In previous posts, I’ve written about structured journalism’s potential to improve newsroom economics by rebundling news as networks of structured information, and to provide new value to consumers by giving them more control over the news they consume. But what does structured journalism do for journalists? Will structure merely contribute to the tech-driven weakening of the role of journalists in producing and distributing news, or are there opportunities here to rebuild journalism as a profession?
Journalism’s stature has been diminished by the loss of the gatekeeping role it played in the pre-digital era. Journalists once held a lock on the attention of news consumers, and anyone who wanted to get a message in front of those consumers had to either convince a credentialed journalist of its worth or pay for advertising. The public could seek to attract the attention of journalists, but it was the journalist who ultimately decided what went into the paper or the broadcast. That awesome power to decide what was and wasn’t news was solemnly guided by a newsroom culture of ethical and professional conduct.
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