Tags: 媒体
这是我觉得相当不错的一条稿子——
Tribune大裁员是最近新闻界的热点新闻。
金融危机和传媒颓靡,是同时正在媒体人耳边呼呼刮着的寒风。纸媒这棵枯木能否等到春天,新媒体这枝嫩芽能否绽放,是正在让很多报纸都头疼的问题。
Sam Zell是个口无遮拦的生意人,一点都不忸怩地就媒体的本质问题说了一些相当诚实的话——这点非常可贵——且直击国内不少媒体人要么太把自己当回事、要么太不把自己当回事的痛处!
Sam Zell从房地产转战到传媒业,配合次贷危机以来的美国地产这块大背景,再聚光灯一下金融危机中的传媒,实在很好玩。
在对话中,应该说Sam Zell其实并没有真正找到所谓的“新商业模式,这也是所有媒体们遭遇共同困境的真实情况,但他非常直白地挑明了纸媒的死穴,而且我觉得很更重要的是,他确实在践行一些想法,在尝试一些可能。
媒体人VS.媒体大老板,这对话组合也是不错的。
——所以,忍不住吭哧吭哧把它翻了一遍。
谨遵医命要按时就寝,翻过了之后没有顺它一遍,且纯属义务劳动,难免粗糙,请将就着看吧!
英文也附上,看到有不妥的地方,请自行核对英文版。
原文这里,它本是一气呵成的,可实在太长了,被我强行给拆分,分开来贴,标题也是我塞进来的。
Zell’s Sell
by Portfolio Staff Nov 24 2008
The former real estate mogul discusses his approach to newspapers.
前地产巨头谈他的传媒之路
Before Sam Zell bought the Tribune Company last year, he said he was “skeptical” of using staff reductions to increase profit. He famously told the Los Angeles Times, “I promise you I did not come here to be the captain of the Titanic.”
在Sam Zell去年收购Tribune公司以前,他声称对通过裁员的办法来提高盈利持怀疑态度。他对洛杉矶时报全员说的一句话非常有名,他说,“我保证,我来到这儿可不是想当泰坦尼克号的船长。”
Since then, however, the newspaper industry’s woes have intensified—and Zell has made numerous staff reductions at Tribune’s newspapers, which in addition to the L.A. Times also include the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun. The outspoken Zell,who made his fortune investing in real estate, has dubbed the Tribune purchase “the deal from hell.”
然而,话刚落音,报业不景气日益严峻——Zell也已经在Tribune报业集团旗下包括洛杉矶时报、芝加哥论坛报、巴尔的摩太阳报等在内的多家媒体实行了多次裁员。靠房地产发家的Zell戏称,收购Tribune是一桩“来自地狱的交易”。
On November 12, Zell spoke with Condé Nast Portfolio editor in chief Joanne Lipman at Quadrangle Group’s Foursquare media conference, where, true to form, he came out swinging against journalistic icons. He declared the worthlessness of Pulitzer Prizes (”I haven’t figured out how to cash in a Pulitzer Prize”), said the newspaper business model is “unequivocally…a failure,” and challenged New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, saying “If you want to be a charitable trust, be a charitable trust. If you don’t want to be a charitable trust, then you’ve got to focus on producing a return for investors’ capital, and it’s just that simple.”
11月12日,在私人投资公司Quadrangle GroupZell的媒体会议上,Zell和康纳利旗下Portfolio的主编Joanne Lipman展开了一次对话,他一如既往地对新闻业的前景做了多方位阐述。他公然宣称普利策新闻奖毫无价值(“我到现在还没有弄明白如何去衡量普利策奖的价值”),认为报纸的商业模式“毫无疑问地…..是一种失败”,并质疑纽约时报出版人亚瑟·苏兹贝格说,“如果你想要做一个公益信托,那就做成公益信托好了。如果你不想成为公益信托,那么最好是致力于让投资人有所回报,就这么简单”。
Zell also talked about running spadias (ads that wrap around an entire newspaper section) and said that comparing Tribune’s advertising declines to that of other newspaper companies is “comparing leprosy to cancer.”
Zell同样也谈到了running spadias(一种缠绕在整份报纸上的插页广告),并说比较Tribune公司和其他报业集团的广告下滑,等于是在“拿麻风病和癌症做比较”。
The Foursquare conference was an off-the-record event; Sam Zell and event organizersagreed to put this transcript on the record.
Foursquare媒体会议不允许做现场录音,Sam Zell和活动组织者同意将这次会议记录公开发表。
(未完待续)