A from-scratch news organization today would, of course, be an online-first enterprise. That doesn’t rule out print as a niche byproduct, but print would not be among the “initial efforts.” So let’s focus on digital strategies and tactics, beginning with the easier ones…
Not a bad summary article, if your focus is on process. My problem with this and too many other such discussions is that they jump to the “how” and jump over the “why.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not questioning the value of news reporting and professional newsrooms to do it. Quite the contrary, actually.
But good, meaningful journalism has never been about just going where all the people collect in order to get their attention. Well, it usually isn’t just about that, although sometimes you do have to jump and shout a little to get noticed.
Good, meaningful journalism is good and meaningful because it is something that people want and need in order to be better informed and live better lives. When they see it, they want more of it and are thankful they didn’t miss it. Self actualization and the need to know are at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, after all.
I’ve yet to see convincing evidence that all the news agencies on Twitter are really doing anything other than following the crowd, that the world at large sees what they are doing on Twitter as somehow of new and great value or as some fundamentally new great media experience.
These discussions about the future of news and newsrooms need to start from that viewpoint before they jump to the comparatively simple questions of how to go about it. Otherwise it’s the jumping and shouting part, without a lot really to jump and shout about.