internet not a wasteland
tommySteve Otto is a great guy.
He’s been around these parts for a mighty long time, and has covered all the ups and downs of Tampa Bay. He gives of his time and well-recognized name to a bunch of charitable organizations, and is always somewhere doing something for someone.
But it sure is tiring hearing about how the old newspaper days were so much better. It seems that once a month he is going on about the old Tampa Bay Times afternoon daily, and how the community is suffering since less paper ends up in a garbage dump.
His latest is another complaint about how the blogosphere is helping to kill newspapers.
The American Amateur Press Association showcased a panel discussion on the future of newspapers and the printed word, and newspaper types were typically irritated:
There was plenty more to be gloomy about, not just declining circulations but also the growing realization that it is not just that younger readers are getting their news elsewhere as it is that they aren’t getting news at all.
[Context] is what newspapers have provided: a thoughtful, organized context to the news instead of the scattered who-knows-where-it-came-from stories off the Net.
Then he provides the zinger:
I remember in 1961 when then FCC Chairman Newton Minow said TV had become a vast wasteland. We would be hard-pressed to argue it has improved in almost half a century.
I wonder what he would think of the blogosphere.
Hey Steve, check it out:
There are hundreds of TV networks. A great majority of them are certainly a waste of time. However, there are a significant number of them that are quite marvelous, and can keep you up to speed on those things that are important to you. I think we can make a great argument that TV has improved since 1961.
Like TV, the blogosphere landscape includes much wasteland as well as oases of wonderful. The beauty is that you can choose to visit those websites that you find relevant to you, and ignore the others.
As to the demise of newspapers, that is a natural progression. A newspaper is simply a way of delivering content. Just because over the past 40 years, the best journalism has come from newspapers, does not mean that paper is still the best way to deliver that important news.
I don’t think Steve really laments the loss of “newspapers,” but rather “journalism.” And instead of blaming the internet, I believe his complaints should be directed toward Media companies in General. Of course, someone at the AAPA meeting had already pointed that out to him:
“I’m saddened what’s happened to papers. They seem to have adopted a can’t-beat-them-let’s-join-them attitude with the ‘them’ being cable TV that features sensationalism and celebrities’ misery. I see it on a daily basis. I have had to take at least 10 calls this week about the son of Hulk Hogan.”
Hmmm. Seems like an impartial observer might say that newspapers are a vast wasteland.
Diverting journalists to stories like this, media conglomerates chose to go after bigger and bigger audiences, instead of focusing on delivering important news to those who care. And those who do care about that important news are moving on to other providers, including radio, television, and, yep, the blogosphere.
The truth is, in order to find that “context,” citizens can no longer count on the “newspaper” to provide it. Like Steve Otto, we are now forced to spend valuable time and take several avenues to learn it on our own, from any media available.
That we are able to make an “honest attempt to tell the story of a community and the world around it” by publishing online is a good thing, not a waste.
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June 25th, 2008 at 10:17 am
This Media General newspaper (in Virginia) sure looks like a wasteland. Check out the front page “news,” and the stories from inside the “newsroom.”
June 25th, 2008 at 11:03 am
You know, call me a conspiracy theory nut but this meets an agenda to me. The Tribune and Mother Corporate are conservative in their news coverage and who is the new villain besides the “liberals” out there? Bloggers. The Blogosphere.
To me that’s like labeling the voters as the problem… Bloggers are EVERYONE! Not a specific writer with a specific editor over his head but anyone who has internet access and can report on news. There is no floodgate with the Blogosphere so yes, there is a wasteland but when the media decides how a story is going to be covered or which stories are going to be covered, the news itself becomes a wasteland of ignorance. You can trumpet one candidate and ignore another and that effects opinions. You can ignore a smoking gun proof of corruption for the sake of corporate contributions in the newspaper, and no one will get upset about it. But if that stuff gets uncovered by a blogger? Whoopsie.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Tommy, this is slightly off topic but there is a new blog in town called Brand Tampa:
http://brandtampa.ning.com/
“Find, connect and collaborate with the people and organizations that are making Tampa a better place to live, work and play.”
It is more design, architecture and planning oriented than others I’ve seen.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Admin nailed it. The idea that newspapers are entitled to always set journalism standards simply because they always have speaks to the arrogance that is resulting in their demise.
Hey Steve, Tommy’s right. You’re a great guy but it’s simply a case of evolve or die. Sorry. It’s not too late to start your own blog though.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I have to agree on Media General and the Tribune. Since moving here in 2004, I have been repeatedly amazed at the topics the paper thinks are worthy of front page headline. They do some decent investigative reporting, but, considering the target-rich environment here in the bay area, far too little. To be fair, they do a good job covering sports(always the biggest section in the paper) and our recurrent sex scandals. Not the paper to be reading if you want to be informed
June 25th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Stevie Boy, float with the changes or lest ye ass be left waaay behind. You’re stuck in a rut with the MG boys who probably are just wearing their first “smiley face” pin. Personally, I scan both local rags daily AND enjoy the freshness of the electronic media.
I’ve always enjoyed your work but would prefer an unencumbered, unedited “Ottograph” blog over a stale newspaper column sanitized by the Trib cryptkeepers. But that’s just me……
June 26th, 2008 at 9:15 am
i generally like this website, Tommy is enjoyable to read. But i think it’s difficult to compare it to professional journalism. No professional organization would have an guy like Ski, who insults the intelligence of your readers. He still hasnt apologized for his Hitler reference, which you would never see in mainstream media, because professional journalists are educated. If i’m correct, Ski doesnt live in our community, does not attend the sporting events he covers, has no special connections or contacts in the sports world, and is not an entertaining writer. The difference between his writing and what you would see from a professional journalist is profound, and it makes your blog much less than it would otherwise be.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Amen, Tommy. I worked at the Trib for a year, and I can say some of the nicest people I’ve ever known comprised the editorial and design staff there. But the age of the broadsheet newspaper is ending–and tabs aren’t far behind. It’s sad and it’s leaving a lot of good people struggling, just as the demise of manufacturing in this country did. But journalism is not dead. It’s alive and well, in spite of media conglomerates that have done their best to choke the life out of it. I highly recommend that people interested in media reform and in returning the public airwaves back to the public check out the National Conference for Media Reform at http://www.freepress.net/conference/
In case you didn’t see it, there’s a link to Bill Moyers’ speech that is incredibly inspirational.
And btw, Crack Ho, I’ve working as a professional journalist and I’ll put Tommy up against a lot of people who call themselves journalists and get paid for it. He’s open minded, fair, informed and he does his homework.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Have you ever lived without your hometown newspaper/ I have if you ever did you would feel alot like Coloumnist Otto. OUR NEWSPAPER WAS ON STRIKE FOR SIX MONTHS. If you want to hear more just let me know and I will tell you all about those six months without local news,advertisement etc.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I work for another newspaper, run two blogs and get lots of hits. I remember the Tampa Times (I also remember the Lone Ranger on radio) but time marches on, the technology is great, blogging is fun and it allows me to connect to a lot of people. Don’t look back.
June 29th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
What about the people who do not have computers and never heard the world blog or of Sticks of Fire. The newspapper could go back tolarger print and also the blogs could use bigger font for people with farsidedness and etc.