Journalism is of vital importance in society. It is a watch dog, the only way to keep business and government accountable. It must exist, for the good of all.
But, in this world of instantaneous entertainment and news, traditional journalism is dying. Readership is down, journalists are being laid-off in droves, advertisers aren’t spending. The bottom line is: business is poor. Many newspapers just aren’t making money.
But why?
Perhaps it is the convenience of reading the news online, coupled with cheap (often free) access to almost limitless choices of news feeds, entertainment and opinion writing online that is killing traditional journalism. Or it might be the new “green” attitude. Why kill a tree, when you can just surf the web for desired content?
While these reasons may play a part, I think the real issue is public perception of journalism.
Many people believe that newspapers are biased, and not credible. And sometimes, they are right. As journalists, we have to be better. We have to stop writing newspaper-filling fluff. We have to be credible and neutral. We have to write about relevant issues, and go beyond traditional journalism by offering solutions and reasons for real world problems.
And we have to figure out a way to offer those solutions up in a palatable way. Facebook, twitter, blogging, spot.us, all of these are usable technologies. Whatever the format, I believe it is essential to create hard- hitting, truthful, fresh, thought-provoking content. And I think people will pay for it.
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