it says in essence: “we are taking the Web serious and so should you”.
Although this memo is being ridiculed in comments, I think it is brave to write such principles down and it shows that even today print journalists see the Web as their “enemy” or a necessary evil.
Jeff Jarvis comments rightfully so that ”these principles still show that the paper thinks it is at the center. It’s all about how they operate as an institution. They need to break down their walls and recast their role in the world around them.” But the real challenge for any “formerly single-medium” company, like the Post, is to start to put their audience at the center of their thinking rather than their product or the medium.
That is a paradigm-shift for many “formerly single-medium” companies*, and as with any paradigm-shift: it takes some time. Therefore: hurray for the efforts of The Washington Post.
*this includes newspaper, magazine, television and online companies
