I just got back from a round table discussion at Columbia with Steve Newhouse, chairman of Advance.net which oversees the Internet vision and
strategy for CondéNet and Advance
Internet.
The topic was "how the Internet is affecting newspapers and magazines."
It was an informal discussion, so I wasn’t taking copious notes. But here is a summary.
One thing I liked from the discussion right away was his distinction between old and new media. Newhouse notices a sense of panic from old media journalists that he believes is uncalled for. It’s time to sack it up and stop focusing on what is being lost and more on what ground can be broken and gained. This is an exciting time.
(Note: Quotes are not exact).
"Journalists should take advantage of this explosion of citizen journalism."
When Newhouse said this I instantly thought of NewAssignment.net a project I have begun watching very closely. This feeling was bolstered more when he followed it up with saying.
"The ability to organize citizen journalism is on the cutting edge." For me this is a direct reference to open source journalism. Taking the best from what is provided and making something unique from it.
After the round-table I had a brief elevator chat with Nicholas Lemman, the dean of Columbia. We both seemed to agree that Newhouses’ vision of the Internet is different from the New York times’ of the world. Most newspapers approach the web with a cut and copy attitude. If it’s in the paper, it should be on the web and that’s all we need on the web — true for newspapers, but magazines don’t seem to follow the cut and paste model. They provide different content for their readers online — more and more readers consider the web a platform to express themselves and a good website should give them the means to do so.
Okay, back to work, which I’m sorely falling behind on.
Things to look forward to
1. Come out and Play Festival – An old contact of mine reminded me of this, I think I’ll check out her project.
2. BarCamp NYC: A sleep over at Microsoft’s office — I’m there!
3. That darn Robot Art story coming out at Block Mag, and a story on National Novel Writing Month in the works.