#140Conf: Effect of the Real-Time Web on News Gathering
At the #140Conf yesterday, there was a panel that discussed the effect of the real-time web on news gathering, featuring:
- Adam Gaffin (@universalhub) - Founder and editor, Universal Hub
- David Beard (@dabeard) - Editor, Boston.com
- Mark Leccese (@mleccese) - Journalism professor at Emerson College in Boston; veteran reporter and editor
- Stephanie Miller (@kordmiller) - Director of Digital Media, CBS Boston's WBZ-TV & TV38
- Ted McEnroe (@tmcenroe) - Director of Digital Media, NECN.com
It was an interesting conversation because as a former journalist, I can understand their point of view, which was basically that social media has changed news gathering forever and media outlets are working diligently to keep up with what's happening now.
Consumers expect to get news as it happens and they will be forever part of the news cycle.
As Jeff Cutler put it in his portion of the conference (Deadlines Don't Wait - Social Media Journalism), consumers aren't citizen journalists (unless you have the background and training as one), but rather are citizen reporters. We report the news as we see it, e.g. pictures, videos, tweets, etc.
The trend of using citizens to gather news content is going to continue and increase, according to the panelists.
It'll be interesting to see how news organizations embrace consumers' eagerness to be part of the news cycle and if they can formally develop business models that one, generate actual revenue as a result and two, keep consumers engaged and willing to keep reporting.
What do you think?
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