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When the Reporter Becomes the Reported
March 3, 2008
Chances are, if you're reading this blog, you know that
Reed Elsevier is selling off Reed Business Information, the arm of the company that puts out PW and 299 other trade publications.
This week's PW has
an editorial from Sara Nelson about the announcement. She acknowledges the bad news, admits that she's "strangely buoyed" by the new twist, and then:
"What's more, the whole situation appeals to the reader in me: what a great narrative! A media entity that covers the comings and goings of other media entities is now, itself, coming and going. The reporters of change have now become the subject of it."
Of course, one of the things going on here that no one has discussed explicitly is that Reed Elsevier sold off the RBI group because the latter's business model no longer fits where the parent company wants to go (into subscription-based directions). As Nelson says, this isn't necessarily terrible news: change brings new energy and new directions. What will RBI and PW do with this new energy?
This isn't just a time when the reporters of change have become the subject of it. It's a time when the reporters of change might wind up making some themselves.
Posted by Bethanne Patrick on March 3, 2008 | Comments (3)
