Industry News

The Winner of the Purple Cow is….

As most of yall know I have been running a “contest” for the past two weeks for a Purple Cow by Seth Godin. To enter this contest all you had to do was send me your answer to the following question.

“How do you think the creation of the blogosphere and its later monetisation has effected the quality of journalism within both new and old media?”

The winner of the contest is Michael from Problogdesign with the below answer.
All of the answers were good and I thank everyone for participating. Surprisingly none of the answers took the side I would have chosen so expect to see my answer and my replies to those of you who did answer in a post this week.

Great question Jacob. I believe that the creation of the blogosphere has greatly increased the quality of journalism.

In old media, we were stuck in a fairly ridged gutter. You had a selection of 4 or 5 decent newspapers, and each newspaper had a slightly different slant, or of watching a quick news roundup on the TV/radio.

The blogosphere has changed everything because it has given everyone a voice. As a reader, you have a choice of not just a few sources, but of hundreds of different sources. Everyone can find a blog with a style that suits them. It makes news much more enjoyable to read.

The depth of information has also increased. Whilst in a newspaper, your topic of interest may have been limited to a 400 word column once a week, in the blogosphere, there is a probably a full blog dedicated to it. The amount of information available is far greater this way, and it is being written by someone with a passion for it.

The web has also changed how we get the news. The web is a much more flexible medium than newspapers, TV or radio ever where. What is the best way of digesting information daily? Long articles? Quick snippets and bulleted lists? Audio recordings? Videos? The web has made it all possible, and through continuous experimentation, we are slowly perfecting various approaches.

The greatest improvement however has been the very fundamental of how we receive the news. It is no longer a one sided affair. In old media, we heard the news and that was all. In new media, we hear, and then we can give our opinions. Instead of talking to us, journalists are talking with us. They are able to give their thoughts and listen to ours. The discussion that follows is often more valuable than the original article ever could be (A great example is the BBC’s The Editors’ Blog).

The monetization of the blogosphere is crucial because it has made the blogosphere sustainable. Blogging is no longer just a pass-time, or a collection of personal sites. It has become a valuable industry, and a respectable industry. The monetization has allowed the quality of blogs to greatly increase (Full-time writers, professional designs, marketing etc.), making blogs a reliable way of obtaining the news.