Bill Keller, the Executive Editor of the New York Times, made a speech to his staff last week, in which he addressed issues of concern – such as paid content. During this, he outlined the 7 digital priorites for the NYT.

They are the following:

1. the future role of Times Topics and other “living articles”
2. openness of Times content, integration of non-Times content, and social media
3. integration of print and digital operations, particularly for department heads
4. improved collaboration between technologists and the newsroom
5. thinking “web first”
6. a stronger strategy for cell phones and other mobile devices
7. redesigning Times article pages to create “an engine of engagement”

The points that jump out to me are 1, 2, and 7 (the others are mostly operational). It’s fantastic to see that the NYT is actively moving away from static articles towards those that live, grow and develop. Topic-based news is the future of news navigation and context-setting. Hand-in-hand with this, they are looking beyond their own content, to the integration of external sources and social media. These elements help work towards the final priority of creating news that is “an engine of engagement.” This tallies with the move from monetising content to monetising engagement, and helps move transitory traffic up the value chain.

These priorities provide a great guide for any publisher planning activity over the next quarters.

UPDATE: Also see “Is Wikipedia the future of news delivery” for more thoughts on “living articles.”