New technology is changing the news. Whether that’s for good or bad, well, it all depends on who you talk to.
As the news industry continues to teeter on the see-saw of old and new media, I want to get back to the basics. I want to get back to the story-telling that will forever (I hope) drive those media.
That’s what this site is about. Real. Life. Stories.
In “Self Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. It undergoes continual changes; it is barbarous, it is civilized, it is Christianized, it is rich, it is scientific; but this change is not amelioration. For everything that is given, something is taken. Society acquires new arts, and loses old instincts.”
So new technology at once advances and cripples society, hmm. New technology isn’t necessarily a good thing, hmm.
I know a lot of newspaper people who might agree with that. But I also know plenty of others who think social media and the Internet can only mean a bigger, brighter future not only for the news industry but for the preservation of democracy.
I think online tools — blogs, Twitter, Facebook, streaming video, Storify, etc – will eventually elevate journalism into a more concise, in-depth and accountable industry. But I think Emerson’s words also hold a precautionary warning about what can happen when people rely too heavily on technology to do the “thinking.”
An inaccurate, poorly-written story dressed up with Soundslides, HD video footage and user comments is still going to be an inaccurate, poorly-written story. All the online coding in the world cannot replace original reporting and good copy-editing.
Tweets and updates and user comments mean nothing if the old reporting instincts are forgotten.
“Society is a wave. The wave moves onward but the water which it is composed does not,” wrote Emerson.
Well, journalism has to be a mountain, reaching up, up towards new possibilities even as it retains its strong foundation. So many journalists are looking to the future, but I think it’s still important to remember the instincts, the successes and the lessons of the past.
The best stories live up to the standards of fair, accurate and enriching journalism while embracing the opportunities of the Internet and social media.
