Good journalism is expensive
At a panel discussion organized by News Aktuell in Hamburg, experts came to the conclusion that the financing of quality journalism is the decisive challenge in the Web age.
At a panel discussion organized by News Aktuell in Hamburg, experts came to the conclusion that the financing of quality journalism is the decisive challenge in the Web age.
As reported by the press portal, more than 250 press officers, PR experts and journalists attended the discussion "From noble pen to content supplier? - Print Media in Transition. Stern.de Editor-in-Chief Frank Thomson, for example, does not believe that online providers will displace the traditional media. Nevertheless, he sees news providers like Google, which distribute collected news for free on their platforms, as a threat to traditional journalism. Holger Stark from Spiegel expressed concern that 70 percent of online advertising revenue already goes to Google and Yahoo, which do not invest in journalism. In addition, he said, journalistic research is suffering as a result of the Internet: Information is often no longer obtained by phone or interviews, but "Googled." According to Kuno Haberbusch of NDR, younger generations mainly obtain information via the Internet. The print media urgently need to find concepts to reintroduce these target groups to classic content.
But demonizing Google is wrong, says Jan-Eric Peters, Director of the Axel Spinger Academy, because the Internet has also made research easier and improved it. The user has more background information through video or audio elements or links than in print. As in everyday journalistic life, the media are also becoming more and more intermingled on the audience side. But the question is whether enough money will continue to be spent on good journalism in the future, says Peters. Dpa editor-in-chief Wilm Herlyn has no reservations, because in economically lean times, savings are mainly made in the online area: "After the media hype in 2001, the FAZ, for example, mainly laid off journalists from the online area. Their work was taken over by print editors." The general trend from print to online, however, has few consequences for young journalists, he said. "Even in the online age, there will be noble springs," says Herlyn.
As reported by the press portal, more than 250 press officers, PR experts and journalists attended the discussion "From noble pen to content supplier? - Print Media in Transition. Stern.de Editor-in-Chief Frank Thomson, for example, does not believe that online providers will displace the traditional media. Nevertheless, he sees news providers like Google, which distribute collected news for free on their platforms, as a threat to traditional journalism. Holger Stark from Spiegel expressed concern that 70 percent of online advertising revenue already goes to Google and Yahoo, which do not invest in journalism. In addition, he said, journalistic research is suffering as a result of the Internet: Information is often no longer obtained by phone or interviews, but "Googled." According to Kuno Haberbusch of NDR, younger generations mainly obtain information via the Internet. The print media urgently need to find concepts to reintroduce these target groups to classic content.
But demonizing Google is wrong, says Jan-Eric Peters, Director of the Axel Spinger Academy, because the Internet has also made research easier and improved it. The user has more background information through video or audio elements or links than in print. As in everyday journalistic life, the media are also becoming more and more intermingled on the audience side. But the question is whether enough money will continue to be spent on good journalism in the future, says Peters. Dpa editor-in-chief Wilm Herlyn has no reservations, because in economically lean times, savings are mainly made in the online area: "After the media hype in 2001, the FAZ, for example, mainly laid off journalists from the online area. Their work was taken over by print editors." The general trend from print to online, however, has few consequences for young journalists, he said. "Even in the online age, there will be noble springs," says Herlyn.
