Changing media's battlefield

Ok play is over. Need to do some business here. Conference is tomorrow where I’ll be chatting about online journalism vs traditional journalism.

This is often how today’s changing media world is portrayed:

1. online journ VS print journ;
online newspapers VS newspapers ;
traditional media VS digital media

then

2. online + print (Mainstream media or MSM) VS citizen journalism ;
MSM VS bloggers ;
Rupert Murdoch & Dan Rather VS the blogosphere

These are all in tension, but there is no war or battle here. It is a symbiotic relationship where each part NEEDS each other. One is not going to be “replaced” or “killed off” by the other…

1. The NOW is: when online and print work together as mediums on a story the result is better journalism by using the strengths of each medium (online = interactivity, no space constraints, user participation; print = more resources, bigger reporting staffs). The FUTURE: well these will converge into the same thing… as newspapers are viewed on flexible plastic displays that can be rolled open or closed, they will be digital and they will be connected… ie they will be websites. (For more on this have a look at www.futureofthenewspaper.com

2. Both citizen journalism and traditional journalism (encompassing online AND print) are important and different information forms in their own right, serving a different purpose. There is a need for stories to pass through editors, there is a NEED for traditional media organisations to co-ordinate resources and staff for big stories and investigations. But there also is a NEED for independent citizen journalists and commentators to portray a different, grassroots point of view on a story, to report on niche areas that mainstream media does not report on and provide commentary on issues in a formal or informal way. Both traditional media organisations and citizen journalists rely on each other to pass traffic to each other and be watchdogs on each other. The information highway has many lanes, it can accommodate many different information forms.

I mean, this is obvious right?