Editor’s note: Harris & Baseview will emerge at Nexpo 2006 marketing itself under a new name - MediaSpan’s Media Software business unit. The rebranding is part of the company’s initiative to increase visibility of all of the facets of its business, according to MediaSpan Media Software President Briggs Kilborne. Newspapers & Technology Editor Tara McMeekin recently spoke to Kilborne, who has been in his position for more than four years, about the direction the company is moving, its successes, and his view of the industry for the future.

Briggs Kilborne

N&T: What beneficial experience do you bring to MediaSpan?

Kilborne: Strategic planning, finance, operations and business development, and approximately seven years in the industry

N&T: It’s been more than four years since MediaSpan acquired Harris Corp. How do you view your success in that time period?

Kilborne: I think our performance answers that question. Harris & Baseview has been a solidly profitable business ever since it left Harris and (2005 was our) best year in a long time. We are pleased with our accomplishments but there are a lot of new initiatives we have under way that should help position us even better for the future.

N&T: Tell us about MediaSpan.

Kilborne: MediaSpan is made up of three business units: Media Software, which is essentially Harris & Baseview, with approximately 3,000 newspaper and magazine customers; Online Services, which was formerly known as First MediaWorks and hosts approximately 1,800 radio station and 50 newspaper Web sites; and Network, which sells the advertising inventory we have across all the Web sites we manage. 

N&T: With plans to change your branding in the marketplace, will the Harris & Baseview name be retained at all?

Kilborne: By Nexpo we will be marketing ourselves as MediaSpan’s Media Software business unit. Product lines in the Media Software business unit will be Harris & Baseview. The name change was done to help provide more visibility to the other business units and let people know we are more than just one part.

N&T: Are you concerned about the changes taking place in the industry?

Kilborne: Referring to the Internet and online - certainly, but we are investing in these areas so we see them as growth opportunities as well.  We are concerned that some customers aren’t moving fast enough. However this is changing. You have probably noticed the large Internet investments made by the Gannett/Tribune/Knight Ridder trio, Scripps’ recent purchase of Shopzilla, and The New York Times’ purchase of about.com. The big media groups are rapidly trying to catch up and are making large investments to do so. There are still a lot of old business practices in the core business.

N&T: What do you mean by that?

Kilborne: I mean they are still using complicated rate structures that have little added benefit today and make everything more difficult.  Groups with multiple papers still have teams at each newspaper creating pages where the news is the same across the country. The newspaper industry is unique because, for the most part, newspapers are not competitors. But every evening, more than 1,450 newspapers across the country spend considerable effort solving the same problems everyday, whether it is assembling sports agate, world news, or national entertainment.

N&T: Where do you see the newspaper market moving in the next three years?

Kilborne: I wish we had a crystal ball but we see the Internet’s impact on newspapers beginning to accelerate as the broadband experience continues to get better. We think newspapers will ultimately evolve to become a hybrid local news agency with a print edition.

N&T: What do you view as the newspaper industry’s biggest challenges/obstacles?

Kilborne: Staying ahead, or should I say keeping up, with the big five: Google, Yahoo, MSN, eBay and craigslist. They are attacking the lifeblood of the newspaper on all fronts: content and advertising. They are also moving much, much faster than the industry. Newspapers’ entrenched position buys them some time but these companies are changing the rules of the game and the newspaper industry is playing catch-up. Newspapers need to be much more nimble, experiment with new products and reward out-of-the-box thinking.

N&T: What are the biggest trends you see in the industry?

Kilborne: There are many you hear about all the time: loss of the younger reader, information immediacy changing consumer reading habits, advertising revenue moving online, target marketing directly to the individual, but the migration of local advertising online is the biggie. I also wouldn’t be surprised if, over time, the wire agencies went direct to the consumer. Many of the traditional barriers no longer exist. Reuters has a service where consumers can get news alerts direct.

N&T: What is Harris & Baseview doing to match these industry trends?

Kilborne: We continue to invest significantly in our online services, syndication, and wireless offerings. We believe these are all key components for publishing in the future.

N&T: What developments can we expect from MediaSpan in the future?

Kilborne: You will see more common underpinnings across the products.  This will accelerate development and simplify support with each product sharing common foundation components. There will be more integration with the online offerings creating a more universal publishing environment.

N&T: What opportunities do you see for the industry?

Kilborne: Change brings opportunity and if newspapers adapt, they won’t become the next exhibit in the communication hall of fame, just past the Pony Express and hot metal.