I never really used to be a podcast person — I always preferred listening to music and found the talking distracting, especially if I was working on something else at the time (and who has time to just sit around and listen to something? I’m all about multitasking).
Maybe my boyfriend’s talk radio listening habits are rubbing off on me, because lately I’ve developed a habit of listening to various media-related podcasts while going through my Google News Alerts in the morning. I like the Morning Media Menu series from MediaBistro, and at 15 minutes, they’re easy to digest.
This morning for the first time I checked out the Rebooting the News podcast series with Jay Rosen and Dave Winer. I started following @jayrosen_nyu a little while ago after he tweeted about Journal Register Company (JRC, my future employer) CEO John Paton’s blog covering the JRC overhaul, and Rosen is also heading up the new East Village blog venture between NYU and the New York Times (I’m always interested when journalism and academics mix).
This podcast is definitely longer, and might be better served from a more dedicated listen, as my ear tended to wander and then periodically get dragged back to specific topics they were covering (NYT pay wall, Twitter in Google search results, etc.).
At one point Dave Winer mentioned football, which always grabs my attention. He made a nice metaphor about how journalists often fail to step back and give themselves room the way quarterbacks sometimes do, and then he said the following about the survival of journalists and news organizations:
What you need inside these news organizations, Jay, is, I know this, you never hear it, but you need people who love news. And aren’t scared by news. Who think that news is the greatest thing that God ever invented.
And a person who really really really loves news — and by the way I’m not saying there aren’t a lot of people at these organizations that do, absolutely, but they’ve got their heads… it’s like, if you think your way towards dancing, you don’t do any dancing. The secret to dancing is to just try to look stupid. Instead of worrying about looking stupid, the trick is to try to look stupid. Just get out there and make a fool of yourself and sooner or later you’re going to be dancing.
So if you really love news, then what you have to do is you have to start acting that way, and you have to start doing things that are just wonderful for news. I know I’ve said this before on this podcast, but it’s got to be said over and over again because it’s so important. But just go have fun, it’s a great time to be alive and news, we’ve got these phenomenal networks that make news work so much better than it ever has before. What a wonderful time to be in the news business this is.
“What a wonderful time to be in the news business this is.” There are probably many that would disagree with this, who would say that the news business is dying and that all the best years are in the past. But I agree with Winer — every day there are newer, better technologies that allow us to not only better provide the public with the vital information and analysis, but to have a conversation with that public and engage their opinions, ideas and stories.
Winer’s message is one that a lot of discouraged, struggling journalists need to hear. You don’t become a journalist because of money, recognition or the great working environment — and if you do, you’re doing it wrong — but because you (really really really) love news. So don’t focus on whether or not your story will scare off an advertiser, get enough clicks or land you an award that will let you keep your job over the dozens of other reporters. Focus on the news, because that’s what you love about journalism, and when you do what you love, the rest will work itself out.
Click here to check out the Rebooting the News podcast, it’s worth a listen.
What do you think? Do you think it’s naïve to be so optimistic about the future of the news industry? What changes do you see in store?
Cecilia,
I would like to add that the news media is saturated with windbags that sensationalize information without any substance. Journalism is important and doing what you love is priceless but most of all do it well. With so many choices out there, I want to listen to someone who knows their stuff without making it propaganda. A refreshing point of view. A new generation of intellectual thought….like you. Keep up the good work and success will follow.