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Slid over to Colin Mulvan’s site for a quick reality check about an ongoing hot topic: will newspapers survive?
His comment:
The excuse of, “We can’t make enough money online,” needs to be banished from the lexicon of publishers. Figure it out for Christ’s sake.
Agreed and double-agreed on that one. The print audience and printed edition are both rapidly dying relics.
While Colin addresses the future of videojournalists…I have a comment regarding that of newspapers. There is a lesson to be learned from broadcasting. A big one, that might make a difference.
Both newspapers and broadcast media subscribe to news services – AP, Reuters, etc. for international and national news outside of their regions. Makes sense and saves money. But most broadcasters take it a step further…many TV stations are also affiliates of networks. They get their programming, some revenue, and even more content for their news shows from this partnership.
How it works. Say I’m a station in Sacramento, California and I want some breaking news from Timbucktoo. I give that town’s affiliate a shout and arrange for tape and a live shot from one of their reporters and trucks. Sweet – and they even tag out with my station’s call letters.
Every day I put breaking, general, and feature stories from my station up on the bird (satellite) and allow others to pick and choose what they want…all the while I’m picking and choosing from their feeds. Sweet again.
While my station may only employ a few dozen reporters and cameramen, I have access to a national network.
Plus the network has crews stationed all around the world, giving me access to international news.
Now I’ll admit there is a certain prestige in having your own Washington correspondent and being able to send your own crews off to far-flung venues…but that is expensive. EXPENSIVE. Not economical.
So dump that capital bureau. Scratch those out of town trips. Cut back to covering YOUR area and doing it right. Pare down to what you need to make YOUR community happy.
In tough economic times we all have to tighten our belts…cut back on stuff we love but don’t need. Make your choices and make them quick, cause there ain’t much time left.
And take a hint from your broadcast bretheren…form partnerships and alliances…and perhaps save your collective butts. I for one sure don’t want to depend on the slim pickings of local broadcast news (hey guys – I’m admitting print has the depth and the tradition of doing it right…so find a way to KEEP doing it right – if not for yourselves, for my students and my kids).
Below is the Mamie Starr Performing Arts Center at Ronald E. McNair High School. Quite a mouthful, I know. My home is hidden in the rear of the building…formally titled the “Green Room,” which is ironic since of course that’s my last name…it is actually the TV studio.
The grading was the hard part. Thirty finals on “The Pearl” (taken a month ago and I just couldn’t get into them for some reason) and twenty freshmen research papers. Then later this week it will be thirty finals on “House on Mango Street” and twenty freshman district assessments. The latter will be a snap to grade – run through the scanner and done!
Oh – and ten advanced broadcasting videos. If any of them is smart enough to check out my blog, they’ll get advance warning here. A storyboard for a thirty second video which they must shoot (keeping in mind lessons they had on manual camera controls, lighting, and composition) and edit.
Still having a job is bittersweet. Apparently the district handed out the pink slips a week ahead of the deadline this past Friday and either they couldn’t find me or I’m not getting one. Most likely the latter.
The bitter part is how many folks DID get pink slips. In excess of 200 teachers plus additional cuts in other fields. Just in my district.
Of course – take nothing for granted. It ain’t over until the legal deadline, which is March 15. After that I breathe easy….
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