How times have changed! I remember just a few years ago putting together a website would take sweat and tears, and today absolutely free content management systems allow someone with a bit of skills to setup and launch a site within hours.
There is no point in reviewing content management systems, plenty of blogs out there have done that proficiently, but there is something to be told about the effects empowerment will likely have on the web. As I see it today, we can all be active contributors of news and information, causing a massive dissinformation effect.
What are trustworthy sources anymore? News publications rush into releasing unproven stories, concerned that bloggers will pre-empt them and crush their credibility -as well as the opportunity to generate some extra dollars from the traffic waves breaking news can deliver.-
At some point, however, one must wonder if this battle is being played properly. Should the strategy of reputable news organizations be to degrade themselves so they can compete with the likes of Perez Hilton, D-Listed, and other gossip sites? Is the role of news providers to deliver tidbits of information or have we lost sense of the value of proper analysis?
Apparently the stress on immediacy and consumption habits are pressing the press to become one large blogger, which is a pitty. The potential of well delivered news is something you can see in organizations like The Daily, whom delivers a visually rich, editorially awesome, daily dose of deep coverage on several categories. "New times demand new journalism" is their motto; one that stands truth in times where journalists degrade themselves for the quick retribution of a breaking news story.
Who tells it truth is hard to say anymore. My hopes are that a richer kind of new journalism will prevail and help differentiate story tellers from gossipers, and that reputable organizations will set themselves apart by adopting a model that favors deep coverage vs. quick hits.
Perhaps the solution for today's newspaper publishers is to turn themselves into digital magazines rather than bloggers.
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