Comments on: How can the government save journalism?

By: focoafrprtng

focoafrprtng — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:11:25 +0000

In the micro-world of student journalism the release of data can cause a lot of problems. I can’t talk to any of the police officers on campus. Nobody really high up wants to talk either, especially if they think I belong to the campus newspaper. Being associated with bad reputations is the cause in my case. I suppose a lot of people consider student journalism practice and not “real.”

By: paulbradshaw

paulbradshaw — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:55:12 +0000

Very good point – my own experience with students echoes that. It’s often said that the media industry would collapse if the free labour that underpins it was withdrawn, although that isn’t exactly an argument for supporting journalism, just ensuring more diversity. You’d need public funding for internships which required applicants to reflect the wider makeup of society.

By: Investigative journalism on 27 Aug 09 « The Centre for Investigative Journalism News Blog

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:08:39 +0000

[...] How can the government save journalism? | Online Journalism Blog [...]

By: riverScrap.com

riverScrap.com — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:24:46 +0000

How about tightening the law over unpaid internships in the media? The Economist addressed this a couple of weeks back – the ratio of hacks coming from middle class families has unexpectedly risen over the past few decades despite improved social mobility. In a nutshell this is because well-to-do people are the only ones who can afford to work for free while they kickstart their career.

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14085782

One of my previous employers – an online news agency which will remain nameless – recently ran an advertisement for a 6month unpaid internship. Is that really acceptable in this day and age?

By: David

David — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:44:31 +0000

For those already in journalism, the data point you raise is probably the one the Government could tackle the fastest. This should include a standardised way of presenting data, or at the very least, a standardised way of holding it on Government websites – ie each Government website holds its information in the same place, under the same tab, so it’s easy to access. That data should also carry ‘jargon buster’ information so the journalist can be certain of what they are seeing – too often this information is still subject to vague terms. Crucially, the local data should also be easily extractable – often you’ll get the headline national figures, but no regional breakdown. While some change is happening, I’m not convinced the battle has been won on this, although there are signs of progress.

On the financial support point, any work on this within government has to come from the view that they want to support local, independent journalism – and that has to mean that if a journalist or publisher receives financial support, they won’t be under any pressure, abstract or otherwise, to toe a certain line. This might sound a little like paranoia, but councils, among other public bodies, have been known to threaten to pull public funding such as advertising if negative stories appear.

By: paulbradshaw

paulbradshaw — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:47:46 +0000

Some opinions from Twitter:
@marquibeck: Vital: integrate/re-vamp skills & good public data IMO (http://twitter.com/marquibeck/status/3448719650)
@nigelBarlow: A Broadband tax on Internet providersploughed back into journalism (http://twitter.com/NigelBarlow/status/3448481914)
@paulWaugh: Scrap the BBC website. More than £100m of taxpayers cash spent on it – more than all papers combined (http://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/3448393133)

By: Andy Williams

Andy Williams — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:24:08 +0000

On local news, I like your points 3 and 5. Personally I think that there is a real future for hyper-local community-run not-for-profit news. Like you say, subsidising current local newspapers is a dead end – the Trinity Mirrors and Johnstons would just hoover up the cash and carry on cutting news staff and shoddy content. Likewise, I’m sceptical about the PA’s local public service journalism plans.
But hyper-local news organisations staffed by hybrid teams of skilled journalists and enthusiastic volunteers, with an emphasis on good journalism training and skills sharing could be really valuable, in my opinion.
They could make the most of the myriad low-cost publishing opportunities on the web and also produce cheap free sheet newsletters showcasing the best content delivered door to door locally.
Existing local newspapers could then enter into agreements regarding using content in exchange for skill-sharing/journalism education, or they could pay for it in some other way.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:39:12 +0000

I understand Béla here -

There is a tendancy for people to make sweeping statements about topics, be it journalism or whatever, that suggest that experience is somehow universal. The points you raise are very interesting and maybe possible in Blighty but I think your question should be “How can the government save British journalism?”

When I left the UK I was of the opinion that the BBC was a tool of the establishment, after 16 years in Spain, I see it as a model of enlightened independence. In fact there has been a campaign here on Facebook recently to get Spanish journalists to actually ask questions instead of just reporting what has been said in press “conferences”.

So while it is practically impossible, as Béla points out, for these things to happen in many countries, you should be aware of the effect you can have, are having, in other places. This is something I really want to write about sometime – how people in other, perhaps less innovative countries (that’s probably not the correct term, but as I say, it’s something that I’m thinking through), use things happening elsewhere (think Obama or FixMyStreet for example, which is really well known in Spain) to validate what they are doing or trying to do.

Sorry that I haven’t made any useful suggestions, it’s just that living here, my imagination is simply not capable of such fantasy.

By: Jo Ind

Jo Ind — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:20:51 +0000

Bradshaw’s not talking about the BBC. He specifically mentions publishers. And he says: “There is no evidence to suggest that subsidising existing publishers will subsidise journalism; indeed, I would suggest it will stifle local innovation and economic growth.” It’s about finding new ways of doing journalism rather than supporting one industry or another.

By: cynic

cynic — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:14:56 +0000

I hate to sound dismissive, but local BBC, be it radio, online or TV, really isn’t a good use of public money.
The news is often outdated and largely pilfered from local newspapers.
Why not leave the Beeb to do what it does best – national and international reporting – and re-direct the resources to local newspapers who are now taking up the mantle of online and video news themselves?