The CEO of McClatchy, Gary Pruitt, is on a whirlwind tour of the Knight Ridder papers he and his company just purchased. His tour brought him to my hometown paper, the Kansas City Star. I like what he had to say and I like his passion for a business that is four centuries old and working hard to remain relevant.
Pruitt also wrote this opinion page column for Saturday's Star.
Now I'm sure the headline of his piece will stir up all kinds of people crying bull - "Newspapers are Still the Center of the Media Galaxy." But if people take time to actually read his comments, I think his premise is on target. If you simply published a newspaper today, your relevancy would be in question. But newspapers are not only moving their core products online but many are also creating special online products. Some are entering the blogosphere while others are also integrating with other media such as broadcast or cable television.
I really like the fact that he is on the road right away meeting with the staffs of the newspapers McClatchy is buying and is working to complete the sale of the 12 newspapers they have decided not to take in the Knight Ridder purchase. His efforts are the kind you like to see the heads of companies take when there is big change going on in their organizations.
Whether or not you agree with his ideas about newspapers, you have to admire the way he is leading his company.
As for the 12 papers not being bought by McClatchy, Jay Rosen told us this week about how this sudden freedom from any parent company could create some interesting opportunities for the dozen orphans.
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