The SpainNew York Times has changed a lot in the past 10 years, embracing digital subscriptions and growing into online video and specialty areas like cooking.
It has not been enough to prepare the company for the future, according to the paper's own 2020 report released on Tuesday.
"While the past two years have been a time of significant innovation, the pace must accelerate," the authors wrote in the opening of the report. "Too often, digital progress has been accomplished through workarounds; now we must tear apart the barriers. We must differentiate between mission and tradition: what we do because it’s essential to our values and what we do because we’ve always done it."
The report, authored by an internal committee at the Times, provides a snapshot of how far the paper has come in changing itself for the digital age while also pointing out what needs to be done. It is the second such report from the company, which released its "Open Innovation" report in 2012.
It comes as buyouts and layoffs loom for the Times,a topic not touched on in the report. A note from executive editor Dean Baquet and managing editor Joe Kahn sent to Timesstaff said that "budget cuts this year" will be laid out "in the coming weeks and months."
Also announced on Tuesday is the Timesrenewed efforts for covering the upcoming Donald Trump administration — for which the paper is budgeting an additional $5 million.
The areas that need improvement are focused on the newsroom, particularly in the tools and internal structures that journalists must deal with to produce their work.
Many of the report's recommendations are familiar to anyone who closely follows the Times or newspapers in general: A shift away from print's outsized importance on the newsroom's operations, better ways to include multimedia in stories and a renewed effort at creating more a diverse newsroom with a variety of skills.
Oh, and more subscribers. Definitely way more subscribers. The paper has an ongoing goal that started in 2016 of doubling digital revenue to $800 million by 2020.
"To secure our future, we need to expand substantially our number of subscribers by 2020."
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable The report also calls into some question that formats on which the Times — and most other newspapers — rely on, namely a mix of news stories and features that are text heavy.
"Too much of our daily report remains dominated by long strings of text," the report states.
The report stresses that the Times should do more to educate readers. It points to the acquisition of The Wirecutter and the new Smarter Living section as the kind of thing the paper needs to do more.
"Our readers are hungry for advice from The Times. Too often, we don’t offer it, or offer it only in print-centric forms," the report states.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the report comes at the very bottom in the form of critiques from the paper's own journalists, who have been granted anonymity in the report.
Reporters said they would like to see less incremental news, flexibility in choice of how to tell certain stories, and some disagreement about what kind of tone the Times should embrace going forward.
"Emotion is not something we tend to embrace, and we should. It’s a major driver of loyalty. Of connection.... We write too often in a male executive voice, which tends to push away many readers we should be bringing close," said one person quoted in the report.
Fyre Festival and Trump’s Language
Three Letters from Rilke by Rainer Maria Rilke
Making of a Poem: Patty Nash on “Metropolitan” by Patty Nash
Interrupted, Again by Joanna Kavenna
Put Me In, Coach!
Doodle Nation: Notes on Distracted Drawing by Polly Dickson
Facebook launched 20 years ago. It changed the internet forever.
Tinder releases new warnings to stop inappropriate messages
Best vacuum mop combo deal: Save $140 on the Tineco Floor One S5
Tinder releases new warnings to stop inappropriate messages
The fat bears are already extremely fat
Galaxy S24 problems pile up: 4 issues plaguing Samsung's newest smartphone
Mark Zuckerberg wants to be like Augustus Caesar. How close is he?
Trump really doesn't want to face these 21 kids on climate change
Anker raises Amazon prices amid US tariffs
Facebook launched 20 years ago. It changed the internet forever.
The Apple Watch Series 9 is $100 off at Amazon and Walmart
Sad People Who Smoke: On Mary Robison by Adam Wilson
U.N. aims to make carbon emissions cost money at COP 25 climate talks
The Nine Ways: On the Enneagram by Jacob Rubin
Scientists eavesdrop on whales with deepAmazon deals of the day: Shark FlexStyle, Apple Watch Series 9, Bissell Little Green, and moreTSMC sees revenue and profit decline in Q2 · TechNodeDon’t like your DALLNYT Strands hints, answers for June 7Solar attracted more investment than any other power source in 2017Mysterious bowhead whales found singing over 180 different songsAmazon deals of the day: Save on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Hatch Restore 2, and moreGoogle foundation announces AI accelerator program for nonprofitsAmazon deals of the day: Save on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Hatch Restore 2, and moreBaidu’s CEO Robin Li resigns from the board of Ctrip Group · TechNodeLi Auto CEO confirms no overseas expansion plans by 2025 · TechNodeHow to use Spotify AudiobooksTSMC sees revenue and profit decline in Q2 · TechNodeBYD renames Chaser 07 sedan to Seal, scheduled for launch in Q3 · TechNodeThis whale was killed by 64 pounds of trashElon Musk's new plan involves a rocket and a party balloonHere's why SpaceX lands its rockets back on EarthWeChat Pay now accepts foreign credit cards for payment in China · TechNodeApple AirTags are nearly back to their record How to Block and Unblock someone on Instagram Food for Thought The Morning News Roundup for September 9, 2014 Stalking Seán O’Casey 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for August 28, 2023 TikTok's Kat Callaghan narrates a Calm Sleep Story The Morning News Roundup for September 19, 2014 How to use an Instant Pot The Well on Spring Street Happy Birthday, H. D.! Google launches SynthID, an AI image watermark that's invisible to the naked eye The Illustrations of Arthur Rackham There Are Books a Young Man Should Read by John Wray The Morning News Roundup for September 8, 2014 Photographs of Italy’s Abandoned Discotheques What a Way to Go! Is Spam Art? As Dolls to Wanton Kids The Met Gala outfits were glorious, weird, and ripe for Twitter roasts What is going on with the chair emoji on TikTok?