My Take on Week 2 Readings — Back to the Future

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — As promised, here’s my take on this week’s readings (feel free to post a comment, but it’s not required. We'll keep the graded discussions on Blackboard).

Chapter 2 of “Principles of Convergent Journalism” says you have to broaden your knowledge and skill base to make it in today’s converged journalism world. It's no lie — at least locally. But an important factor driving the changes, in my view that the book doesn't address, is the contraction of resources at news outlets.
Not long before I left The Flint Journal, reporters were given access to Flip video cameras and they already were trained and had access to digital audio recorders. They also were increasingly encouraged to shoot pictures, especially when the number of full-time photographers was reduced to one (plus at least one intern). Before these seismic changes, reporters would focus exclusively on writing and reporting the story while working with photo and graphic desks on art possibilities for the newspaper and online. But that specialization was a function of available resources. At smaller publications, for example, reporters often had to know a little about everything. For example, when I interned at the Mackinac Island Town Crier in college, we wrote the articles and took the pictures. When I worked at The State News in college, we all had opportunities to report, copy edit, design, take pictures and manage. In contrast, The Journal had so many reporters, editors, copy editors, photographers, designers, etc. because it collected millions of dollars ad revenue. Because of the recession and the fragmentation of ad dollars, that money source has dropped like a rock at many larger newspapers and for local television stations.

So having a broad skill set isn't necessarily a new idea, but one that's shaped by the current economic conditions. That's not to downplay the tremendous change in how news is produced and consumed in our society. To excel in this converged media world will require a constant re-learning, even by people newer to the business. But, in my opinion, the larger the news outlet you reach, the more specialization you'll continue to see simply because that generally produces a higher quality and they can afford it.

Chapter 3 focused more on how newspapers are now repackaging their content online and more relevant to your assignment. What I'd like to add is some more background on Ann Arbor.com. Even though it is marketed as an online publication first, it currently generates most of its ad dollars from the versions it publishes as a newspaper. That reality is true at many newspapers and driving the reason to experiment, which was a major reason why Ann Arbor.com was created, as news organizations struggle with how to survive under new revenue models. I'll be interested in everyone's take on this experiment in this week’s essay.