By: Joe Strupp Three-year study provides market-driven view of the future
Veteran editor and publisher Nancy Hicks Maynard says journalists may not be as aware of the coming changes in news coverage ? from marketing to federal controls ? as they should be, a situation that could throw a wrench into the way reporters expect future news to be delivered.
"Change is inevitable, and we spend a lot of time writing about how other entities manage change badly, but we are not predisposed to think about ourselves that way," said Maynard, the former co-owner and publisher of The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune who last week released "Mega Media," a book based on three years of interviewing more than 200 editors, reporters, and other industry veterans. She conducted the project with the financial aid of the Freedom Forum. The booklet, which will be available free on the Web at http://www .nancymaynard.com, cites seven factors that will force news coverage to change drastically in the 21st century, including:
Digital information technology: "It threatens the very definition of news as we've known it. It changes the rhythm of news consumption, while the tempo of news production remains fairly rigid, Web sites notwithstanding."
Generation gap: "Generational clash is the soft underbelly of gonzo planning in news-media companies."
Local news: "Despite predictions that the Internet undermines a geographic sense of community ? and it does to some extent ? commerce is local and will mostly remain so."
Advertisers: "While still central to news-media revenue, advertising will be only one part of an increasingly complex revenue stream."
(Editor & Publisher Web Site: http://www.editorandpublisher.com) [Caption]
(copyright: Editor & Publisher May 15, 2000) [Caption]
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