Today and tomorrow, Corriere della Sera on strike. Everything comes from a letter that the Director, Ferruccio de Bortoli, has sent to the editorial. Here, the response of the CoR newspaper in Milan.
As usual, we face the fight between the journalists who work for the paper used to have a job "income" and its practice, and a director asking for more commitment to each online. A central theme of union and organizational problems for some time, with nodes that apparently came to a head even higher in the drafting of the Italian newspaper.
I wanted to say something, whereas I have worked for some time in both worlds (drafting paper and online) in a newspaper, as well as all my other professional experience in journalism, that go "full time" for the past 20 years.
To begin with: to be a journalist on the paper and the online are two very different trades. They are both from the standpoint of methodology, both processes, the organization. Useless to try to minimize or hide the differences. To put it short, there are people who might be suitable to work for paper and not online, and vice versa.
This does not mean that an integration effort should be made absolutely, and those who wrongly think you procrastinate. However, it is necessary that an editorial group is also committed to make this possible integration. Make a newspaper and make a website is not the same thing. The "heads" of those who are on the upper floors must understand. They must understand that the machine works differently, specific professional needs different methodologies and different processes, but synchronized, and then often turn to readers who are not necessarily the same. Do not just take a reporter to the event, which is used to make a maximum of two pieces a day and say "Write me for the online "At most, if armed with good will, will do a poor job (typically" out of time "). If instead it is a pain in the ass (and in journalism there are many!) will begin to create problems and bring trouble.
And it's propensity to do video, audio or whatever, that make part of the job, but do not represent the main part. The point is that is very different to the "kitchen" of the editorial product, the "feel" that this must be for the reader.
absolutely do not want to say that making a newspaper online is more complicated than making a daily paper. It 's just different .
Ask flexibility in an editorial, the ability to try to work for both media is necessary, and will soon be indispensable for a publishing company is able to square his accounts. But it should also be able to play around with the process. Which are equally, indeed more important. And in Italy, we are still far from this point of view.
