In 2007, as we began working on 209Vibe.com, a friend told me I should check out self-described Internet punk Rob Curley. Curley had been the online editor at the Lawrence, Kan., Journal-World, and my friend recommended I research (what I was told was) his work on Lawrence.com. The site was, and still is, a model for hyperlocal entertainment coverage. It’s interesting, engaging and its design always seems to be ahead of the curve.

Curley later went on to other media companies in Kansas and Florida before joining Washingtonpost.Newsweek and, in 2008, Lasvegassun.com. There he’s continued to earn accolades and, according to a story this week on Lasvegascitylife.com, he’s ruffled his fair share of feathers. The story says in part that Curley’s Web-first emphasis as well as his efforts to generate revenue have earned him the scorn of some in the newsroom.

The story closes with the Sun laying off reporters in December, and it states that, “many former and current employees wonder whether the company’s investment in the Internet sped its demise, and whether its attempt to create a new business model ultimately hurt the bottom line.”

It doesn’t say, however, if those employees had or have any better ideas for generating revenue.

Curley’s efforts in Las Vegas may not pay off to the expectation of his bosses. But he, his staff and their supporters at the Sun should be applauded, not ridiculed, for their work. They didn’t stand pat in hopes that print revenue will one day bounce back, which is a questionable business strategy considering print has been declining since the late 1960s.

Instead, the Sun’s online staff took risks and pushed for change and innovation. Sure, they didn’t always succeed. But Curley’s experiences shouldn’t discourage media companies from innovating. Those in the industry have to innovate if they want to improve the industry’s chances of surviving.

They should learn from Curley’s struggles as they move forward. Media executives need to understand that the needs of the market should be of primary concern when determining how to innovate. The citylife story notes that Lasvegassun.com had tried increasing coverage of high school sports, a strategy which showed promise in Kansas and Florida. But it didn’t work in Las Vegas or when Curley tried it outside of Washington, D.C, “both fast-growing communities with few residents who’d actually lived there during high school,” the story states. Perhaps Lasvegassun.com would’ve done better with a product that targeted Sin City’s hospitality industry.

Media executives also should realize that innovation won’t be easy. It means change. Upsetting the established order. Taking people out of their comfort zones.

And that can ruffle a few feathers, as Curley well knows.

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