The Chicago Tribune. The Los Angeles Times. The Minneapolis Star Tribune. These newspapers have many things in common: they are all prize-winning publications; they have all provided readers with news for over a century; and they have all filed for bankruptcy in the past year. As new media infringes on the old ways of obtaining information, traditional mediums, such as these publications, are becoming obsolete. In my opinion, the greatest issue facing new media is finding the balance between new consumer demands without destroying the established media institutions.
The institution of journalism, also referred to as the fourth estate, has kept politicians accountable for their actions since the framers of the Constitution conceived the idea of the freedom of the press. For centuries, the journalist has been considered the liaison between the government and the public. Not only have newspapers served a practical function for Americans, but they have also become a staple in American popular culture. Countless books and films have depicted the journalist as the ruthless hero fighting for justice. Without these heroes, who knows what kind of country the United States would be today.
As a debt of service to those who came before, it is the responsibility of new media practitioners to find a way to incorporate their new ways of informing the public without forcing the traditional institutions into obsolescence. Digital journalists and bloggers are arguably the two most important groups of new media practitioners that need to find the golden mean, and fast. Due to the Internet, bloggers and digital journalists have the ability to give the public information for free, meaning that consumers are less likely to buy a newspaper when they could get the same product faster, without paying.
To remedy this problem, I recommend that all new media practitioners be required to partner with an established institution, such as the Chicago Tribune or the L.A. Times. This way profits generated from blogger websites from advertising sales can also be used to preserve these institutions. In addition to partnership agreements, bloggers can agree to post breaking information, but for the full story consumers will have to pay a fee, which will be shared by the blogger and its partner. This solution does not necessarily mean readers will have to turn to physical newspapers for more information, but perhaps turn to the websites of these papers, which is likely to increase advertising revenue due to increased traffic. As consumers become more and more accustomed to retrieving information from the Internet, newspaper circulation will most likely decrease; however, the companies that own the newspapers will not have to stop circulating them because the newspapers themselves will not be a main source of revenue. As it stands today, newspapers have seen a major decrease in classified sales due to websites such as Craigslist and eBay. If this agreement were to take place, the main source of revenue will come from Internet sales meaning that media companies would still be able to circulate physical papers. This will give consumers the choice to use traditional or new media for their information needs.
In addition to preserving newspaper circulation, the partnership will require that online journalists uphold the tenants of journalism, which will ensure readers of the credibility of the source. Consumers will still be able to take advantage of the Internet by obtaining news immediately, but they will ultimately aid in the survival of the institutions that established the ethical principles that we have come to rely upon as information consumers. As with newspapers, new media practitioners will have the opportunity to express their opinions, but it will be critical that they not flaunt their opinions as fact, just as with traditional newspapers.
It is inevitable that new media will replace other forms of media as consumers become more and more reliant on it; however, it is the duty of these new media practitioners to strike a balance so as not to eliminate the mediums that set the standard. By establishing this partnership mandate, online journalists can succeed without causing their predecessors to become a distant memory. Since the newspaper industry is such a large part of the American collective memory, it is vital that new media practitioners treat this new era sensitively in order to preserve such an important pillar of our culture.
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