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Cultivating Respect for the Arts

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Spreading good ideas with someone you know is one of the simplest things we can do to improve the conversation.

  • Anna Matsen
    Anna Matsen replied on 10:12 PM on January 20, 2008
    I think it's pretty well acknowledged that "spinning" all news in one direction or another warps our perception of what's really going on. So many people claim they want the truth, the facts; but then why is spin media so popular? What would it take for people to get really motivated about avoiding spin and demanding *real* fair coverage? Is it a matter of people not knowing (or not caring) what fair coverage is any more? Do people crave the gossipy nature of news told from an angle set to favor their own prejudices (never mind the *actual* gossip of celebrity "news")? Or, is there a real demand from the general public for fair news coverage, but the media conglomerates who own it all simply won't allow it (presumably because fair media is against their interests)? But more important than the cause is how do we get rid of it? How do we blunt the "angles" and pare down news to its most verifiable essentials? How do we motivate the news owners and the news audience to hold mass media to higher standards of objectivity? That's what I'd like to know.
  • Anna Matsen
    Anna Matsen replied on 03:12 AM on January 21, 2008
    I think it's pretty well acknowledged that "spinning" all news in one direction or another warps our perception of what's really going on. So many people claim they want the truth, the facts; but then why is spin media so popular?

    What would it take for people to get really motivated about avoiding spin and demanding *real* fair coverage? Is it a matter of people not knowing (or not caring) what fair coverage is any more? Do people crave the gossipy nature of news told from an angle set to favor their own prejudices (never mind the *actual* gossip of celebrity "news")? Or, is there a real demand from the general public for fair news coverage, but the media conglomerates who own it all simply won't allow it (presumably because fair media is against their interests)?

    But more important than the cause is how do we get rid of it? How do we blunt the "angles" and pare down news to its most verifiable essentials? How do we motivate the news owners and the news audience to hold mass media to higher standards of objectivity? That's what I'd like to know.
  • Kirk LaPointe
    Kirk LaPointe replied on 04:17 PM on May 13, 2008
    I hate to take any thread away from creativity and move it into economics, but the future of journalism depends on finding a new business model to ensure the public service nature of journalism is preserved. The beauty of conventional media is its ability to cross-subsidize --- you do certain things that draw audiences, and you do certain things because they're important to do, and they aren't always the same things. But one pays for the other, in essence. Many of the new economics emerging in journalism are based on models that seem aligned with what people want, and not necessarily what they might need, to know. Now, no one wants the preaching-from-the-mountain model of journalism, but there are valuable functions of journalism that involve revealing important truths --- things on the menu that no one might choose unless served. What's important in the time ahead is to find ways to pay for the work that isn't necessarily going to move the needle on audience or circulation, but will have a softer value involving reputation or credibility. In other words, the journalism creating a sustainable model. As the advertising-based models of journalism evolve digitally into much more targeted content aimed at specific audiences, the future of journalism will depend on finding ways to generate high quality that isn't necessarily highly demanded. It might be through narrower subscriber-based models, it might mean underwritten models with independent financing, or it might mean allocating a certain portion of revenue to generate content withou a pre-determined market. But if we don't find these new models, the public service work of journalism will be harder to sustain. www.themediamanager.com
  • Kirk LaPointe
    Kirk LaPointe replied on 08:17 PM on May 13, 2008
    I hate to take any thread away from creativity and move it into economics, but the future of journalism depends on finding a new business model to ensure the public service nature of journalism is preserved.

    The beauty of conventional media is its ability to cross-subsidize --- you do certain things that draw audiences, and you do certain things because they're important to do, and they aren't always the same things. But one pays for the other, in essence.

    Many of the new economics emerging in journalism are based on models that seem aligned with what people want, and not necessarily what they might need, to know.

    Now, no one wants the preaching-from-the-mountain model of journalism, but there are valuable functions of journalism that involve revealing important truths --- things on the menu that no one might choose unless served.

    What's important in the time ahead is to find ways to pay for the work that isn't necessarily going to move the needle on audience or circulation, but will have a softer value involving reputation or credibility. In other words, the journalism creating a sustainable model.

    As the advertising-based models of journalism evolve digitally into much more targeted content aimed at specific audiences, the future of journalism will depend on finding ways to generate high quality that isn't necessarily highly demanded.

    It might be through narrower subscriber-based models, it might mean underwritten models with independent financing, or it might mean allocating a certain portion of revenue to generate content withou a pre-determined market. But if we don't find these new models, the public service work of journalism will be harder to sustain.

    www.themediamanager.com

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