I've written before about the current struggles of the media, as well as its uncertain future. Now, President Obama is considering a newspaper bailout. While this guy at Newsweek argues that newspapers need to die and get out of the way.
In the end, newspapers probably will die. But I can understand why people are unnerved by this. A free press is a fundamental part of our democracy. And as Clay Shirky has pointed out, we are not going to smoothly transition to whatever comes after newspapers. Based on history, this is likely to be a chaotic time for the media, where old institutions are destroyed faster than new ones can replace them. And no can can predict which ideas will be the ones that catch on.
This New York Times article is one possible future.
CBS News plans to announce Monday that it has formed a partnership with GlobalPost, a foreign news Web site, that will provide CBS with reporting from its approximately 70 affiliated correspondents in 50 countries.
As many print and broadcast news outlets are struggling to find ways to cover foreign news, the alliance may suggest a blueprint.
GlobalPost doesn't pay its correspondents much. Most of them are part-timers, working locally. The video segments are often shot, narrated, and edited by one person. It's a bit like a paid version of CNN's iReport, or blogging/YouTube on steroids.
Obviously, CBS benefits from the lower costs. It's not so great for the journalists, however.
Meanwhile, there are changes afoot in Yankees blogdom. Peter Abraham is leaving the
Journal-News for the
Boston Globe. Taking his place will be Chad Jennings, the SWB Yankees blogger.
No word on who is taking Chad's place. I hope someone does. The SWB Yankees blog is great. I wish all minor league teams had blog coverage from their local papers.
And I really enjoy Chad's style. More so that Pete Abe's, if truth be told. I know bloggers are supposed to be "edgy," but Pete was often a little too edgy, IMHO. He likes to rile people up, which gets old after awhile.
Labels: media
