“As I sat in the various sessions contemplating the extensive possibilities at our feet when bold leaders push existing boundaries, my Twitter feed continued to ding on my Blackberry with updates from Romenesko and Jay Rosen: reports of more of the same old MSM coverage of layoffs and predictable navel-gazing about election bias born of the hierarchical point-counterpoint inverted pyramid storytelling model. The irony was biting. What is a journalist if not someone who hopes to enable others with the information they need to solve the problems of our time? To connect individual citizens with their communities? Shouldn’t newspapers be the ones championing this enterprise? 

The American Press Institute is huddled behind closed doors this week in crisis mode discussing how to save the deadwood editions that still turn a profit. You have to wonder if it’s just like watching the unplugged McCain campaign be pummeled by underestimating Web 2.0 technology. Since we won’t know until they publish a report what exactly they’re talking about, I am hoping the API conversation focuses less on redesigns and marketing gimmicks, and primarily on giving advertisers incentives to pay higher CPMs and invest in the redevelopment of dynamic, 21st century newsrooms that connect the distinct expertise of reporters with the emerging wisdom of the crowd. 

This doesn’t have to be a crisis: In fact, it is a time of great opportunity for those who are willing to make big bets — and implement them.”

Full column here.

“With this on my mind, I began engaging a number of friends and colleagues on a subject that weighs on my thoughts constantly: Is what happened to classified advertising happening to editorial content, and if it is, are we building the skill sets we’ll need when an aggregator and revenue power house like Google jumps into the market and becomes a primary generator of original content?

What will the rules about ethics and transparency be in such a scenario, and in the meantime - as reporting beats are routinely eliminated - are we all really just becoming opining, mini-aggregators? (For the record: Decidedly I am, my MSM friends are not.)

‘I don’t think anyone in journalism today feels really good about their futures, whether they work at a small market paper or even if they’ve embraced new media,’ says my 25-year-old friend who has worked for a major national daily and is now a content producer for a top political news site. ‘Everyone jokes, covering up real fears about how we’ll all be laid off from old-school papers and about how professional online news won’t actually take off like we hope it will.’” |   Read more here.

In today’s Editor & Publisher I discuss the panel I was on at Northwestern Friday (thx Ellen Shearer for the invite!): 

“Given the inevitable fragmentation of the MSM market and the inundation of “breaking news” in our daily lives, the need for a reliable filter has never been more prevalent. In most social networks – online and offline – there is typically a handful of influencers who lead their peers in suggesting valuable news bits and facilitating activism. For better or worse, these individuals have become our default editors, aggregators and points of distribution.” Read more here.

From a business perspective, it appears to be a home run. Despite the collapse and resurrection of niche efforts like ESPN mobile service, the power of direct access to consumers via cell phones has skyrocketed as high as the presidential election coverage, with candidates looking to the utility-driven impact of text messaging to galvanize their get out the vote efforts in November. In every meeting I’m sitting in, every conference I attend and every company I advise, we’re talking about mobile media as the next frontier, which has already been established overseas. 

From a user perspective, however, I’m starting to experience fatigue. Although, this may mean that at the ripe old age of 28, I’m already a geezer. Read more here. 

“The thing that stood out most to me in the study was the distinction young consumers make between wanting to be informed versus wanting to follow the news. Whereas I personally enjoy following the minutia of the campaign trail as much as a zealous NFL fan watches the stats, most of my peers prefer the highlight reel. A news outlet that can provide information about major milestones in quick context resonates most.“  Read more here.

Also of interest is a 2003 study Andrew and I did at Medill with the Media Management Center about reaching young-light news consumers in Milwaukee.

“The journalism-school side of my brain was inclined to agree with [the reader] because certainly one can defiine as, say, an A1 story about Iraq from the New York Times or a report on the recession from the Wall Street Journal. But I don’t believe it’s that simple anymore, or that new media enthusiasts are stretching the definition of news to show that the millennial generation is engaged, especially when amateurs are more frequently leading the traditional news cycle, as we saw this past weekend with blogosphere and Sarah Palin.” Read more here. 

In this week’s Editor & Publisher column I discuss the murky intersection of journalism with activist bloggers and social networks. 

For better or worse, journalism is inherently fused with technological evolution and this alignment will have redefining implications for young journalists. Thanks to the emergence of new publishing platforms and online communities, professionals are now aligned with amateurs as full-fledged participants in The Social Contract 2.0. In this new contract, the traditional role of journalists as arbiters of ideas and facts will blur with the often agenda-driven activism of bloggers and social networks. … Read more here.