Exploring how new/digital technology has impacted on traditional media industries is a critical part of the overall exam topic. We need to learn statistics and examples that illustrate the decline in print media alongside looking at how audiences have changed the way they access and interact with news. Your Ofcom research blog task is a major part of this but now we need to consider whether print newspapers have any kind of future - and if so, who will pay for it?
The future of newspapers
Read this article from the Economist on the future of newspapers.
On your blog, create a blogpost called 'The future of newspapers' and write a paragraph summarising the argument the article makes. Then answer the following questions:
1) Do you agree with its view that it is ‘a cause for concern, but not for panic’?
2) The article is 10 years old - an eternity in digital media terms. Have the writer's predictions come to pass? Use statistics from your Ofcom research to support or challenge the writer's argument.
3) The Economist suggests that high-quality journalism in the future will be backed by non-profit organisations rather than profit-seeking media corporations. Is there any evidence for this? How is the Guardian funded? What do major stories from the last year such as the Panama Papers suggest about how investigative journalism is conducted in the digital age?
Homework/classwork
You have some serious homework this week - in addition to finding your weekly NDM stories. Your main work is some in-depth reading which will provide excellent preparation for university. David Simon, creator of critically acclaimed TV series The Wire and a former journalist, has written a passionate defence of the newspaper industry in the face of the new and digital media onslaught. This will easily take you a couple of hours to complete - make sure you put the time in.
The article, Build The Wall, is available here on the Columbia Journalism Review website.
Your tasks are as follows:
Read the article in full and create a blogpost on your MEST3 Exam Blog called 'Build The Wall analysis'.
1) Summarise each section in one sentence:
- Section 1 (To all of the bystanders reading this…)
- Section 2 (Truth is, a halting movement toward...)
- Section 3 (Beyond Mr. Sulzberger and Ms. Weymouth…)
- Section 4 (For the industry, it is later than it should be…)
2) Summarise David Simon’s overall argument in 250 words.
3) The New York Times added a paywall in 2011 - two years after David Simon's essay. Read this summary of the New York Times's paywall - why does the writer suggest the NYT's paywall was successful?
4) The Washington Post followed with its own paywall in 2013. Read this article about the launch of the Post's paywall. List one strength and one weaknesses of newspaper paywalls that the article discusses.
5) Read this Guardian comment by AC Grayling piece on the state of journalism that was published the year before David Simon's essay. What references to new and digital media can you find in AC Grayling's argument? Overall, do you feel the comment piece is positive or negative about the influence of new/digital media on the newspaper industry?
6) Finally, what is your own opinion? Do you agree that newspapers need to put online content behind a paywall in order for the journalism industry to survive? Would you be willing to pay for news online? Critical autonomy is the key skill in A2 Media - you need to be able form opinions on these issues.
ALL work due: confirmed by your MEST3 teacher (Mr Halsey's class - Tuesday 10 October)
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