2008 Woodie Awards
Journalists must adapt to web
David McRaney
Issue date: 5/1/07 Section: Opinion
This was the way of things until September 11, 2001. Since then, news has changed. The Internet sprang forth with force, people became knee-jerk sensitive to anything anti-establishment, and we went to war. The generations brought up during this post 9/11 insanity see news differently, respond to it differently, because the news changed. Pundits rule the airwaves; fluff infotainment clogs our arteries; no one asks follow-up questions; independent blogs and fake news shows are better sources for the truth than either CNN or Fox News.
Apathy is rampant. Thankfully, a shift is taking place.
In the new market, every newspaper sits shoulder to shoulder with every other newspaper along the Internet. So, the New York Times is one click away from Possum Gorge Gazette. The audience sees no difference; they just want information. So, to the audience, the Internet is one huge newspaper. What separates each publication is how they cover the things the others have no access to. The big guys and the little guys need to understand that.
The newspaper business is really crappy these days. Newspapers readership has been declining for decades, but the Internet delivered the killing blow. This is the era of the slow bleeding out of the conventional press. The same will happen to television.
Over the next few years many of the old papers will be edged out. In the old days, it simply cost too much money to topple one of these Gannett or Scripps Howard franchises, but now anyone with a computer and a camera can provide news coverage of their area. You don't need a printing press to put a local paper out of business, just a competent staff.
I love journalism, but I have no love for the paper news. I see it as far inferior to the Internet in most of the ways I prefer to get my information, but I do not think it has no value. The paper news should provide long-form, in-depth coverage, while the Internet should be interactive, immediate, provide an open dialog with the audience and throw in all those nifty doo-dads and videos people love to play with.
Apathy is rampant. Thankfully, a shift is taking place.
In the new market, every newspaper sits shoulder to shoulder with every other newspaper along the Internet. So, the New York Times is one click away from Possum Gorge Gazette. The audience sees no difference; they just want information. So, to the audience, the Internet is one huge newspaper. What separates each publication is how they cover the things the others have no access to. The big guys and the little guys need to understand that.
The newspaper business is really crappy these days. Newspapers readership has been declining for decades, but the Internet delivered the killing blow. This is the era of the slow bleeding out of the conventional press. The same will happen to television.
Over the next few years many of the old papers will be edged out. In the old days, it simply cost too much money to topple one of these Gannett or Scripps Howard franchises, but now anyone with a computer and a camera can provide news coverage of their area. You don't need a printing press to put a local paper out of business, just a competent staff.
I love journalism, but I have no love for the paper news. I see it as far inferior to the Internet in most of the ways I prefer to get my information, but I do not think it has no value. The paper news should provide long-form, in-depth coverage, while the Internet should be interactive, immediate, provide an open dialog with the audience and throw in all those nifty doo-dads and videos people love to play with.
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