Ideas for future media

August 2013
http://digiday.com/publishers/bloomberg-justin-smith-modern-media/

Justin Smith, the new CEO of Bloomberg Media Group, is emerging as one of the trailblazers. His track record at The Economist, The Week and, most recently, The Atlantic suggests a willingness to embrace new media models in the service of supporting quality content.

Smith’s vision for media, as laid out to his new charges, is to embrace change, lean on quality in a noisy media environment, and adopt some of the principles of Silicon Valley when it comes to talent and taking risks. Here are excerpts from Smith’s email.

Embrace change.

“The media industry is bifurcated into two distinct worlds: the struggling traditional segment that longs for a simpler, more profitable past that will never return; and the vibrant, entrepreneurial segment that is reinventing the industry before our eyes. The simple act of choosing to live on the new, wide-open frontier is a powerful step toward success.”

Accept uncertainty.

“Anyone who tells you they can predict the future state of media and its consumption patterns or business models isn’t being honest. No one knows where things are going and how they’ll play out. To succeed, we must accept this state of confusion and embrace the chaos. When there’s no obvious right answer, we’re forced to experiment, and examine new, sometimes uncomfortable, ideas. In media in 2013, invention, creativity and ingenuity are the currencies of success.”

Act like entrepreneurs.

“One definition of entrepreneurship is the ability to evolve your product, business model, technology, or talent base to capture a changing market opportunity. Moving quickly is paramount: the faster you move, the more you learn, and the sooner you can optimize for success.

Quality always wins.

There will always be a robust market for quality content. No technology will ever erode this demand. It’s our job to keep our standards high as we experiment.

Fight complacency.

This is not to say that intermittent failure is not an important part of the innovation process and something that should be embraced at times. This description refers to a mental rash —an early warning system—that signals the need for immediate business intervention and evolution.

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