Dylan Stableford at Folio points out a gaffe by Meredith president Jack Griffin, who was the keynoter at last week’s Folio Publishing Summit.
It seems Griffin made the bold statement, “We don’t hire editors anymore … We hire content strategists,” during his speech about Meredith’s new focus on the Web.
Only thing is, the company’s job listings don’t include any positions for content strategists. There are, however, several editor gigs, a commenter wrote.
Stableford asks: “Was Griffin blowing smoke for the sake of an industry keynote?”
It’s been at least 10 years — maybe longer — since news organizations have moved to the Web, yet no one really knows what they’re doing. There are small steps, sure, but there are no accepted standards and models yet.
As we continue to figure things out, let’s not fall into the trap of puffery and buzzspeak. Entering new territory often requires new words, but be sure to back them up with action.