Comments on: RIP quality journalism – the new age of Truthification http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/the-net-is-killing-journalism.html Banter between travel writers, travel PRs and travel social media people Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:59:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: David Atkinson http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/the-net-is-killing-journalism.html/comment-page-1#comment-397 David Atkinson Wed, 20 May 2009 22:54:42 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/rip-quality-journalism-the-new-age-of-truthification.html#comment-397 There's a lot of guff out there in the media. Papers end up running it because they're stretched, PRs pump it out to keep the clients happy, and writers - myself included sometimes - churn it out because its been a quiet week and they need that £300. Churnalism, truthification, whatever you call it, it's endemic according to Nick Davies in Flat Earth News (www.flatearthnews.net), the must-read book on every media studies syllabus. But can bloggers kick against the trend? Maybe. I think the ones adapting to the medium with good ideas, strong writing and not waiting to be spoon fed by client-approved platitudes will always find an outlet. There's a lot of guff out there in the media. Papers end up running it because they're stretched, PRs pump it out to keep the clients happy, and writers - myself included sometimes - churn it out because its been a quiet week and they need that £300. Churnalism, truthification, whatever you call it, it's endemic according to Nick Davies in Flat Earth News (www.flatearthnews.net), the must-read book on every media studies syllabus. But can bloggers kick against the trend? Maybe. I think the ones adapting to the medium with good ideas, strong writing and not waiting to be spoon fed by client-approved platitudes will always find an outlet.

]]> By: Ian McKee (McCluskey International) http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/the-net-is-killing-journalism.html/comment-page-1#comment-396 Ian McKee (McCluskey International) Wed, 20 May 2009 15:35:20 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/rip-quality-journalism-the-new-age-of-truthification.html#comment-396 Very thought provoking Jeremy, as a PR I was going to get my back up about the survey guff, there was a similar debate on Travel Rants a while ago that dug my oar into <a href="http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/02/03/the-problem-with-travel-news/" rel="nofollow">http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/02/03/the-problem-with-travel-news/</a> That said, yes, we generally have a number of releases to get out and I admit that not every single one is exactly the story of the century... As Steve mentions though, just as the web offers avenues for evolution for journalists, it also does so PRs. Also, bloggers offering an antidote to the dilution? Isn't there more of an argument to say that bloggers are causing the dilution? It's the blogosphere that's shifted the emphasis onto breaking the news first, one of the basic concepts of the blog is that it is not an outlet for fact based research driven articles but just opinion (anyones!), blogs are frequently blamed for the newspapers not being able to build decent online revenue models... an article relevant to that argument - <a href="http://www.charliebeckett.org/?p=614" rel="nofollow">http://www.charliebeckett.org/?p=614</a> - kind of comes to similar conclusions though! Very thought provoking Jeremy, as a PR I was going to get my back up about the survey guff, there was a similar debate on Travel Rants a while ago that dug my oar into http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/02/03/the-problem-with-travel-news/

That said, yes, we generally have a number of releases to get out and I admit that not every single one is exactly the story of the century...

As Steve mentions though, just as the web offers avenues for evolution for journalists, it also does so PRs.

Also, bloggers offering an antidote to the dilution? Isn't there more of an argument to say that bloggers are causing the dilution? It's the blogosphere that's shifted the emphasis onto breaking the news first, one of the basic concepts of the blog is that it is not an outlet for fact based research driven articles but just opinion (anyones!), blogs are frequently blamed for the newspapers not being able to build decent online revenue models... an article relevant to that argument - http://www.charliebeckett.org/?p=614 - kind of comes to similar conclusions though!

]]> By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/the-net-is-killing-journalism.html/comment-page-1#comment-395 Jeremy Head Wed, 20 May 2009 15:08:34 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/rip-quality-journalism-the-new-age-of-truthification.html#comment-395 Hi Stu Great to hear from you. Hope all's well! Very interesting suggestion. Personally I like it... but I can't see an editor being happy as they'd effectively lose control of the piece - or at least there's the danger of that. There's also an interesting SEO angle to your suggestion. Could I write a piece, you pay me for it, newspaper gets it free, and I also stuff it with links back to your website, to mine, to a few others whilst I'm there. Hmmm. Nice idea. I feel a follow-on post coming! I completely agree about the celeb thing - Martin Clunes on islands etc (what does he know about islands etc?) Give me around the world in 80 trades with a real trader bloke who actually brings something to the party. Cheers! J PS: That Trans-Sib piece was my first ever cover feature in the Times Travel Section :-) Best trip I've ever done. <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/rail_travel/article428300.ece" rel="nofollow">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/rail_travel/article428300.ece</a> Hi Stu
Great to hear from you. Hope all's well!
Very interesting suggestion. Personally I like it... but I can't see an editor being happy as they'd effectively lose control of the piece - or at least there's the danger of that. There's also an interesting SEO angle to your suggestion. Could I write a piece, you pay me for it, newspaper gets it free, and I also stuff it with links back to your website, to mine, to a few others whilst I'm there. Hmmm. Nice idea. I feel a follow-on post coming!
I completely agree about the celeb thing - Martin Clunes on islands etc (what does he know about islands etc?) Give me around the world in 80 trades with a real trader bloke who actually brings something to the party.
Cheers!
J
PS: That Trans-Sib piece was my first ever cover feature in the Times Travel Section :-) Best trip I've ever done. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/rail_travel/article428300.ece

]]> By: www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawn3H-Ln6nfaHo_p4yxEggweROI2nLSXbAc http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/the-net-is-killing-journalism.html/comment-page-1#comment-394 www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawn3H-Ln6nfaHo_p4yxEggweROI2nLSXbAc Wed, 20 May 2009 12:39:04 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/rip-quality-journalism-the-new-age-of-truthification.html#comment-394 Hi Jeremy Eeek, freelancers are doomed and the evolution has not been televised. Personally I'm fed up reading in the supps about celebs on holiday (although Dom Joly in Thailand made me smile) and I'm not convinced about contributor leading magazines (we've tried them) and as advertisers they don't work. But maybe the model is different with the broadsheets. Basically we're looking at connecting good journalism with readers who appreciate good writing, paid for, if not by print media ads (and what it now costs for a paper at the weekend!), then by the travel industry. Off on a tangent here, but some sort of Betfair-type travel writing exchange hooking people up, (supplier(s) and writer) through some sort of CPC or direct biding or auction model. The technology is surely out there. Travel companies pay between 35p-£2 per click to the leading search engines, so why not pay that direct to the writer. Or a travel writer ebay...hmmm. Then the piece goes to the paper who dont pay the writer but guarantee to put it in or pre-ordered type status. Hmmm. Yes there would be issues but surely not insurmountable. Can writers be incentivized? Better writers get more money, lazy boring ones.....well lets not go there. We could do with a system like that for MPs too. Anyway, chin up, and I like your writing - especially when you did the Trans Siberian with us in the offline days (published in the Times too) so keep up the good work Stuart roundtheworldflights.com ps. I think good writers are always going to be okay. Also were Hemingway, Orwell, Twain and Theroux not freelancers of sorts...maybe starving helps creative juices - Moveable Feast etc... Hi Jeremy

Eeek, freelancers are doomed and the evolution has not been televised. Personally I'm fed up reading in the supps about celebs on holiday (although Dom Joly in Thailand made me smile) and I'm not convinced about contributor leading magazines (we've tried them) and as advertisers they don't work. But maybe the model is different with the broadsheets.

Basically we're looking at connecting good journalism with readers who appreciate good writing, paid for, if not by print media ads (and what it now costs for a paper at the weekend!), then by the travel industry.

Off on a tangent here, but some sort of Betfair-type travel writing exchange hooking people up, (supplier(s) and writer) through some sort of CPC or direct biding or auction model. The technology is surely out there.

Travel companies pay between 35p-£2 per click to the leading search engines, so why not pay that direct to the writer. Or a travel writer ebay...hmmm. Then the piece goes to the paper who dont pay the writer but guarantee to put it in or pre-ordered type status. Hmmm. Yes there would be issues but surely not insurmountable.

Can writers be incentivized? Better writers get more money, lazy boring ones.....well lets not go there. We could do with a system like that for MPs too.

Anyway, chin up, and I like your writing - especially when you did the Trans Siberian with us in the offline days (published in the Times too) so keep up the good work

Stuart
roundtheworldflights.com

ps. I think good writers are always going to be okay. Also were Hemingway, Orwell, Twain and Theroux not freelancers of sorts...maybe starving helps creative juices - Moveable Feast etc...

]]> By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/the-net-is-killing-journalism.html/comment-page-1#comment-393 Jeremy Head Wed, 20 May 2009 10:53:04 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/05/rip-quality-journalism-the-new-age-of-truthification.html#comment-393 @ Steve - and I think what you guys are doing with maps is a great example of that new approach to travel content: <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116742639583018417681.0004678167b962ae56f55&ll=52.057557,-2.787781&spn=1.215943,2.460938&z=9" rel="nofollow">http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116742639583018417681.0004678167b962ae56f55&ll=52.057557,-2.787781&spn=1.215943,2.460938&z=9</a> @ James Thanks for your very kind comments! @ Mick - you are right - vast majority of travel journos are probably not making a proper living from it @ Alistair - great link! Thanks @ Steve - and I think what you guys are doing with maps is a great example of that new approach to travel content: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116742639583018417681.0004678167b962ae56f55&ll=52.057557,-2.787781&spn=1.215943,2.460938&z=9
@ James Thanks for your very kind comments!
@ Mick - you are right - vast majority of travel journos are probably not making a proper living from it
@ Alistair - great link! Thanks

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