News Corp gets Future Focused, touts innovation while backing print

Sarah Homewood
By Sarah Homewood | 22 February 2016
 
Campbell Reid

News Corp isn't an old company trying to reinvent itself, it's simply taking its next steps according to the publisher's group director, corporate affairs and content innovation, Campbell Reid.

To prove it, the publisher had been showcasing to market what each of its individual offerings has in the pipeline, with News hoping to change the conversation happening around the industry and highlight what it as a company can do in the eyes of governments, its staff and consumers.

Called Future Focused, the presentations look at what all News' businesses - from its newspapers to Fox Sports and even some newer members of the family such as Storyful, Unruly and HiPages, has in the works.

Speaking with AdNews, Reid says that advisors from the government's communications department and Malcolm Turnbull's advisors have seen what the publisher has to offer and that this is the first time that News has showcased all of its offerings and what they have in store in this way.

“We don't see in any way that News in its current evolving shape is an old company trying to reinvent itself, we are a dynamic company taking our next steps,” he says.

“What's different is what's possible. We are incredibly focused on that core direction that this company has, and will provide customers with information that will help them live their lives.

“Everything in our innovation week [presentations] is true to that promise, and builds on that promise as we always have.”

The publisher showcased how its real estate business, REA, was using both augmented and virtual reality to get people interested in buying and renting houses, how its news.com.au team was set to relaunch its Snapchat discover offering and how the publisher is revamping its print products for both consumers and advertisers.

Reid explained that a motivation of the Future Focused week was to shift how people think about the future of its printed products.

“History shows that in times of massive disruption eventually people add and embrace the new technology to help them lead their lives and because we're human we keep connecting with things that we've always done.

“In the age of digital and the age of live streaming lots of families still get together to watch TV night, because it's a nice family ritual,” he says.

Reid added that he's not the first person to observe that the newspaper industry is probably the only industry in the world that revels in reporting its own demise, saying it's “kind of heartbreaking”.

“We devote acres and acres of space in our printed newspapers to saying that printed newspapers are facing a serious threat, when you would never see a TV broadcast station showing a documentary on how Netflix is destroying free-to-air TV.”

“In part that is admirable because it's true to what's going on, but in other parts it's also soul destroying, because all of the media channels are finding their new place and new form.

“Australians are still consuming millions of copies of printed newspapers, while the audience size is smaller, and it has to be given the amount of information explosion that's going, it's still massively valuable.”

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