Q&A: Bauer Media Group CEO Nick Chan
Nick Chan speaks on the challenges of the evolving print media model, why being channel agnostic is the way to go and what he likes about journalists in this interview excerpted from The Lunchbox 2017.
How is the media industry evolving? How will it change in the years to come?
Specifically on the print media – the key evolution is the shift from looking at a brand as a print product to a multi-media brand. Frankly, the major change will be the shift from rhetoric to a “real” mindset of a multi-media brand – and aligning the capabilities required with a multi-media brand to the demands of a multi-media brand.
Do publishers need to move away from free content models in the online space towards paid consumption models? If so, what models are the most effective, or does this depend on the publication?
Ideally, yes, but realistically market forces will dictate what is possible.
How is journalism as a profession changing? Is the division between sales and editorial blurrier than it used to be?
In my opinion, journalism is a calling, a passion. And whether or not you agree with individual journalists, I’ve always admired their commitment, beliefs and craft.
This is changing – technology has made it easier to be a writer/blogger/influencer which is often mistaken with the discipline, training and ethics of ‘traditional’ journalism.
“…aligning the capabilities required with a multi-media brand to the demands of a multi-media brand.”
Wuh? That’s very mgmt-speak.
Hmm. The asteroid hit 15 years ago and we’re still looking for shelter. Best we all decide what to sow in the new (no, old) world before there isn’t a field to claim.
Millions of people read magazines every week. Perhaps the MPA should work out why no one cares before the baby goes out with the bath water (sorry for the double cliché).
I do feel like that’s come from a PR-type internal comms person who isn’t very strong on explaining the move from print to digital. Chan is old school. He never embraced digital at Pac because he had to share the revenue with Yahoo.