attention industry

Non-specific Journalism Thoughts.

When I was outlining potential issues and solutions for the future of journalism, one theme came up.  A theme that, due to one of my best friends being a journalist, has come up repeatedly in the past.

The current model of journalistic authority is inherently at odds with the way authority is determined online.  As much as getting people to pay for news is an issue, this is a bigger one.

The internet thrives on context.  People who learn, and do their research online, want to be able to walk through your process.  Search backward through your information.  Similar to the high school math teacher that insists you ‘show your work’, the online reader wants links to your sources.  Anonymity is reserved for people who need to be protected from oppressive regimes, and trolls.

Being trusted on the internet means being questioned, constantly.  Your integrity, your intellect, and what compromises you aren’t telling the whole world about.  It’s not just transparency - it’s the natural progression of living in a world where anyone can say they are an authority.  The instinctual response to a declaration is to ask for proof - not just of the statement, but of the authority behind it.

Years ago, in conversation, I talked about how I wanted information presented online to be link heavy - not just to outside sources, but to notes, background info, longer, unedited versions of the same article.  This is offensive to some journalists, because their position is one where assumed integrity is essential.

Unfortunately, your feelings don’t matter.

Internet integrity is like peer reviewed science.  You are right because EVERYONE who is trying to prove you wrong has yet to succeed.  This requires providing evidence, showing your process, and responding to critiques.

I’m looking forward to multimedia online journalism, where a story stays alive until the audience is done with it.  Deciding that there is a single, unquestioned authority, is a good way to be ignored, online.