Ken Sands, the Executive Editor of Innovation for Congressional Quarterly (CQ) since last August, spoke to George Mason University students on Feb. 19, about his experience with the digital revolution.

            Sands, was the online publisher at the Spokesman-Review and Spokesmanreview.com in Spokane for quite a few years and it was the place he began his career as a reporter and editor in 1981.  

            He is credited for bringing the publication to the online world. He mentioned that when he first started working there he had no computer, rather a “manual typewriter.”  

            CQ’s editor Mike Riley is proud to have Sands on his team as Sands “has distinguished himself as an accomplished Internet innovator, someone who early on realized the potential of the digital revolution and transformed his newspaper into one of the most creative and dynamic online news organizations," Riley said.

            Sands’ insights about the change of the newspaper business are priceless, as he was one of the first people to bring newspapers “online for the first time.”

            “I found this tool, the internet, to really help us interact with our readers,” Sands said. “It helps us connect with them.”

            Sands, disagrees with most traditional journalists about the web destroying the field of journalism. If any thing it is just a shift of platforms. The essence of journalism still exists on the web. Good writing and accurate reporting is still the main principle.

            Sands encouraged students to use the web carefully because the pressure of delivering speedy news can sometimes mean reporting hastily. However, if a company reports news slowly then “they are better off not reporting at all”. So its a tricky business

            Perhaps the highlight of his insightful talk was the notion that the web is a “sticky” platform, and once you capture your audience you are likely to have their loyalty for a long time.

            The trick is to make your website interactive so your audience can participate and share their unique perspectives. Once you have a blog going that many people are interested in, the participants are likely to “stick” and return to the blog to check on their comments and others comments.

            A George Mason student agreed that there has to be something that stands out in a website so that participants remember to check a certain blog as part of their daily routine.

            Sands biggest insight was talking about the winners in the online business.

            They would have to take the Wall-Mart approach.

            "The winners will be the ones who make the one-stop aggregate information stop," said Sands.