I attended David Dunkley-Gyimah's lecture on the future of journalism last Friday at Westminster University and am glad to say it caused some furore in the cheap seats. Many students came out with the idea that what he was saying was that print is dead and if you're not with the vlogging generation, forget it.
Print's not dead, but I believe specialising in one medium is firmly four paws up. The room stank of fear, but why willingly deny yourself the knowledge and skills that might, not only secure you a job, but provide you with a completely new way of expressing yourself. I find it a relief as I'm certainly not cut out for old school journalism. My writing's fine, but not exceptional and never will be. Armed with a video camera and a handful of html, however, I might just be able to con someone that I'm better than I am.
Web writing also appeals to my innate liking of simplicity and there are millions upon millions of cluttered, ungrammatical, schoolboy spelling errors out there for me to pick apart. Paedentry isn't just a red marker pen, it's a philosophy, no....rather a watchword... a standard. I wasn't sure...but then.
What stuck in my mind from that lecture was David's closing statement: 'at the end of the day, it's all about content'. Well, allelluia. I had an epiphany. Paedentry is the perfect word for a union of youthful multimedia flash and dazzle with an obsessive eye for CLARITY and ACCURACY. Youtube's all well and good, but I wouldn't begin to call it clear.
What I believe the future of journalism looks like is the front page of google, backed with a vast archive of information and history. Think of it like a microfiche, but clear and all clearly linked up. A small magnifying glass you move around to focus in and out on layer upon layer of text, audio and video. The first layer of the onion is simple, think of those primary school books 'I am a Hindu, I am a Muslim'. Each time you clicked deeper, the information would become more detailed until you were reading dissertations on the Qur'an. Want audio, fine click here, more? less? Images? Blogs? All linked up and with their own breathing space, not squished up together on one page.
It may seem like I've strayed from my original subject, but think of this blog as a giant spidergram of my thoughts with the word 'Paedentry' at the centre. There's a branch for grammar, a branch for philosophy and a branch for a good rant.
My favourite journalist in the (fictional) world, Spider Jerusalem said anger is the best way to the truth and an obsessive nature ensures accuracy. Saving the apostrophe may be me barking up the wrong tree, but it sure gets me angry.
3 comments:
it did indeed stink of fear - i think David got the Heeby jeebies up all of us print folk!
i do think that the print side should be more universal in the things it covers tho.
for example, i'm interested in video journalism, photography and production as well as newspapers and online stuff.
oh well. xx
I could have said everything's fine.
But all the evidence from industry points otherwise.
And five to ten years in print is way enough anyway not to affect your current colleagues, but you only have to google "newspapers, Print dead" to hear the chatter.
Fear [flight syndrome] though can be a good thing, even though that was not my intention and I was not saying print journos wouldn't find jobs - which is everyone's primary goal.
There's plenty and more still going, but the industry is under attack and it's questioning what it should be doing.
Which is why the Barclay Bros have ploughed a lot of money into multimedia, which is why print courses in the country are trying to expand, which is why the Guardian is beefing up its online presence.
It's not about video, blogs, podcasts, second lifers, it's about having an added skill that puts you at the front of the queue in the interview.
But then like most things, tax and death exempted, we all have a choice. What we do with that is entirely up to us.
Worth a read, one of the seminal articles on the web
from that US organ, Online Journalism Review - Go to the Web, young
journalist!
I will tip-toe into the discussion 'cause I'm an international student so word's out that I probably don't know what I'm saying...
I think the main point that was not addressed is: when EVERYONE is pouring massive amounts of content (or regurgitating the same content a massive amount of times) into the web...HOW WILL WE DEAL WITH CONTENT OVERLOAD?
I say we slow down the sun to make 40hour days. So maybe can spend 38 hours reading what other people think and the last couple of 'em doing some thinking ourselves. Bu that's just me.
Also...*Puts on devil's advocate suit*
1) Someone doesn't know that if you vex the Login button, your post will appear multiple times... ;)
2) Speaking of paedantry and red markers...Halleluja is with an H.
Forgive my spelling, my smelling and my manners.
p.s. I love the way you write! Where did you buy it?
Post a Comment