Breaking News
I am not going to bang the death gong this morning regarding to the TNDP. I know, thank me later. Although if they read this, they might learn something. (Yeah, I’m feeling all feisty this morning.) This is not a post about a particular Breaking News story so sorry to disappoint, it is about what consumers of news outlets want. I’m pontificating this morning, so bear with me.
I’ve been thinking though about some of the changes that have occurred in the last few years regarding interactive media because in this situation, and in others, it needs attention.
One thing I hear from a lot of people is they don’t have time for Twitter, Friendfeed, Plurk, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, blogging and others connective online sources.
If someone on Twitter has a 1000 friends, then that’s a resource. If you have a Facebook account, there is a effective way to reach out to other people on what your particular message might be. On LinkedIn and Plaxo, you can put your resume up there and your work experience and something might come out of it. (That’s a hint campers.)
One view becomes another then evolves as people want to know about people they find interesting or who are like-minded. A thirst for information? Perhaps. Nosy? Yes, that too. But people will dig to know about other people because they are curious.
As for people working in the media, these resources are invaluable. In public relations, people are paying attention.
Newspapers are also evolving. I read daily of newspaper cuts across the nation. People perusing news are getting it from the web. That doesn’t mean that people still don’t want soy ink on the tip of their fingers holding on the a paper, but it’s a reality that there is a thirst for immediacy in this day and age. Breaking News is annoying as it is thrown into our face on all the cable newsers, but the subliminal message is there.
“We as consumers of news want to know what’s going on right NOW!” is the message.
When I was in radio news I had a friendly deal with two of the local newspapers. I’d have it first but I only had 50 seconds to give a story that might warrant more detail. I’d break it, they’d give the details to the masses. We would joke about it, but that’s how it went and still does to a local degree.
Now radio and print is competing with interactive media. Christian Grantham, Jack Lail and Michael Silence are great examples of interacting with people on Twitter while still doing the jobs they are paid to do. It creates an intimacy with those who are consumers of the products they work with. The advantage is that with a conversation, it also creates a wider open source for information and potential news leads.
I personally don’t know what my role in the future of interactive media is, but I do know that no matter how large or small a media outlet is, that the changes that we have seen in the last two years are nothing compared to what we are looking at in the immediate future.
Hold on to your hat.
I wish I woke up full of such energy and creativity! What are you drinking?
I disagree with you on this. Any substantial friendships I’ve made in my life have been in “real life” and most misunderstandings I’ve had since 1994 have been online.
I tried Facebook for a while, but the same people “hang out” online no matter where you go, and my dozens of friends in El Paso don’t believe me when I tell them I can’t seem to make friends online no matter how hard I try, when if these same people met me in person (and took the time to hang out in person) and only knew me that way, their perception would be completely different.
On a personal level, I think being online sucks for the most part.
Professionally, you made some very good points and it’s the way of the future for many businesses.
But I also think the pendulum will swing back and many will want that personal touch.
I think the Internet is responsible for many people who were socially awkward to begin with to hide behind the screen and be bullies or flirts or whatever they want to be, as long as it’s not themselves.
Feh. Meet me at Denny’s with the NYTimes and some coffee and we’ll look in each others eyes and see who the person really is, not hear from someone who heard whatever from whomever in an Instant Message.
You make some very good points, Sharon. I think there is going to be a meeting in the middle in the coming months with interactive media.
One thing you said touches me and that is the best stories I’ve ever written I’ve done sitting across from someone looking into their face, watching their body language and how their eyes revealed something unsaid.
Trying to keep my hands in all of it. Of course I’ve chewed my nails off with all the new information.
‘Coma,
It’s not just that the social media sites are resources, but it is one way that writers and gatherers of news can build ‘relationships’ with those who both consume the news and who at some point might be directly connected to a story (a source). Relationship building (or source-connection building) seems to be a lost art in journalism and social media is an arms-length-remote method of letting people see behind the media curtain and feel like they know those writers well enough to trust them with their stories/information.
As a news junkie, the ‘breaking news’ posts that pop up on Twitter make me feel that I am not missing the important stuff that is going on…so the “newness” of news isn’t something that wears off because of a slower delivery system. Personally, I sense that print media not only needs to re-define itself, it may be forced to take the word ‘news’ out of newspaper. Print is a great source of in-depth analysis, longer commentary than TV can provide, and a connection with lagging generations (late adopters) of electronic media. That translates into: the clock is ticking. It is time for either an evolution or a revolution in the print world.
Good rant, my friend!
Great comment. You are right, the clock is ticking and it’s coming like an avalanche down the mountain.
Thanks for the feedback.
To me, the point is that each medium has its own purpose. I HAVE made some good friends online, and with many, I know far more about their day to day lives than I do with many of my “real life” friends.
But I think the real power of online media and social networks lies in contacting many people quickly. The overwhelming majority of my Facebook friends are all “real-life” friends, for instance. But via Facebook, I’m in much better touch with these far-flung people than I ever have been before. It’s simple to keep up with even my nursery-school classmates and their endeavors.
And we’ve had some great conversations about politics and life there.
But I feel so grateful to know that if I needed something — well, it would be easy for me to let hundreds of my friends know. And I’m grateful that they feel free to do the same.
The power of online organizing, PR etc. comes when you ARE connecting with “real” people — just empowering them with information that would otherwise be difficult to put into their hands. I certainly don’t have a Rolodex with all my Facebook friends’ phone numbers, or even their emails. But when I need them, I know how to find them.
Companies and organizations who don’t take advantage of that power are simply missing the boat.
Sharon makes great points…and identifies the conundrum. News delivery is not a one-size-fits all, neither is relationship building.
The surprise that I discovered early from blogging happened when someone had the bright idea to do a ‘meet-up’. Well, hell, that’s not a new idea at all however, the people who pulled together from that first gathering already felt like they had a connection from their online interaction…and perhaps would never have met had they not had that electronic connection FIRST. It is not the only way to make friends or build relationships, but it IS a relative new way that needs to be explored, examined, analyzed, (ad nauseum) to figure out where it fits in the world of media-connectivity.
It’s funny, Paul. The way that I met you, Sharon and so many others was through the blogosphere. I think that’s important. As blogging continues to grow, I’m seeing more niches created (ex. tech bloggers with tech bloggers, Political bloggers with polticial bloggers.)
One of my greatest problems is being geographically challenged by my location or I’d be at everything every time the doors opened.
Thinking a lot about media-connectivity this a.m. The way I’m connected is, alas, online.
wow, post-flu morning rant…glad you are feeling better /smile/
since i’m the newbie around here, and haven’t worked for a newspaper in 15 years, i gotta put my little inexperienced 2 cents worth in. i get ALL my news online. i quit subscribing to the physical paper, and subscribe to the online edition. i don’t watch television, i watch the mac instead. i follow the more alternative sources for my information and very rarely hit main street media, the main exception to that being my local news station. i love following breaking news on twitter, and if something catches my eye and i want more info, it is my choice to go seek it out.
which leads to the social aspect of your rant. myspace is invaluable to me as an animal activist. bulletins can be reposted across the country in a matter of minutes, alerting rescue groups, transporters, etc to a situation that requires immediate attention. twitter has also worked as of late, but i see that the audience is not there for such things. i haven’t found it anyway. my only experience with facebook was before my 20 year reunion, when people started regrouping in preparation for the event. it seemed very middle-schooly girly to me, so i haven’t been back on. but i suppose everything is what you make it.
as the infant of the blogosphere, i see that i have a long way to go and much to learn. yes, blogs provide a great insight into opinion, facts, analyzation, etc, but it seems that in order to be heard, one must have a regular, captive audience.
like you do
we’re listening, ‘coma, and holding hats
The key concept to this whole media change is speed.
Newspapers are one of the oldest mass methods to disseminating information but they are only as quick as their distribution methods. Radio came along and upped the ante and then Television gave us pictures to go along with radio. Television expanded our news canvas to a global stage and brought real-time war and events into our living rooms.
Now digital media and the internet have added new dimensions of speed and accessibility to anyone with a computer at their desk or a cell phone. We’ve jumped from hours to minutes to seconds in less than a decade. How to manage this change? I don’t know, but management is the next key to being a big player in this game. CNN did it for television news in the 1980’s but they’ve been passed by. Google did it for information in the 1990’s and who will come out of this decade?
I don’t watch network or television news at all anymore, but I do read my little free local paper for the happenings going on within 20 miles of me. Nothing covers that extremely small niche like a paper, but there’s no way it’s profitable. Local listserves take up some of that slack, but for potlucks, soccer pictures and community events the paper is still my main information. The grassroots method of maintaining that connection will be up for grabs in the next decade, but it won’t be on paper anymore.
A real Journalism degree will become as rare as hens teeth.
it is indeed a challenging time.
It’s not the demand for news that is in trouble. I think that’s stronger than ever.
It’s the figuring out how and when they want that news and how to make a living doing that that will keep you awake all night.
I think Paul made several good points as well. As you know from working at a small town — and this is true in not so small towns — people develop, or at least used to develop, a relationship with “our paper” in an emotional way they didn’t with the corner drug store or the department store.
The social media aspect of the Internet is today’s
ur paper” concept even if it’s a user collection of favorite blogs and news sites, or people they follow on Twitter or friend on Facebook.
I think that can be a very powerful bond to the brand, but may be to the personal brand than a larger media brand.
Some may find it ironically funny, but I think I learned most about “New Media” in the first couple years of my career at small daily newspapers 30 years ago. Nevermind I had never heard of the Internet or a Web site then, but the things that connected to the community then are the very things that connect online now. Maybe social media is “Mayberry” reinvented.