Comments on: Dancing On The Newspaper’s Grave http://techliberation.com/2008/03/30/dancing-on-the-newspapers-grave/ Keeping politicians' hands off the Net & everything else related to technology Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:51:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Kevin B. O'Reilly http://techliberation.com/2008/03/30/dancing-on-the-newspapers-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-46819 Kevin B. O'Reilly Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:14:57 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2008/03/30/dancing-on-the-newspapers-grave/#comment-46819 <p>I agree there is more than enough room for a plethora of approaches to news reporting. To the extent that there is a market for more "viewpoint journalism," I don't have a big problem with it. One major constraint that faces most news gathering operations, however, is their lack of expertise. They know how to present news and information in a compelling, intelligible way. They understand what their audience cares about.<br><br>They are good at getting their hands on the experts, and at explaining complex subjects in terms consumers can understand. But very few reporters and editors actually have any training or expertise in, say, economics, urban planning, or foreign policy. People who cover the police department don't really know how a police department should be run. Aiming for objectivity, if nothing else, acts as useful constraint on otherwise unqualified offerings.</p> I agree there is more than enough room for a plethora of approaches to news reporting. To the extent that there is a market for more “viewpoint journalism,” I don’t have a big problem with it. One major constraint that faces most news gathering operations, however, is their lack of expertise. They know how to present news and information in a compelling, intelligible way. They understand what their audience cares about.

They are good at getting their hands on the experts, and at explaining complex subjects in terms consumers can understand. But very few reporters and editors actually have any training or expertise in, say, economics, urban planning, or foreign policy. People who cover the police department don’t really know how a police department should be run. Aiming for objectivity, if nothing else, acts as useful constraint on otherwise unqualified offerings.

]]> By: Kevin B. O'Reilly http://techliberation.com/2008/03/30/dancing-on-the-newspapers-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-40908 Kevin B. O'Reilly Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:14:57 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2008/03/30/dancing-on-the-newspapers-grave/#comment-40908 <p>I agree there is more than enough room for a plethora of approaches to news reporting. To the extent that there is a market for more "viewpoint journalism," I don't have a big problem with it. One major constraint that faces most news gathering operations, however, is their lack of expertise. They know how to present news and information in a compelling, intelligible way. They understand what their audience cares about.</p> <p>They are good at getting their hands on the experts, and at explaining complex subjects in terms consumers can understand. But very few reporters and editors actually have any training or expertise in, say, economics, urban planning, or foreign policy. People who cover the police department don't really know how a police department should be run. Aiming for objectivity, if nothing else, acts as useful constraint on otherwise unqualified offerings.</p> I agree there is more than enough room for a plethora of approaches to news reporting. To the extent that there is a market for more “viewpoint journalism,” I don’t have a big problem with it. One major constraint that faces most news gathering operations, however, is their lack of expertise. They know how to present news and information in a compelling, intelligible way. They understand what their audience cares about.

They are good at getting their hands on the experts, and at explaining complex subjects in terms consumers can understand. But very few reporters and editors actually have any training or expertise in, say, economics, urban planning, or foreign policy. People who cover the police department don’t really know how a police department should be run. Aiming for objectivity, if nothing else, acts as useful constraint on otherwise unqualified offerings.

]]>