New free competition
Oliver Classen on the publishing industry's co-optation of blogs.
Oliver Classen on the publishing appropriation of weblogs.At his appearance at the German Publishers' Congress last October in Berlin, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. warned urgently against an "amateurization of media content that threatens the existence of the media". For once, the New York Times editor was not referring to a decline in journalistic quality, but to the fascinating Internet phenomenon known as weblogs.
In these online diaries, early adopters write about their love lives, the global political situation or whether they have witnessed a car accident or terrorist attack. And with the latter at the latest, they reveal themselves as a complementary source of information for media producers and consumers. Just how seriously US publishers are now taking such private platforms à la blogger.com is shown by the declaration of intent by Sulzberger's digital boss to the specialist service Media Post to integrate the best peer-to-peer journalism "where possible and sensible" into his own business. Here in Switzerland, only the Tages-Anzeiger has so far recognized the signs of the times. It is no coincidence that its US correspondent has been operating a personal, interactive "notebook" for several weeks now. Both visually and technically, this was embedded in the Tagi site - and has since brought it many new visitors. The main reason for this is that, unlike in print, every entry can be commented on immediately and unedited.
Weblogs therefore appear to increase the "community" of traditional media brands. Whether this also applies to "credibility", the second basic publishing resource, is doubtful, however. (Unless the anarchic free medium is moderated.) And how money can be earned professionally with the new amateur forums is completely up in the air. But it's better to reach for them today and perhaps twist a little in the process than to be left in the dark (again) tomorrow when they really start to sparkle.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
In these online diaries, early adopters write about their love lives, the global political situation or whether they have witnessed a car accident or terrorist attack. And with the latter at the latest, they reveal themselves as a complementary source of information for media producers and consumers. Just how seriously US publishers are now taking such private platforms à la blogger.com is shown by the declaration of intent by Sulzberger's digital boss to the specialist service Media Post to integrate the best peer-to-peer journalism "where possible and sensible" into his own business. Here in Switzerland, only the Tages-Anzeiger has so far recognized the signs of the times. It is no coincidence that its US correspondent has been operating a personal, interactive "notebook" for several weeks now. Both visually and technically, this was embedded in the Tagi site - and has since brought it many new visitors. The main reason for this is that, unlike in print, every entry can be commented on immediately and unedited.
Weblogs therefore appear to increase the "community" of traditional media brands. Whether this also applies to "credibility", the second basic publishing resource, is doubtful, however. (Unless the anarchic free medium is moderated.) And how money can be earned professionally with the new amateur forums is completely up in the air. But it's better to reach for them today and perhaps twist a little in the process than to be left in the dark (again) tomorrow when they really start to sparkle.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
