Journalism & media

In explaining How Not to Fix the New York Times, Felix Salmon identifies many assets that help make the Times so invaluable -- and which may be hard to replicate in a more fragmented media world. The challenge for a New Media that seeks to replace newspapers rather than supplement them will be to either replace those assets, which include not only sources and clout but long-digging reporters and ever-vigilant editors -- or somehow find substitutes that get the same jobs done. Hat tip: Daily Dish
"If I have to be male, I was hoping for a younger, more fit body, and a better head of hair. It does however fulfill one of my greatest fantasies, which is that I have long had subpoena envy." New Yorker writer Jane Mayer, author of "The Dark Side," who has done much to expose the Bush Administration's torture policies, on being transformed on "24" into a pesky anti-torture Senator. via Jeffrey Goldbergl; hat tip to Mike the Mad Biologist. Is that a web at work, or what?
In response to my post on himself, the NY Times, Zyprexa, Infinite Mind, etc.
While some have chided Michael Hirschorn for offering the Huffington Post the as the most promising template for replacing print newspapers, another candidate Hirschorn mentioned has been strengthening its bid to combine access, clout, and experience with a Media 2.0 agility and energy (as recommended by top self-appointed MSM/blogosphere observers). Talking Points Memo just launched TPMDC, a DC office, and just substantially strengthened its DC bureau by adding the print-journo veteran Matt Cooper, most recently of Portfolio. The premise is simple. Though the phrase is endlessly…
Seth Godin offers another take on what we might miss if/when newspapers die: investigative journalism. What's left is local news, investigative journalism and intelligent coverage of national news. Perhaps 2% of the cost of a typical paper. I worry about the quality of a democracy when the the state government or the local government can do what it wants without intelligent coverage. I worry about the abuse of power when the only thing a corrupt official needs to worry about is the TV news. I worry about the quality of legislation when there isn't a passionate, unbiased reporter there to…
I stirred some ire last week when I asserted that the Times (for -- disclosure dept -- whom I sometimes write) and similar mainstream papers offer a public good through their unique combination of a) access to information and 2) clout with the public and government. Several readers took me to task (see the comments section of the post linked above), arguing that these papers have failed their public mission by dropping the ball several times lately, most notably during the run-up to the Iraq War. "Let the dinosaur die," is the argument. In a similar vein, some science bloggers (see this post…
1. Andrew Sullivan trashed Bono for his Times column (judge it yourself and summarize it in a contest if you'd like) -- and trashed Bono's lyrics as well. 2. A reader objected, saying Bono's lyrics weren't ALL so bad. 3. Sullivan half-conceded -- and posted this video. Mess not with Andrew.
Steven Waldman: Why the Huffington Post Can't Replace The New York Times The idea that the Huffington Post, or the explosion of interesting internet news or blogging sites, can replace journalistic institutions like the New York times or other newspapers or dinosaurs of the mainstream media truly misunderstands the web, newspapers, journalism and the serious threat posed to democracy if the news gathering institutions fail. I think Waldman has this right.  Michael Hirschorn's Atlantic piece pondering the death of the Times is plenty interesting, and good food for thought. But -- even aside…
When I lived in NYC and had the Village Voice close at hand, I loved reading Nat Hentoff, whether it was on jazz, politics, or whatever else excited him. He got laid off yesterday, at 83. His farewell column makes it clear he's got more left to say. Around the country, a lot of reporters are being excessed, and print newspapers may soon become collectors' items. But over the years, my advice to new and aspiring reporters is to remember what Tom Wicker, a first-class professional spelunker, then at The New York Times, said in a tribute to Izzy Stone: "He never lost his sense of rage."…
"Of course," says Clay Shirky, "because people will hit the print button."
With this post, and with pleasure, I bring the blog formerly known as Smooth Pebbles -- now Neuron Culture (mark your RSS readers!) -- back to Scienceblogs. Seventeen months ago I said farewell to this Scienceblogs home, at least for a time, because I had not found blogging a comfortable fit. Since then, however, as I blogged off in the hinterland, I've come to better see how this slippery but flexible form can hold a valuable place in both my own writing and in the changing world of journalism. I've been particularly swayed by the work of bloggers innovatively exploiting the immediacy,…
Micheal Nielsen gets swiftly to a problem many scientists (and not a few writers) have with Gladwell's books -- and highlights their redeeming factors as well: All three of Malcolm Gladwell's books pose a conundrum for the would-be reviewer. The conundrum is this: while the books have many virtues, none of the books make a watertight argument for their central claims. Many scientists, trained to respect standards of proof above all else, don't like this style. A colleague I greatly respect told me he thought Gladwell's previous book, Blink , was "terrible"; it didn't meet his standards of…
Via Kottke Regret the Error has released their annual roundup of media errors and corrections for 2008. The absurd corrections are always the best: We have been asked to point out that Stuart Kennedy, of Flat E, 38 Don Street, Aberdeen, who appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday, had 316 pink, frilly garters confiscated not 316 pink, frilly knickers. And this: A film review on Sept. 5 about "Save Me" confused some characters and actors. It is Mark, not Chad, who is sent to the Genesis House retreat for converting gay men to heterosexuality. (Mark is played by Chad Allen; there…
Forgive if I'm obsessed with this death-of-journalism thing -- Andrew Sullivan has a nice piece in the Times of London about dying newspapers. Like Surowiecki, he fears the loss of the deep reporting that newspapers are already doing less of, and for which so far we have no real replacement venue. Stunning stat from the story: The Baltimore Sun, a pretty big and renowned paper (and the basis for The Wire) gets about 17.5 million page views a month. Sullivan's blog at Atlantic gets 23 million: The operation largely run out of my spare room reached many more online readers than some of the…
James Surowiecki gives us the bad news and the bad news about newspapers. After noting that ad revenue dropped 18 percent in the third quarter alone, he gets on to causes and ultimate effects: People don’t use the Times less than they did a decade ago. They use it more. The difference is that today they don’t have to pay for it. The real problem for newspapers, in other words, isn’t the Internet; it’s us. We want access to everything, we want it now, and we want it for free. That’s a consumer’s dream, but eventually it’s going to collide with reality: if newspapers’ profits vanish, so will…