The Pro-Am Future for Newspapers

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This is a widget from Predictify that BNET is testing. Each week, a VIP (Very Important Predictifier) poses a question to the crowd. This week, it is Editor at Large Phil Bronstein of the San Francisco Chronicle asking at what point will user-generated content overtake the journalistic content in a major daily newspaper…

In addition to serving as a BNET Media analyst/blogger, David Weir is a veteran journalist and the author of several books. Weir is a co-founder and vice-president of the Center for Investigative Reporting, as well as an editorial board member of The Nation.

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1

k2times

09/19/08 | Report as spam

RE: The Pro-Am Future for Newspapers

Interesting question. And increasingly, one that more newspapers will probably be considering. I would bet that right now in the online offices of many dailies that plans are being hatched to dramatically increase the amount of user-generated content that they collect and publish.

I believe that the challenge for newspapers is that they (correctly in my opinion) take their fourth estate responsibility far more seriously than any other medium, and thus are reluctant to open the floodgates lest the content from the great unwashed masses accidentally (or purposefully) taint their news coverage in form or function.

Still though, with an increasing number of dailies telling AP 'thanks but no thanks' while newsroom budgets continue to shrink, something just has to give if most dailies are going to stay in business - even as web-only properties (which will be the unfortunate end for some of them). User-generated content (or 'citizen journalism', as we used to call it in the gala, heady newspaper days of the late 90s) may just be the best avenue for these papers in their attempt to fill a hungry news hole.

If that happens, let's just hope the White House gets a little less strict on their press credential requirements. Or that all of the writers at the Huffington Post decide to head back to J-school for a brief refresher on impartiality and the role of the press in a healthy democracy.
2

hotweir

09/19/08 | Report as spam

RE: The Pro-Am Future for Newspapers

Well put. Newspapers, along with a handful of magazines, are the primary custodians of our collective professional memory as journalists. We've learned the hard way -- by making mistakes -- how to earn the trust of readers by not letting our personal biases undermine the integrity of our work. I like the Huff-Post, and other similar pubs, but I don't entirely trust them on the facts.
3

k2times

09/20/08 | Report as spam

RE: The Pro-Am Future for Newspapers

Agreed - and I felt the need to weigh in once more because after reading my post again I realized I was snarkier than I had intended to be with regard to the HuffPost. I'm a frequent reader of HP, but as you mention I don't find it completely trustworthy - the lines are frequently blurred there between opinion and fact. Though I like it for my dose of political red meat when needed, there is no substitute for The Times (and to their credit, still many dailies) for credible, thoughtful, honest and professional journalism.
4

hotweir

09/20/08 | Report as spam

RE: The Pro-Am Future for Newspapers

One thing web-based bloggers and reporters can often do is to break stories. So Huff Post and TPM and others may get information up early while the NYT and WaPost are still working the story. I like them as early warning systems for political scandals, etc., that are not quite yet prime time.