Innovative Journalism versus Infotainment

This week’s readings and discussions focused on the changing arena of news; who determines the news, what the news is and where the news is. In our text, The News About the News, authors Leonard Downie Jr. and Robert G. Kaiser stressed the importance that journalism (although changing) is still very much alive and important. Several examples were presented on journalism that’s made a difference, including the IRS and its sudden turn-about in giving Scientology tax-exempt status as a church (Downie, 30). A brief history of American journalism also revealed some of the changes our country has experienced in how they receive, perceive and prefer their news, and how today, more than ever, Americans are turning to the Internet for news (Downie, 199, 200). Finally, the text touched on where the news is headed and how we, as journalists, can prepare for such changes. Likewise, in class, we discussed the fact that communication is becoming increasingly mediated and that the news has an intense presence on the Internet (lecture 8/29/06). Our role as journalists then, in a time when everyone can be a journalist, is to find a way to reach the audience. Also, as we said in class, our focus must shift from geographic communities to communities of interest (lecture 8/29, 31/06).

As with the dawn of radio and later television, journalism is headed toward the newest medium. Actually, it’s already landed there and pervades just about any online surfing anyone does. It’s hard to check your e-mail, Facebook or shop online and not get a pop-up for a news site, receive an e-mail news update or see a banner for a news or blogging site somewhere along the way. Although print and broadcast mediums of journalism are still very much alive, most newspapers and news stations also have some kind of online supplement or presence. And in this age of increasing reliance on the Internet, why wouldn’t citizens use the Internet as their source of news? It’s fast, efficient and built around them. Not to mention that they can participate. Bloggers can write about what they deem to be news, youtube.com offers a unique forum for anyone to broadcast their own news (like whistleblower Michael De Kort), search engines allow for narrow story searches and advanced web browsers have special tabs and navigational tools that individualize news. Choice truly rules the day. And with this choice, media must be flexible enough to combine new mediums with the old. "This is a time if experimentation for all news media as they try to adapt revolutionary new technology," (Downie, 199).

Living in the little bubble of the Missouri Journalism School, some of us still think everyone in Columbia reads, views or listens to our stories, but, if we’re honest with ourselves, we know that’s not true. A study at the Poynter Institute from the 1990s, called Eyes on the News, showed that readership of newspapers, defined as reading the first line of text, was at a mere 25 percent—a far cry from what most journalists strive for (Poynter.org). And what we may think of as the most important stories, those about politics, civic issues or education are not what the masses deem important. People, especially generation Xers and younger, have been shown to gravitate toward entertainment-geared news.

Given that the nature of news is shifting to at least incorporate, if not one day dominate, the medium of the Internet and that there are certainly divergent views of what news is between journalists and the audience, journalists have a hefty challenge in front of them. Unlike the days of Watergate, it’s not to be the best watchdog possible (although that’s still important), but instead it’s to be an innovator. We’ve proven we can write well, that we can inform the masses and call out big business and the government when they’ve done wrong; but can we be creative? Can we, as professionals, combine our news judgment with strategies to reach an audience that might not care about the top news story? I think we can, but it certainly is a new role for journalists to be taking on, and according to Downie and Kaiser, it may not have happened yet.

"With a few exceptions, attempts at synergy have produced relatively little additional original or improved journalism or new revenue. They mostly have 'repurposed' (another news term) journalism already being produced by one news medium for use by another," (Downie, 200).

In short, we're not there yet, and perhaps that's because we (as a profession) are still figuring out where we're going. Of course we must still inform and explain, but we must also be thoughtful toward our audience and give a little more of what studies show they want; and we can't just do that by dumping duplicate content online. Filling the front page of the Missourian with celebrity gossip is not my suggestion, but rather, analyze what it is about entertainment news that readers/listeners/viewers enjoy and use that to design pages, package broadcasts and write stories. Perhaps re-organization or the addition of more entertainment information is also needed. In any case, there’s certainly not a need to drop everything we’ve ever learned about what is news and clone the National Enquirer, but figuring out specifically what in that tabloid draws people in and then using it in a newspaper may not be a bad idea. Print media will have to be especially innovative, but journalists should also bare in mind that they can offer something unique. As Downie and Kaiser said in regards to a New York Times article that ran in the late 1990s, "Both the characters and the story line were intriguing, new and unexpected -- the essence of a good story," (Downie 66). How many of our stories are actually "new and unexpected"? So many come across as mundane, or simply lacking an element of intruige.

The same can be said for television and radio needing to change format and content. Fox, although I realize their news judgment is quite off kilter, has done a good job with changing their news format with a segment called “Around the World in 80 Seconds.” Basically, viewers get a glimpse of what’s going on in the world in less than two minutes, and although I personally find the accompanying music annoying, it is an effort to make the news more accessible for a busier and perhaps younger audience.

This new venture in news asks a lot of journalists, but if part of our goal is to give readers what they need and want, then changes must be made and our profession must be thoughtful in approaching news and the way it’s presented to maintain readership, viewers and listeners. We must differentiate ourselves from the online marketplace for news and give audience members something they can’t get online, while still maintaining a strong Web presence for synergy. It’s going to be a balancing act, especially between innovative journalism and infotainment.

Autobiography

“Good morning, Pleasant Lea Junior High…” It was at that point that I knew I wanted to be a broadcast journalist. I was in the eighth grade and had just moved to Lee’s Summit. They told me that I had to have a speech class before I could take the television production class, but little did they know, I taken speech at my previous school. So, once they got my transcripts I was good to go. Being able to write, report, edit and produce the weekly news for the school was an amazing experience. I didn’t know what type of career that was called, but I wanted to do the news. My parents introduced me to broadcast journalism.
My mother, Pat, graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in electrical engineer. She currently works at St. Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, MO. My father, Stan Beatty, also graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Computer Science. He currently works for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, MO. My brother currently attends Cornell University where he is studying engineering. So, I’m the only person in my family without the desire to pursue a technical degree. Because of that I thought it would be difficult for my parents to introduce me to my passion, but they tried their hardest and succeeded.
I decided that I wanted to attend Hampton University to study journalism. When I was still in high school, Hampton had just opened a state of the art journalism school with a grant from Scripps Howard News Service. The school was perfect: new journalism school, a historically Black university and it was in a beautiful city on the ocean. What else could I ask for? Then, my parents broke the news: the University of Missouri (which is only 2 hours from home) has the best journalism school in the country. So I had to make a decision. Though it isn’t what I wanted I can say that my experience at MU has paid off.
Besides journalism, my faith is very important to me. I am very involved in church both at home in Kansas City and at school in Columbia. At home I attend Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church. I was president of the youth group and sang soprano in the youth choir. Here, in Columbia, I attend Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. I am involved with the youth ministry as a mentor as well as Bible study leader.
Another experience that changed my life was the opportunity to study abroad during the summer of 2005. I went to Sydney, Australia to take Cross-Cultural Journalism. I experienced a cultural totally different, but yet similar to American culture. The people were friendly and interested in learning more about in America. There were so many different plants, trees, and animals that are native to Australia that I had never seen that make the landscape so beautiful. I hiked up mountains and volcanoes (New Zealand) several times, which is something I had never done before. I experienced so many things that I had never experienced before.
My major at the MU is broadcast journalism. Once I graduate from the University of Missouri School of Journalism I plan to attend business school at Duke University. I want to focus on entrepreneurship so that I can own my own media company. I’m not sure if news is exactly what I want to pursue, but I do want to still be involved with forms of new media including television, radio, and online. Personally I want to have a family and be successful in that arena of my life. I’m not sure how many children I would like to have, but I know that I want to have children. After that I’m not sure where else I want to go in my life. I want to make sure that I travel with my children so that they can see and experience new and different cultures.

Lynn's Line

There are no stats to back me up on this, so what I am about to say is strictly a hypothesis based on my feelings from the classes I have taken and the people that I have met during the last couple of years in the Missouri school of Journalism.

I am a rare journalism student at Mizzou because I am not studying journalism at Missouri due to having a strong desire to one day be a great journalist. On the contrary, I am studying journalism at Missouri because of my deep love and passion for sports.

Growing up, the one common bond that could always bring my extended family together was sports. It was the single entity that made my father and I best friends. Whether we were watching the Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears or White Sox we were happy regardless of the result.

My dad, who remains the most influential person in my life, enrolled me in the hockey, basketball, soccer and baseball leagues in the community park district. My strongest sport was hockey where I served as the goaltender, and won the top net minder award on three separate occasions during my 10-year career. I was really good at standing between the pipes and just letting the black rubber disc hit any part of my body it could find.

Baseball was my true passion, however; as I played on many traveling teams and through my high school career as an above average pitcher and third baseman. Unfortunately, it was clear from an early age that I was never going to go on to be the next Sandy Koufax, Brooks Robinson or Dominik Hasek. The physical ability that separates elite athletes from the rest must have passed me by. But the analytical aspect caught on and hasn’t left.

At the age of 8, when I got my first box of Donruss baseball cards from the local card shop, I was like Dustin Hoffman’s character Raymond in “Rain Man.” No, I wasn’t autistic and maybe this comparison lacks sensitivity. Nevertheless, I had a unique ability to study and remember each player’s statistics and obscure facts about their careers. As time went on, I could name the starting lineups for every team in every sport and winning sports trivia contests wasn’t even a question.

As I continued to get older and smarter about sports topics I began to become critical of players and their actions on or off the field. I would study their habits—what is fundamentally solid about their swings? Does a certain player like to pass or shoot in a specific situation? Who should be paired on the same line for a run to the Stanley Cup?

The first class I stepped into in high school was an introductory journalism class taught by a very well respected woman named Susan Tantillo. While I never enjoyed writing and didn’t consider myself very good at it, she saw something in me that no one had before. She pushed me to a level I never thought possible and eventually I became the sports editor of the school newspaper that she ran until my junior year.

This is the time when the light bulb went off in my head. If I loved sports so much, and wanted to remain involved in some way that wasn’t on the playing field, journalism was the key. Ms. Tantillo helped me realize that to make a living in journalism it was important to start early and make connections. I acquired my first internship at Pro Football Weekly Magazine, where I worked for two years. During that time I attended six Chicago Bears games with a media credential and was like a kid in a candy shop. Every time I went into the locker rooms after the game I was star struck and I knew this was the life for me.

Since being accepted into the top journalism school in the country, I have decided to make myself better rounded. While I chose the news editorial sequence, I have held internships at two major broadcasting networks: WGN-TV and Comcast SportsNet-Chicago. I also did some work for Sports Illustrated On Campus to help gain a small sense of the advertising world. Lacking a photogenic eye, I wisely stayed away from trying anything in photography.

My experiences to this point in journalism have been truly incredible. I’ve talked to many stars of the basketball, baseball and football world and walked on the playing surface of historic stadiums around the country. I can only hope that my future in the profession is as sweet as the past.

Of course, if I meet my goals it should be. In an ideal situation, I’d like to write a column for a major newspaper somewhere in the country. Thanks to Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser on “Pardon the Interruption,” sports columnists now double as TV personalities, and I hope to follow in their footsteps as well. While that might be a dream that doesn’t come true for quite some time, I believe that the numerous connections I have made thus far and the internships I have held will put my on the right path to success and make the Missouri Journalism school proud to call me an alum.

How I fell into Journalism

Mold really grosses me out. Mold on food, mold in a dingy house or anywhere else generally makes me recoil in disgust and become slightly ill. In fact, I have almost developed a full-blown phobia of mold, but it was mold that seduced me into becoming a journalist.

In my second year of high school, boundaries dictated that I transfer to the new school being built. I went from a Saint to a North Star. Life in North Star country (yes, that’s really what several school officials called it) was boring. So I immersed myself in as many extra-curricular activities as possible, one of which included the newspaper, which we named, The Stargazer. Yes, the astronomy theme continues. My parents and teachers had always said I was a strong writer, and although I never felt passionate about writing school assignments, I was excited to get in on the ground level of a club and have an important-sounding title.

That year I reported and bounced around as the editor for Features, Opinion and eventually News. True, part of the draw was getting out of class on several occasions to get the paper out by deadline, but covering the happenings of a new school community is fascinating in and of itself. Everything that was wrong with that place, we reported on. This was much to the chagrin of the administrators, but I like to think our taxpaying parents were pleased. And one day, near the end of our staff trip to a conference in San Francisco, our advisor gave us our best scoop yet: St. Charles East High School (my old high school across town) was infested with mold. This mold was not your average mold, it was Stachyobotris, a thick, black fungus that is known to cause cancer and other various ailments to those who are exposed to it.

Of course, the school district was trying to gloss over this issue as much as possible, but upon inspection by the health department, the school was closed indefinitely and East-siders were routed over to North High School for the remaining school year. Besides only having to go to school from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, this also gave The Stargazer staff the biggest story it had seen yet.

Covering such a controversial issue as a teenager, not to mention as a student in the school district and someone who had been exposed to this mold for a year, was a challenge to say the least. But it was hands-down the most rewarding reporting I have done to date. The Stargazer uncovered much more dirt on the district than the local paper, and the moldy school made headlines on World News Tonight and CNN. A Chicago Tribune reporter even interviewed our staff and commended us in her column. I am convinced that several school administrators really disliked me after covering the mold story, and probably regretted ever having given the go-ahead for a school newspaper, but meanwhile I had completely fallen for journalism.

From high school on, I thought I wanted to be a reporter. But I’ve since realized that my strong type-A personality and creative side better suit the editing and design aspects of journalism. Actually, from the age of five and until high school, when I decided it was an impractical career choice, I wanted to pursue fashion design. So the fact that eight years later I’m going back to that (clothes, a newspaper—it’s all relative) is fun.

~Tara