Does this mean I have to be nice now?
In announcing the commencement of the Northwestern's "Community Newsroom" today, Stew Rieckman graciously acknowledged the work of the Oshkosh Community News Network in pioneering the concept.
I appreciate that, and I wish the Northwestern success in this endeavor. Starting from scratch and relying purely on volunteers (as well as subject to withering criticism from a local columnist who will here go unnamed), OCNN has not been able to pull this kind of thing off. But that doesn't mean that the idea isn't worthwhile or that the Northwestern, with its deep community roots and deep pockets, won't be able to make this work.
If the Community Newsroom functions as envisioned, Oshkosh will benefit, although it will also mean that OCNN may have to strike off in other directions. Using the power of print as well as online publication, the Northwestern can deliver an audience that OCNN has not been able to, and frankly cannot hope to. That's OK. We've always said that we were meant to serve as a laboratory for new approaches to journalism, and there are plenty of other experiments to try.
But the Northwestern will encounter challenges that may make it difficult to keep the Community Newsroom going. One is simply that there is a shortage of motivated, competent writers in this or any other community.
What we found out at OCNN is that we built it, but they did not come. So the Community Newsroom is an effort that is going to take some nurturing.
The contributors that keep coming back may, at some point, question whether they are getting full value for their efforts, or they may decide that this free promotional vehicle makes paid advertising less attractive. In either case, the challenge for the Northwestern--and it's a challenge faced by newspapers across the country--is how to manage its way down from extremely high profit margins while still delivering enough value to stand out in a media-saturated landscape.
The CEO of craigslist made some interesting observations about the newspaper industry this past week, including this:
My hope, frankly, is that the Northwestern's corporate owners come to the conclusion that their continued focus on excessive profits is ultimately so detrimental to journalism's public-service mission that this emphasis has to be abandoned.
(And perhaps pigs will fly.)
But the main thing is that I think the Northwestern is making a sincere effort to open up its pages to the community and to cede some of the control that journalists have long cherished. In some ways this is inevitable, but the Northwestern should be commended for being willing to undertake this change.
As my former boss Arnaud de Borchgrave once said, in his farewell speech at The Washington Times: "Change is always hard--even when it is from worse to better."
I appreciate that, and I wish the Northwestern success in this endeavor. Starting from scratch and relying purely on volunteers (as well as subject to withering criticism from a local columnist who will here go unnamed), OCNN has not been able to pull this kind of thing off. But that doesn't mean that the idea isn't worthwhile or that the Northwestern, with its deep community roots and deep pockets, won't be able to make this work.
If the Community Newsroom functions as envisioned, Oshkosh will benefit, although it will also mean that OCNN may have to strike off in other directions. Using the power of print as well as online publication, the Northwestern can deliver an audience that OCNN has not been able to, and frankly cannot hope to. That's OK. We've always said that we were meant to serve as a laboratory for new approaches to journalism, and there are plenty of other experiments to try.
But the Northwestern will encounter challenges that may make it difficult to keep the Community Newsroom going. One is simply that there is a shortage of motivated, competent writers in this or any other community.
What we found out at OCNN is that we built it, but they did not come. So the Community Newsroom is an effort that is going to take some nurturing.
The contributors that keep coming back may, at some point, question whether they are getting full value for their efforts, or they may decide that this free promotional vehicle makes paid advertising less attractive. In either case, the challenge for the Northwestern--and it's a challenge faced by newspapers across the country--is how to manage its way down from extremely high profit margins while still delivering enough value to stand out in a media-saturated landscape.
The CEO of craigslist made some interesting observations about the newspaper industry this past week, including this:
"Journalism as practiced at newspapers has been hurt by an excess of money over the years as you've seen newspapers bought and sold and consolidated into large chains run by corporate managers to maximise profit, and increasingly over decades have resorted to running wire stories, putting an ever-greater proportion of advertising into their newspapers and shying away from writing hard-hitting stories about corruption in high places."
My hope, frankly, is that the Northwestern's corporate owners come to the conclusion that their continued focus on excessive profits is ultimately so detrimental to journalism's public-service mission that this emphasis has to be abandoned.
(And perhaps pigs will fly.)
But the main thing is that I think the Northwestern is making a sincere effort to open up its pages to the community and to cede some of the control that journalists have long cherished. In some ways this is inevitable, but the Northwestern should be commended for being willing to undertake this change.
As my former boss Arnaud de Borchgrave once said, in his farewell speech at The Washington Times: "Change is always hard--even when it is from worse to better."
posted by Miles Maguire at 12:05 PM
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