2006 State of American Journalism report
The 2006 annual report on the State of the News Media is out, and available on the web. The massive effort of the Project for Excellence in Journalism summarizes a variety of data about the future of journalism, a timely subject given today’s announcement of McClatchy’s approximately $4.5 billion offer to purchase Knight Ridder.
The report concludes that the end of journalism is not here. “But we do see a seismic transformation in what and how people learn about the world around them.” Blogging and other citizen information efforts are on the rise. “Power is moving away from journalists as gatekeepers over what the public knows,” and audiences are still leaving newspapers and television for online media. Thus journalists are going to need to redefine how they do what they do, and how their skill set can best serve society, while still making a profit for their owners.
The major trends, according to the report, are:
1. Journalism has more outlets but is covering fewer stories. One stop sources for all news is a thing of the past.
2. Big city newspapers are the most threatened species of newspaper.
3. Idealists who believe in journalism as part of the public trust are toast—the accountants rule.
4. Traditional media are moving toward technological innovation, but it is a slow process.
5. The media upstarts, Yahoo and Google, may also be facing economic change as news gatherers may demand payment from outlets like Google News.
6. While online journalism is growing, its economic viability is still a long ways off.
The good news is that the American public still think the press is professional and moral, “and the vast majority of Americans continue to support the idea that the press should be a neutral judge.”
The report concludes that the end of journalism is not here. “But we do see a seismic transformation in what and how people learn about the world around them.” Blogging and other citizen information efforts are on the rise. “Power is moving away from journalists as gatekeepers over what the public knows,” and audiences are still leaving newspapers and television for online media. Thus journalists are going to need to redefine how they do what they do, and how their skill set can best serve society, while still making a profit for their owners.
The major trends, according to the report, are:
1. Journalism has more outlets but is covering fewer stories. One stop sources for all news is a thing of the past.
2. Big city newspapers are the most threatened species of newspaper.
3. Idealists who believe in journalism as part of the public trust are toast—the accountants rule.
4. Traditional media are moving toward technological innovation, but it is a slow process.
5. The media upstarts, Yahoo and Google, may also be facing economic change as news gatherers may demand payment from outlets like Google News.
6. While online journalism is growing, its economic viability is still a long ways off.
The good news is that the American public still think the press is professional and moral, “and the vast majority of Americans continue to support the idea that the press should be a neutral judge.”
posted by Ken Waters | 4:06 PM
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