Sunday, March 18, 2007
We all know that the American media, from newspapers to radio to television, are undergoing a major transformation. It's happening right before our eyes.
What does it mean? Where will it end? What will the media future -- for consumers and for journalists -- look like?
There is no crystal ball.
As I tell our staff, that unknown makes this both an unnerving time and a wondrous time.
Imagine being present when movable type was invented. That is precisely the kind of historic, society-altering transformation that we are experiencing today with the Internet.
The question: Can those of us in the mainstream media -- a term I cherish because it signals independence, inclusion and credibility -- make that leap? Can we continue to improve our traditional product, the daily newspaper, which our readers find relevant to their daily lives, and also create new products and services for new segments of our community?
Like any change, this great transition is not without its dangers. And potential casualties. Yet it also holds the promise for stronger journalism, greater access to news and information, broader reader interaction and more accountability.
At a seminar last week at the Poynter Institute in Florida, a number of journalists gathered to talk about this amazing period. Poynter is a learning laboratory, a school of ongoing education, for journalists from newspapers, television, radio and the Web. Members of our group, the ethics fellows of 2006, were instructed to write down our thoughts about what's become Topic du Jour. Or, as I like to say, All We Think About.
One question: In this time of enormous change and turmoil, where do you find hope? My answers:
In our readers.
In journalism that matters.
In our staff.
In our shared mission.
In our struggle -- anything of value is worth fighting for and given the nature of this fight, this issue must be of great value.
Another question: As a journalist, why do you come to work each day? My answers:
To make a positive difference in the community.
It's purpose-driven work and it's my life's passion.
For the camaraderie.
I'm helping nurture the next generation of journalists.
I'm fighting the good fight -- meaning being a watchdog to government, being the eyes and ears of our readers in places where they can't go.
Another question: Given journalism's unknown future, what keeps you coming to work every day? My answers:
I want to be part of the team/the generation of journalists that solves this puzzle -- that makes the great transition before us.
I want to be part of this historic time.
Riding out a storm such as this can be an exhilarating and unique experience, provided you have a seaworthy vessel, a skillful and courageous crew and the right equipment.
At the end of this writing exercise, my classmates and I came away with a lot of inspiration. As I told my fellow fellows, the headline for my piece would be: "I'm trying to live in a place called Hope."
I say that because the future is hopeful -- for journalism, for public service reporting, for independent media, for readers and users who value credible information and objective, vetted news reports.
For proof, look no further than the landmark journalism done by The Washington Post, which uncovered the terrible conditions awaiting war-battered soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
When people ask, "What are newspapers good for today?," the Post series provides the answer. Indeed, it prompts other questions: "Where would we be without newspapers? How many important issues would never see the light of day if a newspaper staff didn't uncover them?"
One of my Poynter classmates was Lori Aratani, a staff writer at the Post. She talked about the Walter Reed series during the seminar. "It's Reporting 101," she said. "It's what we do. It's how we can make a difference. This is the kind of thing that people come to newspapers for."
At the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, we also have a sturdy vessel for these uncertain times. We have an award-winning staff, a strong and loyal community of readers who care, a history of public service journalism and fiercely independent, family ownership. Our publishing roots in Maine go back to the 1860s. We've weathered plenty of changes.
In the months and years ahead, you'll see us setting the course. We'll test a wide array of new storytelling techniques. We'll post new and different content on our Web site, pressherald.com. We'll create more reader-generated content areas. We'll make forays into the multimedia world, using audio and video as powerful storytelling tools that will broaden our journalism.
At the same time, we will continue, each day, to improve our core product: the printed newspaper.
Through this column, I'll keep you apprised of changes on the horizon. As our readers, I look to you to suggest new areas of content -- especially on the Web -- where you think our brand of high-quality, credible journalism is needed.
Here are a few changes coming in the next few weeks in the area of blogs, which is shorthand for Web logs, or quick, first-person articles that provide interactive forums with readers.
In February, we launched the first staff-written blog on pressherald.com; it is written by environmental reporter John Richardson.
"Next week, we will launch our second staff blog," said Dan Dinsmore, our assistant managing editor for convergence. "Kevin Thomas will pen this blog and will write about his beat specialty, baseball. Kevin covers the Portland Sea Dogs and the Boston Red Sox for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. His first blog entry will coincide with Kevin's trip to Florida for spring training.
"Our third blog will launch during the last week of March. Reporter Justin Ellis, who also is our Generation Nxt columnist, will write about topics that relate to our younger readers and his column. After the launch of these columns, it's our plan to unveil three to four more staff blogs per quarter during the remainder of 2007."
Each staff blog features a portrait of the writer and a quick bio on the Web site, said Dinsmore.
"I think that these blogs are a terrific way to bring original, high-quality writing and reporting to pressherald.com," he said. "We will provide some news, insight and originality in our blog writing. We'll also aim to keep these topics fresh and inviting.
"Blogs and bloggers are nothing new to the Web-savvy consumer. What we hope is different is the voice that our staff writers can provide through the blogging process. Our staff writers and reporters know their beats. They know the topics they're writing about, so when you read a blog by someone like John Richardson, hopefully the consumer will realize that we are producing these with the same high standards that we hold ourselves to in the print product.
"With that said, we want our staff blogs to be inviting and interactive, full of personality and ultimately very readable."
I asked Richardson for his comments: What is it like to write a blog?
He said it's a work in progress, "which is a little strange for a reporter who usually rushes to meet a deadline and then moves on to the next story. I can see how people (journalists) become addicted to their blogs and put all their time and energy into them. What we're trying to do is make the blog part of my reporting beat, without letting it to take over. If it works, the blog will help generate news stories as well as offering a new way to tell them.
"We seem to be off to a good start, and it's exciting to be trying something totally new."
In the days and weeks ahead, let us know what you think about these blogs. I cannot stress enough how vital your feedback is to us during this transition period.
Please call Dinsmore at 791-6410 or send an e-mail to ddinsmore@pressherald. com. You can also send me your thoughts to the addresses below.
As our readers, you are taking this journey with us -- which gives me a lot of hope. But we need all hands on deck. So please step forward with your suggestions and ideas.
Jeannine Guttman is editor and vice president of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. Send e-mail to jguttman@pressherald.com or write to 390 Congress St., Portland, ME 04101.
Reader comments
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Dutson himself has done a lot worse than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, he's contaminated the entire water supply.
...........http://bangorreports.blogspot.com.....
......
Now, when legitimate bloggers try to shed light on a problem, they will be regarded as being just as unreliable - and possibly even as gratuitously predatory - as Dutson. report abuse
People change the world more than anything else. What would happen if every computer lost power -- would newspapers still hit the streets on time? It wouldn't just be a problem in the advertising department. Computers change the world, and they need to keep running.
Computers have not undone the need for buildings...yet! Some professionals stay home to work, thanks to technology. Employed reporters still have a place to report to (free from the reach of DHS aka Dept. of Human Services), which feeds off the unemployed. Maybe reporters generally have become a little lazy due to computers making research so much easier than in the past. But who's to know?
Many American writers and artists probably suffer more than most people know because of computers. Dependency on technology may be the tip of the iceberg.
Some could have become reporters but now flounder, their privacy rights having been captured due to physical injuries by a healthcare technology that takes too much information from patients, making unemployed brains not as credible?
Still credible enough to complain though. But to the state that profits off the medical CENSORSHIP?
The world is still being revolutionized by computer technology. Will freedom of the press be diminishing down the road because of it?
It already effects human-rights. Occasional unfair privacy invasion, thanks to computers, can effect employability. Excessive censorship can radicalize societies. Being so censored that (1) writer's block develops and that (2) vulnerability to attack on the street develops are several of many drawbacks in the high-tech world. Not to mention being sat on unnecessarily by militaries and DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) -- if and when a sitting president wants happier copy?
Civil-rights for members of the press corps! And for non-members too.report abuse
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