Comments on: What journalism is

By: Dilyan Damyanov

Dilyan Damyanov — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:57:54 +0000

Sam, thanks for your comment. The “tiny” thing has been corrected. Apologies.

By: Sam Shepherd

Sam Shepherd — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:19:17 +0000

As it happens I’ve revised my opinion since that comment about news organisations giving journalists the chance to do their job because it’s the point of being a journalist… not because I don’t think that’s true, but because I’ve realised that I think that BECAUSE I’m a journalist.
What’s great about your post is that it reveals a desire for news, but I wrote a blog post yesterday wondering how many of our future customers actually have an appetite for the news we produce?
What if there isn’t enough of a market for what we in local news do – as important and vital to democracy as we think it is – to sustain a business? What do we do then? Carry on providing a service that most people aren’t interested it? Redefine as so important a service that it should be funded in a not-for-profit way? Or follow the Spot.us crowdfunding model. Paul Bradshaw is working on something similar for the Knight News Challenge with Help Me Investigate – but as he says, it’s about supporting journalism, not saving the news industry … because they are two very different propositions.
(And one tiny thing… I’m a she, not a he.)

By: 100 Strangers | Story Review

100 Strangers | Story Review — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:18:34 +0000

[...] Story Review There is more than one way to tell a story « What journalism is [...]

By: Vanya Damyanova

Vanya Damyanova — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:12:24 +0000

Cheers for that post! Thank you for not letting an interesting discussion like that die out and also giving me the opportunity to read so many other pieces on the topic.
In a few words here I would like to describe my perception of the journalistic duty, so to speak.
I did not study journalism at the university. I studied German language and literature. All about my work at present I have learned from trainers at our firm, and yes it did include re-writing of press releases. I was a bit upset when I read in several posts during the discussion that an activity like that should be labeled and separated from the other „traditional“ journalistic duties.
After some serious thought on what I have read and heard as part of that discussion I realized that the people involved despite their different opinions have something in common – they care about their work.
For me that is the most important here and that is why I believe that no matter what shape it will take in the future journalism will always exist, because there will always be people who have the natural urge of gathering information and reporting it back to the public, there will always be people who would want to „bring the news“.
What startled me was how folks with so much experience in the field are kicking against the changes in the media business. Their arguments sounded to me like those of old-school philosophers who claim they had found the meaning of existence and refuse to accept new ideas because it may turn out they had found nothing.
As I see it, the more experienced journalists should be „torch bearers“ for the youngsters in the industry – pass on their knowledge, keep alive the values of the business. What they should not do, however, is stand in the way of change, as it will happen anyway with or without them.
People who aim at competing with the trained journalists, on the other hand, should bear in mind that they need help to shape their ideas. Natural talent is a great thing but still needs to be trained.
And here is my reader’s opinion: I love reading a well-written story which goes deep into detail and analyzes an event from all angles, but God help the man who stops me from reading my favourite business news in the morning!

By: vanya_damyanova (vanya_damyanova)

vanya_damyanova (vanya_damyanova) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:42:37 +0000

Retweeting @dilyan_damyanov: Latest blog post: What journalism is: A rather heated discussion on the role of.. http://is.gd/6J4F