2005 In Review: 4 & 3. Newspapers and Recruiting.com

For our industry, the fate and fortunes of the media environment are a question of life blood. Recruiting, in spite of its heavy administrative infrastructure, is a communications process. As media evolves, so do the possibilities and opportunities within Recruiting. The only other factor that weighs as heavily is the combination of demographics and the labor supply. The combination of these two factors is the Recruiting ecology.

In a time of gross labor surpluses, the media were able to look at employment classified advertising as a low status, cash rich part of the business. Even though Recruitment advertising was the underlying cash cow in the newspaper industry, no one with skill or innovative capacity was ever put in charge of the business. Time and time again, we've been in meetings that were supposed to be attended by newspaper CEOs who just couldn't be bothered to show up for the measly employment ad group.

That's how it was at Knight-Ridder.

Imagine a century old empire built on the idea of serving an audience. Now, imagine the headquarters of that empire, sitting in a sea of hispanic citizens brashly claiming the importance of its white values. Knight Ridder newspapers were always written by and for the white majority. Unfortunately, the demographics have shifted, particularly in the markets served by the chain. The primary reason that Knight Ridder's operations failed is not the internet. It was a refusal to accept the changing of the audience.

The Internet simply accelerated the process.

On the other side of town, full of the ethics and values that launched the contemporary newspaper industry, Recruiting.com took a huge stretch in awakening this year. A firm place in the muddy sea of the Recruiting blogosphere, the operation is a labor of love. Jason Davis (who we've covered often) runs a recruting firm as his full time gig. The weblog operation is a passion that occupies an increasing share of his time.

It feels like love. That's the magic of blogs in general and Recruiting.com in particular. The very difference between the new media and the old is the difference between love and business. Love is sloppier, more authentic and less predictable. That's what engages the audience.

Jason and his crew of volunteers do a great job of coalescing the hundreds of Recruiting blogs and following the emergence of the new. The Best Blogs of 2005 contest (see today's Bugler for the category results) put the industry on a much bigger map.

Recruitng.com offers a lesson for everyone in the industry: The best job for an individual is the one that sparks love, not procedure. Jason Davis is demonstrating the principle while shaping our future.

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