Newspapers Are Dead, Long Live the News

While many entrenched in the media industry are trying to find ways to prop up the traditional model of print – micropayments, subscription models, media cartels – in the face of economic turmoil, some thinkers – Steven Berlin Johnson and Clay Shirky among them – believe that this attempt at life support is only delaying their inevitable demise or perhaps, reorder. Even as the newspapers continue to sound the rallying cry of, “You’ll miss us when we’re gone,” Johnson and Shirky seem to be of the mindset that despite the rocky times we’re sure to face, new models will develop to replace the old ones. In other words, we’ll get by, somehow. And while neither man claims to be a soothsayer for what sort of media landscape lies ahead, they’ve got some interesting thoughts on the subject just the same.

Johnson, examines the future through the lens of the past using his model of media as ecosystem, likening the rise of information from a virtual dessert – a single perspective on a single platform – to the diversity of an old growth forest – multiple perspectives on multiple platforms. This variety and rapidity of the news cycle piggybacking onto the prominence of the internet as a distribution center to bring us to the point where we find ourselves now. He argues that while much of what’s happening on the web still relies on old school media as a primary source, the longer we “live” in the context of the web the less this scenario will pose challenges.

To that end, Johnson points to the development of technology and politics reporting – notable for their early adaptation to the online environment – in this vast ecosystem of informed viewpoints, seeing them as important predictors for the ways the rest of our news coverage will transform in the face of the coming change. But even as certain areas – tech, politics, finance, sports and yes local news – thrive under this system, what to do about the other parts, namely investigative and international journalism?

Johnson suggests traditional media start doing to the online sector what is increasingly done to them -excerpt. He shares some wisdom courtesy of Jeff Jarvis, “Do what you do best, and link to the rest.” This Johnson notes, could free newspapers to return to their roots and refocus on their main strength – long form journalism – which is what Shirky has been pulling for all along, sort of. Shirky feels that it’s not the institutions that need saving, but the journalists themselves.

Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism. For a century, the imperatives to strengthen journalism and to strengthen newspapers have been so tightly wound as to be indistinguishable. That’s been a fine accident to have, but when that accident stops, as it is stopping before our eyes, we’re going to need lots of other ways to strengthen journalism instead.

Shirky explains that journalism has always been subsidized in some way. Whereas before it might have been primarily through advertising and classifieds, the new model might rely less on revenue streams and more on individual grants and endowments. And while Shirky doesn’t see print’s role as essential to preserving the overall reader experience, Johnson maintains that newspapers can remain relevant in other ways, notably by serving as gatekeepers to the increasingly cluttered field of players – separating out the reputable voices from the rumor mill. He explains:

Measured by pure audience interest, newspapers have never been more relevant. If they embrace this role as an authoritative guide to the entire ecosystem of news, if they stop paying for content that the web is already generating on its own, I suspect in the long run they will be as sustainable and as vital as they have ever been. The implied motto of every paper in the country should be: all the news that’s fit to link.

Despite this divergence in opinion, both Johnson and Shirky agree that the media revolution is already underway. And while it may be too late to rescue the old system as we know it, the new landscape is still taking shape. Finding a role within it will require forward thinking, innovation and probably a fair share of mistakes.

Steven Berlin Johnson: Old Growth Media and the Future of News

Clay Shirky: Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable