Collective Independent Journalism IS the Future of News

Few who follow the world of news gathering and journalism have missed the fact that traditional newspapers are dying. Even the hallowed New York Times is in financial difficulty. In early 2009 Michael Hirschorn wrote an article in the Atlantic magazine suggesting that the New York Times company might even need to declare bankruptcy this year (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200901/new-york-times). While the Times responded that reports of its demise were exaggerated, few doubt that the company remains in trouble. Some analysts have suggested that cost cuts of 20% each year for the next two years at least will be essential for the organization's possible survival. Others have suggested charging a subscription fee for access to the New York Times' website (http://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/new-york-times-were-not-going-bankrupt-in-may-nyt). In December of 2008, the Fitch Ratings service made the following prediction:

"More newspapers and news­paper groups will default, be shut down and be liquidated in 2010 and several cities could go without a daily print newspaper by 2011.”

What has happened to the newspaper? Perhaps a comedian on the Comedy Central program, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" put it best. He asked the editor of the Times in an interview why people should continue paying for news that is already a day old, when they can get last hour's news for free off the internet. Tossing a copy of the Times on the editor's desk, he nonchalantly asked him to point out one story of something that happened today. The newspaper, once the most easily accessible and most up-to-date source of print news, is now "old news."

What will fill the void created when venerable newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post and even the New York Times go out of business? Certainly some of the void will be filled by television and radio news stations. But these sources of news are cumbersome and, to use a technological phrase, "sequentially accessed." Suppose you want to know the sports scores for a particular team, the local weather for tomorrow, or an update on the car crash you just passed. Radio and television may give you the information you want, eventually. But first consumers must listen to information for which they have little or no use or interest. Print (or on screen) media has the advantage of being "randomly accessed." Users can look for precisely the information they want. For that reason alone television and radio will not be the replacement for newspapers. What has driven the newspapers out of business is not radio and television, but internet-based news services.

But if the internet is to fill the void left by the newspapers, a new business model for news reporting must also be developed. As the article in the Atlantic made clear, what is driving newspapers under is the hits to their bottom line: the cost of paying a full time staff, business and overhead expenses while losing revenue from subscriptions. There is also a loss of confidence in the quality of their reporting. There is a sense that stories in the "main stream media" are no longer free of bias, but themselves are written to serve a larger agenda. The old proverb, "he who pays the piper calls the tune," is seen by many to apply to professional reporters for large scale news organizations.

Which brings us back to the question: what will fill the void left by the old newspapers? One strong candidate for the position is Newswire.net, a social network of journalists working from a completely different model than the old newspaper companies. Newswire has a minimal editorial staff, and so far less overhead than the old paper organizations. Rather than depending on paid staff, Newswire leverages the talents of the more than 12 million independent journalists already writing articles and doing reporting.

The patent-pending technology of Newswire works this way. Journalists and writers can submit samples of their original writing for review by Newswire's editors. On approval, applicants sign the Newswire code of conduct and become journalists credentialed under the Newswire banner. Each reporter will have their own press credentials which can be confirmed electronically or over the phone with the editorial staff of Newswire. Newswire will promote the journalistic work of these writers, will also giving them opportunities to earn income by writing press releases for small businesses and organizations.

Old newspapers depended on subscriptions to pay their staff, operating expenses and the cost of the papers themselves. This old business model will not survive into the 21st century. Organizations like Newswire, with their completely new business model and their democratization of the news reporting process, will be the ones to carry the newspapers' banner into the future.