The end of objectivity? Take 2
Following up on Dan Gillmor's suggestion that we rethink the notion of objectivity, Wired's Chris Anderson suggests that "passionate" media can and will replace objectivity:
"Today in the US the newspaper is fading, as is its influence on American journalism: news and information is becoming a commodity. What will rise as a differentiating competitive advantage? I'd argue that it's not so much pure opinion and political partisanship (although that's been the case on radio) as it is sensibility and worldview....
"What worldview shares with sensibility is that the writer's voice is louder than in traditional journalism, and his/her own observations and reactions are less suppressed.
"I see both of these as part of the fall of 'dispassionate media' and rise of what, by contrast, one might call 'passionate media.' I think passionate media is the only kind that will cut through the blur of commodification in the years to come. And I think that we, as readers (and writers!) can handle the lack of quasi-impartial hand-holding just fine."
Feb 06, 2005 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT | PERMALINK | DISCUSS(1)
Discussion
1 comments about 'The end of objectivity? Take 2'A passionate media, though attractive, is not feasible, especially in the newspaper industry. Papers are too expensive to run and rarely turn a prophet. Eventually, an opinion-based paper would quite the voices of the minority. It happened during America's Colonial period and was worse after the revolution.
The next phase of newspaper journalism is going to be something resembling a 'grassroots' strategy. The lone advantage newspaper have over the other media is their writing flair for local feature stories where reporters can spend time establishing a person and giving the rest of the public a good idea of who that person is. The other media are responsible for relaying the most current 'hard news' stories. Eventually, newspapers will learn to utilize their strengths and cut-back on their attempts to comepete with the internet and cable news programs.
Grassroots journalism requires a constant flow of communication between the 'local' paper and the public it serves/covers. The public chooses the topics, even offers commentary, much like a printed blog, and the staff reporters are responsible for flushing out the stories the public wants to read.
Posted by Kevin at February 15, 2005 2:00 PM
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