Thursday, March.10, 2011
Technological advancements are changing the way journalists work and connect with people, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, said Eastern Graphic editor Paul MacNeill March 9 at UPEI.
The discussion was organized by the UPEI and the P.E.I. chapter of the Canadian Association of Journalists. Journalists from across the province and two senior journalism students were speakers.
Advancements in communication will be a good thing if journalists use them correctly, MacNeill said.
“You have more people reading news than ever before. You have more people engaged in discussion than ever before, and you have more demand for a governing body that can filter through it all.”
Student Samantha MacKinnon said the rise of blogs, social networks and citizen journalism is inevitable because it’s easy to be heard, but that doesn’t mean any person with a smartphone and an interest in current affairs can replace a traditional reporter.
“Anyone can be a writer with a blog, but does that make you a journalist? I don’t think so.”
MacNeill said the reason the online world can help journalists is they have a loyal base and a good product people will choose over an amateur report.
“We’re lucky to have trusted brands that people look forward to on a daily basis. What people want is local news they can trust.”
Guardian reporter Wayne Thibodeau said he hopes by moving content into social networks to compete, newspapers can keep readers who switch to online news.
“I truly believe, and I need to believe, that brand equity will persist.”
Thibodeau described a future where newspaper subscribers would get a thin, light tablet displaying the new issue of the Guardian every morning. Local papers are only years away from adopting these new methods of publishing, he said.
“This is not pie in the sky stuff anymore, this is being done.”
There can be consequences to new media too. When journalists are busy tweeting, blogging and sending their work to every possible platform the quality of reporting can begin to decline, Thibodeau said.
“How much time does a journalist have for real journalism, time to make the call that might turn a story on its head?”
MacKinnon said the job of a reporter is changing, but those who enjoy the feel of a traditional newspaper still have time before all news comes from a computer chip instead of a printing press.
“Gone are the days when getting a newspaper at the end of your driveway was considered convenient, but not everyone has Twitter and for many even going online to read the news is out of the question.”
The Surveyor 