As we consider the essential elements of responsible journalism, we are being confronted by a changing model for news gathering. The most visible example of this is coming from international news. At the Future of Journalism forum last week, there was a general consensus among the panelists that city newspapers will continue to narrow their coverage to local issues and away from international news. This would be consistent with the closing of foreign bureaus that has been occuring in recent years. Much of the international news that does appear in newspapers comes from the wire services. Such information tends to lack depth and analysis.
One panelist, Charles M. Sennott, referred to it as "industrial information." I spoke with Mr. Sennott, co-founder of Global Post, after the forum. Global Post is a website that is entirely committed to international news. According to Mr. Sennott, the reporters are required to live in the countries that they cover. This allows them to provide the perspective and analysis that is lacking from the wire services. It is international news for Americans by Americans. The site offers basic service for free, but requires a subscription for premium service.
My interest was piqued, so I had a look for myself. My first thought was to examine their coverage of a country I knew something about. I went to the section on Japan. My wife is Japanese, I have been there seven times, and I get news from Japan on television through NHK TV. What I found was a collection of expatriates who held other jobs and were providing feed on a part time basis. I have seen advertisements for freelance writers from on-line organizations that offer pay per story. I have not confirmed that this is the model they are using, but it seems to be the most likely. The level of journalistic skill also varies between reporters. Some of them clearly do not meet a recognizable standard of professionalism. My reaction to this is that the on-line model is still so new that there has not been enough time to clean up the rough edges. It is something like the Wild West. The reach of law and order needs to be extended before we see consistent quality international news gathering again. The problem is, if we are going to rely on random expatriates rather than sending professionals, how can we uphold those standards of quality. Perhaps, in the future, there will need to be a greater emphasis on journalism education.
One panelist, Charles M. Sennott, referred to it as "industrial information." I spoke with Mr. Sennott, co-founder of Global Post, after the forum. Global Post is a website that is entirely committed to international news. According to Mr. Sennott, the reporters are required to live in the countries that they cover. This allows them to provide the perspective and analysis that is lacking from the wire services. It is international news for Americans by Americans. The site offers basic service for free, but requires a subscription for premium service.
My interest was piqued, so I had a look for myself. My first thought was to examine their coverage of a country I knew something about. I went to the section on Japan. My wife is Japanese, I have been there seven times, and I get news from Japan on television through NHK TV. What I found was a collection of expatriates who held other jobs and were providing feed on a part time basis. I have seen advertisements for freelance writers from on-line organizations that offer pay per story. I have not confirmed that this is the model they are using, but it seems to be the most likely. The level of journalistic skill also varies between reporters. Some of them clearly do not meet a recognizable standard of professionalism. My reaction to this is that the on-line model is still so new that there has not been enough time to clean up the rough edges. It is something like the Wild West. The reach of law and order needs to be extended before we see consistent quality international news gathering again. The problem is, if we are going to rely on random expatriates rather than sending professionals, how can we uphold those standards of quality. Perhaps, in the future, there will need to be a greater emphasis on journalism education.
1 comment:
Was hoping to go to this conference. Thanks for the recap, Bill.
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