From the first issue of Wired Magazine – when I was 11 years old.
credit to Cyrus.
“The railroads fell victim to a classic example of forgetting which
business you’re in: Failing to see themselves as transport companies,
they were out-competed by trucking companies who saw that their
business was not trucks, but transportation.
business you’re in: Failing to see themselves as transport companies,
they were out-competed by trucking companies who saw that their
business was not trucks, but transportation.
The same thing could happen to the newspaper industry, according to
Roger Fidler, director of new media at Knight Ridder, a huge newspaper
chain based in Miami. “If we don’t do more R&D, we will lose our
industry,” Fidler said.”
1993?! Wow, I had no idea this started that long ago.
The industry can’t say it snuck up on them. Although, I’m sure they’ll tell the public that it did.
Knight Ridder was so prescient, but why didn’t they lead the way?
Also, check this out (from http://davisullblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/bellows-and-buzz-part-iii.html target=_blank>That’s the Press, Baby blog):
Buzz Merritt’s “Knightfall” contains the famous 1995 discussion between former Knight Ridder CEO Tony Ridder and his top editors:
“Tony Ridder, the new chairman and CEO, had the difficult task of addressing a roomful of [the recently deceased chairman Jim] Batten proteges who, he knew, were at best wary of him. After a speech with brief and seemingly obligatory bows to the need for good newspaper content, he opened the floor to questions.
“The first one was: ‘Tony, what keeps you up at night; what do you most worry about?’
“He thought for a minute. ‘Electronic classified,’ he said.
“The air went out of the room.”
Knight Ridder did lead the way – look up Viewtron, in which Roger Fidler was a leader. More than 200 employees in Miami in 1984 churned out interactive news, ads, shopping and weather 24/7 from offices in the Sun Bank building on Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.