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Howard "yes, he's my boss" Owens follows up on the December 2007 post that spawned Wired Journalists…
Howard "yes, he's my boss" Owens follows up on the December 2007 post that spawned Wired Journalists with an update as the year grinds to a burly, overwhelming close. (Well, it's been that way the last couple weeks for me, at least.)
Howard asks how wired you've become in 2008:
The post stirred a lot of conversation, but I only heard from a couple of reporters who were taking on the MBO program. I’ve not heard back on progress from any of them in months.
Editors John Robinson in Greensboro and Linda Grist Cunningham in Rockford set up similar programs for their newsrooms. Robinson, I know, rewarded at least two staff members for completing his list of “get wired” goals.
Of course, Howard framed this as an "MBO program" and to me, it's always going to be more organic and harder to track than any checklist with accountability, so here's my completely anecdotal analysis:
- More journalists are using Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking and reporting tools to connect with their peers, sources, and readers.
- More journalists are learning multimedia skills, whether it’s as simple as point-and-shoot video or as complicated as XML-to-Flash.
- More journalists are getting curious about what all this new media talk is all about, even if that just means they're curious enough to sign up for Wired Journalists (where there are now more than 3,000 members) and lurk.
- All of this is good.
What about you? How do you think journalists, in general, are doing at adopting (and adapting to) new technology?
If Howard were to re-write his post for next year, what should the objectives for a wired journalist be in 2009?
Add a Comment
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Comment by Jason Molinet on January 5, 2009 at 3:34pm
- Are you kidding? I've been carrying the banner, Ryan. I've also been around long enough to wonder out loud if we as a medium are going about things the right way. I applaud you for setting up the site. I look forward to seeing fresh posts and ideas. But a media site without contrary opinions? Come on buddy...
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Comment by Ryan Sholin on January 5, 2009 at 7:58am -
@Jason -- This site is a social network for journalists -- professionals, amateurs, citizens, bloggers, photographers, videographers, entrepreneurs building tools, executives, and everyone else with an interest -- to connect those with some form of expertise in a facet of online news with those who have questions about working in a new medium.
If you have no interest in working in a new medium in any of those roles, I'm not sure what you're doing here. All viewpoints are welcome, but if you're just here to act as a troll and thumb your nose at 3000+ members eager to learn and teach, I wish you the best of luck at getting anything out of the experience.
Cheers.
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The Internet revolution is not a good thing for the news business. Anyone who has worked at a major newspaper since the dawn of the Internet age can tell you as much. Unlocking vast information has made what we do less valuable by the day.
The spawning of new mediums is happening faster now than anyone's ever seen. Snowball roaring down hill, it seems. Will Twitter really be a viable publishing tool in five years? Facebook is hot now, but will people even use these mass-marketed social networks in two years? And there are countless news aggregators, from old mainstays such as Yahoo to Digg and Topix.
The barrier of entry is so low that creating a web-based business is within everyone's reach. Another "Facebook" will pop up sooner than later. Another communications innovation will emerge in the very near future.
Why do newspapers need to chase these? It's a case of the tail wagging the dog. Media web managers are so hungry for web traffic that finding a way to tap into these social networks isn't about developing meaningful connections so much as funneling off visitors. It's all about advertising -- not publishing.
As a result the very product we value most -- unique content -- becomes cheapened in the process. Because newspapers now post Twitter and Facebook updates, fewer people (in my opinion) bother logging into the paper's site for news. Obviously they get redirected to the site, but how many stay to surf?
It's the news industry's own fault that we have conditioned people to get their news everywhere but the paper itself. The age of free information will need to end if this industry is to survive.
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Comment by Paul Balcerak on December 30, 2008 at 1:27am -
I always liken "social networks" (whatever we're calling them these days) to what the neighborhood bar or town square used to be. In the old days, a journalist had to be in those places to stay connected to his/her sources. The popular bar or hangout may move on a weekly or monthly basis, but the idea was the same: Be there.
Same thing these days, only the bar is Twitter, but sometimes it's Facebook, but sometimes it's Flickr, but sometimes it's all of those places at once.
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Comment by Zac Echola on December 29, 2008 at 11:04pm
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@Jason - To further Ryan's point: The point of good journalism is to get important information to people who need it, is it not?
To do that, you have to go to the people. If the people are fickle with their medium of choice, so should you be fickle.
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Comment by Ryan Sholin on December 29, 2008 at 9:14pm
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@Jason - As usual, I'm puzzled whenever anyone mentions the word "fad" in relation to the logical evolution of tools for connecting humans with one another.
Think of it this way: The steamship, railroads, airplanes, and subways are all communication tools. A bike messenger is a communication tool. We don't use steamships or railroads much for communication anymore, but does that mean they were "fads?"
If you're not curious about how news consumers (and increasingly, creators) are using new communication tools, whether it's for three minutes or three years, then what are you curious about?
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- Unfortunately, I have a feeling all these "tools" are more fad than anything. And as the sprawl of the web continues we'll all be jumping through hoops chasing the next Facebook-style trend. Is that the future of journalism?
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