Take A Blogger To Lunch
Poynter.org, the website for journalists, published my rant, 'Take a Blogger to Lunch' last week, and it has legs. I put more of myself out there than ever before, but our industry really needs people to shout from the roof tops that the future is nothing to fear.
I was very, very tired of the panic sweeping The Washington Post and other newsrooms. The article is a challenge to those of us in the mainstream media to do what we are trained to do - get out and mix it up with the people. We have gotten very comfortable 'reporting' on our communities, but we have forgotten that we are part of those communities as well.
We have got to do better if we are going to survive.
Comments
Excellent article. (found you on the explore page)
I can't say that I know much of anything about the news industry really, but I have seen a little bit of what is going on as far as cutbacks, layoffs, etc. (the Inquirer is going thru a bit of turmoil lately).
A little while ago I was thinking about TV--- how back around when the internet was really taking off, and reality shows were as well, and the public's attention span just seemed to be dwindling at a rapid rate, around 1999 and the next few years. TV shows just were not given a chance, if they didn't have a big buzz and following after 3 or 4 episodes, forget it. It still goes on today, but at least now some of them get 2nd and 3rd chances, by sister networks on TV (Fox/FX and Bravo and whichever network they are affiliated with) and now networks have realized that the internet is HELPING them not hurting them, if they rerun shows on the 'net. I think this is the case with newspapers as well./ There is room for both for sure. They just need to get with the program.
I am happy you wrote that - it's hard to go out on a limb right? but sometimes you have to point out the extremes to get people to see your pov - and then they usually get defensive :) -
in regards to your pt about ABC and Amanda - I think we have a lot to learn from ABC taking on Amanda - there's something uncomfortably polished about her show - and it's not amanda - i think it has more to do with ABC's attempt to mirror what Rocketboom is doing. the challenge is for the ABC's out there to learn from rocketboom and make it their own. I am excited to see what that road will look like - or if it can even be paved.