Journalism, blogs and the future
Herewith an exchange with a University of Minnesota student:

I am a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and am writing my final paper for a class, "The Future of News: Is Journalism Dead?" During the next few days, I would love to get your answers to a couple of questions.

The class deals with journalism's role in democracy and what kind of future we can expect journalism to have. For my paper, I'm focusing on web logs and their effects on more traditional forms of journalism, mainly newspapers, as well as their possible impact on the future of journalism. My questions for you are the following:

1) Why did you decide to start your own blog?

2) What advantages/disadvantages do you think blogs have over more traditional forms of journalism?

3) What role do you see blogs playing in the future (fading away, replacing other forms of media, etc...)

Thank you so much for your time! Any answers you could give would greatly enhance my work.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lippman

Hi Elizabeth,
I will comment in the same order as your questions:

1. To have a place to post thoughts with regularity and to open an exchange with others. I hope to cause someone else to think about the subject and open a dialogue.

2. I used to write a weekly column (see my website www.archibald99.com ) but it had only a local audience and limited circulation in a weekly community newspaper. I also did book reviews for a major newspaper in central South Carolina. The blog has the potential of an indefinite audience throughout the world. I stress "potential" because with minor exceptions I have not experienced feedback from the backwaters of the globe. Print journalism is very selective. Papers run 40-60% or 45-55% in terms of news and advertising space respectively. The number of column inches devoted to commentary is miniscule in the overall context, and most often reflects (as in looking in a mirror) the political persuasion of the paper's editors. It is funny but Op-Ed is supposed to mean something other than "on the opposite page." Yet many papers select columns only from columnists with whom they are in political-sync, and they do not freely give space to counterpoint thinking. The so-called "free press" in America is free only to those who own a newspaper. A blog is independent and reflects individuality. It gets thrown out there in cyberspace and anyone can respond from any perspective.

3. There are so many blogs out there. A great deal of them are idiotic, they talk about bathing cats, worshiping stars and people's personal failures in relationships. (I realize the blogs I refer to as "idiotic" are probably serious to their authors.) As such things proliferate the number of "hardly anyone cares" blogs will be the millstone around the neck of serious bloggers. Until serious bloggers find a way to more widely publicize the existence of blogs and develop a following they will remain a curious niche in the information age. I do not see them as threats to the print, radio or television media. Recent studies show most people who have a computer in their home use it for e-mail. Writing, keeping books, storing pictures and recording music are a distant second. Most of the people I know who have computers do not have web sites; they do not understand blogs and are afraid to tackle the learning job.
4. I wish you well in your studies and hope these views are helpful.

Francis X. Archibald

If not already there, visit my website.
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