The future of news is both a fiscal and emotional issue. Newsrooms across the country are struggling with the economic realities across the spectrum from energy costs to the impact of the internet. On the emotional side, the press, vilified as it is by those whose agenda it suits, still remains a cornerstone of a free, democratic society.

Somewhere in the 1980s, the discussion of fairness of news organizations became a central part of the political and general discourse in American society. This debate chipped away at the credibility and integrity of journalism as an institution. The bickering, some real, some imagined combined with the explosion of blogs and citizen journalism created threads of 19th century yellow journalism which was woven into the once trusted resource of Cronkite and Murrow. The result is a crossroads for American journalism.

Despite the gloom of many newsrooms, it is an exciting time for American journalism. When accomplished reporters for the New York Times (and many other newspapers) are not constrained by one format and can tell their story with video on their newspapers website, that is exciting. It is exciting, when a television reporter can extend their piece, which before the web was a one time only production, to include conversations from viewers via a blog. It is an exciting time when the insights of citizens can be tapped to cover a topic that may only affect a small neighborhood, but nonetheless, makes that community grow closer.

The issue is in large part about the money and who will pay for this information. Economies of scale of the mass produce and consume 1900s no longer apply. Financial sustainability of the news media as we know it now requires innovation on the part of the news organization to develop new products, creativity on the part of business/advertisers to financially support communities and causes in which they believe, (without getting in the way of truthful reporting where appropriate), and citizens to become more involved with the news.

I see it this way. Before 2000, the news was a cookie sheet. A metal surface used to produce the same product on a regular basis. Today news is the cookie dough. Consumers of the news want to shape the information as they need it. They want to add to it from other sources, they want to share it with anyone and everyone, and they want to consume it wherever, whenever, and however it best suits them. Journalism will thrive when it figures out how to generate revenue with this new dough.

People like Chris O’Brien and the Next Generation Newsroom project are in the middle of these exciting times. The Project for Excellence in Journalism and Rick Edmonds of the Poynter Institute has done an wonderful evaluating the trends in news organizations and the way Americans are consuming information.

Today, Thursday, June 12 I’m participating in a panel on the changing face of the news media put on by the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. Add your comments below, email them to me at amaruggi AT providentpartners DOT net or tweet them at www.twitter.com/AlbertMaruggi

Panel Discussion – Changing Face of Media/Alternative Media Sources/Credibility vs. Sensationalism.
Purpose: We are interested in exploring whether or not, how and why traditional media such as newspapers and television are being supplanted by internet resources and user generated media such as Youtube and Facebook. How are younger generations (Gen Y) using the new media and how they will gather news and information in the future.
Moderator:
Liz Bogut – Communications Director, Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce
Panelists:
Joel Kramer, Editor and CEO of MinnPost.com
Kristin Henning, Publisher, The Rake
Barbara Laskin, Media Relations Manager - Macalester College
Thom Fladung – Editor - Pioneer Press
Albert Maruggi - Founder and president of Provident Partners

In surveys with readers of the San Jose Mercury News, Chris O’Brien, reporter and innovator on the issue of news in the US, presented four major findings about how people get information:

Google
Other people are a major resource of information
Choice
Conversations

There are 5 main theme of the Next generation of the newsroom a project to build the next generation newsroom being conducted at Duke University

1. Integrated - Newsrooms must be fully integrated across blogs and multimedia. It should embrace all platforms. Adapt a consumption model where readers can become so intrigued by the site that they lose track of time as they are immersed in the information.

2. Innovation - The newsroom must be a center for innovation; the 150 year old model was mostly static. We are now in an era of constant change.

3. Collaborative - there must be interactions with other groups outside of your own comfort zone. Cross pollination is a good thing in a new newsroom to expand knowledge and create areas where they will meet each other.

4. Adaptable - Allow for flexibility in assignments, even movable furniture that can be quickly reconfigured to meet a project need.

5. Transparency - Newsrooms need to be open to the community, creating the ability for a dialogue. Changing from a one way medium to a two way organ of information.

New jobs in journalism according to O’Brien

1. Programmer journalists
2. Media Conductors
3. Backpack Journalists
4. Cybrarian
5. Community Managers

This is a summary of a presentation given at the NewComm Forum produced by the Society for New Communications Research. I agree and submit that all media is now multimedia. That means companies and PR firms need to determine what other resources are appropriate for specific releases. For example, consider audio soundbites or videos of relevant visual elements that enhance the story. These can be set up on a news page at the company’s website or posted on a unique landing page, all trackable. This is a start toward what will be a new type of news release called the social media release. A topic for another post.

Thank you to Valeria Maltoni, the Conversation Agent, for interviewing me on social media and journalism last week for her blog. The profession of journalism has changed considerably since my days in front of the camera and the mic. (early & mid 80s if you must know) Now, the web makes every medium - multimedia. One of the most compelling and brilliant video news packages was produced by the New York Times, with writer Manny Fernandez and videographer Brent McDonald . The piece was called Johnny’s Cave.

Even in these changing times, the venerable newspaper of the country’s largest city still carries these words on its masthead “All the news that’s fit to print.” The fact is, as the multimedia desk as grown from a small pilot to a full fledged news desk under the direction of Martin Nisenholtz, the Sr. V.P. of Digital Operations, the more appropriate maxim is all the stories that can be told.

The New York Times with its multimedia capability and blogs, are becoming the real-time diary of a city and a nation. They are giving life to video stories that are suffocated by the time constraints of television. Take a moment here to realize that a newspaper may now be in a better position to tell video stories, than standard television. On the other side of this medium divide, television stations are asserting their multimedia assets and driving traffic to their websites.

The financial prize is tapping into dollars non-existent prior to video the web, the Star-Tribune newspaper is taking ad dollars from television stations for video ads. More on this from radio and broadcast consultant Mel Taylor.

The application for companies in these changing times is to evaluate your stories for their strongest appeal. If you have a visual story, you can tell it to a monthly magazine and give them access to the visual elements. You can enhance a printed news release with audio or video components tied back to a website or if you are that daring, consider a full fledged social media release, but that is a topic for another post

Tomorrow I’ll address the issue of social media as more a movement and less a market, which was another theme the Conversation Agent got me going on and was commented on the Jump in the Pool