Roy Greenslade has posted an anonymous letter from a Telegraph Media Group employee who is less than impressed with Telegraph Media Group’s forward-thinking, converged publishing strategy.
Here are two main points from it:
National newspapers are beginning to head in the direction that local papers went 20 years ago, demanding levels of commitment – in hours and workload – that are unsustainable in conjunction with a normal family life.
The growth of blogs and online communities seems to be contributing plenty in the way of opinion, of which there’s already plenty and not enough in the way of facts. This is creating a brand of journalism in which it doesn’t matter if you get things wrong.
As Greenslade says, many will be nodding along as they read that piece. But Justin Williams, assistant editor at TMG, was not impressed. He writes:
“When, exactly, did journalists with aspirations to get on in national newspapers enjoy a normal family life? Was it during that hallowed period before the internet, before TV, before radio, even? Seriously, when was it?
Williams argues that TMG is simply doing what it needs to do to stay relevant but it seems that not everyone at Buckingham Palace Road shares that vision.
The message to doubters from managements across the country seems to be that if they want to continue working in journalism, they should get with the programme.
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