I wouldn't say no one innovates like this

Chris O'Brien provides five steps for newsroom innovation in a post at MediaShift Idea Lab. In short:

1. Make it [innovation] a priority.
2. Create a process.
3. Foster new collaboration.
4. Offer incentives.
5. Evaluate and learn.

All great advice, and the details support it well. I jump off, however, whenever people say no one in media exerts this effort, as O'Brien warns:

"Newsrooms should, but won't, offer financial incentives. They should, but won't, offer bonuses or revenue sharing for ideas that prosper."

I doubt O'Brien has seen the oft-published details of Scripps' Entrepreneur Fund. We do all these things, and we don't limit innovation processes to the news organization, because it will take great ideas and effort from all corners.

The program suffers growing pains but persists through them, and through a brutal economic climate where it would be oh-so-tempting to cut back. If anything, I suspect we'll commit more resources to it in the future.