Farewell to the Editor

bluenotes was an outcome of an ANZ board visit to Silicon Valley a decade ago when – an earlier – dramatic disruption in technology and communication was accelerating.

It was clear so much more communication was going to occur on social platforms, traditional media would continue to fragment and the content audiences wanted was shifting. If organisations like ANZ wanted to maintain their engagement with customers, investors, the media and other stakeholders they would need to rethink what they were doing.

ANZ’s response was to launch bluenotes, Australia’s first dedicated corporate newsroom. For me, after three decades in traditional media including two at the Australian Financial Review, starting this from a blank sheet of paper was a fascinating challenge.

Along with two incredibly talented – and new media-savvy – colleagues, Jenny Farmer and Nicole Franklin, and steered by our media heads Paul Edwards and Stephen Ries, we launched bluenotes in just four months. And it has never stop evolving – because the communications and media landscape continues to rapidly change.

That we won multiple awards was gratifying but also emphasised this was one way corporates could better engage and enhance their reputation – not by trying to replace traditional media but by complementing it.

The major change since the launch of bluenotes was as a result of its success: a complete rebuilding of the platform, the launch of our sister publication ANZ News and the expansion of the team, led by Stephen and my brilliant colleague Sue-Ellen Atherton, and supported by equally talented colleagues Jemma Wight, Renee Levett and now Brett Foley, Camila Salazar, Jeff Whalley and Ally Galea.

Today’s bluenotes is truly a multi-media newsroom – and so it’s a good time to leave. (With no financial crisis looming, given I’ve now been through at least half a dozen …).

I hand over to Brett, a hugely experienced journalist whose CV spans daily papers in Australia and the UK, the AFR and global newswire Bloomberg.

It won’t be the same bluenotes because it shouldn’t be – the media is still rapidly changing, business models are coming and going, massively disruptive new technologies have arrived. That means an ongoing vital role for bluenotes and the opportunity for other, exciting new media ventures.

I’m sure I’ll continue to be a part of that. You can continue to connect with the team at ContentCOE@anz.com. And you can reach me on cornellandrewjohn@gmail.com

Thanks again for your support – and if you haven’t, subscribe here to bluenotes. It’s free.