UK: Book on news standards sparks debate among journalists
Posted by Rosemary D'Amour on November 21, 2008 at 12:06 PM
An event hosted by Goldsmiths Media Research Centre sparked a "provocative" discussion on a new book exploring the impact of digital technology on modern news practice and operations, which will influence the final draft.
Colleagues of the Guardian were "divided" during the discussion of "New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in a Digital Age," with some journalists agreeing with the Guardian's Nick Davies' belief that "modern news involves plagiarism."
Colleagues of the Guardian were "divided" during the discussion of "New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in a Digital Age," with some journalists agreeing with the Guardian's Nick Davies' belief that "modern news involves plagiarism."
Davies' assumption that journalists in new media face deadlines and pressure that forces stories to be delivered with less research and a reliance on agency wire copy has been covered by the Weblog.
Others disagreed.
An increase in output doesn't necessarily lead to a decrease in quality, said Emily Bell, director of digital content at the Guardian. Online news, she continued, has made the journalistic process "more democratic," allowing everyone to take part.
However, Davies, present at the meeting, said that the "democratization" of news could lead to trouble for the industry, leading to deterioration of news standards. Although he didn't object to using other news organizations as ancillary sources, he accused several news organizations of "running with the pack" on stories, and failing to do the work themselves.
Research for the book by the GMRC appears to "back" Davies' idea.
"The Internet has made some aspects of journalism worse," GMRC Professor James Curran said. "We think of new technology as expanding media diversity, but in some circumstances it can increase uniformity."
Despite the disagreement, Malcolm Dean, another journalist for the Guardian, pointed out an opportunity that could come of the news crisis.
"We have never had better information available in journalism," he said. This could lead to better information-access for journalists, which will only help the industry.
Source: Journalism.co.uk
See also:
The Future of Investigative Journalism Part 1- Interview: "Flat Earth News" author Nick Davies
Others disagreed.
An increase in output doesn't necessarily lead to a decrease in quality, said Emily Bell, director of digital content at the Guardian. Online news, she continued, has made the journalistic process "more democratic," allowing everyone to take part.
However, Davies, present at the meeting, said that the "democratization" of news could lead to trouble for the industry, leading to deterioration of news standards. Although he didn't object to using other news organizations as ancillary sources, he accused several news organizations of "running with the pack" on stories, and failing to do the work themselves.
Research for the book by the GMRC appears to "back" Davies' idea.
"The Internet has made some aspects of journalism worse," GMRC Professor James Curran said. "We think of new technology as expanding media diversity, but in some circumstances it can increase uniformity."
Despite the disagreement, Malcolm Dean, another journalist for the Guardian, pointed out an opportunity that could come of the news crisis.
"We have never had better information available in journalism," he said. This could lead to better information-access for journalists, which will only help the industry.
Source: Journalism.co.uk
See also:
The Future of Investigative Journalism Part 1- Interview: "Flat Earth News" author Nick Davies
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