Please do not let anyone tell you any different … the ability to fund original journalism and sustain diverse local and national journalism in Ireland is very closely entwined with the future of print (or legacy) media companies.
I will elaborate on that point later but it is important you do not interpret what I have just said as a defence or predilection for any one particular platform or device for delivering journalism over another.
It is not …
What I am saying is that as we debate the future of print and the challenges and opportunities for the wider news eco-system in the digital age we must never lose sight of the ultimate goal … the continued protection and delivery of our greatest asset - quality local and national journalism.
At this point I am going to defer to a quote from the author of “what would google do” Jeff Jarvis when he said:
“The digital age will present many challenges but will allow new and better forms of journalism to emerge … key to survival in this age is reinventing what we do to take advantage of those opportunities.”
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Before we deal with what needs to be done to meet the challenges and opportunities as referenced by Jarvis it is probably best we reflect first on where the digital age has left journalism as a whole.
Many argue that the new open and collaborative digital news ecosystem heralds a new golden age of journalism
No less than BBC legend John Simpson recently suggested as much and the American editor and writer Tom Engelhardt, writing in New Democracy earlier this month, put it quite poetically.
He said: “For the reader, a strangely democratic and egalitarian Era of the Word has emerged... a golden age of the reader, a time when all the words you could ever have needed were freely offered up for you to curate as you wish. Don’t dismiss it. Don’t forget it.”
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For others, however, this new open, unfiltered and collaborative news ecosystem is simply anarchic and banal.
They suggest the digital age exhibits all the signs of heralding in an age of click whoredom where the commercial value of journalism will be judged not with any reference to its civic or human worth but solely on its popularity.
Forbes recently pointed to Upworthy - who reached an audience of millions within just a few months of launch by “sharing popular stories with high social impact” - and BuzzFeed - who have built an online media company which blends ad buying with the aggregation of viral and highly social web content - as the most successful “news content” sites of recent times.
In both these cases it should be noted that the term “social impact” refers directly to the story in question’s popularity on social media - not to any wider civic or human value.
As in most divisive arguments I would contend, the truth of the matter lies somewhere between these two opposing views.
The healthiest future for the print industry and quality journalism in general lies betwixt the digital naysayer and the digital dogmatist …
Yes ... the digital age is a golden age for discovering quality journalism and presents almost limitless opportunities for journalists to tell their stories in a more compelling, collaborative, open and engaging fashion
But … It is clear, too, that even the most successful digital media content providers are finding it hard to justify the creation of expensive and quality journalism as a core basis of the business model in the face of mounting losses or, at best, moderate profits.
The simple truth is that quality journalism and the time required to create it comes at a great cost to local and national media companies - no matter their history and heritage.
So whether you like to consume your journalism via the Irish Examiner app on your iPhone, via journal.ie on an iPad or via the Irish Times print edition on your armchair the key question remains:
How do we secure the future of a diverse Irish media scene and fund the continued creation of quality, original and informed Irish journalism at a local and national level.
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Why should we care about this, you might ask. Many will probably feel that a broad spectrum of journalism has never been more abundant.
To those people I would just ask them to reflect on the possibility that this abundant mix of easily accessible journalism might not always be available.
I would ask you to take a moment and think of a future where ...
Objective, accountable and considered reporting of issues and events that are in the public interest are a rarity rather than the norm ...
A future where well researched investigations aimed at unearthing injustices and holding the powerful to account are no longer core aims of media organisations ...
A future where insightful, provocative and well researched analysis aimed at broadening the public's understanding of issues important to their lives is equally as scarce …
I would ask them to think of a country, a world, where
A much narrower media landscape is in the hands of a small powerful elite with motivations focussed more on distraction and the bottom line than any claims to “honestly serving the welfare and interests of the entire community". The very virtues espoused by the founder of the Irish Examiner, John Francis Maguire, in the paper’s first edition on August 30, 1841.
I would ask them to think of an Ireland, a world, where, yes, you have access to much more unverified information and, dare I say, distraction but have much less real choice, less accurate context, less journalistic verification and less informed analysis.
That is a future I do not want to contemplate and is a future I hope I am in some small part ensuring does not come to pass.
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So what needs to be done to avert such a disaster?
I would suggest the ability of Irish news organisations - whatever their heritage - to meet the challenges of the digital age is dependent on all our abilities to reframe the way we do business and explore new ways to attract and keep readers, subscribers and advertisers alike.
Put simply, “traditional” or “legacy” media companies are now facing what I have dubbed a RE:DO moment:
By this I mean it is time to:
R: estructre
E: xperiment
D: iversify
O: ptimise
With regard to restructuring, the time has come to truly transform what we do rather than tinker around the edges with a variety of bolt on interim digital initiatives like ill thought app strategies and paywalls.
John Paton, the CEO of Digital First Media, made this point succintly at a presentation to the American Online Publishers Association earlier this month.
He said: “The newsroom of the future is not the existing one dragged into it. It is going to be re-built from the ground up. News executives now have to choose. They have to ask themselves if they are preserving the past of building the future.”
In terms of experimentation and innovation organisations, like our own, are beginning and need to continue to explore what collaborative opportunities exist - dare I say with fine universities and societies such as this.
They need to consider what structural adaptations are required to ensure innovation aimed at building new revenue streams are at the core of new business models.
I will defer to John Paton, once again, on this subject. He said:
“Transformation isn’t free. It costs. And if you want to survive you have to take the risk and invest in digital”
The funding of quality journalism - never mind the achievement of healthy profits and future growth - is also reliant on the diversification of what we do into a range of potential new product and service opportunities.
This will require clarity on where it is media companies - such as our own - wish to stand in the media value chain and what our core capabilities are going to be.
Having identified those core capabilities and linked them to clearly defined and agreed digital strategies forward looking publishers need to also optimise what they have and consider what restructuring and investment will be required to secure the future.
There is nothing to be depressed about in this regard.
For once “legacy” publishers have an advantage here because - unlike new media entrants - they have an existing - if declining - revenue stream which can be optimised to build that future.
It has been said that the happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of what they have … and that is - as far as I’m concerned - one of the greatest challenges facing senior executives in our industry at the moment.
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The challenges facing local and national media companies - and those journalists they employ - also centre on an acceptance and acknowledgement of the seismic shift which has occurred in the way people perceive news in this new open and socialised digital reality.
New media have stolen a march on “legacy” media in this regard.
They have built huge communities around what they do simply because they GOT the fact that in the digital era conversation was a two way thing, an act of participation, not just an act of observation.
Readers today are now not only looking to be informed, they are also looking to strengthen their connection and their involvement in their own communities.
All media need to respond to that challenge, build their own communities and respond to them on an ongoing basis.
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In closing, let me be clear, I have little doubt that with bravery, endeavour and foresight “legacy” media companies can move to a much healthier stage in their evolution as key members of the wider news eco-system.
A stage I have dubbed journalism’s “n’espresso moment” …
Did you know that despite being discovered in the 13th century coffee has never been consumed in more quantities than it is today.
This despite the sustained popularity and availability of competitors like tea and, of course, an ever growing array of soft and alcoholic drinks.
This sustained popularity has been achieved because companies involved in coffee’s distribution have always innovated with regard to its delivery ... But have always done so with clear reference to the core product and its unique experience … the coffee bean and the joy of a nice relaxing cup of coffee.
We journalists and all those men and women charged with securing the future of journalism in Ireland must also embrace and utilise the rapidly evolving delivery devices of the digital age …
But we must do so with the ultimate goal of protecting, promoting and funding our core and most worthwhile product … engaging, insightful and entertaining journalism which speaks to and listens to ordinary people.
Not doing so is not just short sighted, it is a failure to respect the legacy of all those journalists who preceded us and who ensured journalism maintained its rightful place as a cornerstone of democracy and good society.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of the conference.
Tuesday 4 March 2014
Sunday 12 May 2013
Changing Times: Future of news in the digital era
Firstly can I extend my thanks to the MA in Journalism with New Media course co-ordinator Frank O’Donovan for inviting me to address you today.
I am and have been the executive editor of the Irish Examiner since 2007.
Prior to that I was the editor of the Dundalk Democrat and sports and then news editor of the Drogheda Independent.
I began my journalism career 20 years ago with my home town newspaper, the Derry Journal.
So while my background is very much rooted in traditional print you can rest assured that the rapidly changing nature of Irish journalism and how it is delivered was and is never far from my thoughts... something which culminated last year in me being asked to oversee the development of the Irish Examiner's interim digital strategy.
...
But before we get to the subject in hand it is only correct - given the audience here today - that I make it clear at the outset that those of you who wish to pursue a career in journalism in the digital era have nothing to be depressed about …
Having devoted much time to exploring the commercial realities of our new multi-media news eco system, I have emerged certain of one thing at least …
Well crafted, ethical, informative and entertaining multi media journalism WILL and MUST be at the core of any attempt to navigate the journalistic challenges and opportunities which lie before us … not least in the newspaper sector.
You should be excited by the fact that this new digital era means a variety of opportunities to showcase your journalism and your skills exist.
These varied opportunities will not make you rich but they do mean your futures remain very much in your own hands to shape … and in what was a very closed and nepotistic media landscape that was not always the case.
Staying with negative for a second …
Yes … the reality is that media group profits, general newspaper circulations, readership and ad revenue figures are declining.
Yes … some media companies have responded to these declines by cutting resources and it is, as a result, much harder to find a well paid job.
These facts mean journalism now exists within a reality where managing within limited means is a basic fact of life, something all the wonders of the digital future will not change and something many internet start-ups have found, and will continue to find, to their cost.
But on the positive side …
Having grown up and studied in the new media landscape you are better equipped than anyone to understand and meet the type of challenges and opportunities presented by this new age of journalism.
With more news providers than ever demanding content on a 24/7 basis - take solace in the knowledge that good journalism - whatever the source - cannot and will not be ignored and will always be in demand.
But to the subject in hand …
Today I and my fellow speakers have been asked to address the changing nature of mass media journalism from both the journalist’s and the reader’s perspective
I am sure … as typical hard working CIT students and media professionals … you are well aware of the library of material which has been written and recorded for posterity regarding this subject.
My desk - or should I say my desktop - is quite literally, weighed down with reports I have come across … and written for that matter … with regard to the changing face of the media and how best to respond to these challenges.
Reflecting on this invitation, therefore, I was concerned about how I could possibly add to anything you have not read or been told before.
After some thought on the matter I drew inspiration from the author Franz Kafka who once suggested that one has to look to the village to understand the world.
So today I suggest that a good starting point in trying to understand how best to manage and understand media in the Digital Era we should consider the likes, dislikes and natural cycles that occur in the village groups we are all an integral part of … our families.
For my part, as the youngest of six children, my teenage years were full of good old fashioned debate …
One of the enduring ones was the ongoing dispute between my parents regarding my Dad’s choice of daily newspaper.
For my mother - a conservative traditionalist at heart - my father’s continued loyalty to the Guardian and Observer was something that rankled throughout.
My mother would have been happy to stick to the local paper, The Derry Journal, supplemented on occasion by the Catholic Universe.
Fast forward to today and I am glad to announce that both parents, 80 and 79 respectively, are still very much alive, together and following news.
It should be noted, however, that the local papers have won the battle in my parents home … proving that age old adage there can only be one victor in a battle between husband and wife …
What is interesting now, though, is that my father regularly sends me links via e-mail of articles he has come across on his lap top. Twitter and Facebook are just a step too far ...
A few months ago I received an e-mail pointing out how he had found a video in the online edition of the Derry Journal showing archive footage of the street in which he had grown up.
He had forgotten to attach the url but it tells a story of how the paper has, by unlocking its archive, tried to maintain its relevance to him …
My eldest brother remains one of the very few regular purchasers of the English Times in Derry.
The purchase is not an indication of any royalist or right wing tendencies he might have but more in honour – he claims - of his continued love of the newspaper’s cryptic crossword.
Two sisters and one brother – living, in true Irish style, between Derry and the Marlborough region of New Zealand - are not regular newspaper readers and effectively dip in and out of online news sites.
They do, however, purchase newspapers at the weekend and occasionally during the week when a trip to a café or a train journey dictates.
My other brother has remained extremely loyal to both local and national print and despite having four young girls a day rarely goes by on which at least two titles are not purchased.
And then we have the latest generation.
My brother’s eldest girl is now 13 and recently upgraded to a smart phone. While online news sites are not really on the radar yet I have no doubt it will not be long before she and her friends are alerting each other, via Facebook and Twitter, to the latest Justin Bieber or One Direction interview.
The fact is my family … your families … clearly show that journalism of today is a very diverse activity delivered in many ways across a whole range of platforms.
The fact is that journalism today has become a truly platform-agnostic endeavour which is showcased to differing degrees – with due reference to a wide range of socio-economic, lifestyle and other demographic factors - on a rich combination of diverse broadcast, print, online and mobile products.
These varied delivery mechanisms and their respective and divergent capabilities means the actual processes of journalism have become more diverse and multi-faceted and require competencies in a wide range of multi-media skills.
More of that later but at this point I am going to back track slightly and try and answer the underlying question of today’s seminar … what will the changing nature of mass media journalism mean for both the journalist and the reader.
It was playwright Tom Stoppard who perhaps verbalised best the challenge of this changing landscape.
He suggested "the whole notion of journalism being an institution whose fundamental purpose is to educate and inform and even elevate, has altered under commercial pressure, perhaps, into a different kind of purpose, which is to divert and distract."
There is little doubt that the trend in most media, legacy and new, is toward the populist.
This inevitably means more showbiz, more controversy, more crime and more high profile celebrity columnists who opine at length and at any opportunity.
In short we are in danger of entering an era of what has come to be called “click whoredom”. An age where the number of clicks, viewers or papers sold is the SOLE consideration of the journalistic enterprise.
Rest assured, if this future is allowed to win out then informative and well researched journalism will become an endangered species.
Thankfully a small number of media outlets in this country ... and I am proud to say I work for one of them ... remain committed to providing a balanced mix of informative, engaging and entertaining journalism.
They don’t always get that mix right but, most importantly and to their credit ...
- They remain committed to funding objective reporting of issues in the public interest
- They remain committed to well researched investigations aimed at unearthing injustices and holding the powerful to account.
- And finally, they remain committed to funding insightful, provocative and well researched analysis aimed at broadening the public's understanding of issues important to readers lives.
The reality of all these admirable commitments, however, is that they come at a great cost to media companies who are already experiencing severe revenue declines.
The reasons for those declines are myriad and have been well ventilated.
But what is clear is that we journalists have a duty … in tandem with those in the boardroom … to reflect on what we can do to meet this changing commercial landscape and how we can play our part in fostering a news eco system of the future which will encourage and support great journalism.
I will come to what needs to be done to ensure the survival of quality journalism later … but for your part my over-riding hope for you today is that you do not allow yourself to be discouraged by reports highlighting the need for new businesses models or suggestions that real journalism is being threatened by the digital age.
Of course it is your duty to be aware of the new realities in which you will attempt to ply your trade and make sure you acquire the wide range of multi-media skills required to meet these new realities …
But your primary challenge is to identify what it is in a rapidly changing world that interests and excites you and what journalistic space you would like to occupy in the challenging but opportune years ahead.
I say this because rest assured it will be your genuine interests, passions and excitement which will sustain you in the hard times and drive you to excellence in the good ones.
So having explored your own motivations and the journalistic spaces you would like to occupy I would suggest you become your biggest fan, that you read voraciously. that you always keep the audience to the forefront of your mind and that you never forget the ability to write well will underpin everything you do in journalism ... so practice, take advice and listen to it.
My final bit of advice is an appeal for you to never … ever … get discouraged.
The fact is journalism CAN be a tough game. It CAN often feel like a closed shop, it is charged with ego, has an undercurrent of envy and spite and is certainly not immune to politics with a small
But take solace, however, in the knowledge that those journalists who are in it for the right reasons, are willing to work hard and have perfected the use of their eyes and their ears … rather than their mouths … will be the ones who are remembered most.
...
Thanks for the advice, I hear you say. But how exactly do we meet the challenges facing traditional journalism in the digital age and ensure that we have a sustainable and diverse media landscape in which we can create and explore quality journalism.
What is certain is that it will require fresh thinking, collaboration and the co-operation of many interests within and outside the actual business of journalism.
...
We journalists must, of course, reflect on what role we can play in meeting the demands and opportunities of this much more collaborative, open and socialised multi-media landscape.
This will mean looking to the future and embracing the skills and work practices required for the next generation of news with enthusiasm and an open mind.
It will also involve a much more thorough consideration of our journalism and how we can - as the Financial Times contributions editor John Lloyd recently encouraged - "not only identify the significant but make the significant interesting"
A good starting point in that regard would be a recognition among us all that if quality journalism is to remains at the heart of a rapidly evolving news eco system in will begin with an acceptance that users now demand to be heard as well as be spoken to.
The wider media industry - media executives, media owners and our various representative industry bodies - must also now ask what old industry prejudices and rivalries need to be shed, what technological and structural adaptations, no matter how painful, are required and what collaborative opportunities should now be grasped.
...
Our legislative authorities must now also acknowledge that it is only with a vibrant, diverse and competitive media landscape that we have any hope of achieving the “august national destiny” to which Poblacht na HEireann referred in 1916.
Our houses of the Oireachtas must now move quickly, therefore, to legislate against any concentration of media ownership which could potentially impact on this need for a diverse and free press.
It is time too that our legislaters ensure quality journalism, which is generated at tremendous cost by those brave enough to fund it, is protected in turn by progressive and fair copyright laws.
…
And finally the most important people in this equation .... the viewer, the reader, the user ... must reflect on the price - monetary and social - that they place on quality journalism.
Having done so they must reflect on the awful spectre of a society without quality objective journalism and the responsibility they have, therefore, to support those media companies, like our own, who have and continue to show the courage to invest in it.
…
To conclude my talk I am going to end with a brief extract I came across from a new book by the American journalist Robert W. McChesney.
The book is called “Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy” and I would suggest it is worthy of a wider consideration by many in our society.
Perhaps then, for a welcome change, we can learn from the mistakes of the Americans rather than merely replicate them.
He writes …
“There is probably no better evidence that journalism is a public good than the fact that none of America’s financial geniuses can figure out how to make money off it.
The comparison to education is striking. When managers apply market logic to schools, it fails, because education is a cooperative public service, not a business.
Corporatized schools throw underachieving, hard-to-teach kids overboard, discontinue expensive programs, bombard students with endless tests, and then attack teacher salaries and unions as the main impediment to “success.”
No one has ever made profits doing quality education — for-profit education companies seize public funds and make their money by not teaching.
In digital news, the same dynamic is producing the same results and leads to the same conclusion.”
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