Global print media editors are gathering to find the best ways to grapple with the rise of the Internet, competing against an overwhelming number of bloggers and “citizen journalists” today.
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| Source: scotscommunity |
Side by side at the World Assembly of the International Press Institute taking place in the Scottish capital, veteran leaders of traditional journalism are fiercely debating the long-term challenges and opportunities that the new media era presents before them.
From the fleeting news snippets that “citizen journalists” post online to extremely significant events captured on mobile phones (such as the scene at the subway station during the London bombing, which serves as a prime example) – the risks, as well as opportunities for traditional print media, are increasingly rising.
Krishna Bharat, a leading expert from the search giant Google, warns editors that the web is “transforming the print media industry.”
“With each new technology, the face of journalism will change. We have another chance to reinvent ourselves, to explore ourselves, but the heart of journalism – that is the editorial process, the goals of editing, and the values of information – will never change,” Bharat stated.
“The methods of gathering information, processing information, and disseminating information will change, but the editorial core will not. Instead of asking each other, ‘How will the Internet affect my current job?’, it would be wiser and more beneficial to ask, ‘What benefits can the Internet bring to the public?’, and ‘How can I help bring about that opportunity?’”
Bharat also mentioned that bloggers – individuals documenting their daily lives, the events they witness firsthand, along with their thoughts on those events – will increase in number “tremendously.”
“Serving What the Public Wants”
However, the role of “citizen journalists” and their value is also the most debated topic in this conference.
Once again, the example of the London bombing last summer was brought to the discussion table. While professional reporters were powerless and unable to access the scene, countless shocking images and video clips captured by citizen journalists inside the subway station were quickly uploaded online.
Emily Bell, editor of the British website The Guardian, argued that “Journalism should not hope to succeed in the Internet age merely by replicating print media and putting it online.”
“The pace of change is rapid. We must be a part of the web and not just that. We have introduced blogs, built a podcast recording studio, and launched 9 podcast shows each week, achieving an average of 100,000 downloads for each. And we only started producing that content 6 weeks ago.”
“You must go to the places where the public wants to go; otherwise, you won’t have much of a future,” she warned.
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