SXSW: Designing the Future of The New York Times

Grade F for FAIL. This was a standing room only crowd in a Hilton ballroom. They promoted the panel as to where they are going in the next couple of years. Instead they did a classic bait and switch and talked about themselves and history and design. Dang. I think I was most disgusted with the comment that a newspaper's disposability was an asset. Hello, does "Green Movement" cause any bells to go off in your head?

He also said that information doesn't change in the newspaper's content. Once printed that's it, it's done and somehow he eluded to digital content changing all the time.

Listening to these two I get the feeling I'm watching a cartoon in my head where two cavemen are discussing how they made fire with flint shards and dried moss. These guys are toast and they know it. They don't know what the answer is or the NYTimes would be making millions instead of losing money.

As has been suggested with the U.S. automakers, I think these cavemen corporations need to be dismantled and reassembled.

It's sad because I once loved the NYTimes. Ever since the content became questionable (Vitamin Pills: A False Hope?) a few weeks ago did I look away for alternatives.

Updates
5:25 I'm out. I can't take it any longer.
5:20 History and now design. Not a word about where they will go in the next two years as they hemorrhage as much cash as a Big Three automaker. I think they need to be saved as well. Jeez.
5:10 Still history now it's the other guys turn. He's showing really old personal Web sites. Can't. Last. Much. Longer.
5:00 Interesting. They're starting with a personal history. Starting with the past to lead to the future? Oh God, he's going all the way back to his college days of print. Must. hold. on.

PRESENTERS

• Tom Bodkin - The New York Times
• Khoi Vinh - The New York Times

DESCRIPTION

What will the nation's newspaper of record look like in the coming years? Learn about the continuing efforts of old media to reinvent its look, its feel and its mission.