NDM News: The future of journalism: John Oliver and Clay Shirky
1) Go to the Nieman Lab webpage (part of Harvard university) and watch the video of Clay Shirky presenting to Harvard students. '
2) Play the clip AND read along with the transcript below to ensure you are following the argument. You need to watch from the beginning to 29.35 (the end of Shirky's presentation).
3) Why does Clay Shirky argue that 'accountability journalism' is so important and what example does he give of this?
Shirky quotes "Losing the News" and says that accountability journalism "the iron core of journalism and in particular the investigative journalism category, where three reporters are dispatched for a long period on a story that may or may not pan out."
4) What does Shirky say about the relationship between newspapers and advertisers? Which websites does he mention as having replaced major revenue-generators for newspapers (e.g. jobs, personal ads etc.)?
Advertisers were forced to overpay for the services they received, because there weren't many alternatives for reaching people with display ads or coupons. He mentions websites like Monster, Match and Craigslist, which are outdoing newspapers because they are the go-to place for whatever the person requires e.g selling a bike or listing a job.
5) Shirky talks about the 'unbundling of content'. This means people are reading newspapers in a different way. How does he suggest audiences are consuming news stories in the digital age?
Shirky suggests that people dont directly go to the news website for the news they want, instead it was linked on social media platforms e.g Twitter, which made you click on the story.
6) Shirky also talks about the power of shareable media. How does he suggest the child abuse scandal with the Catholic Church may have been different if the internet had been widespread in 1992?
He suggests that if the internet was used in 1992, the story would have become more popular and shared constantly, leading to a larger number of people reacting and engaging with the story. But because this wasn't the case back then, the Catholic Church managed to cover up the story and more so, less people knew and reacted to the horrifying events that were going on- which led to the story dying out. 7) Why does Shirky argue against paywalls?
He suggests that if newspapers have paywalls, less people will share news stories- a significant and controversial story like the Boston Priest case, would not be widely known and would gain less attention. He states that "value comes from republication and reuse"- the more people share the more trustworthy and reliable the news source becomes.
8) What is a 'social good'? In what way is journalism a 'social good'?
A social good is where a group of people just get together and do something for themselves. Journalism could be seen as a social good as journalists try an expose people who believe they can get away with crime, just because of their "powerful status"- when journalist work together to reveal stories like this, it makes people trust them and believe that they are doing it for the good of the society.9) Shirky says newspapers are in terminal decline. How does he suggest we can replace the important role in society newspapers play? What is the short-term danger to this solution that he describes?
He states we are headed into a long trough of decline in accountability journalism, because the old models are breaking faster than the new models can be put into place.
10) Look at the first question and answer regarding institutional power. Give us your own opinion: how important is it that major media brands such as the New York Times or the Guardian continue to stay in business and provide news?
I think it is very important for newspapers such as the Guardian and The New York Times to stay in business and provide news as they are known for publishing good quality journalism which is reliable. Their status as online newspapers aswell, boosts their credibility as most links made to news stories on social media platforms e.g Twitter, are sourced directly from them. They also provide a way in which a particularly young demographic engage with the news, which hopefully will slowly put an end to the decline in newspapers.
2) Play the clip AND read along with the transcript below to ensure you are following the argument. You need to watch from the beginning to 29.35 (the end of Shirky's presentation).
3) Why does Clay Shirky argue that 'accountability journalism' is so important and what example does he give of this?
Shirky quotes "Losing the News" and says that accountability journalism "the iron core of journalism and in particular the investigative journalism category, where three reporters are dispatched for a long period on a story that may or may not pan out."
4) What does Shirky say about the relationship between newspapers and advertisers? Which websites does he mention as having replaced major revenue-generators for newspapers (e.g. jobs, personal ads etc.)?
Advertisers were forced to overpay for the services they received, because there weren't many alternatives for reaching people with display ads or coupons. He mentions websites like Monster, Match and Craigslist, which are outdoing newspapers because they are the go-to place for whatever the person requires e.g selling a bike or listing a job.
5) Shirky talks about the 'unbundling of content'. This means people are reading newspapers in a different way. How does he suggest audiences are consuming news stories in the digital age?
Shirky suggests that people dont directly go to the news website for the news they want, instead it was linked on social media platforms e.g Twitter, which made you click on the story.
6) Shirky also talks about the power of shareable media. How does he suggest the child abuse scandal with the Catholic Church may have been different if the internet had been widespread in 1992?
He suggests that if the internet was used in 1992, the story would have become more popular and shared constantly, leading to a larger number of people reacting and engaging with the story. But because this wasn't the case back then, the Catholic Church managed to cover up the story and more so, less people knew and reacted to the horrifying events that were going on- which led to the story dying out. 7) Why does Shirky argue against paywalls?
He suggests that if newspapers have paywalls, less people will share news stories- a significant and controversial story like the Boston Priest case, would not be widely known and would gain less attention. He states that "value comes from republication and reuse"- the more people share the more trustworthy and reliable the news source becomes.
8) What is a 'social good'? In what way is journalism a 'social good'?
A social good is where a group of people just get together and do something for themselves. Journalism could be seen as a social good as journalists try an expose people who believe they can get away with crime, just because of their "powerful status"- when journalist work together to reveal stories like this, it makes people trust them and believe that they are doing it for the good of the society.9) Shirky says newspapers are in terminal decline. How does he suggest we can replace the important role in society newspapers play? What is the short-term danger to this solution that he describes?
He states we are headed into a long trough of decline in accountability journalism, because the old models are breaking faster than the new models can be put into place.
10) Look at the first question and answer regarding institutional power. Give us your own opinion: how important is it that major media brands such as the New York Times or the Guardian continue to stay in business and provide news?
I think it is very important for newspapers such as the Guardian and The New York Times to stay in business and provide news as they are known for publishing good quality journalism which is reliable. Their status as online newspapers aswell, boosts their credibility as most links made to news stories on social media platforms e.g Twitter, are sourced directly from them. They also provide a way in which a particularly young demographic engage with the news, which hopefully will slowly put an end to the decline in newspapers.
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