#326 a pioneer

I just read the obituary for Al Neuharth, the founder of USA Today, who died last week.  I was a newly-minted journalism graduate in 1981 and remember reading about all the fuss the newspaper's debut caused in 1982.  It had color!  Every day!  On almost every page!  And it was a national paper.  Who would read that when the mantra of newspapers was, and almost always has been, focused on the local angles?

Turns out that many people would.  USA Today grew to a circulation of 1.75 million copies, larger than the venerable Wall Street Journal.  As the public traveled more and people moved far away from home, the concept of national news made more sense.  When you're at a hotel in Philadelphia, you'd rather read the two sentences about your state in the Around the USA section than read about Philly's local events.  

USA Today was one of the first papers that was as much feature content as it was news.  You could pick up an edition that was a few days old and still find something of interest; the   "snapshot" graphic on the front page, the cartoons, the lifestyle stories, the technology tips or opposing sides on the opinion page.  

With today's instant access to news from other sources beyond the newspaper, USA Today's blend of features and news makes even more sense.  Last week, at 6am I read in the morning newspaper that the Boston suspects were still at large, and hadn't taken my coat off before others (who got their news from their phone or computer) were talking about the overnight shoot out and capture.  

In yesterday's blog, I advocated for an element of "all or nothing".  Today I would encourage you to take a lesson from USA Today and do some blending.  You don't have to hold firm to the old notions of what something should be.  You can meld the best features of many things and make it your own.  It may sound like a radical idea at the time, but it also may be just the combination that people want.  In 1982, no one would have ever believed that USA Today would have greater circulation than the Wall Street Journal -- no one except Al Neuharth, that is.  What legacy can he leave for your organization?

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com