Posts tagged media

Murder - the leading cause of death among journalists in warzones

This statement from Article 19 about journalists in conflict zones is a good wrap on the dangers they face there, especially as we mark the 10th anniversary of the Afghan conflict. 

According to the Afghan non-governmental organisation Nai, the 10-year conflict has left 22 journalists dead, 6 of whom were women, and seen 23 journalists kidnapped. Nai’s figures for violence and intimidation against journalists runs into the hundreds.

… But a particularly disturbing trend is the specific targeting of journalists, their abductions or summary executions. Over the past five years, the leading cause of death among journalists in warzones has become murder.

Especially significant is the threat faced by local journalists - just look at the figures of the number of journalists killed in, for example, the Philippines and Mexico.

Nobody will pick them from the doormat wondering how the world has changed from the day before. They will be badges, evidence of their readers’ cultural or political tastes, with an artisanal-cheese kind of price that turns them from a habit into a hobby.

This quote, by veteran British newspaper man Ian Jack, is, of course, about newspapers. Much has been written about the possible demise of the print medium, which has been the source of some of the best journalism in the history of the news industry.

Jack’s op-ed in The Guardian is worth a read. It’s well-written and honest, and reflects on some of the strengths of newspapers - which will be lost if and when they die. 

He brings up some good points, for example about distribution:

“If one big publisher, say News International, withdrew from the pooled distribution arrangements then the increased cost for the rest could be fatal.”

And also about the possible demise of serious, especially investigative, journalism:

“Serious reporting could be the most serious casualty, because it’s expensive and present estimates of digital income won’t cover the costs of foreign correspondents and a well-staffed newsroom; philanthropic owners or a drastic reconfiguring of editorial budgets will certainly be required.”

'Towards a mutualised news organisation'

This looks very promising. Hopefully it’ll be replicated for other topics and at other news websites.

carlosmonteiro:

The Guardian gives external bloggers the power to publish with a 50/50 ad revenue split. It sells ads against the bloggers’ pages; the bloggers, in turn, get half the revenue from the exchange.

and an interesting observation:

You would not know it from general media coverage but, on the web, science is alive with remarkable debate. According to the Pew Research Centre, science accounts for 10% of all stories on blogs but only 1% of the stories in mainstream media coverage.

carlosmonteiro

A really powerful image on today’s front-page of The Washington Post. There are though, as always, questions about the use of photos of children in strife from developing countries. Would we use such images of children in our newspapers? Do we apply a different standard for Western children? You can read a little more about this debate in this AlertNet feature (scroll down to Ethics, Pictures and the Media).  frontpages: Pakistani floods could further hurt unstable nation as military focuses on aid

A really powerful image on today’s front-page of The Washington Post. There are though, as always, questions about the use of photos of children in strife from developing countries. Would we use such images of children in our newspapers? Do we apply a different standard for Western children? You can read a little more about this debate in this AlertNet feature (scroll down to Ethics, Pictures and the Media). 

frontpages:

  1. Pakistani floods could further hurt unstable nation as military focuses on aid

frontpages

This is the frontpage of the Illawarra Mercury after Kevin Rudd was removed as Labor leader and Prime Minister last Thursday. It’s a striking image. The cover makes use of red, the new PM Julia Gillard’s hair colour. The designer seems to have an eye for strong graphics more commonly associated with magazines like The Economist, Time magazine and Newsweek. For the World Cup, it featured people from different countries who live in Wollongong, though it appears it was hard to find a North Korean. In the UK, it’s The Independent that’s known for its full-page-image, occasionally campaigning, frontpages. Below is a great example of what I think is a brilliant and eye-catching one: As is this information-packed one: But do these designs sell more papers? Australian newspaper sales have been steadily falling, though they haven’t experienced the drastic declines of their UK and US peers. For its part, The Independent has also seen a decline in circulation, though it experienced the highest numbers so far this year in May under new editor Simon Kelner. So as a consumer, do such strong newspaper frontpages make you more or less likely to buy a paper? Or does it make no difference to you at all?

This is the frontpage of the Illawarra Mercury after Kevin Rudd was removed as Labor leader and Prime Minister last Thursday.

It’s a striking image. The cover makes use of red, the new PM Julia Gillard’s hair colour. The designer seems to have an eye for strong graphics more commonly associated with magazines like The Economist, Time magazine and Newsweek.

For the World Cup, it featured people from different countries who live in Wollongong, though it appears it was hard to find a North Korean.

In the UK, it’s The Independent that’s known for its full-page-image, occasionally campaigning, frontpages.

Below is a great example of what I think is a brilliant and eye-catching one:

As is this information-packed one:

But do these designs sell more papers? Australian newspaper sales have been steadily falling, though they haven’t experienced the drastic declines of their UK and US peers.

For its part, The Independent has also seen a decline in circulation, though it experienced the highest numbers so far this year in May under new editor Simon Kelner.

So as a consumer, do such strong newspaper frontpages make you more or less likely to buy a paper? Or does it make no difference to you at all?

Should we be paying for news?

I came across this on BoingBoing by Dan Gillmor. His idea for saving newspapers is to create a subscription system that encompasses all the major publications in the US, say New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal etc.

He doesn’t say it’s the last or only solution to making newspapers viable. It’s a great idea - getting people who want to read the news pay for it without the hassle of advertising. But do you think it’ll actually work?

I’m thinking that it’s less likely to work. One big reason is that print is not the only journalism being done out there. The broadcasting industry will still have news content and online sites where people can read the news for free. This is especially so for public broadcasters like PBS, BBC and ABC (Australia I mean, not US)? They all have very good news sites with great depth. And all already with a viable model for survival as they are funded by the taxpayer or the government.

I also feel that there wouldn’t be enough people out there willing to pay for news. From my personal experience, most people I know are happy just to read whatever free news they can get online, in the office or at grandma’s home on the weekend. They are unlikely to pay for anything unless a really big news event happens, eg. Princess Diana’s death, September 11, Bali bombings and they are very hungry for news. I don’t think there’s that hunger on a normal day.

I’m not poo-pooing the idea completely. It might work if the newspaper has very exclusive stories and analyses that no other news organisation has, ie. a paper with a niche audience that has money to spend.

So what’s the future? At the moment, I think public broadcasting and journalism funded by philantrophy are one of the few solutions available. A few days ago, Mark Schapiro of the Centre for Investigative Reporting visited the Herald offices for a short talk. His organisation is supported by institutions like the Rockefeller Foundation. The CIR shares its stories with big publishers like the NYT, LAT, The Nation etc. But only 20 to 25% of the reporting is paid for by the publishers. The remaining 75 to 80% is funded through philantrophy.

So what do you think? What else can be done to keep newspaper companies going?