In yesterday’s
post I talked about different shifts that need to happen in journalism.
One important shift is how journalism is perceived. In that post people repeatedly grabbed the idea of
a news organization being "Fonzie" or ‘cool.’
I’m not saying that news is uncool – just that we suffer from being unable to rally the masses. Journalism needs space to "geek-out."
To "Geek out" – Talk at length about a technical subject that one is an expert in.
I’m not concerned with fetishizing news people, what I’m suggesting is that Americans don’t relate to the process of journalism. It feels
very distant to them. Newsrooms are unable to inspire or ignite passion
in individuals. Newsrooms are closed and it’s hard to geek-out about
something that is closed off to you.
Why not open them up as a CopyCamp
and geek out about journalism for a day? That’s what the San Jose
Mercury News is trying to do – and yet the newsroom is having trouble
finding people to sign up for it. That’s not the Merc’s fault – it’s the state of newspapers, they don’t inspire civic engagement.
Geeks will register up the wazoo for a chance to partake in a BarCamp,
StartupCamp, you-name-it-camp, but bring up the idea of geeking out
about the state of journalism or how to improve it in your neighborhood
and you end up with blank stares. But imagine how much could be accomplished if the newsroom was able to insert itself into the center of civic life.
Web 2.0 sites get songs written about them, the latest by a journalism student no less written for Twitter, while news websites are lucky if they get the wink of an eye from a young/cool web native.
Young people feel empowered by Digg, Reddit and other social news
sites – and they think that’s journalism. I love social news sites too. I consider them part of the process of new-age journalism –
but I recognize that it’s just the end to a much larger process. To me
– that so many people ‘geek out’ (and yes, they do geek out about
social news sites like digg) on these sites signals potential yhat hasn’t been tapped.
I tend to stay away from PR and marketing – but man do news
organizations have a public image problem. Consider how other uncool
things managed to work their way back into the good graces of the
public:
- Product: If Milk can do it, newspapers can too. "Got News?"
- Job description: If Geek can become chic, reporters should hold a certain je ne sais quoi.
- Person: If Martha Stewart can hold her own in a commercial
alongside P-diddy, then the editor of the New York Time’s should learn
to boogy-down and get respect too.
In truth, this isn’t about newspapers, reporters or individual
editors – it’s about "journalism." Now before I go any further I should
recognize that not EVERYONE thinks journalism is lacks coolness. In fact, when
I asked for thoughts about this via Twitter – I was deluged with
counter-arguments. S
@Digidave They could be, if they *became* geeks. 🙂
about 4 hours ago
from FriendFeed
in reply to Digidave
@Digidave – um, whoever said journalism isn’t cool? the thesis is flawed. ;->
about 4 hours ago
from twhirl
in reply to Digidave
@Digidave Unless you’re talking about Gonzo Journalism, in which case it’s the pinnacle of cool.
about 3 hours ago
from web
in reply to Digidave
@digidave
I think avg. person thinks journalism is cooler than it is. I’ve never
told someone I’m a rptr and not had them ask follow-up ?s
about 3 hours ago
from web
in reply to Digidave
@digidave
it has an element of mystique. It’s more interesting than many
professions, or semms ike it would be to ppl who don’t know better
about 3 hours ago
from web
in reply to Digidave
@Digidave I would argue that being a reporter is considered a fascinating job.
about 3 hours ago
from TwitterFox
in reply to Digidave
@Digidave – never saw the memo that journalism is dorky.
about 3 hours ago
from web
in reply to Digidave
@Digidave I think you have a point. Print journalists are viewed as curmudgeons. Web journalists/bloggers are more of the "in" thing.
about 2 hours ago
from TwitterFox
in reply to Digidave
@Digidave Almost Famous and All The President’s Men made journalism cool. But a lot of journalists don’t like being cool. Or happy.
about 2 hours ago
from Socialthing!
in reply to Digidave
More thoughts: Aaron Spencer:
"I
think people assume you’re pretty smart, dry, cultured, connected. You
might not be but I think that’s the impression. Or you could be kind of
grungy and bohemian. No nonsense type of guy."
Thoughts from Christopher Pommier
I’m of two minds on this one:
1) It already exists, though in a different way than geek chic.
2) I don’t think journalists really want the same kind of cool that geeks have.Thoughts:
1)
Anderson Cooper, Dan Rather, Amy Goodman, Jeremy Scahill, Bob Greene
… too many to name, really. OK, it’s a weird list, but those were
just the first people who came to mind. For journalists, it seems that
the aura of coolness adheres to those with integrity. Who passionatley
stick to principals in an almost public service, or knows-all/sees-all,
kind of way.2) Too often the geek chic is based on a
fetishization of gadgets. Shiny, new tech, or code. Sexy things that
you can (or more often can’t) buy. It’s often about money. The image of
the nerdy guy with the hot girl on his arm, implying of course that he
has billions so can get anyone he wants. Who wants that image?
I think Chritopher got to the heart of my question – only in reading it did I realize WHY I asked it in the first place. To be fair to the Twitter-ers above: My initial question was phrased around journo-chic being about the reporter. It’s not – the job of a reporter does have mystique – but again, that’s not the issue: The difficult thing is making it so the reporter can inspire action from readers.
Does adding @poynter to your Twitter followers and the Romenesko app to your Facebook count as geeking out? Up until a few months ago, I lived in a house with two fellow newspaper reporters and there were many nights dedicated to debating and critiquing journalism. Sunday brunches involved analyzing the print editions of the NY Times and the Island Packet, so I’ve got geeking out down. As for the public … I think one of the key ways to engage people is to make them feel like they have a say. Newsrooms and reporters need to be more accessible to the public, and it has to be sincere engagement. And that can be tricky to do as reporters and editors continue to be spread thinner and thinner.
I love the CopyCamp concept. I only wish I could be there for this. Also, I suggest checking out the local Twin Cities Daily Planet’s Open Newsroom, which they just recently launched. http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/opennewsroom
As you say, it’s a way to engage with (and thereby inspire) readers. And do what the Web so quickly does: inspire readers to become writers.
Finally, Minneapolis will be hosting the 2008 National Conference on Media Reform this June. If you want space to geek out about journalism, this should provide it in spades.