In
his appearance yesterday with
Howie Kurtz on CNN's
Reliable Sources, new
USA Today Publisher
Larry Kramer said:
 |
| Kramer |
"I think we're going to have to move toward more pronounced voices. One of the definite changes in media in the last few years -- great media brands have become much more a compendium of multiple voices, not just one voice. I think both
USA Today and CNN for a long time concentrated on the news being the voice. Now, I think with Twitter and with all the different ways news is disseminated, people are looking for a little bit more of an interesting take on this story."
I agree with him and was impressed with the Kurtz interview. This seems to be a bright and earnest man who is a welcome department from the snake oil style of his predessor.
ReplyDeleteA turnip would be a welcome departure from Hunke. Smarter, too.
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ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of rebuilding of trust that will need to occur at USAT before anything else can be addressed. Words alone won't solve our problems. Kramer will need to repair broken relationships and forge new ones in order to move the product forward.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I don't see USAT ever returning to its journalistic glory days, online or in print. The bad rep that this brand has developed in the last few years has frightened off a lot of good people and hampered recruiting top talent.
USAT will have to reinvent itself as a result of burning its journalistic bridges. It will have to become something else. It can no longer compete with the likes of the NYT. I suspect Kramer was brought in to do just that, reinvent the product while claiming to embrace journalistic principles.
I dont want to sound like a broken record. but it starts with energetic news veterans who are demanding and hold people accountable. there arent many like that around the building now.
ReplyDeleteHe's bloviating too much already. Whether USAT fails or survives is no biggie for him, if he was smart enough to save his dough.
ReplyDeleteThis guy didnt take the job to fail at it. changes are coming. the big uncomfortable kind that shakes things up. Be afraid. Feel the fear. Enjoy the ride.
ReplyDeleteKramer has been here only a week or so, but that hasn't stopped him from hiring his first President and VP. Dave Hunke Part 2 I guess.
ReplyDelete4:34 Kramer hasn't hired anyone. Youa re thinking of someone else. 1:38 if you were actually here when Big Al started USAT you'd know that he wanted it to be the anti WP and NYT. It was NEVER designed to compete with them. You are literally reinventing history. Sorry if that hurts but it is absolutely the truth.
ReplyDeletePeople here don't know what they are talking about. They should stop acting as if they do.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, 5:22, of calling them out. We need more of that. Jim refuses to do it.
To 5:32PM, Jim doesn't need to call-out the bs because that's what we're all here to do and thanks to Jim there's a forum to do just that. I agree the naysayers are so bitter and in some cases rightfully so, that they no longer see any hope for a turnaround. I'm not convinced Kramer can do it either but he has the journalistic chops and maybe even the gravitas to right this ship by identifying and rewarding real talent and restoring accountability and integrity. We should all be willing to give him a fair shot at it. Let's wait to pick his carcass apart if needed change doesn't materialize.
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ReplyDelete"This guy didnt take the job to fail at it. changes are coming. the big uncomfortable kind that shakes things up. Be afraid. Feel the fear. Enjoy the ride."
I couldn't agree more.
5:22,
ReplyDelete4:34 here. We all received an announcement on the hiring of a new Travel President and VP. It was from Larry Kramer. I'm sure the search was in the works for a while, but his signature implies endorsement. Does it not?
Larry? Please tell us the farce that BEUSSE is engineering in Sports will not be repeated elsewhere. how will you get anyone worth a damn to stay or consider working here?
ReplyDeleteStronger voices? More like less minorities and older workers even those with great reviews. Great new management hires -- do they promise to make the company whiter and younger?
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