Livingston

Jul
14
2008

When Your Newspaper Is Written by Interns

The Washington Post is one of the most venerated newspapers in the country. Recently the paper was in the news for hiring former WSJ top gun Marcus Brauchli as the Post’s new editor in chief. As the linked NY Times story indicates, the move comes at a time when the Post is in major transition due to online competition, and Brauchli’s first call to action is to blend on and off-line. What the story didn’t tell you is another round of “buy-outs” were just executed at the Post, creating an opportunity for more interns to write your daily news.

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Increasingly over the past couple of years, that has been the Post’s practice: Replace the old with the brand spanking new. A farming system that takes green as could be green journalists, and backstops them with veteran editors. Now crack reporters have a few years of experience in their elderly late twenties and thirties. The Post hopes that the quality doesn’t suffer too much (interns image by the nickster).

Well it has, and people are noticing. Whether its reduced local business coverage or just shoddy reporting (believe me, PR people are the first to notice), the Post’s woes do mirror those of the industry as a whole. What began as a threat, is now changing the entire profession of journalism.

People like Andrew Keen complain about the quality of news going down, that the amateur cannot provide the same quality of news. Maybe they are now. In fact, because they don’t have the resources, increasingly old media (interns or pros) use social media to crowdsource story ideas.

Unlike Keen, I don’t look at the Post’s changes as the destruction of old media’s integrity. I do see a continuing trend where media is evolving due to the rise of the Fifth Estate, that old mass media forms have less of a place in fractured environments. That the two — the Fourth and Fifth Estates — are becoming increasingly tied together in a symbiotic relationship. And that yes, you never should have wholly trusted your newspaper, and that’s even more true now that an intern is writing it. At the same time, news outlets that evolve like the WSJ, FastCompany and Wired still have a place at the table.

The evolution continues. Where the pendulum ends up resting, no one knows. But one thing is apparent, the change continues and won’t stop until the full impact of digital media has run its course.

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by Geoff Livingston | PR |

8 Responses to “When Your Newspaper Is Written by Interns”

  • shel israel Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 10:37 am

    The Post is not alone. A great many media companies have laid off or pushed early retirement on the most veteran members of its news staff. The problem is that publishers see news gatherers as overhead needed to fill space between ads–not the vital component that makes the publication valuable.

  • Ike Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 10:48 am

    Geoff, my whole media training approach is predicated on the notion that you can’t count on the reporters covering your beat to have the skills to tell your story properly. If I can teach businesses and individuals how to identify and tell their own story, then they have a better chance of being portrayed in a manner that fits their own narrative and not someone else’s.

    If there were nothing but veteran reporters and accomplished storytellers, there would be no market for communications consultants.

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 11:55 am

    Shel: Indeed, an industry-wide issue.

    Ike: It’s an ongoing problem, no doubt. I think the Keens of the world have misbegotten expectations of the way the media should be anyway.

  • Marc Hausman Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Agree completely that the severe economic stress felt by traditional publishers has resulted in a product of lower quality. It’s not just inexperienced journalists either. Those with tenure are asked to produce more content, more quickly.

    I recently wrote about the lack of professional reporting in news articles about market leading companies, such as Google.

    http://strategicguy.blogspot.com/2008/07/in-his-movie-history-of-world-part-i.html

  • Dan Beyers Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    No doubt the buyouts have had an effect. But our use of interns is hardly new, and please don’t underestimate their ability. Their resumes are routinely inspiring. Their work ethic a thing to behold. Some of our best people started as interns, including outgoing executive editor Len Downie.

  • Terry Morawski Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    A respected journalist in the D/FW area is heading to a PR-oriented channel dedicated to the Barnett Shale. Interesting development.
    Tweeted this morning as Local news anchor leaves CBS for more stable medium - PR. Enjoy!
    http://snurl.com/2yflc
    Signed,
    Dumped in D/FW (One of the 1000 “Black Monday”Livingston Twitter Drops)

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    Great comment, Dan. I think this is an industry-wide issue, and not just the Post, but every time I talk to someone over there it’s we’ll assign an intern to it. That’s not good sounding, per say.

    I know you and the Post’s editorial staff do everything in your power to maintain quality and integrity in these times. I have the utmost respect for you, personally.

  • When Your Newspaper Is Written by Interns - Comments Says:

    July 14th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

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