“Read less and know more”? Count me in!
The rapid and drastic changes that are molding the face of new media are scaring many people in the biz today. After watching this video interview of Michael Wolff, creator of the site Newser.com, I have to say, my world was rocked. As a journalism student with a new media background, this guy is getting the message out there (a message that is the core of our curriculum here at DePaul) that change is here, and you either swim with it, or you sink.
Wolff has adapted to a changing market, and the strides in technology which now completely change the way we consume news. His site, newser.com, is not the only site to try its hand at aggregation however. A simple internet search will show you a host of aggregator sites like feedreader or even good old Google which is the first site I ever used for such ventures. While some sites do it on a more local level (like WindyCitizen), Wolff has aimed higher.
That the New York Times is no longer the height of journalism, is a claim that Wolff stands by proudly. With so much ‘news’ content being generated by citizens and journalists alike, who’s to say that the New York Times can give you the best perspective on local, or nationwide issues effecting any number of sub-groups or minorities. Sure, it has the budget to tell a hell of a story, but maybe Wolff is right in calling this traditionally top shelf journalism “gassy”. Strides in technology have enabled us to customize our news and find (aggregate) exactly what we want, how we want it. Now thanks to bloggers and local sites more content is available to shed light on different aspects of stories. The New York Times content might be like a one-size fits all moo-moo. A broad view on a big topic. But with news aggregations, we can find any size, perspective, view or attitude that is meaningful to us.
The line that separates news and plain old content (blogs, rants, citizen reporting) is blurry….but even Wolff admits that this snatch and grab trend will lead to a responsibility on the part of aggregators to decide what is newsworthy. While the anchors had a hard time believing that anything newsworthy or legitimate could come from the non-official sources like Bloggers, Wolff’s sneaky tactic of grabbing everything on the web and condensing it into the good, the ‘need to know’ and the hyperlocal creates a bit of a news hot-dog. It tastes delicious and in this case it brings you to a point fast….but what goes into it…well does it really matter?
