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Sun-Times: We are no longer a newspaper

1 minute 9 comments

The Chicago Sun-Times announced changes to its leadership and reorganizing of its newsroom recently.

This quote caught my eye:

“We are no longer a newspaper company,” Sun-Times Media Holdings LLC Editor-in-chief Jim Kirk said in a memo to staff. “We are a technology company that happens to publish a newspaper. We deliver content. And we will deliver content on many platforms and in ways that we haven’t yet fully considered.”

Or maybe to reword it for many readers of this blog: “I am a cartoonist that happens to appear in newspapers*. I deliver content. And I will deliver content on many platforms and in ways that I haven’t yet fully considered.”

* or graphic novels, comic books, magazines, ebooks, children’s books, or the web.

It’s an exciting time.

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Comments 9

  1. Well, that certainly spins a new perspective on the concept of “print vs. web” when it comes to comics and cartoonists.

    Although many “webcomics” carry the stigma of being lower quality than those published through newspapers (often because there is very little editing or review before many webcomics go online) I believe that this slow yet inevitable transition will allow for a transition in the field that will raise the quality level substantially.

    Who knows? Perhaps in the near future webcartoonist and cartoonist will mean the same thing.

  2. They don’t publish comics on their web site.
    And you can’t easily flip through Jack Higgins’ editorial cartoons on their site.

    They have a lot of work to do before they can call themselves a technology company.

  3. The Sun-Times’ efforts to become something more than a newspaper has a long way to go. It should try to offer Chicago excellence in reporting before they bite off more than they can chew.

  4. Does this mean in the months to come the Chicago Sun-Times will cease newspaper print and cut back to online only? Leaving the Chicago Tribune as the only major Chicago newspaper?

  5. Just means the Kirk read a new book, Jobs bio perhaps. Upper management is perpetually obsessed with trying clever schemes that seldom really help.

  6. In fairness this would have been more true in Gutenberg’s day when it was a new “technology.” Buggy-whips might make a come back soon too. 😉

  7. You’ve got to admit – buggy whips are pretty fashionable. I keep mine alongside my monocle. 😉

    As clarification, I was speaking previously more about a general trend being followed by many papers transitioning from print distribution to internet distribution as more and more people are beginning to consume their news electronically.

  8. Nathan, no question about it. It’s just that newspapers are not leading that charge. They go along with it, but still can’t monetize it and are losing market share to it. Making the Suntimes editor-in-chief’s claim simply seem out-of-touch with reality. Might as well have been said by Dilbert’s boss.

  9. He DIDN’T say they were “no longer a newspaper.” He said they were “no longer a newspaper COMPANY.” Quite a difference.

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