I find myself in some of the places you and others talk about, where I've sort of crossed over from being primarily a print reporter to an online reporter who is blogging, doing video, podcasting, twittering, etc. and only a small portion of what I do makes it into the newspaper. (I cover sustainability/green trends, by the way).

What I've started to realize as I follow the transformation of journalism and mainstream media is that it is only part of a larger systems change occurring, and that focusing on journalism itself misses the bigger picture. 20th century newspapers were based on an industrial model in the same way other industries were. We basically paid "experts" directly or through subsidies to do everything for us, whether it be report what is happening in the world around us, build us a house, prepare our food, entertain us with sports, music and movies, and sell us a pill when we have a headache. That age may be coming to an end and people will have to once again be more directly involved in how their needs are met.

We may fret over how the important things of the world will get done, but "important" is subject to human perception, priority and circumstances. Even I tire of the media blitz and often wonder to myself what the optimal level of engagement with reported information is on a daily basis. I'm not sure how use of the Web will evolve to best help people find meaning in their lives. I do have a sense of foreboding that we could be setting ourselves up for massive knowledge loss over generations if we over-rely on digital information storage.

Morgan Josey Glover
http://www.gogreentriad.com

Journalism: Minds communicating effectively with the common purpose of shared, meaningful living.

This is the network, which is to say all of us.

We thought journalism was news. We thought journalism was stories. These are forms of journalism. There are more, and more suitable forms are evolving now.

(This definition is more general even than democracy.)

I think it helps to distinguish between the function of editor vs journalist. Ever since Watergate, the "journalist as hero" is the meme journalists use to define themselves. Ben Bradley's role, while important, was in the background. Meanwhile the real secret sauce was Deep Throat. It defined the model as "if I can get access to someone who really knows, I'll take down the x,y,or z"

I think a more interesting model is "Three Days of the Condor." Robert Redford is a reader for the CIA. He imagines the possible, then passes it along, mayhem ensues. Meanwhile, as far as I know, the only group that got it right on Iraq was a study group in the State Department that had no privileged information. As I understand it they worked mostly from public sources.

I'm seeing two kinds of journalism. One is talking to people. The other is talking to documents – either on paper, but more likely on the web. I think it is unreasonable to expect journalists to be researchers. Different jobs. Different skill sets.

Consider how many "journalists" have read the stimulus bill. Ok it's a couple of hundred pages. But I think I remember tyhat you spent a good amount of time following some stories over time. Well within the skill set and job description of a journalist.

Imagine the value of edited versions of Congressional Hearings. It's the only place in America that very powerful people have to choose their words very, very carefully. The words still may be not true, but once the words are spoken, then cut and paste, compare and contrast, can come into action.

The secret of John Stewart is first – no pretensions at superior knowledge. He wins by being funny, not by being an "expert." Second, the fact that finding the right video is fast, simple and free.Cut and paste, compare and contrast. It's how he was able to make the Cramer stuff both very popular and very accurate. I think what we might be seeing is that speed and accessibility of the internet coupled with the search capabilities of google and YouTube have finally destroyed the value creation of the hero journalists. Enough with Tropper Gate, Travel Gate, etc etc. and Judith Miller's "access" to Scooter Libby. In it's place is the separation of content creation and delivery mechanism and the renewed importance of the editor. Just a note . the coming primacy of the editor was what I took away from Epic.

In case it hasn't got onto your radar, there is a media organization in Eastern Iowa, that is just now going live with this model. I think they've got it just right.The really cool concept is the notion of an editor as "the conductor of an information orchestra."

If you follow the links in this post, It gives a pretty good idea of their approach.
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