John Robinson, editor of the Greensboro News-Record in North Carolina, was one of the first newspaper editors to embrace blogging. He says he did it to increase transparency in his newsroom. He thinks reporters should look at blogs as another method of storytelling. What do you think? Do blogs enhance journalism? Are you reading blogs? Why or why not?
Showing posts with label Citizen Journalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Citizen Journalism. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Death of the Old Media
This article from Adbusters Magazine details the decline of reporting in America. It talks of Journalism going from a necessary part of America and the democratic process to now being comparable to a mail-order catalog. The decline of traditional media also coincides with the increase of citizen journalism. Sites such as NowPublic.org are the new adversaries of the corporate press. As reporting continues to be watered down, America is going to suffer. Democratic process is based in the fact that the citizens are receiving the information necessary to make decisions. How can that still function if the media is compromised?
The problem, according to the article, is that corporations running newspapers insist on high profit margins. "According to the International Newspaper Financial Executives, the average major newspaper makes a 15.6 percent pre-tax profit. The Tribune Company, which own the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, has a 21.4 percent pre-tax profit margin. In contrast, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest corporation, operates at a 5.4 percent profit margin. Although the media is suffering from major revenue loses, the gutting of the public watchdog is happening because media corporations are insisting on maintaining the same extreme margins."
The press used to be a watchdog, and now it is becoming a lapdog. Where is the outcry against this? An interesting section of the article states "While they’re still confronted with the same problem of attracting an audience in the digital age, because non-profits funnel revenue back into their projects, they offer the media at least one formula for stability. 'The media can be done as a non-profit and it’s something that makes me salivate when I think about it,' "
What are your thoughts? Should the media be treated as a business where profit margins are the only thing that matters? Is the decline in true investigative journalism a problem? What about the idea of media as a non-profit? The article raises a ton of questions regarding the future of journalism. As the whorification of the media continues, should we fight it? Or should we lean back in our chairs and wait for an answer to present itself?
The problem, according to the article, is that corporations running newspapers insist on high profit margins. "According to the International Newspaper Financial Executives, the average major newspaper makes a 15.6 percent pre-tax profit. The Tribune Company, which own the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, has a 21.4 percent pre-tax profit margin. In contrast, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest corporation, operates at a 5.4 percent profit margin. Although the media is suffering from major revenue loses, the gutting of the public watchdog is happening because media corporations are insisting on maintaining the same extreme margins."
The press used to be a watchdog, and now it is becoming a lapdog. Where is the outcry against this? An interesting section of the article states "While they’re still confronted with the same problem of attracting an audience in the digital age, because non-profits funnel revenue back into their projects, they offer the media at least one formula for stability. 'The media can be done as a non-profit and it’s something that makes me salivate when I think about it,' "
What are your thoughts? Should the media be treated as a business where profit margins are the only thing that matters? Is the decline in true investigative journalism a problem? What about the idea of media as a non-profit? The article raises a ton of questions regarding the future of journalism. As the whorification of the media continues, should we fight it? Or should we lean back in our chairs and wait for an answer to present itself?
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