– We are redefining the role of Publisher to reflect the way the world works today where technology is the core of publishing. This is very different from the traditional role where the title is inherited within a family business, like the Sulzbergers at the New York Times, or in the magazine world, where the Publisher is often the person responsible for selling advertising and overseeing business operations. –
– Nguyen’s job also fits with my theory about how the site looks at the content business, which is that it sees news or entertainment as a service rather than a product that it stamps out and ships to a waiting readership, which is the way many traditional media outlets still see their business. BuzzFeed is constantly tweaking what it does while watching the behavior of its readers, in the same way smart technology companies refine their service based on actual usage. –
– That may not sound like a revolutionary approach, but it has not been the norm for mainstream media companies — and it seems to be working for BuzzFeed, which has tripled its traffic since Nguyen started running the data team. Maybe other media companies will take a cue from BuzzFeed and look for senior executives who understand the two-way relationship with readers and how to maximize it. –
I fell in love with newspapers when I started delivering them at the age of 11 and I still love them – the good ones. BuzzFeed’s approach to me does not seem like a dumbing down of journalism but a ˝smarting-up˝ of customer relationship management.
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