Chicago Journalism Town Hall: meeting of minds or media mortuary?

Posted by Helena Deards on February 25, 2009 at 10:45 AM

On Sunday, with the aim of discussing the future of journalism and newspapers, the Chicago Journalism Town Hall unusually brought together traditional media moguls and new-age bloggers alike. There were confessions of resentment, jealousy, error and disillusionment - from both sides. The ability of the meeting to combine the darlings of Chicagoan new media with the established old-hat of mainstream media was a somewhat unprecedented achievement. That was the analysis of Fran Eaton of the Illinois Review, in any case.

Time Out Chicago took a slightly more cynical view of events; Scott Smith reported that only 3 of the 13-person panel could consider themselves to be professional full-time bloggers, with the result being that the Town Hall felt like a funeral "rather than an exchange of ideas between the print and online worlds". Smith also reports that many of those present seemed to be there to "pat themselves on the back for a job well done, rather than perform an autopsy".

Either way, the three-hour discussion commanded an audience of over 300 people and covered topics such as "funding of newsroom operations, new business models to support investigative journalism, viability of online advertising, micropayments, and the role of community foundations in bridging the gap". Whilst the debate obviously didn't land on any magic solutions in terms of saving print or charging for online content, it crucially displayed an acceptance from media pundits that the discussion needed to be had.

Chi-Town Daily News' daily news editor Geoff Dougherty spoke at the event, and somewhat controversially suggested that a "$2 million online news organization could replace the local-news reporting function of a Sun-Times or Chicago Tribune." In his follow-up article, he has stuck to this belief and even provided a spreadsheet explaining his reasoning. Dougherty is firmly against the belief held by many journalists who are "convinced it takes tens, or hundreds, of millions of dollars to run a robust local news organization". It is a very strong stance, but also one with a certain amount of logic behind it.

Thom Clark, president and a founder of Chicago's Community Media Worskshop, explained that he thinks newspapers need to specialise more and stop being all-things to all-people. He gave the example of dropping film reviews in the local dailies, as this area is already covered in detail by publications such as Time Out Chicago. NBC 5's political editor and Chicago Sun-Times political columnist Carol Marin pointed out that journalism has hidden costs; her example was potential legal costs and lawsuits.

There were many points of view and many speakers present at the Chicago Journalism Town Hall, mulling over the problems faced by the media industry today. Whether it was a meeting of media minds as Eaton suggested, or more in line with Smith's "funeral" comparison, and despite the fact no solutions were found or agreement reached, one of the most important aspects of the meeting was the very fact that it took place. With the current trend to pit the Internet against print in terms of news reporting, this kind of collaboration and consultation between the two could be the way to help.

Source: Chi-Town Daily News, Illinois Review, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Tech Report