Simple Girl In A Complex Technological World

“Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” – George Bernard Shaw

Traditional journalists, you need a reality check: New media is running circles around traditional journalism and if you want to survive, you need to take some lessons from the not-so new kids on the block-Bloggers.

President of Advance Internet and independent blogger Jeff Jarvis agrees with my opinion and mentions in his blog, “BuzzMachine” this:

“It is our [journalists’] fault that we did not see the change coming soon enough and ready our craft for the transition. It is our fault that we did not see and exploit – hell, we resisted – all the opportunities new media and new relationships with the public presented.”

But there is hope for traditional journalists and journalism itself, take a lesson from the bloggers and begin to listen and engage the public in conversation, and while you’re at it, put a little personality into your writing. Opening up to the public may help to forge a stronger relationship and support greater loyalty by readers.

In another BuzzMachine blog by Jarvis, he mentions the concept of “networked journalism,” meaning both professionals and amateurs working together to get the facts and to make sure the real story is published, whether it be in print or online. As Jarvis says, “this isn’t about citizens or amateurs vs. professionals. We’re all in this together. Journalism is a collaborative venture. Journalism is a network.”

What it all comes down to is this: traditional media must embrace interactivity with the public if it wants to keep the audiences it has and to attract future generations. Traditional journalists must essentially throw tradition to the wind and not be afraid to go out and get closer to the people, rather than the elite and executive they may be reporting on.