By Tracy Schario, APR
The much-anticipated launch of the local news Web site TBD.com has arrived. The concept of the integrated TV and Web reporting borrows from the success of Politico, another successful reinvention of news delivery by owner Allbritton Communications. The site’s name “To Be Determined” implies that once journalism figures out a successful business model, a new paradigm will be finalized. The journey will be complete.
Yet for all the debate about how the journalistic enterprise can sustain itself and be profitable, it seems to me that we are already living the future of news – constant evolution and refinement. The challenge has been that newsgathering is a labor-intensive operation – one that can’t be solved by technology.
Over the past decade, barrels of ink were spilled on how the Internet would change information consumption. Today, we can take the Internet with us most anywhere. Mobile phones are ubiquitous. Twenty percent of homes in the U.S. do not have a landline, and the typical user has the mobile phone turned on 19 hours per day.
The Kindle and iPad have made digital publications tangible and, in many cases, a more enjoyable experience than holding a newspaper. After reading the Wall Street Journal on the iPad, I canceled my print subscription. I wish the Washington Post would create a more compelling app so I can cancel that print subscription as well.
Five years ago, social media was a fad for college kids. Today, there are more than 290 social networking and media channels.
A study by the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism concludes that the decline of newspapers continues at a rapid pace while trust in the Internet begins to erode. Wikileaks relied on the mainstream media to validate (or rather interpret, source and report) the more than 90,000 military documents about the war in Afghanistan.
I believe that there will always be a place and a critical need, especially in a democracy, for professional journalists. However, I’m not convinced there’s a need for the daily newspaper in printed format.
Daily news demands immediate consumption. The Internet, radio and TV provide more effective delivery channels. TBD.com is an excellent example of daily, localized news delivered online and accessible via mobile devices.
Given the rapid pace of technology developments, we must all recognize that there is no final destination for the future of news. Thus, it remains To Be Determined.