More on Business for Journalists

I wrote over on Rebuilding Media and here about WSJ.com's Bill Grueskin's (and my) urgings that editors understand the business imperatives of digital media. An editor, and all working in these kinds of media, need to be omnivorously interested -- in everything and anything that touches on what we do, from the technology to the financials and the deals. Managing, people, focus, etc, all that goes with it, as well -- that's always been good business.

Editors no longer have the luxury of being only, say, in magazines, or newspapers, or even "print" or "TV guys." Poor would be the mechanic who knew only how to work on a Model T. Sure, some people are better at one medium than the others. But just as writers have for 25 years I'm aware of been told to learn how to shoot at least a basic photo to illustrate a story, so, too, should all digital content producers know something of the basics of the various ways to put material up on the Web, or in other digital formats. It all adds up to a sh--load to learn, but you have to be omnivorous. For me, that spells survival, perhaps prosperity.

This week, along comes "Independent Publisher" Mac Slocum, whom I know of from Poynter, nicely elucidating and expanding on Grueskin's business imperatives for the digital journalist. See what he has to say here.

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