UK: Telegraph chief gives long-term view

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on February 6, 2007 at 12:57 PM

Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive of the Telegraph Media Group, explains to Ifra’s Newspaper Techniques why and how the Telegraph is saddling onto the digital revolution horse. “We are in the eye of a storm of change - arguably greater than at any time since the birth of the printing press.”

The Independent published an abbreviated version of the interview, and proposed here is an even more concise version, focusing on points relevant to those interested in the (necessary) evolution of the Telegraph, and of newspapers in general.

Can the newspaper industry survive and what will it look like in 10 years' time?

“However tough it is, we're in a very strong position in the UK to weather it.” “25 million people still pick up a newspaper each day. Many others look at newspaper websites. That makes us an incredibly powerful medium.”

“Companies which will be in the strongest position will be ones with brands like the Telegraph, to which people will look for authoritative reporting at a time when the number of news outlets will have grown exponentially.”

Outside newspapers, who do you see as your principal competitors?

“We have the competition from Google, from international broadcasters with their websites, from anyone with access to the web who can become a news provider.”
“The competition is changing, it's digital, it's global - and it's getting fiercer by the day.”

Other main challenges facing newspapers in the UK?

“The main battle that UK newspapers have always had is to protect their editorial and advertising freedom.”

What do you regard as your mission?

“While it may be too early to know the full effect of the online revolution, it was clear that our readers were on the move. We concluded that change was not an option. It was imperative.”

The Telegraph Media Group is once again blazing the trail; did you feel at any point that things were happening too fast?

“I realise that we did push hard to implement the digital changes and to get the new building in central London up and running. It would have been inefficient to run two parallel systems, one for print and one for online, as opposed to introducing one integrated solution.”

Are you confident that the new editorial system in Victoria is the way forward?

“The new system was not constructed by the management, it was designed by editorial people for editorial purposes.It has been operating since last October and is working extremely successfully.”

The Independent’s transcript of the interview below.

Source: The Independent