I notice that the panel discussion on hyper-local news outlets mentioned in the Where We Live podcast is sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of the Public Relations Society.
We have not discussed it in class, but perhaps this is what will replace journalism: Public relations.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says as of 2006, there were about 243,000 "public relations specialists" in the US. They outnumbered reporters by almost 4 to 1. And that was three years ago -- There are fewer reporters now.
Some people think this is a healthy thing. Mr. Cavanaugh points out that people are able to access more journalism today than in the past. This is correct as far as it goes. People can access articles instantly from all over the world on the web. Twenty years ago newspapers from out-of-town were hard to get. But even though it is easier to get the journalism that is produced, it is still important that the investigatory work be done so there are stories worth looking for. Some of these stories alter governments, businesses, or inform people about problems they did not know about before.
A professor I had at UConn who had worked in both journalism and public relations said the difference between a spokesperson and a reporter is that a public relations person will have to lie . A reporter gets in trouble if they do that.
The public relations person is responsible to the client. A reporter is responsible to the audience. There is a difference.
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Matt,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post. In my students' journalism textbook, the chapter on PR is a lonely little one in the back; perhaps in ten years, the balance will shift so only 10% of the book is on writing and reporting!
But seriously, with fewer journalists working, who will fill the information void? The volunteers who care? Sure. But who will put out more information-the volunteer or the person being paid reasonably well to do so? And, who (if either) will be more reliable? I ask as I am currently reading comments on a very local story on the Norwich Bulletin website...and frankly would be frightened if any of those people were the "citizen journalist" volunteering for my hyperlocal. Sorry to get off topic--Great find!