Web unleashes news beast

In a multi-platform world where the news waits for no man or network, traditional media would do well to heed the call of the Beowulf that would consume them.

When long time host of NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Tim Russert, collapsed and died in the network’s Washington Bureau a couple of months ago, NBC tried to hold off the news. Presumably to notify Russert’s next of kin or prepare for the onslaught of a relentlessly hungry media. As the clock ticked and NBC mulled over their announcement, a “junior-level employee” updated Russert’s profile page on Wikipedia.

In seconds the wired world knew that the network’s lauded political chat show had passed. The “junior” was fired and NBC learnt a swift yet brutal lesson. In the internet age the news is a beast that will not be held back. More so with citizen journalism and multi-platform content channels have become the Beowulf that would eat traditional media. Web 2.0 is changing the very nature of news, how it is delivered and how people want to consume it, with profound consequences for news organisations.

The NBC story broke shortly after the Associated Press (AP) revealed ground-breaking research showing that the internet is revolutionising the way people want to consume news. AP unveiled key findings from a study of young adults in Britain, India and the United States. The research shows that 18- to 34-year-olds are driving a shift from traditional media to digital news, and that the news habits of these young consumers are dramatically different from those of previous generations. The research showed:

— News is multitasked — subjects consumed news as part of another set of activities and therefore are unable to give their full attention to the news. This is very different from previous news consumption models where people sat down to watch the evening news or read the morning paper.

— News is connected to email — many of the study participants digested news alongside their email. “I get my news when I check my email,” was a common statement from study participants.

— News takes work but creates social currency — several participants viewed news as a form of social currency. The news that resonated most was relevant to participants’ needs.

If the fact that the target market for the 7 o’clock news is dying or becoming extinct isn’t bad enough, Web 2.0 has produced a slew of new media content forms that are cheap and easy to run and which people prefer to the actual news. Internationally there’s the wildly successfully Rocketboom.com which was created with a lap top, two lights and a digicam. Oh and a couple of pieces of tape, a sassy presenter and a make shift table.

The big trend in the US is that news is out and parody is in, with the meteoric rise of the likes of ComedyCentral’s “The Daily Show” with John Stewart and The Colbert Report. Together with SNL, these parody shows are trouncing broadcast news viewer figures hand over fist. Then there’s Twitter where the gods of geek news (aka TechCrunch and the Scobleizer) do battle in a micro format. I won’t even begin to talk about the mobile news revolution and what that’s doing to newsrooms. Then while internet access hasn’t proved as much of a threat in SA as it has off shore, the access boom is coming.

Which reminds me. While Dali Mpofu considers his options, Snuki Zikalala returns to office and what’s left of the SABC board review the new Broadcasting Amendment Bill, perhaps someone should send our public broadcaster an MMS and let them in on the news.