Opinion: Is multimedia reporting affecting journalism?
Posted by Lauren Drablier on September 17, 2008 at 2:32 PM
A recent article in The New York Observer discussed the changing dimensions of content in news reporting and how multimedia reporting is affecting journalists.
In an email to the NYO, Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, admitted to his surprise that so many important "stories fail to resonate the way they deserve."
The Internet may be largely to blame for this. It has changed the way we live and the way we receive news and information. Quick, fast, and short. As the NYO points out, "hyperlinks do not advertise their relative value or importance. Everything is equal, everything is a tie and nothing, it seems, is important anymore."
In an email to the NYO, Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, admitted to his surprise that so many important "stories fail to resonate the way they deserve."
The Internet may be largely to blame for this. It has changed the way we live and the way we receive news and information. Quick, fast, and short. As the NYO points out, "hyperlinks do not advertise their relative value or importance. Everything is equal, everything is a tie and nothing, it seems, is important anymore."
According to Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of The Washington Post,
"in the Internet age, the cycle is constant and people don't really
have time to reflect all day on a single story in the newspaper."
Essentially, the conclusion by most professionals is that stories do not have the impact they once did, "They might still turns heads--and thankfully at times change things--but usually they get pushed aside as the new-media machine moves to the next 'thing.'"
"Everybody knows that if it takes more than five seconds to explain the story, it's not going to make a lot of noise on the campaign trail," said Matt Taibbi, a columnist for Rolling Stone. Many believe that in "the world of "quality" journalism, there is a feeling of decline."
The problem today is that there is so much content to fill. According to Newsweek writer, Jonathan Alter, "we're all multimedia players now and it means that we're much busier writing and being on TV or Webcasts, and that can often leave less time for reporting,"
Source: Poynter, The New York Observer
Essentially, the conclusion by most professionals is that stories do not have the impact they once did, "They might still turns heads--and thankfully at times change things--but usually they get pushed aside as the new-media machine moves to the next 'thing.'"
"Everybody knows that if it takes more than five seconds to explain the story, it's not going to make a lot of noise on the campaign trail," said Matt Taibbi, a columnist for Rolling Stone. Many believe that in "the world of "quality" journalism, there is a feeling of decline."
The problem today is that there is so much content to fill. According to Newsweek writer, Jonathan Alter, "we're all multimedia players now and it means that we're much busier writing and being on TV or Webcasts, and that can often leave less time for reporting,"
Source: Poynter, The New York Observer
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"and that can often leave less time for reporting". Here's a newsflash Jonathan Alter. Webcasts, television, and multimedia IS reporting. We (journalists) must understand and accept that our stories will get packaged in all kinds of boxes and delivered into many mediums. It's print-centric thinking like this that's destroying newsrooms all over this country.