Can media increase both quality and profits?

Updated 11:00 AM September 9, 2004

Can media increase both quality and profits?

By Colleen Newvine
News Service

As more American media outlets have become corporate-owned, some critics have worried that newspapers, radio and television stations are pursuing profits through cost-cutting that hurts quality. They believe that media outlets are less equipped to serve their watchdog role, and that the public ultimately loses.

Two events planned for Sept. 20 will examine the alternative approach. They will explore ways media businesses can increase quality, build their audience, boost revenue and ultimately enjoy higher profits.

The Knight-Wallace Fellows Program will host an afternoon panel discussion about how some organizations are building market share by delivering quality products, while in much of journalism, unprecedented profitability is associated with weak reporting and declining audiences.

Unlike numerous other professional development
opportunities that focus on one segment of the media, newspaper people will mix with broadcasters, and online professionals will share with traditional media representatives.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is sponsoring "Quality Pays: The Press and Public Policy," with participants including Kevin Klose, CEO of National Public Radio; Jill Abramson, managing editor of the New York Times; John Costa, editor of Bend Bulletin; Daniel Hertzberg, deputy managing editor of the Wall Street Journal; Paul Tash, CEO and chairman of the St. Petersburg Times; Matt Winkler, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News; Clive Crook, deputy editor of The Economist; Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Integrity in Journalism; and Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The panel will be preceded by "Good News about the News: Solutions for the Media Industry," a seminar hosted by the Entertainment, Media & Sports Club (EM&S), whose members are undergraduate and graduate students at the Business School.

EM&S's event was inspired by a recognition of the many successful media professionals with Michigan roots, including John Madigan, recently retired chairman of Tribune Co.; Tony Ridder, chairman and CEO of Knight Ridder; David Westin, president of ABC News; Diana Vesga, vice president of Univision; and Daniel Okrent, public editor at the New York Times, to name just a few.

U-M faculty including Aneel Karnani, associate professor of corporate strategy and international business; Russell Neuman, professor of communication studies and senior research scientist in the Center for Political Studies; Lynn Wooten, assistant professor of corporate strategy and international business; and Eric Svaan, lecturer in the Business School, will lead conference participants in conversations about pressing topics facing the media, including how the Internet is changing the media marketplace and how to recruit and retain the best talent.

Unlike numerous other professional development opportunities that focus on one segment of the media, newspaper people will mix with broadcasters, and online professionals will share with traditional media representatives. Organizers hope the cross pollination will spark particularly interesting conversations.

In addition, the event offers an opportunity for Michigan alumni working in the media to get to know each other.

The Knight-Wallace panel is free and open to the public. It runs 1-5 p.m. at the Alumni Center, with sponsorship from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Cost to participate in the morning session is $49 for Michigan alumni, $79 for non-alumni. Advance registration is required by Sept. 10.

It runs 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Michigan League. It is supported by the Office of the Vice President for Communications and the University of Michigan Entertainment Coalition.

For details on the Sept. 20 events, and to register, visit http://www.umich.edu/news/media_business/.

For more on the EM&S club, go to http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/Organizations/entertainment-media-sports/default.htm. For more about the Knight-Wallace Fellows, go to http://www.mjfellows.org/.

Can media increase both quality and profits?

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