J-Schools Gettin' Schooled

It's truly amazing how our media is changing right now. Besides giving people the power to decide what is considered "news" and providing a true form of democracy, these new technologies are changing the whole process of how we gather and interpret news. Instead of relying on one or two sources or waiting for a printed copy (or broadcast) every so often, we are living in a world where news is available anytime and anywhere - and we're getting it in such a raw and untainted form.

The fact that journalism schools (and many news outlets) are not keeping up with, or even embracing new media is absolutely ridiculous. As stated in other posts, if any other discipline was this far behind the curve, especially at its most prestigious schools, it would not be tolerated, and I'm not sure it would be overlooked to this extent. Could it have become this way because we haven't figured out a uniform or tested way of "monetizing" the above-and-beyond interactive features? I hope not, but it's possible.

I think journalists have gotten used to the idea that words sell. Better headlines and stories involving more conflict usually get higher ratings. But, we have very little research as to how functions like polls, blogs or streaming video relate to users. Too much video and people think it's annoying. Not enough, and they're bored. And, why add all these features if the story's already being told in words? While I know not everyone thinks this way, many journalism professors and news directors think they should only teach how to write effectively because that's what they know. They think that all the "extras" like social networking components are more fun or silly, instead of another (HUGE) way to engage an audience.

I'm just glad we're addressing the problem now. Being able to upload videos and create new interactive features on a site is quickly becoming a norm for news media. We see it on the best sites and stations, but somehow there's been a disconnect in thinking that learning these skills wouldn't apply to the curriculum. Sadly, it seems like journalism schools would rather brush off these curricula to other departments, or else they just think it's a waste of money.

On the Newspapers that Twitter article, I found that 3 of the 10 newspapers with the greatest loss of followers were in Michigan. That was disheartening but not surprising. But, I'm glad the Statesman was rated so highly. Most of my news now comes from Twitter...whether it's from my friends' posts or from following the actual news source. I think the fact that newspapers are using these constantly updating and personal features shows they're headed in the right direction. While only few of my friends are on Twitter, I think if more people knew about it or how they could apply it to their lives, it would catch on tremendously. The future of news is soon to be personal and will mirror citizen journalism. But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way...and that's part of what schools need to be teaching.