Fishburn Hedges

21.07.2009

With many newspapers facing financial ruin, digital dissemination of news meaning the next deadline is only seconds away and investigative journalism having to be propped up by rich benefactors, the media is at crisis point as it comes to terms with the “Google age”.

At our ‘What’s next for…journalism?’ event on 21 July, a distinguished panel of experts gathered to consider what the future holds for journalism in the digital era.

Chaired by former Independent on Sunday Business Editor, Jason Nisse, our panel were:

- Peter Barron, Google’s Communications Director for Northern and Central Europe
- Paul Murphy, FT Alphaville
- Matt Brown, Editor, Londonist

What's Next... for Journalism? from Fishburn Hedges on Vimeo.

People have never consumed so much news. Media consumption is booming. Yet the money to pay for the professionals underpinning the system is drying up. Financing, training and developing news gathering is getting ever-more challenging, but it isn’t just doom and gloom. There are real success stories (such as FT Alphaville) who are bridging the gap between the brave new world and the “fat, slow, overmanned” (Paul Murphy) world of old media models.

Where’s the money going to come from?

The rise and rise of Google is indicative of the internet-driven forces undermining newspaper revenues. But, as Peter Barron pointed out, news proprietors choose for their content to be available via Google. They want their work to reach as many people as possible, but work remains to be done to establish a long-term and sustainable business model for all parties. Paul Murphy believed “the pain hasn’t really yet begun” for newspapers, and many journalists are yet to face the re-structuring which will need to take place. Matt Brown’s experience blogging about London and “doing it for the love” reflected the challenge; with so many who love to write and are knowledgeable, content will only continue to flow. The genie is truly out of the bottle.

Times are a’changin’

Life just isn’t the same for journalists. Expected to file more copy and work more structured days than ever before, the days of the boozy lunch and evening were confirmed as increasingly distant memories in some of our panellist’s minds. That said, Paul Murphy argued that he was having the greatest fun in his 20 years as a journalist.

Spot the difference?

Is the world of uber-blogs (as with the Londonist), read by hundreds of thousands, really so different to traditional journalism? Matt Brown cited the key differentiator as community. Successful blogs have always been about far more than the writer, but rely on the body of lurkers and commenters generating the debate and shaping the discussion. With outlets, such as the FT, incorporating and accommodating similar structures, the gulf between a blog and a media house will continue to shrink. Matt also illustrated the symbiotic relationship between many bloggers and traditional media, where posts will often be built upon and born of traditional newsgathering and reports.

Playing nicely?

Where there is a relevant audience, organisations (and their PR representatives) will always look to manage their reputation. Increasingly new media formats, whether operated by professionals or amateurs, are changing the rules of engagement. Stories are crafted and broken at a different speed online, and it was generally agreed that organisations simply needed to respond quicker, and be aware of the never-ending news cycle of modern media. When it came to engaging with bloggers, some reality checks were encouraged, including concentrating on those with a sizeable volume audience rather than pursuing the long tail of blogs with small readerships. In response to a query around how exactly one should work with bloggers, Matt Brown’s response could well be adopted across all media handling – “be nice to us!”

The demise of investigative journalism?

One area of real positivity lay in the future of hard hitting journalism targeted at uncovering the truth. Whilst the revenue models of the future may not support investigations as they used to be conducted, the scope for more access to data, and collaborative working offered new avenues to hold public bodies and individuals to account. The launch of Google Wave, their innovative product aimed at collaborative working centred around content, was highlighted as one example of the types of tools which could help journalists, bloggers and organisations work closer in future.