Many things have changed about journalism over the past decade – including the staffing models. Ten years ago, as head of the news operation at Ziff-Davis’ PC Week, I managed a team of 27 writers and editors. Today, I oversee a staff of one.

So where does the content in this edit-light model come from? Well, from just about anywhere. I’ve spent the last few weeks recruiting a group of contributors who can lend their insights to the eMediaVitals site. Between my existing networks, suggestions from colleagues, and filtered searches on Twitter and Technorati, I came up with a decent list of prospects who play in our space. The recruits fall into three main categories:

• Consultants: These are industry experts who blog to build brand awareness. They generally do not require compensation – which is a bonus for any startup – and are generally willing to contribute one post per week. The challenge is, the best ones are already writing, either for another publication or their own blog. So I usually end up looking for under-the-radar experts who don’t have a large following but offer unique perspective on the publishing industry. The biggest caveat with consultants is guarding against self-serving posts. (Excluded from this group are product vendors and other potential advertisers – it’s an increasingly blurred line, but one we’re just not ready to cross.)
• Practitioners: These are functional experts who currently work in the industry. They are the toughest to bring on board but potentially offer the most valuable insight, directly from the trenches. Functional experts usually do not require compensation, but posting frequency is an issue with this group – many are too busy doing their day jobs to commit to a weekly blog or column. In these cases, it’s better to create a shared blog to which multiple practitioners can contribute. Writing ability can be another issue with this group; experts in building digital media businesses don’t always make the best writers. So I backstop all outside contributors with at least one round of editing, at least until I can determine they can stand on their own.
• Journalists: These are the traditional freelancers who write articles or blog posts for a fee. Frequency is not an issue, but compensation is. Since freelancing is their profession - be it full or part time – these writers expect to be paid. Their style of blogging is different than the short, opinionated posts that so-called subject-matter experts post. Journalists tend to apply the same research and interviewing techniques they use for feature articles to the blogosphere. (Surprisingly, many journalists who were trained mercilessly to stay objective often have trouble writing commentary in their own voice.)

How’s the group shaping up? Surprisingly, I’ve had my best luck with the practitioners. We have four queuing up on the runway – an editor in chief, a VP of digital media, a director of content strategy, and a director of analytics. (We’ll reveal the names when their first posts are published.) Consultants – still digging. One told me she’d like to wait to see how the site traffic builds. Others are already committed to other publications. Journalists – no takers there yet, either. Most want to do “traditional” buck-a-word features, which we really don’t have the budget to outsource. They’re less inclined to blog at a cut base rate plus a bonus based on page views. The search continues.

I’m also looking inward. We are, after all, a media company covering the publishing industry. So we have our own staff of experts among the senior management team: Prescott Shibles, our CEO; Mitch Speers, our COO; Mil Shah, our VP of product development; and Alex McGrath, our national sales director. I’ve been hounding these guys to share their experiences in launching a startup, and they’re finally warming up to the idea – so look for their posts more frequently. That’s why we launched the Dog Food blog – so we can share the experiences of building a digital publishing business with an audience who can relate.

Of course, you know what comes next: the pitch. If you’d like to contribute to the site, or if you know someone who you think should be writing for us, drop me an email. There, I said it.