The MediaDaily News from MediaPost pointed out an article that Dan Gilmour wrote for the BBC News on May 4th that seemed to contradict his well known support for citizen journalism. I don’t believe he’s changing his stance. Instead, I think he is issuing a loud warning to US media organizations and their readers that there is a price to pay when good journalism is tied to an archaic business model. With online sites like Craigslist and eBay sponging up the money once spent on classified ads, traditional newspapers that once supported deep investigative journalism can no longer afford to waste valuable space and time on much more than entertainment, sports and news summaries. Journalists are being fired at a rapid rate as newspapers see ad revenue decline and circulation decrease. Yet turning to blogs is not the answer.
The niche focus of most blogs and websites and the competitive drive to publish quickly does not create an environment that fosters thoughtful, deep reporting resulting in earth shattering stories about healthcare issues, environmental dangers, unethical politics and global crises. I do believe that blogs bring tremendous value to the investigative process by identifying potentially critical bits and pieces of stories far faster than any individual journalist could. But professional journalists and editors are skilled in filtering out unconfirmed and biased information and assembling well-rounded, comprehensive stories. Many bloggers are passionate believers in one side of a story giving little credence to alternative viewpoints. It would be a terrible to lose the buffer of neutrality provided by newspapers.
As depressing as this article sounds from a newspaper lover’s perspective (yes that’s me), there is hope for newspapers that open their eyes to new media. Rob Curley, New Media Director of the Naples Daily News is doing some amazing things to grow readership, community and profits by integrating new media (videos, mobile alerts, online comments) into the daily life of traditional news readers. Stay tuned to this blog for a new podcast where Rob shares his vision for the future of journalism. Hopefully, newspapers across the US will see how Rob and his team are succeeding and start delivering good old journalism through new media venues.
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