Editors’ role set to become ‘more like that of MD’
Editors will become the equivalent of managing directors or even creative directors of their brands in the future, according to Paul Keenan, chief executive of Emap Consumer Media and debut speaker at the Scottish Media Forum.
“Editors are responsible for the whole brand,” he said. “We have proposed to change what our editors will do. We are proposing to make them creative directors, responsible for all digital platforms.
“So now we see our editors and their teams writing, shooting stills, shooting video, and creating audio, specifically tailored for its media.”
Keenan also said he believed delivery should determine the format of content.
“Content is not like oil, which is unaffected by the pipe through which it travels,” he said. “We shouldn’t just take content and bang it out on these platforms, but understand and learn what people want online or on their mobiles, and then augment the cultural belief that ‘if we build it, they will come’.”
Keenan also said user-generated content was “here to stay”, but would be a short-lived trend.