The Future of Journalism According to BusinessWeek

By Ben Haber

April 10th, 2008

By Ben

BusinessWeek’s Stephen Baker had an interesting post today about the future of journalism, and how it’s ‘heading into agolden age.’ Stephen shares a conversation that he had with BusinessWeek’s Chief Economist Michael Mandel and describes Mandel’s assessment:

His thesis is that we’re going through a jolting disruption and shake-out now, but that those of us who hold on will find ourselves thriving in five years. (He compares it to the shakeout in the chip industry in the mid-80s, from which a repositioned Intel emerged as a giant.) The idea is that in the information economy, the need for reporting, editing and analysis will be acute. Much of this work is and will remain (for at least a while) beyond the range of algorithms. He says there’s no telling which institutions will survive, what shape they’ll assume or which business models they’ll adopt (details, details). Despite such fogginess, the glad words from this dismal scientist washed over me like a tonic.

RaceTalk has covered changes in the media, ranging from the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Boston’s (former) local sports anchor Bob Lobel, and just yesterday RaceTalk spoke with Newspaper Death Watch’s Paul Gillin about his view on newspapers and new media.

Entry Filed under: Digital media relations, Mainstream media