Is Getting the Scoop Important in New Media?
This question is addressed in a recent editorial in the Columbia Journalism Review that speaks to the issue of traditional newspapers finding revenue on the Internet. The specific example laid out by the editors of this journal was the Washington Post’s scoop of the problems at Walter Reed Hospital and the subsequent failure to pursue additional information by the New York Times. Their argument is that the Times and other competitors should have linked to the Post’s story and conducted their own research to create a richer dialogue.
I couldn’t agree more with the assessment of the Review in terms of newspapers sucking it up and trying to show some class and journalistic curiosity. If newspapers are doomed to fail in print, they might as well fail while doing their jobs. The main issue I gleaned from this editorial is that the future of new media is not exactly bright. Networks like Fox and CNN are shutting down foreign bureaus, cutting budgets and relying on eyewitness information to cover events. There are some things the public is not ideally suited for and one of them is honest journalism.
Think about a nation of peeping toms and amateur reporters who have an agenda that is nearly as insidious as that of corporate media. A neighbor thinking it is their duty to report violence instead of contacting the authorities and a “reporter? using their blurry camera phone to observe the effects of a hurricane does not sound appealing to me. Citizen journalism is great as a supplement to regular media as history has proven (see: muckrakers in the Progressive Era). It is not a replacement for responsible journalism and we need to find a balance as we phase out print media in the next generation. The New York Times, CNN and Fox will use citizens to cut down budgets under the guise of empowering them to create the news.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:57 am
[...] state of media. Mr. Turner is still bent that CNN has not killed newspapers, print publications and other forms of media. He also name-drops Jacques Cousteau in speaking about hope. I admire Turner in the sheer amount of [...]