This began as a blog for newspaper publishers, focused on the digital future of publishing, marketing, and advertising sales. Today, it has evolved into a blog for anyone involved in book publishing, journalism, digital marketing, and any other field dependent on digital communications and new media content management. It’s not focused on the print side of the business, but rather, it is about cultivating the abundant opportunities in digital.

Stated flatly, print is waning, and will never rebound. Newspaper companies are realizing, often reluctantly, that they have to go online in order to survive. So why do they dread what seems like an obvious and necessary move forward? Simple: newspapers can point to over a decade of poor revenue performance as digital news outlets. But it didn’t need to be that way, and this dynamic is about to change.

Book publishers are a bit more progressive than news publishers, but they face many of the same issues. They are being squeezed by Internet giants, they see their lunch being eaten by startups, and they face issues around how to make a profitable transition to digital.

So is this a blog about how the establishment can fend off startups? No, I like startups and startup thinking. But I do want to show the big guys how they can act more like startups themselves, and what they need to do to succeed. The publishing industry includes many noble institutions that have promoted civilization, literacy, and democracy. They deserve a fair chance at survival.

Blogging Writes discusses the positive operational aspects of the move to online, especially digital marketing, advertising, technology, trends, and innovation.

My mission is to serve as an agent of change in an industry where change means survival. The fact is, newspaper and book publishers will become digital media publishers. Or more specifically, those that will still be in business in the years to come are the ones embracing digital media today.

A Few Words About Journalism

This blog isn’t about journalism; the industry is filled with examples of how quality journalism can survive the move to digital delivery. It’s about the publishing business, starting with an understanding of how we got here, where we need to go, and quickly moving on to the practical matters of survival: what do we need to do to reduce costs, increase inventory, improve operating efficiency, and most important, drive new digital revenue.

My goal is to improve the state of an industry that is struggling, an industry that is crucial for any democratic society, an industry that I have come to love and respect, and that I have now become a part of.

This is not, as some suggest, an industry in permanent decline. This is an industry that was just slow to adapt, and I predict that we are about to see a renaissance in news publishing driven largely by local news outlets that embrace new media. In fact, this is not about prediction: this is my crusade, and so let me fearlessly and brashly say that I know newspaper agencies will survive, because I know how to save them. And I will post about precisely what needs to be done, and why it will work.

And Thanks

I have to thank two people in particular for pointing me in this direction, Joe Ricketts and Alfred Levitt. Joe is a self-made billionaire with entrepreneurial vision and a sincere desire to improve the world in countless delightful ways. Alfred is president of the company that runs many of Joe’s ventures, and was my boss at New Media News LLC.

When they tapped me to launch DNAinfo.com, it was an opportunity to study the news industry from the inside of a newsroom. I worked for over 2 years with dozens New York journalists, people who run around with their hair on fire, covering one of the most exciting cities for news. New York is a tough town, and the folks at DNAinfo fought it out neighborhood by neighborhood, fast becoming one of the top online sources for New York Local News.

I have two more people to thank: Leela de Kretser, the editorial director and publisher at DNAinfo, who showed me what it’s like to run a newsroom (as well as introducing me to colorful newsroom slang that still makes me blush). And Marque Staneluis, my “Number 1″ who argued with me over every aspect of our newsroom technology, even if he was in vehement agreement, in order to design the ultimate newsroom system.

Thanks also to my news industry customers, partners, and our advisors in the US, UK, and Ireland, who continue to teach me new things as I run iMedia Revenue, a company dedicated to delivering the latest advanced editorial and advertising solutions to local newspaper agencies. And finally, thanks to the iMedia Revenue management team, who deliver the expertise to handle all aspects of newsroom operations, in our tireless goal to save newspapers even as we transform them into something more enduring for the digital and mobile future.

I hope you like the articles in this blog; feel free to join me by commenting, sharing insights, and even joining me as a contributor. And feel free to argue, disagree, and raise objections. I welcome the chance to build a dynamic community in these digital pages.

–Rich Julius
30 January 2012
(updated 17 February 2013)