Already a member?
Welcome to Brazen Careerist!
Ruby Ku is using Brazen Careerist to share ideas. Join now to become a member and start networking with Ruby Ku and other professionals just like you. Learn more.
Ruby Ku is using Brazen Careerist to share ideas. Join now to become a member and start networking with Ruby Ku and other professionals just like you. Learn more.
I came across many pieces of news relating to the print media industry over the weekend. One was in my school newspaper, Imprint, on "Is print media dying?" about a blogger invited to attend the NHL All-Star Game and had the same access as mainstream media. Another one was on "Future of Media: Is democracy written in disappearing ink?" about San Francisco facing the prospect of becoming the first major U.S. city without a major newspaper. And one more on Seattle Paper Shifting Entirely to the Web.
Quoted from Sinclair Steward and Grant Robinson, traditional media plays the roles of informing the public, animating civic culture and holding government & business accountable. They noted that congress is more responsive to their communities and federal spending is reduced when coverage is high. Another important thing to keep in mind is that sites like Google News are merely content aggregator, without newspaper actually providing the content, there's nothing to be aggregated.
I am a big fan of citizen journalism and there are lots of bloggers that generate high-quality content. However, I see online media as a perfect supplement to traditional media, not a replacement. We cannot do without newspaper. Online media has its own niche and there is nothing that will reach the mass like a city newspaper does. Print and online media serve different purposes, hold different values, impact the society differently, and have different roles in telling the stories that need to be told.
Then there's the question of digital divide. When print media moves online, people who don't have access to computers and internet lose access to one more part of mainstream media, and their rights at least to know if not to voice.
Who will represent the underdogs, the invisible, the forgotten, the unloved? What does journalism mean to you? What are your thoughts? Please share them with me.
Ruby,
Terrific post. It ties in nicely with another post today about the relevance of social media, since successful blogging is in many ways social networking. One of the many (emphasis here on many) problems I see with blogging as a replacement or equivalent for traditional media is that energy and resources that should be directed at uncovering the details of a story and digging deeper are instead spent growing a fan base and attracting more followers.
While print may be dying, the need for factual, legimimate reporting remains stronger than ever. Blogs are great in large part because they provide an opinion page beyond what has traditionally been published, but do not have the credibility or resources to break stories such as a Reuters or AP.
What I believe newspapers and wire services should be doing therefore is instead of trying to compete with the ever-expanding information free-for-all is to hire staff to keep up with the proliferation of content and become familiar with the new way people are creating and sharing information, which in many cases is well thought out and legitimate.
They can then leverage their brands, which in many cases represent integrity and honesty, to pick up on stories and opinions that people share freely. Newspapers win because they are exposed to more information, and bloggers win because their blogs gain visibility and are backed by a strong name.
I would love to know what people think. Can bloggers and journalists sucessfully collaborate?
I think collaboration is a must here. It's not about making newspapers obsolete, it's about adapting them and coordinating both print and online interactive media. How that is done, that is the challenge, but as we continue to see sales decline of the traditional periodical, it is apparent that embracing new technology will be absolutely key in meeting consumer demand.
I wrote about this exact topic last week on my blog, I encourage you to read more of my thoughts there and share your ideas in the ongoing discussion.
http://blog.lifewithoutpants.com/i-am-internet-hear-me-roar-how-the-web-...
@Eliot - thank you for your thoughts. You raised some good points. I definitely think journalists and bloggers can collaborate. To what extent - I am not sure what my thoughts on that are yet. As for whether the newspaper represent integrity and honesty - I am not sure if I fully agree to that. There are many stories remain untold, because of many different reasons. That's how I see the bloggers come in - to tell the untold stories, voluntarily, unpaid, without the influence of authorities and threats for losing their jobs.
@Matt - will definitely check out your blog and add to that discussion. Thanks for reading.
I personally don't ever plan on buying another physical newspaper again. If it can't be syndicated online and funneled through a feed into my streamlined inbox I don't want it.
Even if the newspapers do disappear as a physical medium, we'll still need reporters to cover stories for the online editions and there are still plenty of local news TV stations.
Email
Print
