There seems to be a lot of despondency in the media that reporters are doomed, especially the investigative reporter. Articles by David Leigh in Monday’s Guardian newspaper – “Are reporters doomed?” and Roy Greenslade in his blog entry HERE.
I remain unconvinced that printed daily newspapers and their journalistic standards are soon for the scrapheap. I think it’s pure defeatism. The news media and journalists seem to be giving in to the thrill and the shrill of the new media world – blogs, and citizen journalists.
While many bloggers look to laud their successes over the print media, such as Guido Fawkes on what he calls the dead tree press, they frequently derive their relevance and stories from the print media.
The print media has had signal success in competing in the online world of reporting/commentating, notable are the Daily Mail’s Ben Brogan, The Times’ Daniel Finkelstein, and there’s a slew of good online contributors at the Daily Telegraph.
For me, it’s the same as it’s always been with the print media, the great story uncovering some hidden wrong is what grabs readers attention.
The value of a quizzical, questioning journalist with fire in their belly, a retentive memory, backed up by good research and a decent library is never to be underestimated. Lazy, sloppy journalists should be weeded out, and if competition from the online world achieves that, then fine. But, the print media needs courage and vision, just because it’s tough out there, should mean that they try harder.
The part of the print media world that needs change is the regional and free press. Lacking the exposure and resources of national titles, regional press and free press offers meagre value. Yet, it’s the regional press that could integrate the online world with the local area they serve much more than the national press can ever hope to achieve.
Innovation is the name of the game.
