The State of the News Media Report
March 17th, 2008 | by Brad King |I’m working on a story for ECT News right now about a new report by the Project in Excellence in Journalism research organization. The State of the News Media report is enlightening, and quantifies much of what the digerati have been discussing.
But there’s even more that we don’t discuss, such as the financial implications of public ownership of media companies during this advertising transition online. My favorite quote:
Concepts like hyper localism, pursued in the most literal sense, can be marketing speak for simply doing less. Branding can also be a mask for bias. Handled badly, the new strategy might also render a big city metro paper irrelevant. The recent history of the news industry is marked by caution and continuity more than innovation. The character of the next era, far from inevitable, will likely depend heavily on the quality of leadership in the newsroom and boardroom. If history is a guide, (be it Adolph Ochs, Ted Turner, or Google) it will require renegades and risk-takers to break from the conventional path and create new directions.
