The Military Structure of Newspapers and the Obvious Choice of the Philly Inq.

There has been some noise about the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s decision to treat print like gold and the web like a dirty troll child to stuff in the closet and neglect.

It seems there are two sides to the argument. On the one side is boss Jarvis and Steve Outing. On the other hand Howard Owens brings an alternative view. Reading about all this later I see I missed a good Tweet discussion between Zac Echola, Scott Karp. For a good summary check Mark Hamilton.

Now I’m coming to this conversation late so my goal isn’t to place judgement, merely to try and comprehend the position the Philly Inq is in to rationalize this decision.

It precludes knowledge that 80% of a newspapers revenue is still coming from print advertising. That percentage is shrinking, but it’s still a fact. I would argue that investing in the web is just that (an investment for the future), but newspapers are not inclined to make that investment. Here’s why…..

Lately I’ve been using an analogy that has helped me understand why newspapers make certain decisions. It goes back to one of the first great journo-blogging memes of the year. Journalism culture.

Yes – we have a “culture.” Or at least – we used to. We are slowly becoming a diaspora, but the larger institutions most definitely have a culture.

That doesn’t say much. The hippies had a culture. So does the military, the Jewish people and Google.

Unfortunately the newsroom culture is more akin to the military than any one of the others mentioned above. There is a hierarchy. Decisions are made from the top and ideas from the bottom must be approved before acted upon. You don’t have to “salute” a superior, but it’s known when you are in their presence.

This is nobody’s fault. In fact, it wasn’t a “fault” until recently. Today it is an antiquated structure that cuts across creativity. We know that now.

All this is to say: Howard Owens and the Philly Inq. isn’t wrong for sticking to print. It makes perfect sense. Can you really ask anything else of them? Their money comes from print and their future is at stake. They either need to stick to their guns (military pun intended) or learn new tricks.

But their culture is not one that learns new tricks.

Thinking out loud here  – maybe the culture is similar to the Jewish people portrayed in the film “Fiddler on the Roof.”

“Tradition!!!!!!”

And that is why certain decisions are being made. Because to do otherwise would require the entire institution to stand on its head. There is no right or wrong – it just is. I’m personally over it. Journalism will survive the death of its institutions. People will invest in the web – it just won’t be newspapers.