Neal R@nts

Okay newspapers... This Could Be Exciting

I love the newspaper.  I would read it cover to cover every day if I had the time (and I consider myself a pioneer of the online newspaper).  It's not that the news is necessarily "new", but I love the commentary and interactive puzzles.  That's right--completing the daily crossword and other puzzles is interactive.  But that's another topic for another day (making the print edition more interactive).

I realize that I am a focus group of one, but I can't help but point out that there are certain days of the week when I can't find a newspaper in a rack or local outlet anywhere.  I stopped having it delivered to my home because it was often wet; besides, my dog Darbey looks forward to the daily jaunts down to the corner store to buy the paper.  Last Friday evening, I came in from a business trip from Houston and wanted to pick up a copy of the local paper to see how the pundits and prognosticators were predicting the pigskin match-ups the next day.  I wanted a paper so badly that I went to eight different locations in search of a local paper and, in the end, went home paperless.  I went online to read.

Not to pick on just my local town, but I found the same to be true in Richmond, Virginia.  Finding a newspaper in a rack in Richmond past lunchtime seemed to always be disappointing, as all the racks and stores were completely depleted of inventory.  I realize that a newspaper has only a limited shelf life and that overstocks can be an expense independent carriers don't care to deal with.  I also realize that independent distributors consider their day done once they've supplied the various racks and stores with that day's product. 

But, given the current financial landscape, local newspapers can ill afford to not have product on the shelves when consumers are hungry for it.

I have an idea...

The afternoon paper has come and gone, but there is a market for news in the afternoons.  I propose a "late edition" newspaper that is a combination of 1) news stories from earlier in the day, but appended to include some of the better online commentary from readers who are commenting online.  As one of the first (if not the first) to add a section for local readers to comment and react to stories in the interactive realm, I quickly learned that a story in print is not the end, but rather, the beginning of many stories.  Once the consuming readers add their opinions, stories grow and take on a life of their own.  Stories are often advanced by the consuming community.  Publishing earlier stories along with some of the "best of" commentary from readers will have value to other readers and the consuming community (isn't it time for the online editions to help feed the offline editions and help make them be more relevant?).  I would also include 2) updated stories from earlier editions.  Often, new information gives us an opportunity to update stories.  New commentary and new quotes, perhaps added information--all could be included in the late edition.  Finally, I would include exclusive new stories that didn't appear in the early edition but have come in during the day.  I would likely have a different set of comics and puzzles to encourage overlap in readership between the early and late editions (crossword people would go plop down another seventy-five cents to get a couple more puzzles; trust me, I are one).

I would not only use the early edition to promote the stew out the new edition, I would also hire an agency to assist in getting the word out.  Too often, newspapers, in their arrogance believe they are great marketers.  Trust me on this: most are poor marketers.  Hire pros... please!

I realize that what I propose is not the usual way that newspapers conduct business, but frankly, business as usual isn't exactly going that well, is it?  What I propose is a way to restore timeliness, relevance, and innovation to the newspaper industry.  An afternoon edition would provide new, exclusive content that isn't available anywhere else.  Some might say that my proposal isn't unlike the old days of the "extra".  That's true.  I theorize that going to a single morning paper may have been a good idea in its day, but in order to restore brand relevance a late afternoon edition that is truly relevant may help the overall brand develop cutting edge news brand awareness with consumers.

I know the naysayers will throw up the distribution issue.  I acknowledge the obstacle, but what I would suggest is a model that does not include a home distribution option--at least not at first.  I would only distribute in racks and retail outlets.  That would eliminate the massive issues that come from having an entirely new set of independent carriers.  I would consider adding a new force of independent hawkers who can strategically position themselves in way to take advantage of bumper-to-bumper traffic in the afternoons.

I would price the late edition just like the morning edition. That really raises another question: isn't it just plain 'ole Econ 101 to consider the supply/demand relationship for dailies?  If Monday papers aren't selling at seventy-five cents, would they sell at twenty-five cents?  Now there's a marketing research project for someone to execute somewhere.  I propose that price elasticity for the daily newspaper varies by the day of the week.  But that's another topic for another day (so many topics, so little time).

I sincerely hope that some newspaper--somewhere has the intestinal fortitude to try what I am suggesting.  I think they will find that there will be at least a 5% overlap in readers from the morning edition and will find that there is a whole new crop of readers out there that prefer to read a paper when they get home, don't have time to read the paper when they get up in the morning, want access to stories that have been advanced by the community through their opinions, or want to read new content.

No guts, no glory.  If a newspaper publisher out there has an itch to try it, I'd gladly help them develop the model.

 

Gratitude and Loyalty Are Easy to Come By in a Bad Economy, But...

News Flash!  The economy stinks.

We live in unprecedented times.  Uncharted waters.  Not since the great depression have we been in such a state within our economy and I would argue that, for employers, it may be worse.  We are no longer a manufacturing, industrial economy.  We are a service/informational based economy that is heavily dependent on skilled professionals who are unbound by normal processes or taught methods.  These are people like those in media, advertising, and other creative pursuits--industries heavily reliant on the talent of individuals.  Put sales in that category too. That makes for dicey dealings in an economic climate such as ours.

In our economy, most businesses, in order to survive, have been doing the unthinkable.  Salaries have been cut, mandatory unpaid furloughs have been imposed, pension plans have been frozen, and stock options have been terminated (and existing options are so far under water that they are, in effect, worthless).    Many businesses have half the people doing twice the work these days. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

And the employee base, looking around and seeing that every tenth person is praying their unemployment doesn't run out before the economy rebounds, is grateful to be working and still drawing a paycheck.  They have no intention of going anywhere.  In a bad economy, loyalty runs deep.

It really begs the question--what happens when the economy turns?

There are really no more golden handcuffs.  Employers may think that those loyal employees will still remain loyal and grateful, or even their carefully crafted employment agreements with terms and conditions--particularly non-compete clauses--will be intact.

I'm not an employment lawyer, but I've been on both ends of employment agreements for many people.  I certainly know that all employment contracts are written differently.  But I also know that any one of the basic terms of any agreement, once breached, effectively renders the entire agreement null in many cases.  So if you're an employer who has imposed furloughs, cut salaries, etc. for contracted employees, those contracts may no longer be binding.  What an employee verbally agreed to will not likely have any bearing on the written terms.  It's more likely that agreements will be void.

I'm big on predictions.  I am going to predict that smart employers, anticipating the economic turnaround will see the signs and become protective, and at the same time, predatory.  They're going to know that there are no strings attaching employees.  Even if some employers don't see it coming, the headhunters are likely strategizing about the potential now.  The gloves will be off even before the economy turns to acquire top-level talent from companies who have left themselves vulnerable in a down economy.  "I'll make it up to you someday" won't be good enough.  And all that gratitude and loyalty will quickly dissipate when dollars from businesses who want to acquire top talent are dangled.

The question (always) is "when?"

I have a few suggestions that smart employers will embrace today, regardless of the "when" if they want to retain their top talent:

1.    Identify your franchise players.  You'd best make a list of the people whom you'll need to be able to rebuild your workforce in the near term.  I'm talking about those people that are highly skilled thinkers and creative people who don't perform skills, but rather, produce work.  Those are the people that must be retained.

2.    Schedule individual meetings with each franchise player.  In that meeting, first--thank them for their loyalty and acknowledge the fact that they have sacrificed in the difficult environment (communicates that they are important-that can go a long way).  At the same time, structure a new agreement to supersede any previous agreements--even if an agreement didn't previously exist.  It can be triggered by certain economic events/conditions for the business.  But there must be a commitment to the franchise employee for some payoff that will keep them working for you (literally and figuratively).  The employee must have something to look forward to.  They must have a reason to stay, outside of these are nice people.

3.    Make a list of potential players from other teams.  If there is going to be switching, best be prepared for the turnover.  Assume that companies will acquire employees from you; you'd best be prepared to get some from others; be opportunistic.  Seize the opportunity to upgrade in key areas.

The real goal should be to retain the franchise players that make things run.

I theorize that many businesses are going to be caught like proverbial deer in the headlights.    For the time being they are just trying to survive day to day.  The smart businesses--perhaps those who read this, will start planning ways to keep the employees who are loyal today but may not be when the headhunters start calling and there is no incentive to stay.  Employees who feel underpaid and undervalued and who have made sacrifices will be vulnerable to predators.  There will be winners and there will be losers in the workforce shuffle that will occur.

Recognize the perils of risk walking into an empty office when things rebound and business starts heating up.

Dr. John Malone

I've been truly blessed to have been able to meet and work with so many truly brilliant and talented people.  Somewhere at the top of the list would be John Malone.  John was probably one of the most respected leaders of the cable television industry when it was young and really just getting started.  He was the CEO of TeleCommunications, Inc.  When I was introduced to Dr. Malone, it was when TCI was the third largest cable company in the world with some 1,000,000 subscribers.  TCI looked up to companies like Warner Cable and ATC.  He led the company to become the largest cable television company through aggressive building and acquisition strategies.

While John was respected, he was also feared as a fierce negotiator.  Not many programming services or peer companies liked negotiating with TCI simply because John Malone was a tough negotiator who never backed down.  I remember once in 1981 when Nickelodeon was just an upstart little network without a lot of decent programming, they wanted to increase rates substantially.  Every cable system within TCI stood by the switch on a Sunday evening ready to pull the plug at exactly midnight.  It's important to know that the good Dr. wasn't bluffing.  We knew it and were prepared for the fallout.  In the end, the plug didn't get pulled and the rates didn't go up.

John spearheaded acquisitions like United Artists theaters and many other programming related ventures.  He has been actively involved in Liberty Media for many years now.

There was a point in time when I presented my annual budget to Dr. Malone.  It was the mid-eighties.  I was part of a company that was made up of a partnership between TCI and another media company.  As I presented, I couldn't help but notice that nearly everyone in the room seemed a bit distracted; they'd been in presentations all day and it was late, so it was understandable.  Everyone was distracted except for one person: Dr. Malone.  His focus and the extreme attention he paid to every word I had to say was something I'll never forget.  Despite being an unbelievable leader, he was an excellent listener.  He was, at his core, someone who cared about people.

Of the lessons I've learned over the years, those Dr. Malone taught me are as valuable as any.