Comments on: Is nothing sacred?

By: marc pease

marc pease — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:18:13 +0000

I thought that the conversation went to the heart of the situation faced by print journalism in this time of digital transmission and the consolidation of print news media outlets and sources. Are we all able to be new communication pipefitters, gigabit JTP’s, in support of media’s role to be fair and adequate in reporting of news? Will David’s spot.us expand and be imbedded into community journalists across the U.S. or in this economic challenged time does the public’s news become an information utility offering truth in life’s ” news you can use ” , the abilities for young voices to solve, heal, create, investigate and report their findings?

By: ijp

ijp — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:49:29 +0000

I think one of the aspects of this topic of discussion that deserves more scrutiny is the role of law.

Kathy brought it up briefly in class, specifically referring to tax codes (I think). Should news outlets become a new type of organization like a non-profit as many are already doing? Could the IRS create a new tax code organization that specifically relates to news and information gathering organizations, offering tax incentives? Perhaps this second option would answer the big question being asked by many, “Who is a journalist?” If news outlets had a specific tax code, its employees could be called “professional journalists.”

Anyway, if the whole market is changing for news, maybe the law should too.

By: Tracy at WSB

Tracy at WSB — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:13:48 +0000

By the way, anonymity and accountability aren’t mutually exclusive. We ran our site anonymously for two years. By the time we went public, we were already dealing with local government officials (among many others) who respected us and helped us with information … because, they explained later, the quality of our work spoke for itself. That says much, for everybody in the ever-changing news world. Take nothing, and no one, for granted.

By: Tracy at WSB

Tracy at WSB — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:06:35 +0000

Thanks for the mention.

“Blog,” by the way, is just a publishing format. We are a community news website that publishes in blog format. And we are EXTREMELY accountable. (30-plus years in “old media” before this, fwiw.)

We cover a LOT of community meetings that no one else covers. And in just the past month, other stories that we alone covered for our community included high-school football playoff games, the tragic death of a diver, and the trial (with gavel-to-gavel courtroom coverage) of a teenager accused in a high-profile killing … eventually, stunningly, exonerated.

It’s not at all that journalism is extinct. It’s just that you find it in many more places these days – so nobody has a monopoly on it any more, which I believe enhances accountability, relevancy, and responsiveness (you must be committed to those qualities and deliver on them day in, day out, night in, night out).

By: kegill

kegill — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:54:16 +0000

Interesting close, Maury.

However, what do bison hunters have to do with helping maintain our republic?