Raise the Hammer

I was at the same event as Ryan and appear to hold similar impressions about the event. Paul Benedetti did a masterful job of moderating the event. Ryan presented his position very articulately and persuasively.

There was really a sense that the new media 'wisdom of the crowds' types were a bit marginalized at this event; that they were spreading some new-fangled untested idea - 'Wikipedia: any person can edit the thing!'

The idea that the traditional media is more accountable than new media upstarts like RtH does not appear to hold water. On the other hand professional journalists do often have skills which are valuable and should not be devalued. Citizen journalists and professional journalists should not be in opposition. Both tend to have a passion for journalism and for the public discourse it encourages.

It's unfortunate that the revenue model of traditional media is collapsing but then I can't get too worked up about revenue models in general. New revenue streams often arise to replace ones that are decimated. What professional journalism should be addressing now is how to create new revenue streams given that the world has changed completely for them. Don't rail against this change, work with it.

I was also struck that the event there was no mention of Twitter and that the whole notion of blogging was given little coverage. I believe it is the golden age for such things and enables new voices to enter public discourse. These developments should make journalists happy but instead they seem to make those at the event fearful and uncertain.

I am also struck by how fast Ryan wrote his well-argued article. The event just happened last night. This is a prime example of highly productive citizen journalism in action. I have seen the future and I believe it resembles something like RtH.