The election went far better than I had anticipated, in terms of election irregularities. Those battalions of attorneys that both major political parties reportedly had ready to fight any voting disputes did not have to be deployed. Thank God.
I do believe the media -- both nationally and in many local instances -- went out of their way to try to find evidence of voting problems. This isn't due to any particular partisan leanings, I don't believe, but because of our herd mentality and our tendency to view every event as a continuation or mirror image of the one before. "Hey, there were voting irregularities in 2004 and especially in 2000. There must be some this year. And there must be some in our community, even if that wasn't the case before."
I don't mean to suggest that newsies shouldn't have been out looking to see how well voting went. Reporters absolutely had an obligation to do so. But some of the stories I saw were downright silly. "Long lines threaten election outcome!" or something of that nature.
On election night, I watched mostly CNN -- with a little dash of Fox News -- to get results as I waited to put my paper's editorial page to bed. I think both do a better job than the regular networks, and CNN overall is the best there is at breaking news. But I get a little tired of the gadgetry. Did we really need Wolf Blitzer talking to a faux hologram of a CNN reporter in Chicago?
This, I think, is the dilemma many news organizations face, especially regarding their Web sites but also in terms of regular news.
Gadgets -- new layouts, different ways for customers to view their products, high-tech additions -- may help lure new people to your product. But unless the content is solid, they won't stick around. I went to CNN because I knew the content would be good, not because I wanted to see the latest high-tech gimmicks. Perhaps some viewers tuned in to see what the latest technology was, but I can't imagine anyone who was seriously interested in the election results saying, "I'm watching CNN because they have holograms and those touch-screen maps."
Contemplations on the future of journalism
Why Future Gazette?
For 35 years I have worked in the newspaper business. I have been a general assignment reporter, managed an outlying bureau, been a political reporter, city editor, business editor and, most recently, editorial page editor for the mid-sized daily where I've been employed for most of my career.
During my years in the business, the industry has obviously changed tremendously. Now, as I near the end of that career, and as I have begun to teach college classes on journalism, I wonder more and more about the future of the industry.
I've also delved into newspapers of the 19th century as part of some research not directly related to journalism. In the process, I've been interested about some of the changes in the past century and more, but I've been far more amazed at how little basic news coverage has changed.
Young Benjamin Franklin's newspaper was the Pennsylvania Gazette. There is little question that it helped establish the template for what newspapers would look like on this continent -- something different from those of Europe. The Gazette was more cheeky toward authority, more populist and offered more homespun advice than most of what was published across the pond at the time.
So, what is the future of the Gazette in the 21st century? It looks bleak, at least for the ink-on-paper format we've known for the past few centuries. The corporate boards and academics are working hard to figure out what comes next, but I'm not sure the answer will come from them. Perhaps there is a 21st century Ben Franklin -- or thousands of Bens and Bernadettes -- who are already in the process of creating a new journalism form on their own.
That's more exciting than ideas generated at a facilitated meeting with flip charts and consensus ideas.
Blog Archive
About Me
- The old scribe
- As a journalist, I have written news stories or opinion pieces about Colorado's treasures -- our wonderful natural resources -- for more than 30 years. My family and I also take every opportunity we can to enjoy the great outdoors in Colorado.
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