Comments on: Culture Clash on the Future of News http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/ The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology. Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:47:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: David McElroy http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/#comment-50552 David McElroy Sat, 17 May 2008 08:05:43 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10796#comment-50552 The newspaper industry is very stubborn and slow to change. I used to be a newspaper editor, but I've been out of it 15 years, so I have a different perspective than those who are still in it. With that said, I think that technologists fail to understand the primary value that newspapers bring to media distribution -- and that's the power of editorial judgment. Software doesn't have that same judgment, and it never will. As human editorial judgment is replaced with software to sift the junk online in order to find the good stuff, the results aren't going to be pretty. No matter how good the code is, it can't see connections and make judgments that editors can.<br><br>I say this as someone who's one of the biggest critics around of the state of modern newspapers. They're getting worse, in many respects, not better. I can't even remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a newspaper, because I get all my news online. Despite that, I still know that the best and most trustworthy news still TENDS to come from those trained in the newspaper editorial tradition. If we can take those same skills and put them into the people who are editing news web sites, newspapers (in the traditional sense) won't matter. But to think that some combination of blogs and RSS feeds of a billion web sites is going to reasonably take their place seems insane. You'll end up with the equivalent of sites such as Digg and Slashdot, which are both interesting (and I use both), but are places where the loudest opinions prevail. The newspaper industry is very stubborn and slow to change. I used to be a newspaper editor, but I’ve been out of it 15 years, so I have a different perspective than those who are still in it. With that said, I think that technologists fail to understand the primary value that newspapers bring to media distribution — and that’s the power of editorial judgment. Software doesn’t have that same judgment, and it never will. As human editorial judgment is replaced with software to sift the junk online in order to find the good stuff, the results aren’t going to be pretty. No matter how good the code is, it can’t see connections and make judgments that editors can.

I say this as someone who’s one of the biggest critics around of the state of modern newspapers. They’re getting worse, in many respects, not better. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a newspaper, because I get all my news online. Despite that, I still know that the best and most trustworthy news still TENDS to come from those trained in the newspaper editorial tradition. If we can take those same skills and put them into the people who are editing news web sites, newspapers (in the traditional sense) won’t matter. But to think that some combination of blogs and RSS feeds of a billion web sites is going to reasonably take their place seems insane. You’ll end up with the equivalent of sites such as Digg and Slashdot, which are both interesting (and I use both), but are places where the loudest opinions prevail.

]]> By: David McElroy http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/#comment-41838 David McElroy Sat, 17 May 2008 07:05:43 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10796#comment-41838 The newspaper industry is very stubborn and slow to change. I used to be a newspaper editor, but I've been out of it 15 years, so I have a different perspective than those who are still in it. With that said, I think that technologists fail to understand the primary value that newspapers bring to media distribution -- and that's the power of editorial judgment. Software doesn't have that same judgment, and it never will. As human editorial judgment is replaced with software to sift the junk online in order to find the good stuff, the results aren't going to be pretty. No matter how good the code is, it can't see connections and make judgments that editors can. I say this as someone who's one of the biggest critics around of the state of modern newspapers. They're getting worse, in many respects, not better. I can't even remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a newspaper, because I get all my news online. Despite that, I still know that the best and most trustworthy news still TENDS to come from those trained in the newspaper editorial tradition. If we can take those same skills and put them into the people who are editing news web sites, newspapers (in the traditional sense) won't matter. But to think that some combination of blogs and RSS feeds of a billion web sites is going to reasonably take their place seems insane. You'll end up with the equivalent of sites such as Digg and Slashdot, which are both interesting (and I use both), but are places where the loudest opinions prevail. The newspaper industry is very stubborn and slow to change. I used to be a newspaper editor, but I’ve been out of it 15 years, so I have a different perspective than those who are still in it. With that said, I think that technologists fail to understand the primary value that newspapers bring to media distribution — and that’s the power of editorial judgment. Software doesn’t have that same judgment, and it never will. As human editorial judgment is replaced with software to sift the junk online in order to find the good stuff, the results aren’t going to be pretty. No matter how good the code is, it can’t see connections and make judgments that editors can.

I say this as someone who’s one of the biggest critics around of the state of modern newspapers. They’re getting worse, in many respects, not better. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a newspaper, because I get all my news online. Despite that, I still know that the best and most trustworthy news still TENDS to come from those trained in the newspaper editorial tradition. If we can take those same skills and put them into the people who are editing news web sites, newspapers (in the traditional sense) won’t matter. But to think that some combination of blogs and RSS feeds of a billion web sites is going to reasonably take their place seems insane. You’ll end up with the equivalent of sites such as Digg and Slashdot, which are both interesting (and I use both), but are places where the loudest opinions prevail.

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/#comment-50551 Seth Finkelstein Thu, 15 May 2008 23:39:42 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10796#comment-50551 Speaking as a technologist, I agree with the newspaper people 1/2 :-).<br><br>One problem is that there's very little support for technologists to voice a non-evangelistic view. If you say "YAY! GO GO GO Net/Blogs/RSS/etc!!!"", there's attention and money for that. The opposite view isn't supported, except by reactionaries (see Andrew K33n).<br><br>It's market failure :-(. Sort of recursive proof. Speaking as a technologist, I agree with the newspaper people 1/2 :-).

One problem is that there’s very little support for technologists to voice a non-evangelistic view. If you say “YAY! GO GO GO Net/Blogs/RSS/etc!!!”", there’s attention and money for that. The opposite view isn’t supported, except by reactionaries (see Andrew K33n).

It’s market failure :-(. Sort of recursive proof.

]]> By: jbbuena http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/#comment-50550 jbbuena Thu, 15 May 2008 23:21:44 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10796#comment-50550 Personally, I think what worry journalists of "monolithic 'mainstream media'" isn't necessarily the transformative impact of technology on the integrity of their professions and the digitalization of newsprint so much as losing their professions altogether when technology assumes journalistic roles in the future.<br><br>Because as you say so yourself, "technologists have a better sense than the newspaper folks of the diversity of new news-gathering techniques that are being developed;" and I think they are themselves aware of that. Personally, I think what worry journalists of “monolithic ‘mainstream media’” isn’t necessarily the transformative impact of technology on the integrity of their professions and the digitalization of newsprint so much as losing their professions altogether when technology assumes journalistic roles in the future.

Because as you say so yourself, “technologists have a better sense than the newspaper folks of the diversity of new news-gathering techniques that are being developed;” and I think they are themselves aware of that.

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/#comment-41828 Seth Finkelstein Thu, 15 May 2008 22:39:42 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10796#comment-41828 Speaking as a technologist, I agree with the newspaper people 1/2 :-). One problem is that there's very little support for technologists to voice a non-evangelistic view. If you say "YAY! GO GO GO Net/Blogs/RSS/etc!!!"", there's attention and money for that. The opposite view isn't supported, except by reactionaries (see Andrew K33n). It's market failure :-(. Sort of recursive proof. Speaking as a technologist, I agree with the newspaper people 1/2 :-).

One problem is that there’s very little support for technologists to voice a non-evangelistic view. If you say “YAY! GO GO GO Net/Blogs/RSS/etc!!!”", there’s attention and money for that. The opposite view isn’t supported, except by reactionaries (see Andrew K33n).

It’s market failure :-(. Sort of recursive proof.

]]> By: jbbuena http://techliberation.com/2008/05/15/culture-clash-on-the-future-of-news/#comment-41827 jbbuena Thu, 15 May 2008 22:21:44 +0000 http://techliberation.com/?p=10796#comment-41827 Personally, I think what worry journalists of "monolithic 'mainstream media'" isn't necessarily the transformative impact of technology on the integrity of their professions and the digitalization of newsprint so much as losing their professions altogether when technology assumes journalistic roles in the future. Because as you say so yourself, "technologists have a better sense than the newspaper folks of the diversity of new news-gathering techniques that are being developed;" and I think they are themselves aware of that. Personally, I think what worry journalists of “monolithic ‘mainstream media’” isn’t necessarily the transformative impact of technology on the integrity of their professions and the digitalization of newsprint so much as losing their professions altogether when technology assumes journalistic roles in the future.

Because as you say so yourself, “technologists have a better sense than the newspaper folks of the diversity of new news-gathering techniques that are being developed;” and I think they are themselves aware of that.

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