Newspaper Next (N2) is the forward-thinking project undertaken by API in 2005 – in honor of the Institute’s 60th anniversary of service to the industry -- to identify and test new business models for newspaper companies. It has grown to include not just research, but two reports of the project’s findings as well as countless seminars, workshops, Tailored Programs offerings and special events.
N2, through its research, publications, workshops, and seminars, introduces the concept of disruptive innovation, shows how it affects the newspaper industry, and highlights how the industry can use it to capitalize on new opportunities. By following the N2 Innovation Method newspapers can build sustainable innovation capacity into their ongoing operations. And the N2 Game Plan is a strategic framework to help newspaper organizations find sustainable new growth by building new audiences and developing new revenue streams while maximizing core products, and by reorganizing in order to foster ongoing innovation and new product development. API engaged Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and co-founder of Innosight, a consulting firm, for the project.
In 2006, API first delivered its findings to the industry in the publication, “Newspaper Next: Blueprint for Transformation.” This publication first introduced the industry to the N2 Innovation Method and the N2 Game Plan. In February 2008, API published “Newspaper Next 2.0: Making the Leap Beyond “Newspaper Companies.” This report sought to give the industry a vision of what newspaper companies can and must become through case studies of products and innovations launched by the N2 method. It also addresses in great depth the all-too-common question: How can we monetize the Web? It provides strategies and tactics for newspapers to use to that end.
Newspaper Next is about recognizing the threats (disruptive innovations) and using that understanding to turn those threats into opportunities. It also provides a new way of identifying opportunities and finding success, such as focusing on non-consumption and “Jobs-To-Be-Done.” It emphasizes the value of fast, effective development and testing of new-product ideas, and the importance of building innovation capacity into every newspaper organization.
What is a “job to be done”?
Many companies unintentionally limit themselves by focusing on improving the attributes of their products, or seeking to understand different demographic segments of their customer base. Customers don't buy products; they hire them to get important jobs done. Understanding the jobs that customers care about but can't adequately get done with existing products can point to new paths for growth. For example, people "hire" Research in Motion's popular BlackBerry devices to kill small snippets of time productively. One challenge for the newspaper industry is that many of the information-related jobs that people used to hire newspapers to get done are now done better by emerging competitors. To help you identify the unmet "jobs" in your community, download the "jobs to be done" interview forms for consumers, businesses and employees.
What is a disruptive innovation?
Disruptive innovations typically offer lower performance along dimensions that firms consider critical. In exchange, these innovations introduce new benefits along dimensions such as simplicity, convenience, ease of use or low price. Classic examples of disruptive innovation include the personal computer, discount airlines, steel mini-mills, Intuit's TurboTax product and Procter & Gamble's Swiffer line of products. In the media industry, blogs, Google, eBay, Monster.com and freely distributed commuter papers all fit the pattern of disruptive innovation. Each emerging competitor lacks something that is core to most newspaper companies' value proposition. Some can't match a newspaper's broad distribution network. Others can't compete with the newspaper's detailed reporting capability or local reach. All, however, compete in different ways than newspapers are used to competing. Even well-run market-leading organizations tend to struggle with disruptive change because the assets that serve them so well in extending their core business stand in the way of success when the industry changes. Newspaper companies are in the midst of just such disruptive innovation right now, which is why this project is so critical. To help you assess how ready your organization is for disruption, we've provided the N2 Disruptive Innovation Barometer. We've also included the N2 Idea Resume. It's a simple way to summarize an idea to create a new growth business.