The Future of Media? It's already here

by: E.D. Cauchi

September 25, 2009 1:00 PM

Comments: (3)

Journalism is no exception to Darwinian theory: it’s survival of the slickest social citizen, that last word being key. While many could argue that the combination of the recession and an increasingly internet-centric society puts our industry on death watch, an expert panel of broadcasters, bloggers, and print writers beg to differ. Just a few years ago it would've been unheard of for high-ranking officials from CBC, CTV and Rogers to share equal stage time with a blogger and an advocate for amateur journalism — and yet they all did so quite comfortably last night at the Future of Media discussion at the Drake Hotel.

The night was hosted by Digital Journal Inc., which, explained CEO Chris Hogg, focusses on teaching the public the “fundamentals of news,” including collection, fact-checking and libel law. Beyond that, he said, “all you need is passion.” The panel — which also included David Silverberg (Managing Editor of Digital Journal), Rachel Nixon (Director of Digital Media for CBC News), Richard McIlveen (producer of CTV News), Tim Shore (founder and publisher of blogTO) and Keith McArthur (Senior Director of Social Media and Digital Communications at Rogers) — seemed to be in consensus that media is increasingly becoming more of a collaboration between the journalists and the public, as opposed to the old, one-way delivery model. They all embraced the idea of the "citizen journalist": a member of the public who contributes to the dissemination of information through any medium, from personal blogging to feeding established news corporations with tips to posting web comments to Twittering.

Of course, with the growing role of the citizen journalist comes an increased inability to trust the source. Citing factual inaccuracies that have appeared in even the most respectable of publications, Hogg professed that all news — from broadsheets to blogs — should be cross-checked and verified. He and Shore — whose blogto relies greatly on these citizen contributors — argued that their public submissions are held to the same standards of commissioned work (though this was a point of contention among the other panelists).

The experts may be encouraging public participation, but journalism is still a business without a moneymaking model for the future. The favoured internet revenue structure among the panelists involves providing the majority of content for free while offering premium resources at a cost. CBC's Nixon suggested “people are more likely to pay for niche content,” furthering the idea that providing hyper-focused content from diverse sources would be most successful. For Nixon, it’s not just a matter of simply making technologically compatible models of existing media (building an iPhone version of your site, for example), the contents needs to change and adapt to suit the new form of transmission.

The overall message is that media is heading in a collaborative direction, one in which the survivor will be the most socially adept at feeding off all avenues of information. Journalism has become a two-way street — and we're all going to have to learn to go with the flow.

Photo courtesy of digitaljournal.com

TAGS:

Media

Copyright 1991 - 2009 EYE WEEKLY Newspapers Limited. All Rights Reserved. Distribution transmission,
Republication of any materials is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of EYE WEEKLY.
EYE WEEKLY is a division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited.

Toronto Notes

The Future of Media? It's already here

Toronto Notes