Just the other day I posted criticism of decorum at unmoderated newspaper Web sites. On Tuesday, Editor & Publisher posted a terrific column by Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, entitled "The Fundamental Truths of Our Business."
Michael makes a lot of great points, including:
"Interactivity must be transparent to be believed. Apart from the rare whistle-blower, anonymity only provides cover to perpetuate ill intent. That is why we have attracted too many readers with lifestyle traits listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," he writes. "Worse, we designed Web pages that blurred lines between news and commentary. Now many readers do not distinguish between the two, which explains why online journalism often seems off-putting to the type of user we had hoped to attract: ones with a social conscience."
Michael touches all the bases from beat structure to story content to style. If you are interested in what is going down these days at daily newspapers, this is a must read! Check it out:
The Fundamental Truths of Our Business
More later,
Mark
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