Journalism without a net

The New York Times ran a background story today on the journalists recently arrested in North Korea. I’m not really sure they can be called journalists, at least not in a very news sense. Who knows what anyone is called or should be called anymore. But just because there is no clear-cut criteria as to what a journalist is or should be, doesn't mean that it's not a valid question.

This is more than just a semantical question, and more than just an isolated story about two women trapped in a North Korean prison. This is an important story about the new face of the journalism industry. I saw what went on behind the scenes when Jill Carroll was abducted in Iraq. The difference between her story and the story of these two women is another type of fallout of the current precarious state of the news industry. All three women were arguably reckless. But even though she was a freelancer, Jill Carroll was lucky enough to have not just the moral support and visibility of a major newspaper (The Christian Science Monitor), but their skill, contacts, and compassion, all of which helped lead to her release. This type of network is not only not available to the two women sent out by a fledgling website to gather edgy video clips, but it's in danger of becoming just a quaint, dusty relic of another time.


As newspapers fold, surprise, the content they once provided is also disappearing. So new outlets are springing up to fill the content void. It’s an exciting time, but I think we would do well not to abandon all the things that make for good journalism. The format is definitely changing, but there's no reason that the basics have to be discarded. Some places, like GlobalPost do seem to be a legitimate sources of news. But other sites are just sending people out with camera phones, but with no training and no resources. (Can you say "exploitation"?) These “new journalists” may be younger and closer in age to the target audience, but that’s hardly a credential!

Nonprofit journalism a la Mother Jones

Mother Jones is proving to be a test case for nonprofit journalism, according to the New York Times.

As newspapers and magazines suffer from declining subscriptions and advertising, the corporate, for-profit model is proving untenable (shrinking profits will do that, after all). Without the pressure of EPS, the nonprofit model, which relies on not just traditional revenue streams but also endowments, may be a better-suited model for the journalism industry.

Of course, the nonprofit model is not without its own problems. Sources of funding are shrinking due to the pesky stock market crisis, and there does have to be a firewall between the donors and the editorial board. The same consideration exists in traditional media, but the appearance of influence is even greater with endowments. If one entity is footing a substantial portion of the bill, the question is in the air, whether it's justifiable or not. It is probably one of the most frequently asked questions about the Christian Science Monitor, for example, is it a "real," independent newspaper? They have successfully answered the question, though, and I suppose if other newspapers and magazines go that route they will navigate it as well. And, of course, if it becomes a more widespread model and less of a rarity, it will become more accepted.

In short, it's all about finding a revenue stream to replace advertising and being able to provide quality journalism (well-written and sourced with original reporting--in case you need a definition). And, of course, whether enough people are interested in reading it and supporting it is probably the real bottom line.

Life in the big city—and Newark

I never really had an issue with Newark, until I started staying there. (To know it is to hate it.)

This past weekend, I was in New York for meetings, but stuck in Newark at night. The commute itself, a little over an hour on a good day, wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the 11-hour work days.

I’ve been staying at the Robert Treat Hotel, which is a Best Western. (Not to be snobby, but that pretty much sums it up.) After having dinner with colleagues in Manhattan, I got there that night at 10:30--incredibly early by my internal clock. Since I had spent almost every waking hour that day and the day before in the company of my colleagues and I don’t like being confined in a hotel room (even though most are about as big as my apartment), I decided to go to the hotel restaurant for a drink and a change of scenery.

Well, as it turned out, there was a wedding party staying at the hotel and they had closed the restaurant for a private party. There was no other place nearby to go, and I was under strict orders not to walk around downtown Newark at night. (One warning I might have ignored, but by the time I heard the third one, I figured if I didn’t heed it I would be a prime candidate for a karmic dummy slap, so I decided to stay put.) The host-person at the restaurant told me they would serve me a drink, but I would have to drink it “over there.” I assumed that he was pointing to a lounge. So I got my drink and went “over there.” But, to my surprise, “over there” turned out to be this little room off to the side of the restaurant that had four tables set up. A waiter came over and promptly took off the settings on the table I selected, and then I was left alone to drink my drink, totally defeating the purpose of going there in the first place.

A funny thing did happen on the elevator going back to my room. I was going to the 10th floor, and this crowd of people got on the elevator with me. (It had been an African wedding, by the way, so most were dressed in traditional attire.) The mother of the bride and some members of her family got on (going to the 7th floor) and a friend of a friend of the mother got on, also going to the 10th floor. While we were waiting for everyone to get on board and all the way up, the friend effused to the mother about how beautiful her daughter was, what a wonderful couple they made, how delightful the wedding was, she barely took a breath between praises. However, as soon as the family got off the elevator and we resumed our ascent, she promptly stated, “I pray they last the year” and then laughed a humorless laugh as we reached our floor, said goodnight, and parted ways.

Where are the photos?

It's not just the flag-draped coffins we aren't seeing: The New York Times takes a look at the disparity between the number of casualties in Iraq and the number of photos coming across the wires.

Bald is beautiful...

...or at least it'll keep you cool.

Speaking of hair, or in this case lack of it, New York Times writer Glenn Collins took some time during the recent heat wave to visit New York barber shops and see what the guys were up to. Not surprisingly, men across the city are taking it off. Taking it all off.

Why not? If it can be a fashion or a political statement or even a way to stave off looking one's age, why not be a way to keep cool? Of course, it's a men only kinda thing, unless you're Sinead O'Connor or are angling for a part in a Star Trek movie.