This is the official Globe and Mail story about John Stackhouse's ascension to the position of editor-in-chief. I collected the good stuff.
Amid the flux in the media sector, the public's appetite for news and information remains strong, regardless of how it is delivered, Mr. Stackhouse said after addressing staff.
"In everything I've been lucky enough to do in this industry and at The Globe, it's always come down to journalism. It's finding out information that people will care about, and finding ways to tell those stories in ways that demand people's time," Mr. Stackhouse said.
"It doesn't matter if it's detailing the recession or covering a war in Africa or social trends in India. And it doesn't matter if it's a 5,000-word story in a newspaper, or a tweet or a blog. The basic challenges are the same: finding out information that matters to people." ...
(Publisher Philip Crawley) said it was time for The Globe to push further into new media, and at an accelerated pace. Mr. Stackhouse, who recently oversaw the relaunch of the Globe Investor websites along with Mr. Frame, will steer these projects.
"We're not trying to make dramatic changes at this point in the way The Globe either looks or behaves. But I think there are certain internal things that need to happen. We need to be a bit quicker at making decisions," Mr. Crawley said.
Mr. Crawley said the management change comes now so Mr. Stackhouse will have time to prepare for several major projects in the next year and a half. Most notably, the paper will be redesigned in the fall of 2010 using new presses that will allow an all-colour format and glossy paper on some pages.
This provides an interesting insight into Mr. Stackhouse:
Mr. Stackhouse began his first stint at the paper as a nine-year-old, when he noticed advertisements on lampposts in his Toronto neighbourhood for a newspaper carrier and applied. The circulation manager expressed concerns with his father, former MP and University of Toronto professor Reg Stackhouse, about the boy's age. In the end, Mr. Stackhouse got the job, helped in part by the fact that he tore down most of the advertisements in the neighbourhood to narrow the field.
Incidentally, there was no byline on the story.
Here's the Q-and-A from the newspaper:
THE VIEW FORWARD
What can readers of The Globe expect from this change?
They can expect journalism that's as good as any in the world, on the issues and events that are crucial to Canada. They can expect journalism of consequence, which means news and ideas that shape and challenge your understanding of our world, our country and our communities. Increasingly, they can expect our journalism delivered to them in the most convenient manner. To me, The Globe rests on some very simple principles - authority, credibility and honesty. To those I'd add passion and community. We should be passionate about our news decisions, and we should work with our community of readers to improve everything we do.
Do you foresee changes in the weighting of topics and themes covered by The Globe?
The economy is the most important issue out there. I think we cover it better than anyone else in Canada. We'll devote even more resources to that, in print and online. I'd also like to focus on our cities and the environments around us; technology, education and innovation; our personal space of family and health; and the legal and ethical choices that guide this country.
What are your thoughts on the future of newspapers?
There's still a demand for quality newspapers, in fact more so since the economic crisis took hold. People migrate to trusted sources when their world view is challenged. We're seeing that, and need to continue to earn the trust of our current readers and new readers. We need to take consequential news - what matters and will continue to matter - and make it immediately interesting to a lot of very busy people.
How will you manage the evolution of newspapers online?
Globeandmail.com is first with the news when it matters to Canada. That goes without saying. We're using the Web for all sorts of new ways to tell stories. Video's a great example. The Web allows us to form lots of new partnerships with other media and other organizations that share our values. Our readers should be a big part of that, helping us and each other develop stories, test ideas and share information.