journalism

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The Journalism Conundrum.

August 26, 2010 in Marketing | 0 Comments

 

Here’s the problem with newspapers.  Ready?  Who is your favorite newspaper journalist?  Quick!  Okay, who is your second favorite?  Now, who is your favorite blogger?  Much easier, no? 

There was a time when journalists and news reporters were heroes…a time when they were huge personalities.  They wrote with panache, shared ideas and commentary that struck a chord with America.  Their ability to turn a phrase captivated us and the masses loved them.  Journalists were the rock stars of the day.  After a while, though, newspapers started to think these writers were getting too big for their britches – bigger than the newspaper brands they wrote for — and decided to turn down the dial.  “If Jimmy Breslin becomes bigger than the Daily News, what happens if he leaves?”

Journalism became antiseptic. Lifeless. It lost a great deal of its humanity. When was the last time you cried after reading a piece in the paper (online or paper paper.)

Blogs to the Rescue.

Enter the blog.  No bosses. No editors. No sponsors.  Just peeps talking to peeps. Readers get the straight shot. Today’s most impressive, unadulterated journalists are bloggers. Ironically, when bloggers get big, big media tries to hire them.  Like punk rockers that have a hard time mixing art and success, this can alter the work product of the blogger.  The Conundrum.  Newspapers are losing money because their writers churn out auto text.  Journalism needs more heroic personalities. That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Peace.

PS.  My favorite journalists?  Nicholas Kristof, Dexter Filkins, Cathy Horyn, Robert Scoble

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Blogging for Serious.

February 5, 2010 in Marketing | 0 Comments

Back in the day, most great writers went to work at a newspaper, magazine or ad agencies if they didn’t write books. This is still pretty much the case but today they have a new outlet for their craft the “blog.” 

Blogs can be an entrée to jobs at print properties and ad agencies but they can also be an exit.  The latter route – the exit – is growing and will continue to grow.  Take A.O. Scott, the film reviewer for the New York Times. Mr. Scott is a wonderful writer and movie critic.  Many believe his words and spend their hard-earned based upon his reviews.  But he is one lone voice in the ink and digits that is The New York Times.  A.O. Scott’s content is of value…he is an important brand.  Were he to focus his craft on his own blog he could make some serious (cash). Today, Mr. Scott can choose to become a personal publishing brand and do things he couldn’t think of doing while at the NYT. (Not saying he will, it’s just an example.) 

Today, a percent of great writers with mass appeal are getting out of the journalism business and get into the blogging business.  In the blogosphere there will be lots of dreck… but there will also be a great deal of commercial successes. Blogging is a powerful, powerful medium (my blog aside, hee hee.)  Peace!

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Personal Brand Journalism.

November 2, 2009 in Marketing | 0 Comments

People read blogs for the same reason they read magazines. Good content. The best place to find good reporting, news and analysis used to be in newspapers and magazines. If you could write, that’s what you wanted to be. A journalist. If you could think, analyze and persuade, journalism was your career path.

A few years ago a new class of journalist entered the scene: the blogger. Many started on LiveJournal as public diarists then branched out posting about what they loved: music, technology, sports, etc.   Lo and behold they developed followings. Even without formal journalism training, these bloggers connected with readers. The language used in these blogs changed — got more fun and conversational — and newspaper columns slowly began to followed suit. (No rolling over Mr. Safire.) This new class of journalism became a popular, free and immediate option for readers.

And now with newspaper and magazines closing bureaus and shedding writing staff, where are all the once-bylined writers going? To the web. To their own branded sites. And once they smell the success of their own personal brands, once they start fielding speaking engagement requests, once they have their million hit days, there will be no going back. Personal brand journalism is here to stay.

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Two Kinds of News.

June 8, 2009 in Marketing | 0 Comments

 

There was a time when breaking news only came from radio, newspapers and TV. Then the Internet arrived and it became immediate. Mobile phones and Twitter apps introduced us to big news events reported in seconds from virtually anywhere.

 

News is free. It may be ad-supported but the horse has left the barn when it comes to making money on news.  Breaking news (the best kind) is no longer appointment-driven. It hits us in real-time over the closest device. Technology has made news 1s and 0s. It’s information. And free.

 

Analysis, on the other hand, is where the money is. A well turned, well contextualized story, is worth paying for. Hearing Steven Colbert’s fun spin on something is worth an appointment. Reading Thomas Friedman’s analysis of Obama’s Cairo speech is not like hearing about it from your neighbor (not that there’s anything wrong with neighbors).

 

As the news reporting business evolves and changes thanks to the Internet, I think we will begin to see two forms: generic, aggregated news (free) and in-depth, bi-lined, star-value analysis (paid). 

 

Content is still king and as we mix the great content in with the chaff — and offer it for free — it loses value.

 

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The New Newspaper…

May 4, 2009 in Marketing | 0 Comments

 

The newspaper business is in trouble and therefore print journalism is in trouble. To compound the problem, David Carr of The New York Times today implies that some journalists are getting a bit lazy. Thanks to the Internet and easy access to data and sources, and ability to quickly search anything, he suggested journalists may not be leaving the building as they once did in pursuit of stories.  

 

Ad revenue is down, circulation is down, college kids aren’t reading paper papers and the model needs to change. The news business is about reporting and distribution. Newspapers aren’t efficient because they deliver a lot of waste — stories we don’t read. Same with TV, but we can always change the channel. The net is somewhat better because we can focus our search, but the results are often citizen journalism which is hit and mostly miss. The solution lies in a system that allows us to select the type of professional news we want, from the journalists we prefer, delivered in the medium of our choice. What might that look like? Stay tuned.

 

 

 

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