Background

RBS often claims it has been a converging media group since the 1960s, due to its long-owned multimedia holdings (8 newspapers, mostly local – 19 radio stations – 18 TV stations). Although none of these media have been integrated, it’s true that the group has had over 40 years to smoothen collaboration and cross-platform planning.

RBS’ flagship title, Zero Hora, has a daily circulation of 175,000 copies and launched its website last year. Circulation and readership is still growing across RBS’ newspapers.

Integration in theory: increased efficiency and quality

For Nelson Sirotsky, CEO of RBS, “the matter of integration is more a case of getting quality and productivity than cutting costs” – as opposed to the perceptions of integration many journalists in other countries may still have. As a matter of fact, Zero Hora has signed on 30 additional online-only journalists during its integration process, taking its reporter count to 240.

“My opinion is that integration is an excellent tool in terms of productivity for the newspapers,” but also leads to a higher quality product for readers. Zero Hora’s reader satisfaction index has been steadily growing – hard to say to what extent this is tied to integration though. For those who still doubted it, “one platform is increasing the business of another one.” In other words, an online newspaper doesn’t cannibalize the print edition.

On the other hand, Sirotsky doesn’t imagine a day when integration means all media will be blended into a single multimedia platform. Brand names and distribution platforms will keep their identities for the foreseeable future: newspapers will continue to represent news and practical services, television will represent entertainment and sports, etc.

A happy multimedia newsroom - journalists

According to Marta Gleich, editor of Zero Hora.com, and Marcelo Rech, editor of Zero Hora and all RBS newspapers, integration has been welcomed by journalists. More so, they were anxious to integrate – a seemingly unusual scenario.

They chose not to go through a coercive integration process, instead providing incentives to reporters who do multimedia. “If you obligate journalists to do something for the online edition,” said Gleich, they can have an adverse reaction. Instead, reporters who do multimedia coverage (photography, video and text) can get paid more than single-platform journalists. A highly skilled multimedia reporter for the international section was promoted to assistant editor of the section.

Of the 240 journalists, 70-80 now work both for the print and online edition at least weekly. This is straightforward integration: they publish both for the Web and in print, but don’t necessarily master multimedia tools such as video and audio. Reporters can be sent out with handheld cameras, but this is optional. 34 reporters are online-only, while a few columnists still only work for print. All 24 photographers also shoot video, and 26 journalists have started blogs.

“But nobody is working more,” said Gleich. “They are working differently.”

Zero Hora chose to conduct basic training on an optional basis too. “If people come to be trained, we train them,” she said. Two-week training sessions, involving five or six people at a time, are organized to teach journalists how to shoot video, edit and learn some multimedia skills. Since RBS already has specialists for nearly all media, Zero Hora simply sends print reporters to the TV outlets to train in video, for example.

Somewhat surprisingly, very few have been formally trained in multimedia thus far: about 35 journalists – many have experimented with video and new media with receiving formal training, including Gleich and Rech who have both submitted mobile pictures for publication in the past (such as New Year’s celebrations from around the world).

Dual editorship – the editor’s day

Zero Hora isn’t integrated in the restrictive sense: there are still two editors, one for online – Gleich – and one for print – Rech. Who has the final word in case of a conflict between both? Their boss: it seems there would be an editorial deadlock were such a disagreement to occur. Luckily, this situation hasn’t happened yet. Both editors sit at the same table and discuss the budget and commissioning throughout the day. “It’s impossible to have one person thinking all the stories for all the platforms,” said Rech. “We are integrated but not unified.”

With integration, the editor’s work requires a lot more planning, since he or she must now decide from the beginning how to allocate resources for each platform and how to make their coverage complementary. “My typical day is not a typical day,” said Rech, who also supervises RBS’ other print publications. He tries to attend at least two of the day’s three editorial meetings. At 9am, he sits on the morning editorial meeting, where most of the planning is done. From 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, Rech generally attends committee and managerial meetings for other publications. At 2:30pm is held the day’s main editorial meeting. At 7pm, editors gather for the day’s last meeting, usually just for a few minutes, to discuss the front page.

Convergence pays off

Not only has Zero Hora’s integration led to the creation of additional jobs, the print circulation of the paper grew 3% last year. In fact, the level of satisfaction of Zero Hora’s readers has steadily grown – see illustration (although it’s hard to say to what extent this may relate to the actual integration).



In part 2, we’ll see how RBS’ news outlets and Zero Hora collaborate to commission reporters, share content, and carry out cross-promotional campaigns more efficiently. Gleich and Rech also discuss an issue at the heart of integration: does it lead journalists to increasingly work like editors?

Read here to learn about Zero Hora’s newsroom design and its importance in the integration process.

Source: Nelson Sirotsky, CEO of RBS – Marcelo Rech, editor, Zero Hora – Marta Gleich, editor, ZeroHora.com