SuperMedia

Saving Journalism so it can save the worldCharlie BeckettPresentation by Cher Phillips

Introduction: “The Dailyplanet.com”Why We Must Save Journalism So that Journalism Can Save the World Journalism changing

More abundant than ever before More resources for reaching audience Audience reaches back Necessary to our individual, societal and global lives Suggests an expansion of Journalism’s power to shape

society Who is shaping the future of journalism?

Networked Journalism

Beckett suggests a Networked Journalism that involves an engaged public will solve issues weakening journalism: Threats to the media landscape, media business,

public sphere Resolve distant relationship between public and

power Neutralize threats of terrorism Provide editorial diversity

“Help! Help! Who Will Save Us?” The New Media Landscape Journalism being turned upside down

Different markets moving at different speedsEasier and cheaper to be a journalist nowRelationship between producer and consumer

are changingJournalism of the future is neither extreme –

old media or new media but Networked Journalism

The New News Media Landscape

Premise impossible, undesirable to separate New from old media

Important to understand journalism online: Technorati tracking about 100 million blogs (*133

million since 2002) 20 percent cover politics, business and current affairs, 1.1 billion people online (6.6 billion people in world), a

third high speed (*total Internet audience of 188.9 million)

Old Media still holding out

Mainstream news still useful Newspaper sales up 2.3 percent in 2006 Decline in viewing seems to have slowed Traditional media formats still serve purposes

fitting into lifestyles, especially radio Traditional platforms are where the experience

and skills, “growing market for core functions of journalism”

The New Threats to the News Media Business Model Audience is fading, young generations turning

to non-traditional sources Readers stick with brand online, but revenue

doesn’t follow Lack data to justify online advertising People don’t want to pay for online news 2005 study suggests no new online funding

model between

Research shows no new funding

In 2005, Mensing and Rejfek presented a paper at the International Symposium on Online Journalism that compared the business models of online newspapers in 1996 to 2005 and found that the industry is not actively investing much money in new, online research that would help develop a financially secure new digital economy. http://online.journalism.utexas.edu/papers.php?year=2005

Threats continued

Fragmentation Ethnic minorities drop traditional news for

diverse options via satellite and digital Access increases division between news

junkies and entertainment fans Journalism challenge to create and sustain

online communities around its work

Loss of Quality

Importance of impact over quality yielding to sensationalism

Reasons could be reduction of staff leading to less news being covered

Efficiency that cuts the corners of good reporting Results of Lack of Quality:

Public discourse is poisoned, Dumbing down by bloggers, Professional gatekeepers maintain control of info flow Devil’s Advocate: representation of “the banal of society” is

accurate

Changes to the Public Sphere

Public Sphere is changing over last 30 years, journalism will change too – needs to “sustain its core functions and value”

Public Sphere refers to aspect social life where public opinion is formed

Public service is in retreat

Reduction of public service journalism means a threat to the positive role in public sphere

Where are the Schoolhouse Rock’s of today? “I’m just a bill.” Why, it’s new song “Presidential Minute” is on

sale on Amazon for $19.99 Lack of funding could make it boring, dull and

unimportant (Ie. I don’t have $19.99 to show you this song.)

Some online news not the answer

Interview with Wagner James Au, Second Life blogger*

News organizations moving into Second Life don’t provide an alternative for journalism

“Simply taking journalism online is not an answer”

Beckett - Fact errors in Second Life entry, too easily dismisses relevance of Second Life to society and Networked Journalism model

It a Bird? Is It a Plane? No! It’s Supermedia!” Journalism will have to embrace new

business models Beckett’s ultimate hope is that this will

reform the public sphere

History of Networked Journalism Journalism – by nature – changes Basic activities report, analyze and comment remain Early bloggers were like pamphleteers 18th century coffee houses – news reflected the

conversations and audience Industrialization made a media economy possible Technology made mass media possible – telegraph,

trade, printing, personal wealth opened up time education allowed more to read

Digital revolution represents a similar shift

Networked Journalism –defined

Networking always been part of journalism Public is involved before, during after reporting

of story, Many forms of media deeply connected and

hard to separate New media will resolve some of the problems

of old media

Resolved issues

Easier to start and grow a business Old Media answered financial bottom

line, interactive nature empowers consumer to respond and to send in info

Old Media limited by technology, distance and space, ie. Filing stories, developing film, typesetting

Issues addressed

Old media expensive News Cycle changed to 24 hours and

continuous deadline Journalism works across more platforms

and content needs to be presented best for each platform – no more shoveled content

Elements of Networked Journalism

Stories become a process instead of product

On several platforms Consumers contributing at all stages

What Networked Journalism Looks Like Newsroom is conceptual rather than a

physical structure Traditional sources will remain but RSS

feeds, social networks blogs will become part of the sources and be a continuous part of the news process

Model for a 21st Century Newsroom

Discussion

Beckett offers Networked Journalism as an answer for many of problems plaguing journalism.

Is involving the public enough to “fix” these problems?

How Networked Journalism Can Save the Media

The problem of authority and trust Journalism needs to provide value and is

pointless without trust Bringing the public in essentially brings in

a million extra sets of eyes and over a long run makes new more credible

Journalism and temporality

Story life is longer Ex. YouTube picking up news reports audience

might have missed at a scheduled time. Put onus for talking a story to death on the

public and not the media Will the crowd be setting the agenda or the

media? Is this any better or worse?

Journalism and geography

Physical and moral distance is reduced with digital journalism

When the press gets it wrong, more fact checkers

Do you think trust will increase if people think that the whole world is fact checking the media?

The Business of Networked Journalism Networked Journalism offers commercial

opportunities to serve what the audience wants So far, it’s been people putting out what they

want as opposed to what the reader wants If we have a media serve audience news

desires, what would keep entertainment media from dominating headlines?

Networked Journalism and Politics

Shifts in journalism processes indicate desire from citizens for open, direct political communication

Bloggers in U.S. and Britain impact political reporting

African Politics

Western media influences aid Two types media to develop: social media and

journalism development as a profession Public structures dictate the justifications by

local government for hinder press freedoms to certain levels, too fragile a government, show patriotism and pull together, can’t be afforded, too poorly trained to be trusted as watchdogs

Africa con’t

Citizen input influences professional coverage, report from an anonymous position being less vulnerable to official intimidation

Africans cell phone text use more advanced than West, used for election reporting

Blogging activity with cell phone texting may represent that investment could be made in a new paradigm

With the suggestion of new paradigm: Do you think Beckett is suggesting some investment in Africa as a testing ground for Networked Journalism?

Fighting Evil: Terror, Community and Networked Journalism “Terror is a mediated form of politics and

violence” Terrorism is connected to community, not

something defeated by a military Better understanding of other communities

of the world needed

Islamaphobic press, Aljazeera and Muslims Aljazeera example of desire for Middle East

news not from a Western Islamaphobic view Author suggests these examples as Networked

Journalism potential global influence Author suggests that Muslims are separatists

and allow themselves to be misunderstood and Networked Journalism could balance that by offering more viewpoints

Western media’s incomplete portrayal Tomorrow’s Pioneers left Palenstian

culture unexplained by media Example of CNN reportage: “It’s just evil

stuff.” “This is where the war of ideas is.”

Hamas brainwash kids with cartoon characters to be terrorist

Fear Factor

Beckett ups the ante: “If we do not find a way of connecting people, other people will. As we have seen, extremists are expert in exploiting new communications technologies.”

What do you think of this statement by Beckett? Is he, in essence, saying Networked Journalism or else? Why or why not?

Networked Journalism in Action: Editorial Diversity and Media Literacy In other words – the “You will still have jobs”

chapter – Editorial input is vital Networked Journalism could balance the lack of

newsroom/editorial diversity LA Time wiki experiment showed that

surrendering control of the news platform to the citizen input didn’t work

Key skill will be to analyze the data collected, editing for quality content with an open mind

Media Literacy

Technology is always changing, danger in not everyone keeping up

For journalists – will need to learn how to work with citizen journalist

Media literacy is wider than Journalism schools and training journalists for Networked Journalism

Teachers should use blogs, use games, use social networking, participate and accept information flux

Media Literacy in Governance

E-democracy movements should not replace journalism

Networked Journalism should included citizens reporting on their governments in a larger conversation

Media Literacy Discussion

Should journalism schools take on the task of training citizen journalists to in media literacy and e-democracy literacy?