Monday, February 25, 2008
Editors Need Not Apply
Monday, February 25, 2008
Meredith Publishing Group president Jack Griffin says the upheaval in the magazine industry has prompted the company to redefine its editorial hiring approach. "We don't hire editors anymore," Griffin said in his keynote remarks at the 2008 FOLIO: Publishing Summit. "We hire content strategists."
Des Moines-based Meredith publishes more than 200 subscription and special interest magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens, which Griffin said had its best year ever in 2007. "In this age of splintering, there are ways to revitalize a big, important brand," he said. The company has spent about $600 million since 2002 on interactive launches, digital acquisitions and expansions of existing Web sites.
(Read more about Meredith Publishing here.)
Des Moines-based Meredith publishes more than 200 subscription and special interest magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens, which Griffin said had its best year ever in 2007. "In this age of splintering, there are ways to revitalize a big, important brand," he said. The company has spent about $600 million since 2002 on interactive launches, digital acquisitions and expansions of existing Web sites.
(Read more about Meredith Publishing here.)
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1 Responses to “Editors Need Not Apply”
4:48 PM, March 05, 2008
The headline of this article is sensational, but Griffin's comments are part of a larger picture, where Griffin is getting people at Meredith to think beyond just editing words to put on the pages of a particular publication. Instead of editors, he calls for "content strategists" who think about all the different and appropriate ways stories might be told. It's not that they've stopped editing --- they're just editing in a bigger context, across multiple platforms. We at Media Management Center are quite impressed with his leadership. For our take on what he's doing, go to http://www.mediainfocenter.org/MMCDigiMe/2007/10/bringing-people-along.html and for a copy of a speech Griffin gave recently on his changes, go to http://www.mediainfocenter.org/MMCDigiMe/2007/10/new-jack-griffin-on-organizational.html.
Vivian Vahlberg, Media Management Center, Northwestern University
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