newspapers are doing the same thing people are doing. They are migrating. They are going cyber. Going cyber does not just mean that they can be accessed on a gadget or a desktop computer. It means that they are inevitably losing something and gaining something. What they lose is the illusion of a fixed place in society. What they gain is an immersion in the reality that is affecting every last person on the planet.
Verdicts about the fate of newspapers are impossible to deliver, just as verdicts on the huge and largely unnoticed migration to cyberspace are premature.
Disruption is an inevitable aspect of change. If one takes the New York Times as an example, here have been continual layoffs and buyouts. The emphasis has been almost entirely on developing an online presence. The transition has had remarkable success. The paper edition takes a back seat and it shows. The online version is clearly still experimental but it progresses. This is a huge migration and it is everywhere.
Things are looking grim for the newspaper industry, as I'm sure you've heard before. https://t.co/3HJZ8Uni11 pic.twitter.com/4jPAhmQQfm
— Axios (@axios) April 5, 2017
Two more huge developments
Online there have been two additional developments in addition to the migration of existing newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and the Washington Post.
The first development is the growing prominence of investigative resources online. A few years ago. Pro Publica was someone's dream. It is now a thriving and reliable investigative reporting resource. Human Rights Watch is not merely a human rights advocacy organizations. Its method of operation is to produce vetted journalistic reports that are deemed essential and reliable worldwide.
There is a growing list of such resources that widen our capacity to learn what is true and what is false.
Citizen journalism
The second development is in its infancy. It is the rise of citizen's journalism or if you prefer people's journalism. There is a huge caveat regarding this form of journalism. Without an anchor in the existing journalistic enterprise where sourcing of stories is the bedrock of reliability, Citizen Journalism becomes subject to criticism.
This applies only to news. News requires a standard of truth. It says that as far as we know this is a reliable, confirmed fact. Sourcing is that standard.
Citizen journalism will evolve and flourish over time. The cyber world is our world. A messaging revolution is in progress. It is not the best of all possible worlds but it is remaking us whether we know it or not. We will determine how good it is by what we say and do.
