Local PR guru Jon Newman of The Hodges Partnership delves into a recent appearance by TV news journalist Judy Woodruff. Woodruff's visit to Richmond was the second event in a week organized by THP -- the first was a talk by social media savant Peter Shankman -- and Newman seems to see them as opposite ends of the same story.
Woodruff's primary concern, Newman reports, is that good journalism will fade away if consumers continue to think that news if free. Her argument is that in-depth and investigative news stories cost time and money and intellectual energy -- and she's right. Where I think Woodruff's concern is misplaced is that consumers have always thought that news was free; there's absolutely nothing about that model that's changed. How consumers access news is what has changed, and the challenge for the news business is to reimagine how their work is funded -- since the old model appears to be sucking wind.
Newman then reported that Shankman told the Richmond audience that the press release as we know it today is dead. But Shankman also told the crowd that writing -- good writing, and effective storytelling -- will be more relevant than ever.
Good journalism does cost money and time.
To show how far apart the voices of social media and traditional journalism are I only have to point back to last week when Peter Shankman told a crowd in the same studio that the press release as we know it will be dead in 36 months. That journalists will not have the time or attention span to get stories in a longer form.
Ms Woodruff's take was different. That lack of time and resources for reporters will mean all they WILL report will come from press releases because they won't have the ability to get news the old fashioned way.
Newman sees them as bookends. I think they're telling us the same thing.
News will survive the current technology wave. It will continue to feel free to consumers, who will value breaking, 140 character news and well-crafted lengthy features and investigative stories. And new models will be created that allow news organizations to deliver both sides of the news coin.
