This question of how news survives in this new age, and specifically what the effect of "free news" will have on what I call "hard news" is defined in a remarkable column by Jack Shafer at: http://www.slate.com/id/2134918/
Please take a look and post any comments here.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Clarification - Identity - Purpose
I've been asked to clarify the nature of this blog. I'm Bernie Lunzer, Secretary Treasurer of The Newspaper Guild. This site is not meant to be an official site, nor is it just a site for union members. It is a site for anyone that cares about the future of news in North America.
I got a call from a high-up editor at a major newspaper chain who wanted to talk about "the future of news," although it became a discussion about the "future of news work." Everyone's concerned about where we're headed.
There is a real question about how much one person can and should do. Can you do the story, shoot the video, do the first edits and perhaps publish to the web too. If you can't, does that mean there is no place for you in the world of journalism.
And, after all this restructuring how many of us will be left?
I got a call from a high-up editor at a major newspaper chain who wanted to talk about "the future of news," although it became a discussion about the "future of news work." Everyone's concerned about where we're headed.
There is a real question about how much one person can and should do. Can you do the story, shoot the video, do the first edits and perhaps publish to the web too. If you can't, does that mean there is no place for you in the world of journalism.
And, after all this restructuring how many of us will be left?
Monday, January 23, 2006
ownership that values journalism
"What newspapers really need, above all else, is ownership that values journalism and understands that the work of gathering, writing, and publishing the news is an inherently ineffecient business that is in a period of profound transition. The private press baron of the past might have been a blow-hard propoagandist with the ethics of a wharf rat, but at least he loved the trade. Compared with the lineup of bloodless managers and mandarins currently squeezing the life out of journalism, Charles Foster Kane looks pretty damn good. So while there is no guarantee that the private ownership of today would recognize the value of journalism, it has already been established that Wall Street does not. Maybe it's time we took our chances." Douglas McCollam, from CJR.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Craigslist Founder Envisions Improved New Media - InformationWeek
Craig Newmark is still keeping most details of his next venture under wraps but in an interview says it will "promote the best of the press," prominently featuring people with the "best reputations."
"I want to help accelerate the evolution of the press because right now, newsrooms are cutting investigative journalists, and we need investigative journalists," Newmark said.
He said revenue could be generated through micro-payments, either through a pay-per-view system or through subscriptions. He would not state how the money would flow from readers to journalists.
Craig Newmark is still keeping most details of his next venture under wraps but in an interview says it will "promote the best of the press," prominently featuring people with the "best reputations."
"I want to help accelerate the evolution of the press because right now, newsrooms are cutting investigative journalists, and we need investigative journalists," Newmark said.
He said revenue could be generated through micro-payments, either through a pay-per-view system or through subscriptions. He would not state how the money would flow from readers to journalists.
"I think the American press overall does a great job, and I remind my citizen journalist friends that there's no substitute for professional writing, editing, fact-checking, and research," Newmark said.
The greatest area of trouble is that the press, particularly the White House press corps, "doesn't speak truth to power," he said. "They hear a lie. They know it's a lie. They concede it privately but don't report it as such."
blurred lines
From The Korea Times
The advent of the multimedia era has broken down the exclusivity of the news reporting market, long dominated by terrestrial broadcasters and newspapers.
Now, such outlets as portals, cable television and online newspapers are taking up the role of news providers. Individual bloggers and companies are also joining the trend, using their homepages as a means to distribute information. Even President Roh Moo-hyun this week opened a blog on the nation’s three separate Internet portals. The presidential spokesman said the blog would provide news reports on the office ``directly’’ to Internet users.
The trend shows a gradually blurring division between news producers and consumers. Theoretically, it means everybody can become both. Kwon Ki-duk, researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute, assessed that the culture has created a new ``value chain’’ on how a news item is consumed and (re)produced.
The advent of the multimedia era has broken down the exclusivity of the news reporting market, long dominated by terrestrial broadcasters and newspapers.
Now, such outlets as portals, cable television and online newspapers are taking up the role of news providers. Individual bloggers and companies are also joining the trend, using their homepages as a means to distribute information. Even President Roh Moo-hyun this week opened a blog on the nation’s three separate Internet portals. The presidential spokesman said the blog would provide news reports on the office ``directly’’ to Internet users.
The trend shows a gradually blurring division between news producers and consumers. Theoretically, it means everybody can become both. Kwon Ki-duk, researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute, assessed that the culture has created a new ``value chain’’ on how a news item is consumed and (re)produced.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
intro
It's my hope to take a hard look at the future of news. Changes in technology have always effected the way people communicate - from Guttenberg to telegraph, to radio and tv. But the web has changed everything, and that may or may not be a good thing.
Disclaimer - I work in the news industry - what many bloggers deride as the MSM (main stream news media). That's supposed to be a bad thing, calling us that. Both the left and the right are attacking established media when it suits their purpose.
But we need news we can rely on. We need professionally produced, edited, vetted information. I'm convinced of that. Yes there is a place for blogs, and citizen journalism. I think these things will improve professional journalism - already has in many ways. But getting a lot of folks opinions on what they see in their own backyard, is not the same as what a professional news operation does. Ironically, it is the interplay between established media, and all the new approaches that makes this such an interesting time.
But everything has a price. Someone, somewhere, has to pay for professional news. Information may want to be free, but good information will never be entirely so.
Further disclaimer - I represent print journalists. I think newspapers continue to be the most vital provider of "hard" news - all the other outlets feed off of newspapers. We are told newspapers will soon be dead. I doubt it. But just as tv forever changed radio, so too will these new technologies - and the market has to sort it out.
What is the future of news - how will it be distributed - will folks still want reliable news, or just opinions they agree with - how will it be paid for? Those are the questions I want to try and track here, by pulling together the best thoughts I can find on these matters. I'll need your help and your ideas - no one really understands exactly where this is headed, or how it will effect our societies. But we'd better get talking about it now.
Disclaimer - I work in the news industry - what many bloggers deride as the MSM (main stream news media). That's supposed to be a bad thing, calling us that. Both the left and the right are attacking established media when it suits their purpose.
But we need news we can rely on. We need professionally produced, edited, vetted information. I'm convinced of that. Yes there is a place for blogs, and citizen journalism. I think these things will improve professional journalism - already has in many ways. But getting a lot of folks opinions on what they see in their own backyard, is not the same as what a professional news operation does. Ironically, it is the interplay between established media, and all the new approaches that makes this such an interesting time.
But everything has a price. Someone, somewhere, has to pay for professional news. Information may want to be free, but good information will never be entirely so.
Further disclaimer - I represent print journalists. I think newspapers continue to be the most vital provider of "hard" news - all the other outlets feed off of newspapers. We are told newspapers will soon be dead. I doubt it. But just as tv forever changed radio, so too will these new technologies - and the market has to sort it out.
What is the future of news - how will it be distributed - will folks still want reliable news, or just opinions they agree with - how will it be paid for? Those are the questions I want to try and track here, by pulling together the best thoughts I can find on these matters. I'll need your help and your ideas - no one really understands exactly where this is headed, or how it will effect our societies. But we'd better get talking about it now.
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