Comments on: Breaking news http://diylibrarian.org/archive/2009/08/12/breaking-news/ Librarianship for the people Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:01:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: John http://diylibrarian.org/archive/2009/08/12/breaking-news/comment-page-1/#comment-73004 John Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:32:32 +0000 http://diylibrarian.org/archive/2009/08/12/breaking-news/#comment-73004 <i>If the newspapers disappear, where will you get your local news from?</i> Well, if there's demand, the profit motive will create supply. So there's nothing to worry about. I see the future of local news as rather disaggregated -- not just one newspaper, but multiple websites with traffic varying widely over time. If the newspapers disappear, where will you get your local news from?

Well, if there’s demand, the profit motive will create supply. So there’s nothing to worry about.

I see the future of local news as rather disaggregated — not just one newspaper, but multiple websites with traffic varying widely over time.

]]> By: Dan http://diylibrarian.org/archive/2009/08/12/breaking-news/comment-page-1/#comment-73002 Dan Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:34:31 +0000 http://diylibrarian.org/archive/2009/08/12/breaking-news/#comment-73002 I think there are good examples of other nations funding their own news agencies and retaining impartiality. Two come to mind readily: Specifically, the BBC (which can be rather critical of the British government to ensure impartiality) and France 24 (which doesn't seem to have pro-govt spin and even offers news in Arabic and English). It will be interesting to see how the coverage of current events, especially on the local level, changes as the old publishing models fall away. I wouldn't be surprised if we began to see a mainstream acceptance of RSS and journalistic professional ethics revised to accommodate a more holistic set of information and web ethics. The problem with small/local news providers is that their risks are twofold: they have the challenge of creating/adopting a new business plan (to remain financially viable) and they also have to face the reality that regional consumers may be unwilling to adopt or pay for electronic news. In many ways, I think televised "headline news" exacerbates this problem. (Q: Why pay for local news when one can just watch it on TV? A: Televised news is often superficial and highly politicized.) I think there are good examples of other nations funding their own news agencies and retaining impartiality. Two come to mind readily: Specifically, the BBC (which can be rather critical of the British government to ensure impartiality) and France 24 (which doesn’t seem to have pro-govt spin and even offers news in Arabic and English).

It will be interesting to see how the coverage of current events, especially on the local level, changes as the old publishing models fall away. I wouldn’t be surprised if we began to see a mainstream acceptance of RSS and journalistic professional ethics revised to accommodate a more holistic set of information and web ethics.

The problem with small/local news providers is that their risks are twofold: they have the challenge of creating/adopting a new business plan (to remain financially viable) and they also have to face the reality that regional consumers may be unwilling to adopt or pay for electronic news. In many ways, I think televised “headline news” exacerbates this problem. (Q: Why pay for local news when one can just watch it on TV? A: Televised news is often superficial and highly politicized.)

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