By Victor Karamalis
Photo Credit Taken at 2007 Webby Awards
Two extremely reputable women flew to San Francisco and gave their account to inspire people and provide roadmaps to achieve greatness at work and in their personal lives. Ms. Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post and Ms. Cathie Black of Hearst Corporation(based in New York and one of the largest print media conglomerates) sat before a packed crowd at the Herbst Theater on Thursday night (one night prior to the Crunchies).
Arianna is an LA socialite turned political commentator turned blogger. She is now co-founder and editor-in-chief of her site. Phil Bronstein of the Chronicle (who mentioned the trend of decreasing revenue in print media) introduced Ms. Huffington who was there to interview Ms. Cathie Black, president of Hearst and also a board member of Coca-Cola and IBM. Black has come out with a book called, BASIC BLACK: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life).
Photo Credit Courtesy of Hearst Corporation
Originally, she started writing the book (her second) for young women that had already begun careers and wanted to see if they can have it all such as career, love, and family in a concept she calls the 360 degree life. She did say that there were also men that wished they had this book twenty years ago. Although some of the tips she mentioned were slightly mundane and almost anachronistic (like how not to leave your original resume on the copying machine), it does give the reader perspective on how executives are thinking and how they compose themselves while climbing the career ladder. She admits that the book is more of a coach than it is a mentor.
When it comes to new media, Cathie said bluntly “If we don’t embrace this, we will simply be left behind.” Hearst has had an investment arm that invests in interactive digital properties. They own properties such as iVillage to MobiTV. Recent Interactive and digital products that have been acquired include Real Age in San Diego and Kaboodle.
As they both inhabit the digital world, Arianna asked her how corporations like hers are doing it. Immediately, Cathie stated “the new kid on the block has come along very far. The web is a great extension of print and we believe in it.”
According to Ms. Black, in 2007, 1.5 million paid subscriptions were obtained over the Internet and ran $40 million in revenue (a fraction but a significant number of oerall revenue). Paraphrasing Ms. Black, “they offer a way to reach out into new audiences.” as mentioned later by Ms. Huffington.”new media is becoming a hybrid by adopting original reporting and a lot of the elements of traditional journalism.”
Photo Taken by Brian Solis
What I find fascinating is the ‘alignment’ that these two women represent in old and new media today. Here you have Ms. Huffington, the most successful blogger to date and self-proclaimed cyberslut(as mentioned in her latest book On Becoming Fearless) interviewing the woman dubbed as “the First Lady of American Magazines.” The legitimacy that this live audience interview embodies uplifts blogging to a bonafide and viable media channel in the eyes of the ‘established’ print media.
These two consecutive nights at the same location quantify the inroads that the latest technological and sociological revolution has created in the last five years not just from an American perspective, but for humans all over this Earth. There is a fundamental change in the way people take in news and events. They now respond via fast and mobile multiple online channels to connect and organize with causes that affect their own well-being and of others which may then lead to even more powerful accomplishments
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