Whitaker’s division, essentially the digital side of The Washington Post, Newsweek, and online magazine Slate, is trying to serve as a “counter hedge against the old media strategy of just investing in your existing properties,” said Whitaker.

This requires “looking at new properties, new ways of doing things,” he said, such as the Posts’ recent acquisition of Slate.

Is there a secret recipe for content, Jarvis asked?

“The web is all about passions,” said Whitaker. There is a “real opportunity in hyper-local content” and “we’re obviously focused in being the best on that.”

The Post is also exploring “vertical niches,” catering to very specific audiences who are looking for meeting places to come together online. Almost sounds like a social networking website?

Though it may seem ironic, many newspapers are in fact evolving into roles of social networking.  This is a byproduct of what seems to be a widespread consensus nowadays, among small and large newspapers alike, about focusing on niche and hyper-local content.

Whitaker also mentioned the importance of consumer-generated content. It “makes users and community feel like they have a say,” but editors must make sure user-generated content is “not totally out of control,” said Whitaker.

As for the future, Whitaker seemed to insist on the importance of mobile technologies and developing what will be one of the main media for information.

Source: Beet.tv