Sub Standard Journalism

Watch it Here!

Media Watch, the guardian of quality journalism in Australia, appears to be one of the only outlets not afraid of telling it like it is.
Addressing the issue of quality journalism as a feature of the internet, it dedicated an entire episode to this pressing issue.
Initially it satirises how ridiculous the cover page of the newspaper online is "the wonders of journalism online" Johnathon Holmes mocked.

Roy Greenslade states that the Newspaper format is a "dead duck". Now writing a blog online (for the UKs Guardian) hebelieves that the movement to newspaper is a purely a matter of lack of advertising revenue.

Australian newspaper sales have held up better than UK and US. However, it is believe that many of Australia's larger newspapers are heading for trouble- due to the classified revenue moving straight to the online format.(Eric Beecher- creator of Crikey.com)
It is the format for advertisers, that makes the internet more appealing.( eg $40,000 for a classified ad in a newspaper is $4000 online.)

Newspapers need to diversify if they are going to survive says Van Niekerk. It is the ever expanding content that is adding onto the revenue to maintain the quality journalism.
However, Holmes counteracts that it is not going to replace the revenue (a realist) and he is correct.
Beecher believes we are defying trends if the new diversification can maintain everything as is.

The most important statement made in the episode is that Newspapers are going to need to adapt a new form of business model to fund quality journalism. If the majors can no longer afford the majority of editorial staff, the capital city offices and international bureaus than quality journalism is going to suffer. Beecher admits that no model has worked on a higher scale, that it is presently acceptable on a local level.
What makes it most difficult is that the best of journalism on a world scale, is currently available, mainly for free, online though they are not yet making any money. This is the most important thing to solve. However, until a general (and possibly international) concept is addressed, then any attempt to rectify the situation will falter.
It can not last- if the advertising physically is paying for it.
Greenslade questions if it can be supported long enough to build and sustain a new advertising base to sustain quality journalism into the future.

Holmes also brings up that it will be quality journalism in the hands of the consumer rather than the communicator (or journalist).

Greenslade says that amateur journalist will be the new approach to journalism, possibly the saving grace. Though this concept of democratic journalism can be frightening- there will be no-one to blame if it is wrong and no-one to check if it is right, and that will become one of the major difficulties coming into the future.

In quality journalism- where newspapers succeed online is by getting their corrections out much faster. However journalists believe that the mounting pressures and times make it more difficult for them to make better stories- and smaller staff numbers. and that celebrity is more interesting than polititcs.

To gain new online readers- Fairfax is risking its quality journalism history - its entertainment focused front page. to gain new readership- eg. SMH online- never traditionally a tabloid paper.
vs guardian and Washington post aren't doing this.
and that has something to do with loyalty. If the value or content is different then people wont transfer their loyalties. Van N is stating that fairfax is doing it successfully. However, if establishing an audience base in this way rather than maintaining previous consumers... alienatation. what happens to their news interests.

Journalists will be out of a job quite soon. Allegedly.