WABC-TV's Diana Williams and Politico.com's Ben Smith lead a panel on how the internet is affecting old school journalism.
A distinguished collection of journalists and media experts came together at St. Francis College on Tuesday, February 23 in Founders Hall for the symposium: Journalism in the Age of the Internet, co-hosted by St. Francis and the Manhattan Institute. (Watch the entire panel)
Panelists included: WABC anchor and reporter Diana Williams; Politico Lead Reporter and Columnist Ben Smith; New York Post Editorial Writer Robert George; WABC Director of Community Affairs Saundra Thomas; Politico Editor Harry Siegel and Hunter College Professor of Economics Lisa George; who answered the question of how the rise of online reporting and commentary is transforming the business of journalism, include:
After a welcome from St. Francis College Chancellor Frank J. Macchiarola 62, Lindsay Young Craig, Manhattan Institute Vice President of Communications & Marketing, who moderated the discussion, put the question into context. She showed that more people now get their news on the internet than newspapers and that the internet now even rivals TV as the most popular news source for people younger than 30.
During the panel, New York Post Editorial Writer Robert George talked about the internet and his paper in a historical context, pointing to late 19th century and 20th century newspapers that were competing with about a dozen other daily newspapers. They couldnt take this laid back, quiet objective take. It had to be a punch to the gut, said George. He added that the New York Post and many internet sites continue the tradition by offering a passionate, pugnacious and personal point of view that may be subjective, but is honest.
Lead Reporter and Columnist for Politico.com Ben Smith focused on how internet sites were able to generate major news stories, even from stories that were clearly fabricated. He pointed to one untrue rumor that claimed Michele Obama had uttered a slur. He said, the denial of that story was carried all over the web and even on the front page of the New York Times, even though the story was pushed entirely by people, who if you just read their blogs were clearly out of their minds, said Smith who added that during the Presidential campaign, Most of the threats to Obama came not from his opponents but from these nether regions of the internet. At the same time, he said that online readers are becoming more educated and sophisticated about the news they read on the web and are better able to weed out sensationalism.
Coming to the panel immediately after her appearance on the 6:00pm news, WABC Anchor Diana Williams pointed out that predictions of the end of old media are premature because most content still comes through traditional media. Williams said she is a strong supporter of the way the industry has been changed by the web; noting that it has both opened up journalism to countless more people and at the same time given a much broader audience to journalists already practicing. As far as practical affects, Williams said that her newsroom no longer holds stories exclusively for TV newscasts but will put the stories on the web immediately. She also cautioned about the downside of the internet, A lot of us in the business can get lazy. We can Google everything. We dont have to pick up the phone as much and thats a danger because you really have to know what your sources are on the internet.
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