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I am live-blogging the panel discussion for Old Media vs. New Media at the Defending the American Dream Texas Summit. I will be posting updates every few minutes.
Panel participants:
- John Fund – Editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal
- Dan Gainor – Vice President of the Business and Media Institute
- Douglas Kirk – Editor of the Bulverde Standard
- Sherry Sylvester – Sherry Sylvester Communications
3:05 – Introductions by Sherry Sylvester
3:07 – “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I would not hesitate to prefer the latter.” Thomas Jefferson, in 1801
3:09 – words, words, words the media is great, yeah, yeah, yeah, newspapers are wonderful, ………….zzzzzzzzz
3:11 – The difference between old media and new media. Fox, WSJ, NY Times, has worldwide influence, but they do not cover local politics and local issues. Local newspapers are thriving. Editorials in local newspapers very influential. Republicans in Texas have countered liberal local media using direct mail. That is old media vs. old media.
3:15 – Basically all newspapers owned by four conglomerates. Austen Statesman very biased to Democrats. The challenge in Texas is countering the dominate liberal local media.
3:18 – Dan Gainor on the state of old media. A state of confusion. Newspapers closing shop, shutting down, 4000 jobs lost in mainstream media since year 2000. Four stories since yesterday about media layoffs and buyouts. However, media is not headed for the dustbin. They are changing. Layoffs on the print side but the online side is booming. A media transformation is going on. AP is moving to a news analysis approach as a response to bloggers. How do bloggers compete as the mainstream media tries to become more like bloggers? Credibility is an issue, — accuracy, spelling, grammar, etc. Have someone edit and fact check information when it is important and you are breaking it. Creativity will get attention. Bloggers should have files on the people they cover such as editors and reporters. Use bias revealed in a reporter’s opinion piece to hold them accountable later.
3:32 Douglas Kirk- Has been in the newspaper business for 40 years. Currently owner/operator of family run press. Samsphere material includes a “How to write a letter to the editor” article in their publication. New media recognizes that the old media is still important.
3:38 One audience member is asleep. Several others look like they are getting close. The panel content is not bad, it just isn’t interesting to those attending – it’s missing the mark.
3:40 Several people just left the room.
3:41 Google is currently scanning twenty-five years worth of his small town newspaper to put on the internet. Smalltownpapers.com has lists of other similar small town newspapers. Same purpose of newspapers and bloggers, so where is the revolution? Blogs are unedited. He claims the new media has too much liberty. Balderdash.
3:46 Panelists talking about old media not going away.
3:47 David Gainor – The traditional model is not sustainable but some model is. It is yet to be determined. Probably some kind of distributed workforce, with little overhead, more freelancers, someone with deep pockets buying the local media outlet as a non-profit. Washington Post using profits from Kaplan to support Washington Post and Newsweek.
3:50 Sherry Sylvester talking about new media leveraging content by using the old media.
3:52 Audience member talking about disinformation being provided by the new media and the old media’s kneejerk response.
3:53 Texas Press Association will send your article to all Texas newspapers for $600. Small town newspapers will publish lots of your material as long as it is free.
3:56 David Gainor suggests contacting bloggers directly who get information wrong about your cause.
3:58 Wrapping up
Businessandmedia.org is Dan Gainor’s website.
John Fund was a no-show. He probably heard that I had said he stopped doing research and writing long ago and was now relying upon gossip for his stories, and was just to embarrassed to face me.
