More Annoying Blog Reflection
February 14, 2009 | 12:16 pmThere’s been a lot of discussion flying around the internet as of late about the future of newspapers, thanks in large part to a Time cover story by Walter Issacson that suggests a micro-payment system for papers, similar to that of iTunes. (Jon Stewart built off of Issacson’s idea and suggested making newspaper ink a narcotic)
In this morning’s NY Times, Eduardo Porter weighs in on the issue, restating many of the comments we heard about the necessity of newspapers (many of which I agree with) and makes this statement…
Some alternatives, like Politico.com and ProPublica, an investigative reporting outfit financed by philanthropy, do original journalism. But they are tiny. Cash-strapped TV stations depend on newspapers for much of their local news coverage. Cable news is increasingly commentary. And rather than a citizen reporter, the Internet has given us the citizen pundit, who comments on: newspaper articles.
Its the last sentence that caught my eye. There is a good deal of truth to this sweeping generality. Sitting at your PC and making damning statements about things read in newspapers is certainly the weapon-of-choice of most political/newsy blogs. From personal experience, let me just say that it certainly provides the most bang for the buck. Lord how we ratchet up the hits when we make outrageous comments and inspire all kinds of outrage! All without doing anything more than taking a minute (ok, 30 seconds) to reflect.
But there are some local blogs, like those here in Decatur and John Heneghan’s Dunwoody blog, that do not fit Porter’s model. These blogs often try to go beyond this basic comment philosophy, filling a gap where newspapers have certainly let us down (local news). We do the other stuff too, but we mixed it up. And I wonder, is this all that rare? Like what the $2,650 pint says about our willingness to help each other out, which seems to inspire awe in all parts of the world, does something we take for granted here in Decatur not exist elsewhere? Or perhaps Porter is just a victim of his own filters, since he lives in a major city that still has major newspapers. Why would he ever go beyond the NYC and D.C. blog critics that comment on his beat? Why would he ever click on a link that covers some random town in suburban Atlanta or central Indiana?
I though I’ve yet to personally find all that many examples of similar local blogs, I cannot believe they are all that rare. Though there are few other local blogs that fit this description around Atlanta, I must believe that there are other others out there that do their own reporting (when time permits). I wouldn’t be surprised if they tended to be in strong-community towns/cities like Decatur, where a blog or online news source is merely an extension of a larger feeling of connectedness. Perhaps someone could write a thesis on how the lack of local blogs is due to the lack of community in smaller cities and towns thanks to the makeup and design of the physical environment: like sprawl.
But I digress…too much self-reflection lately! Gotta stop wasting time on digressing and do some more actual reporting!
Yes, there are some dinosaurs in the news industry who have not seen the light and who will eventually lose their jobs.
Yes, there are some bloggers who are oblivious to what is potentially being lost in the name of promoting the new and shiny.
No, there isn’t all that much original reporting on blogs now.
No, nobody knows yet how professional reporting is going to be profitable on a wide, reproducible scale, and this is a bad thing.
If there’s one thing new media types and old media types and everyone in-between can agree on, it is that this conversation is tedious and played out.
I wish the newspapers would just die already so we can figure out what is going to replace them and move on. Because something will replace them. Nature hates a vacuum.
I worked for newspapers for a number of years and am now a close watcher of how journalism is changing. I see Decatur Metro as a model of what the best of local blogs can provide — original reporting, balanced commentary and a valuable forum for debate. While Decatur is an exceptional community in many ways, I expect that, in time, it will become common for many towns to have strong, local blogs. While too many bloggers are indeed little more “citizen pundits” right now, I think some in the newspaper world are mistaken in believing that there will never be real reporting from bloggers. Decatur Metro is proof enough that blogs can play a major role in covering news in a community.
Thanks for the kind words. My Dunwoody blog is hyper local especially now that I am on the City Council and using it post city government items of interest. That being said, my motto of transparency in Government breeding self-corrective behavior pushes me to publish items that I believe will effect positive change because of the information being shared.
Below are a couple of examples from my blog from the last two weeks that I would love to see the main stream media investigate fully since I don’t have the time to commit to such a project.
DeKalb County Parks Bond Update
DeKalb County School System Payroll
Keep digressing! You make a really valid point. That’s why your blog has become required reading for anyone who cares about what’s going on in Decatur.
Rusty, I know you’ve been wrestling with these questions much longer than I have, so I can understand that your pretty tired with the conversation. But because I’m relatively new to the conversation, I still enjoy thinking and writing about the tensions involved. What I’m saying has probably all been said before, in online and real world discussion on new media, but I’m not privy to many of those. All I have is my own readings and experience with this site.
I for one hope the conversation continues until it results in more answers and action plans than questions.
Upland and John, thanks for the kind words and thanks for reading!
John Heneghan, keep up the good work my man! I remember when you were just a faceless blogger like the rest of us…now you rule most of northern DeKalb County!
There is still a huge need for the investigative journalist, the person who can unearth the unsavory, and report it fairly, without bias. Whether that person writes for print or for cyberspace, is not the issue. We need people outside of our “circle” to look at us more objectively, and even coldly, to see who we are. Today’s media blogs fill a niche, but they are not the whole picture. We need a healthy news media, even if we hate them, or ignore them. They make us better news seekers.
[...] wonders how blogs can be robust tools to connect communities as newspapers continue to dwindle in size and [...]
Those editing indie blogs typically don’t have the time to research our own news and features., and can’t afford to pay reporters and cameramen, since we are non-profit. At best, we can only cover some night events the AJC (doesn’t consider significant enough to cover.
We rely on citizen readers like Carl Black and Agent OO? to serve as our unpaid reporters.
We also don’t have “press pass” privileges with the PD and FD, although the City has come to treat us as the part of the press community.
I believe a form of media in between blogs and large newspapers will emerge as the newspapers continue to lay off writers and eventually fold.
AGree with Dave. I think a lot of people have confused the death of newspapers with the death of investigative reporting altogether. I don’t see that the failure of one means necessarily means the failure of the other. And of course there is still TV news, which, I presume, is not in nearly as bad a financial position as the newspapers.
Of course, some papers, like the WSJ, continue to make money. The truth is that a lot of these papers are just very poorly run, the NYT a prime example.
dem,
That is tantamount to saying that the dinosaurs poorly ran their domain. I don’t think even the best laid plans could have predicted or prepared for that asteroid hitting them. In this case, the asteroid is ‘free’ media.
The problem isn’t case by case. Its across the whole frankin’ system. Yes the NY Times has made some questionable financial decisions over the years, making it more vulnerable than the WSJ, however both fear the future as more and more content moves online where ad revenue is a pale imitation of its former self.
I assume when you say “tv news” you’re talking about the locals? How much investigative reporting do they do on the community level anymore? One night Cobb County, the next DeKalb. This is enough to keep a local citizenry well informed?
Asteroid of free media? We’re what, 10 years into the realm of rampant free news sources on the web? How many decades would they need to come up with a viable business plan?
DM, it may not be case by case, but I am not yet convinced. It is probably not a coincidence that the dire warnings of losing news papers come now, in the teeth of a huge recession that is surely depressing ad revenues regardless of the effects of the internet. I have not studied this, of course, but there are newspappers out there that seem to be doing well, and others that are not.
I meant more at the federal and state levels re: TV. I also don’t really understand your point, DM. You claim the newspapers have let us down on local news anyway, creating a gap that blogs have to some extent filled. So from that perspective, who cares if the newspapers go away?
You win dem,
He who argues for his own limitations is allowed to keep them.
I think we’re well into the realm of belaboring, but whateva…
The loss of ad revenue has been killing newspapers for most of the 21st century, the current recession has only made it worse. In that time, local coverage, like so many other sections (book reviews, arts…) have also taken huge hits. I simultaneously lament the loss of good investigative reporting and a broader range of topics (not to mention the hardcopy), and also wonder where are all the local blogs.
Elron, what an elegant way of saying “talk to the hand.” I like it.
Where are the local bloggers? As a provider of a platform for 1st person community blogging and as an aggregator of quality blogs like Decatur Metro (xxx ooo), David Kell and Heneghan’s Dunwoody, I can say there are too few!
Like Neil Young searching for a heart of gold, I’m growing old looking for blogs with a fraction of the content or the quality you guys produce. There are a few neighborhood and civic organizations starting to take to blogging. Clairmont Heights does an excellent job summarizing matters of consequence to their community. I’m trying to encourage more in DeKalb and leverage the benefit to everyone in a community via my CommunityRadar.com
As far as citizen journalism goes, the reason there’s so little quality (whether investigative or not) is because it ain’t easy! I’ve managed to publish what I consider a couple of quality items in the past year (see shameless plugs below) and none of them was a 30-second effort, trust me. We may be asking too much of “the citizenry” to produce the same level of journalism as the pros.
This doesn’t discourage me, though. I think that we are VERY early in the transition to the “new media” and I believe when the dust settles we will still have a diversity of print, broadcast, and internet news sources.
The biggest change isn’t just who is producing the content, it is that each individual now has the privilege (responsibility?) to make consumption choices.
Shameless plugs below=============
DeKalb School System as Mr. Potato Head?
Executive Park Plan Evolves as Described in Public Meeting
Cortland’s Symphony Park Taking Shape