This is the first in a series of posts on the journalism industry, a.k.a. a chance for me to rant, rattle and roll about the biz.
I only buy The New York Times on the weekend. Even then, I sometimes take a peek at the online version before I head over to the print edition. I never thought I would do such outlandish things. After all, I am a newspaper guy, someone who worked in the biz for several years and relishes sitting down and reading the paper on the weekend. If the industry can't count on me, it has serious problems.
We all know the journalism world is in major upheaval mode. Subscriptions are down and online advertising hasn't made up for the print ad shortfall. The real issue, though, is that most online news readers are getting their news from news aggregators. Sites like Yahoo, Google and MSN provide quick access to zillions of articles on a given topic. They're free and easy to use. The question: what happens when newspapers go out of business because they can't find a viable revenue model? Will there be legitimate news to aggregate?
There will be plenty of content, certainly, and this scenario is not coming for a long time, but it is important to consider. If people aren't paying for online news now, they never will, even if newspapers stop the print version and go strictly online. Do we care if the content is not legitimized by a brand like the Times or The Washington Post?
Citizen journalism is a wonderful thing, but can it really replace news staffs and those who have journalism training? The crazy thing is, it actually could. When I was starting in journalism, everyone told me I just had to go somewhere where I could write, write, write and write some more. Blogs provide that outlet and interviews are just a matter of access. Sure, there isn't any editing on a blog (as seen by some of my typos), but by writing consistently, you do evolve and improve.
Chances are we're headed for some hybrid of citizen/professional journalism online with news alerts to your mobile, your e-mail and the chip embedded in your skin. Maybe then they'll be able to command you to pay for news.
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