we journalism

listenin to: jimmy dludlu

this morning, i caught the first half of an interesting session at this year's dci, blogging indaba. the panel was discussing "we journalism" and the changes that are happening in the production and reception of media messages and journalism as we know it. the first scenes at natural disasters and unusual accidents such as the london bombings, have all been documented by cell phone cameras and by non-journos. advances in technology such as moblogging and podcasting have made it easier for non-journos to take on roles that once belonged only to journalists. more and more people are blogging, personal websites are springing up everywhere, podcasts are making waves and interaction between people miles away is on the increase. this shift in the ability to produce media has led to many debates around the following thoughts:

1. why has it become easier for everyone to produce media?
2. what is then, the difference between journalism and tabloid trash or copy produced without another level of informativeness about it?
3. what does this mean for the current and future state of journalism?
4. are journalists comfortable with the fact that technology enables anyone with the skills and equipment to publish faster and easier than before?

the truth of the matter is that as technology develops, so too will journalism-it is inevitable. and so it should be. but this is not a bad thing and technology should not be seen as killing out older, more traditional media such as newspapers and radio. quite the contrary actually, these older forms still have their place- i do not believe the good ol fashioned newspaper will die out-there will still be an audience for it. the tricky part is trying to have a firm grip on this constant changing face of journalism and attempting to place restrictions on what is and is not good, true and proper journalism. the producers of true journalism are fussy about their craft and so they should be.

today i like: conference has ended
today i dislike: packing... i so dislike packing