Comments on: Time to redefine news

By: Media sites become aggregators of content | BetaTales

Media sites become aggregators of content | BetaTales — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:25:58 +0000

[...] site probably will also to a much larger extent connect to the big social networks, for instance by including users personal news feeds on the news pages of the media site, as we have discussed [...]

By: Crisis advice for newspaper executives | BetaTales

Crisis advice for newspaper executives | BetaTales — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:46:50 +0000

[...] Online: Broaden definition of news to include micro-personal [...]

By: TechWag » Resistance is Futile

TechWag » Resistance is Futile — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:31:55 +0000

[...] Time to redefine news [...]

By: Tord E

Tord E — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:48:06 +0000

Hi John. Congratulations on your new blog. Interesting stuff!

When I have given talks and held courses on new media for Norwegian journalists and editors over the last year I have presented to them the following statement:

Facebook is a news agency for you and your firends.

You get updates on what’s going on with you and your friends, and what they are paying attention to, just like both you and Steve point out. Many news outlets tap into this through “share on facebook” and such functions.

That’s about how far many are willing to go, if the sentiment of those I have proposed this to is anything to go by. Many journalists lables Facebook and such services as personal or private and thus by extension trivial.

I think media outlets need to get past such attitudes and find better ways to tap into the social networks. Especially in Norway where 1.3 million of a population of 4.7 are registered on Facebook. 1 million of those are under 30. And in the age bracket 16 to 19 as many as 89 % are registered.

Not many news site can match those numbers. The personal is important.

By: Steve Outing

Steve Outing — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:12:15 +0000

John: Thanks for noticing my E&P column on this topic. That came out in late September, and I’ve been disappointed that it didn’t generate more discussion or notice. I think this is a really important conversation to be having. But to most traditional news editors, I think it sounds like I’m writing from Mars. Yet I’m convinced that they desperately need to start thinking outside their old boxes in order for their newspapers and traditional news outlets to survive. Young people are voting with their keyboards and phone keypads/screens, consuming the “news” about their friends from social networks. Once again, the audience moves on and gets its needs met, but editors and publishers don’t think to adjust to continuing serving them.