From 20,000 feet
So, I’m in Richmond for a few days, with some other managers of Media General, looking at the future of our industry and where we are going. Some very bright minds, and some very optimistic minds.
One thing that is clear is that journalists bring a different toolkit to the conversation. Not necessarily better. But different. We tend to be more skeptical, distrustful of power, more wedded to tradition and the power of history to inform the future. So, it’s been a challenge for me to straddle my roles as journalist and manager and stare forthrightly at what might lie ahead.
Some observations so far:
-- Users of content are going to determine more than ever the value of that content.
-- There is an incredible demand for specific, local content.
-- It’s not clear if multimedia content can be monetized at the level that print and broadcasting content has been and is.
-- Delivery of content is becoming as important as the content itself.
One random thought, and I’m going to ultimately ask this question of our birding experts when I return to W-S, but ... On my drive up I-85, I saw more red-tailed hawks than I have ever seen in one afternoon. Granted it was over a 150-mile stretch ... but it made me wonder. We think of the return of hawks as a signal that our environment is being healed, but I wonder if there is something out of whack in the prey part of the ecosystem that is driving the hawk increase.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from
Ken,
A lot of hawks are migrating right now. Were they perched or flying?
Also, I am curious to know if you watch The Wire on HBO. If so, do you feel the portrayal of the Baltimore Sun newsroom is accurate?
Thanks
-- There is an incredible demand for specific, local content.
A thousand times yes. I sometimes wonder if reporters are allowed to leave their desks anymore.
Could be it caused by abnormally high read kill rates?
I am going to try to find out about the hawks and the migration issue. We have two excellent birding columnists, and I am sure they know the answer. Will get back to you.
Re: the Wire. I haven’t seen it. Two reasons. First, I don’t have cable. Yes, that’s true. And while I have watched several cable shows on DVD, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, I have avoided the Wire. Main reason, is that if you’re in a newsroom every day, do you want to watch it at night. I know how exhilirating, challenging, and, yes, occasionally ugly it can be. From what I’ve read, there is a measure of dramatic reality coupled with a desire to right some perceived wrongs that creator David Simon feels were done to the Sun. My guess: it’s no more/less real than the crime labs in CSI…
Here’s the answer on the hawks, courtesy of Phil Dickinson, one of our birding columnists…
Ken, I consulted with Ron, and we both think the abundance of red-tailed hawks probably is a combination of local and migratory birds. Southern hawks pretty much stay put in the winter. Northern hawks migrate south in large numbers and return north in early spring. We doubt that it is due to road kill; these birds prefer live prey. Ron happens to be in Indiana right now and noticed a lot of hawks also in the southern part of that state on his drive up. There was no noticeably high incidence of road kill.
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