In with the new
I read all the way through Robert Samuelson’s Newsweek column about the fate of journalism thinking that I was reading another lament. But then came this gem of an ending:
The changes involve more than economics. When I started, print journalism required two basic skills: reporting and writing. Now, journalists are expected to be multimedia utility players, feeding Web sites, posting videos and doing TV. Up to a point, this is valuable: finding new ways to engage and inform. But it’s also time-consuming and detracts from reporting. Just what constitutes journalism is less clear. . . . The skills that are rewarded are shifting from diligent, curious and clear, to tech-savvy, quick and edgy.If the Internet permanently crashed tomorrow, I’d be thrilled. Still, the sky-is-falling view of the news business is a triumph of heart over head. Parts of the news complex are expanding. Bloomberg News has 2,300 reporters and editors worldwide, up 300 from early 2006. Among most reporters and editors, journalistic norms—respect for facts, an effort to be fair—endure. Despite problems at individual news organizations, the public has access to more news than ever. People are no less informed. A poll by the Pew Research Center reports that in 2007, 69 percent of the public can identify the vice president, down from 74 percent in 1989; but 76 percent know which party controls Congress, up from 68 percent. “[T]he findings suggest little change in overall levels of public knowledge,” says Pew. The real news about the news business is that it isn’t collapsing. It’s merely changing.
Tags: journalism, newsinnovation
May 24th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Absolutely. There will be more news than ever. It won’t be limited to what’s shoved through the narrow funnel of newspapers, broadcast outlets, and a handful of cable TV and radio programs. The journalists of tomorrow will find themselves working in many more places than news outlets. They’ll also be working for newsmakers, PR firms, think tanks, not-for-profits — hey, aren’t those the places they work for when they change jobs today?
May 24th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
“The journalists of tomorrow will find themselves working in many more places than news outlets. They’ll also be working for newsmakers, PR firms, think tanks, not-for-profits — hey, aren’t those the places they work for when they change jobs today?”
That’s right. When they decide not to be journalists.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Mark, I think you’re right. But the “journalist” role of today was invented only about 80 years ago, mostly through the work of Walter Lippmann. It’s been a good run. But the job is about to change.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Steve, I tend to reject the term in the traditional sense. For at least 30 years, most reporters haven’t really been journalists. But aside from that, the job has already changed, my friend. As the old saying goes, “news is what the editor says it is,” and the editor is saying something different every day.
May 24th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Mark, agree. In addition to the ongoing job changes, I expect that the principles will also be under fire. I’m not sure concepts like “objectivity,” “independence,” and “the public’s right to know” are going to be around all that much longer. And in the end, I’m not sure that news will be any worse for it, either.
May 25th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Would he really be “thrilled” if the Internet crashed tomorrow? Think of the numerous ways in which the Internet has made the job of the journalist easier. (Yes, it is a great tool for the lazy, but lazy journalists existed long before the Internet came along.) Think of how many opportunities it has opened–far more than the ones it is eliminating.