If other blogs didn’t steal my stuff years ago, I would have said R.I.P. Journalism – but “R.I.P.” as a way of saying a something is dead is also dead.
So, what do I mean by “Journalism Is Dead?”
Very simple. Journalism is dead. I’ll prove it.
The online media “information” space has been taken over by the Press Release. Companies issue press releases or send emails to blogs like Deadline.com or TechCrunch and that becomes the news of the day. No one is actually out in the field unless you consider a guy with a camera in the face of a drunken celebrity at TMZ real journalism.
Very few – VERY FEW – are actually digging up stories, creating news – trying to right the wrongs. It’s all controlled by someone other than journalists.
So here’s my experiment…
I didn’t really write over the summer because I was working on a book – so my numbers were pretty terrible on this blog. I was doing pretty well when I was constantly writing about how Facebook sucks. But now it’s terrible.
Last month I had very few eyeballs on this site because I really wasn’t around and only posted one time. Pretty sad.
In September 2013 – OnMedea had 1,167 hits. A real low for the site – but my own fault. In October, I am at 574 hits for the month – mostly because of the old Sean Hannity story – but really terrible.
Now I’m mostly going to do what others “media” blogs do for the rest of the month (Press Releases, hearsay, etc. – with my own little comments here and there) – whatever takes the LEAST amount of time – and give updates on how my numbers change.
Should be an interesting experiment.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
I liked your comments on journalism. Politicians will not answer questions now and just make a repeat of their political views . Journalist don’t get straight answers and so become frustrated through lack of power. The journalists are writing a lot but I agree the day of the ” All the Presidents Men ” investigative style is dead. We have a new computer age where people do not have the patience to read for long. So quick info on the move is all they need.
By the way whats the name of your book ? Have a great day.
James
I couldn’t agree more. All we read is press releases all day with the absolute minimum amount of commentary.
What about the journalists that are risking their lives and dying trying to cover a story? What about the investigative muckrakers? What about the reporters who covered 9/11, the Oklahoma bombing, Hurricane Katrina, The Virginia Tech Massacre, The Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings? What about journalists like Alexandra Zayas of the Tampa Bay Times who was a Pulitzer-prize finalist for her investigation on unlicensed religious group-homes where children were abused and neglected? That tip didn’t come from a press release.
you say “No one is actually out in the field unless you consider a guy with a camera in the face of a drunken celebrity at TMZ real journalism.” What about the 70 journalists that were killed while out in the field in 2013? You think they sat back and wrote their stories after they were given a press release? Were these photos in Bangui sent via press release? http://goo.gl/CF2cD5 No, they were taken by dedicated journalists who reporting on the news that matter.
Yes, some stories are based off press releases, and always have been. Those are commonly known as tips. But you cannot seriously think that journalism is no more, that investigative stories have disappeared, and that those who decide they will make a career in reporting stories that matter and are willing to risk their lives in order to convey the most interesting, thought-provoking and moving stories are gone.
Journalism may be a shirking field but their are still plenty of them out there. As to the press release – well they are nothing more then starting points/ideas – for journalist to decide what if any story is behind them. We all loved the “the rest of the story” ideas and what we read or saw – but in truth – every press release has “the rest of the story” somewhere – it is up to journalist to decide if its worth pursuing and to what degree.
You want something to do – revisit some of your old press releases. (I always kept mine in a file) did I miss a good story or was I right in any case “what were the results of the release?”
Many avenues or angles one can take with this. I will be waiting to see what happens