Leading the Times with positivity
New York Times boss Mark Thompson says there’s never been a better time to be a journalist.
Australian media must continue to produce quality journalism and take risks if it is to survive and thrive in the digital age, says New York Times boss Mark Thompson.
Speaking with Paul Barry of ABC’s Media Watch at a talk hosted by the Walkley Foundation at the MCA in Sydney on Friday, Mr Thompson breathed positivity into a room packed with Sydney journalists, publishers and media people, who hung off his every word.
President and CEO of the New York Times since 2012, Mr Thompson has overseen the digital transformation of one of the world’s most respected media companies. The Times is increasing its workforce and digital revenues in a period when almost all other media is going the other way.
With 3.5million digital subscribers and a realistic goal of reaching 10million by 2025, the company generated more than $709million in digital revenue last year. It’s a model many would like to emulate. But is that possible in Australia, Paul Barry asked.
“Our theory is a different one and super simple,” Mr Thompson said.
“We think if we can make great journalism and we market it effectively and package it in digital assets, and they’re good assets … by presenting those assets to the people around the world, we can persuade them to subscribe.
“If you make something good, put it into the shop window, people come in and buy it, you get revenue and you can invest in making more good things.”
Mr Thompson insisted 2019 was “the best time to be a journalist”, even though it often didn’t feel like it.
“Around the world, more journalists are being prevented from doing their work, are being harassed, are being arrested, are being convicted, are being sent to jail … are being injured and murdered,” he said.
“And the climate … the free and open access to the world’s population to news you can trust is darkening. And it’s getting worse … because of a deliberate set of policies by different political factions and by many governments. And people don’t like what we do. The President of the United States describes The New York Times as ‘the enemy of the people!’.”
Mr Thompson said this all had the effect of “muddying the waters” for journalists.
But The New York Times was resisting, with “distinctive journalism, investigative journalism … journalism of revolution, holding politicians to account, big businesses to account and powerful individuals to account”.
Mr Thompson said journalism’s biggest challenge was still an economic one, with old business models under acute stress and news organisations trying — sometimes unsuccessfully — to make up for it on the digital side.
“The new digital publishers are struggling,” he said, citing organisations such as the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and Vice. He said this type of media may benefit from looking at a consolidatory approach and economies of scale.
For legacy media in the digital space, now is time to build resources and “invest in journalism” rather than cutting back, he advised.
Media has to be more open minded about what they can do, breaking out of traditional norms and adapting to new technologies. Mr Thompson warned that failing to adapt to today’s technology was a “certain path to the grave”.
“Live a little, try to find ways to differentiate yourself,” he said.
Laura Baehny is a journalism student at Macleay College in Sydney with a passion for travel, cultures and investigative journalism. Her website is here and you can follow her on Twitter here.
Additional reporting & images by Emma Gillman, who is also a journalism student at Macleay College in Sydney.
