Welcome to the Media Alliance Future of Journalism!
It has become fashionable over the past couple of years to compare what is going on in our news industry to the revolution in information unleashed by the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago. At first that sounds like the purest hyperbole, but when you pause to consider the upheaval in journalism as a result of the development of the Internet and digital technology, it all starts to sound less far-fetched.
Let’s start with what we do know: we know that digital technology means that journalism is on the entering an era of vast new possibilities: our stories can reach more people, faster and with a greater geographical reach than ever before. With new tools we can make our stories more compelling and vivid using video footage, slideshows, graphics and maps. We can link our audiences to background data and research to add value to the information we present.
At the same time, by harnessing social networking tools, we can involve our audiences in the issues that interest them. No longer is news a one-way “lecture”, by letting our audiences react to and share the stories, journalists can be part of an enhanced news process that adds value to the role we have traditionally performed in society.
A new determination in favour of openness on the part of governments in Australia will mean that more information is available than ever before. Journalism’s role is more vital than ever before in sifting through that information and curating the public discussion about the way we are governed. Journalism has traditionally thrived in an environment where information is in short supply. Now it will thrive in the new environment: helping our audiences access the information they need and providing a platform for expert opinion and analysis.
Yet we are also faced with the $64,000 question: Who or what will pay for journalism? With the migration of so much advertising revenue online and falling circulations for print publications, newspaper and magazine groups are in the grip of a perfect storm which is shaking their business model to the core. Things are not yet as bad in Australia as they are in some comparable markets such as the US and UK, where scores of newspapers have closed or gone online only, but the redundancies in all major mastheads can leave us in no doubt of the struggle news organisations face to survive.
The broadcast media are under similar pressure, particularly free-to-air TV, which is being hit by time-shift technology and generally falling advertising revenues.
Even the most optimistic forecasts do not show a recovery in revenues to either print or broadcast media for several years.
So there is great uncertainty. News managers are faced with doing more with less, while their journalists worry, day to day, about the viability of their jobs.
Which is why this is such a vital discussion for the industry as a whole. It is a challenge to us all, to work together to find a way to flourish in this challenging new environment.
Tonight’s forum will undoubtedly raise more questions than it answers. That is good. It is a chance for us all: managers, journalists and the Alliance to share insights and ideas about the revolution in journalism: the sorts of new skills we will need and new ways in which we can attract audiences and generate revenue.
We are all presented with a unique opportunity in the history of our craft: we have the chance to influence the future shape of our industry. It is an exciting time to be a journalist.
Christopher Warren
Federal Secretary,
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
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Sunday 25 October, 2009