Why don't we just print Adriana's photo shoots? What you said: wow.

Why don’t we just print Adriana’s photo shoots? What you said: wow.

[...] Once again it’s people placing far too much faith in technology. Jeremiah Owyang of Podtech posted a video produced for Podtech client Topix discussing the problems wiht local news. Many of the interviews spoke of aggregators and feedback loops, but it was Craigslist’s Craig Newmark, that hit the nail on the head. What’s missing is more investigative journalism. And that folks, translates to people and time, which equals infrastructure. Rosenblum’s mantra is small cameras, which as Stewart Pittman points out in his dispatch from Blacksburg, can prove an astonishly poor storytelling tool, in some circumstances. I couldn’t help but realize this as I watched a muttonchopped dude with a tricked-out consumer-cam, working the pack of mourning kids like he was shooting a concert. Too cool for sticks, he cradled his lens awkwardly in his upturned palms, jamming the damn thing repeatedly in the faces of sobbing freshmen. [...]

I mean, why don’t we just print Adriana’s (Future Works) press releases? Jeremiah, your firm put together a very nice video in which Criag Newmark hits the nail on the head. You can talk all day about aggregators, “happy news”, new technology, feed back loops, and relevancy, but at the end of the day, it’s smart, dedicated, naturally curious truth-seekers that make journalism. People who spend their days uncovering truth, challenging power and scouring dusty public records, not hanging out at cool bay area launch parties – we need more journalists like this.

Until we (I include my MSM colleagus and contemporaries here) realize that journalism is about dedicated people and NOT technology, we will continue to miss the mark. Don’t get me wrong, new technologies certainly change the nature of media, and offer new and powerful tools, but are the means not the end.

I take point 3 of your answer regarding local news to heart. We need more happynews.com content in regular news. Nothing like turning on the tv with the kids and having nothing but stabbings, shootings, car accidents, and..oh yeah, the war. Seems like the only good news is the weather–no wait global warming.

I understand that vioence is sensational and people hunger for junk food, but a little more inspirational stories about people doing wonderful things would be healty for me and my kids. Just you wait.

Oh, btw, regarding TV and internet merging. My wife mismanaged a Tivo season pass and missed a season finale of a new show she loves. She went to ABC.com tonight and watched the whole show (with a couple commercials, no big deal given video quality was superb). They are bridging the gap.