One of the keys for survival for newspapers is to plan the presentation of their stories from the beginning. You can’t just add-on a “design” at the end of the production process as if it were a can of spray paint.
Yet planning seems to be the last thing many editors and publishers want to do. The reason? No time, they say. No time? GADS!
If you were driving around town on some errands and you were running low on gas, would you keep driving because you didn’t have the time to stop and fill up? I don’t think so.
Yet, at my newspaper design site, News Design School, I send out valuable information to members who at least signed up for the free newsletter, but it goes unseen. I have all sorts of valuable tools and information and tips, and through my tracking software, I can see that only about a third even open the e-mail.
You must use at least 10 percent of your time each week looking to the future, making long-range goals and working to meet them, making plans. Why do journalists fail to see this? We wonder why many newspapers are failing.
Good designs involve planning. Good newspapers involve planning. Survival involves planning. I wish I could convince more people that this is true.
Related posts:
Owner, News Design School