Monday, April 23, 2007 7:56 AM
As I continue to watch the proliferation of weblogs, online communication/collaboration and syndication technologies such as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, it has become apparent that the transformation underway in media and the delivery of news and information is both disruptive and unclear. Disruptive, in that it seems unlikely that print editions of anything will be dominant vehicle for news and information delivery, especially as new generations which cut their teeth getting their news and information online become the leading lawyers and business people of the world. Unclear, in that I find it difficult to pin down exactly what model or combination of models will be the dominant business plan in future years. Perhaps a combination of print and digital; perhaps solely digital. Perhaps a model which relies on a technology not yet conceived. And, who will write and edit the news and information? Staff reporters, free lance writers or anyone and everyone? Perhaps a combination of all of the above? In any case, it is fascinating to watch the news and information delivery companies test the waters using different models as they seek the one that will work for them.
Case in point. Earlier this month, InfoWorld magazine ceased publishing its print edition after 29 years, moving solely online. InfoWorld senior editor Paul F. Roberts wrote about the transition in the article InfoWorld folds print after 29 years:
...the idea of connecting to readers online is there, as is the notion of using technology to streamline manual processes. And that thought process leads directly to the current state of affairs, in which online publications, now including InfoWorld, are supplanting their print counterparts.
At this point, hardly anybody argues that online publications are transforming the publishing business and causing headaches for traditional media companies. One look at the financial statements of media firms such as Gannett or The New York Times, which are struggling amid declining readership and eroding print ad revenue, says all that needs to be said.
The question that's harder to answer is "Why is it happening?" And that's the question we set out to answer in this, our final print edition.
It's no surprise to InfoWorld readers that one of the most important things that "happened" was technology...
In talking about the web's role in the transformation, Mr. Roberts also acknowledges the role technologies such as RSS feeds and weblogs are playing.
More recent refinements in online information delivery, such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication), have accelerated the transformation of news consumption among readers. RSS — which allows Internet users to subscribe to news feeds from various Web sites, then aggregate them on the desktop — lets readers zero in on specific topics that interest them and filter out the rest.
In the same vein, technologies such as RSS have empowered a new generation of self-publishers — bloggers — to democratize the reporting process and provide readers with direct access to subject experts without the filter of editors and reporters. And some of those blogs have established competitive brands with substantial readerships, using nothing more than a PC, an Internet connection, and some free software to challenge established magazines and newspapers.
For his part, Mr. Roberts appears optimistic about the future. He sees the transformation within journalism and media as nothing new and nothing to fear. In quoting Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University and creator of NewAssignment.net, Mr. Roberts underscores the reality that very few things stay the same.
But technological change is nothing new to the field of journalism — and nothing to be feared, Rosen said.
"From the very first, journalism has been about communicating ideas across big territories. Technology — whether it be Roman roads or the global Internet — has always been part and parcel of the profession. That means when technology changes, journalism has always been forced to change, too.
"Journalism is an old practice that keeps getting rebuilt because the technology for doing it keeps changing," Rosen said.
Stay tuned...