Getting the word out in a post-print era

This is a re-print of a handout I created for a discussion on getting the word out now that our local paper, the Ann Arbor News, is  closing.

The mass-market broadcast model (How things were)

Synopsis: The established media market was a broadcast system. There were few players that had the resources to run large-scale newspapers, TV, and radio. Because there were few sources, it was harder to get any coverage, there was danger of bias of these sources. But, they did have resources for investigative journalism and if you got covered in these sources, you had a reasonable assurance that you would be noticed.

Strengths:

• Covers a broad range of topics (sports, business, community, etc)
• Both quick beat coverage and in-depth investigative coverage;
• Broad circulation–reaches most people who follow local issues;
• Accessible, you just need to be able to see and read
• Discussion of opinions (editorials, letters to editor, other voices)
• Analysis
• Provide some level or authoritative coverage

Weaknesses

• Gatekeeper keeps out some voices
• Bias to not aggravating advertisers
• Only so much space for coverage
• Resource intensive (a lot of trees cut and a lot of gas burned)
• Discussion through letters to the editor is slow and limited to just a few voices

The micro-media/social media model (How things are becoming)

Synopsis: In a world with hundreds of cable TV channels, satellite radio, blogs, podcasts, Internet video, Facebook, Twitter, and more, no one source has the same level of reach, influence, or market share that the major print and broadcast media had. This means that it is easier to get a message out; there are fewer corporate media filters. It also means there is much more competition to get your message listened to. Personal recommendations and word of mouth play a larger role in deciding what people pay attention to.

Strengths:

• Fewer barriers to entry, less gatekeeper/censor role for mass media
• More community based
• Increased opportunity for discussion
• Fewer dead trees
• More information is available and easier to retrieve
• Length of a story is not constrained by a limited number of space on the page

Weaknesses

• “Drinking through a fire hose” effect
• Self-selecting narrows range of opinions people are exposed to
• Online reading tends to be more superficial than print reading
• Limited accessibility
• Will there be funding for investigative journalism?
• Questions of reliability
• Fragmentation of media creates difficulty to create broad awareness of issues

Key challenges/opportunities

• Ensure access to information means for all residents, overcome the digital divide;
• Ensure that solid investigative journalism takes place
• Develop capacity of local groups to use new tools

Resources:

Local issues:

• AnnArborChronicle.com: Community news site with excellent coverage of City Council, County Commission, and AATA Board meetings.
• ArborUpdate.com: primarily a site for discussion of community issues.
• ypsiciti.com, the Ypsilanti Citizen: Local news site for Ypsilanti
• AnnArbor.com (when it starts up): Site of the Newhouse replacement for the Ann Arbor News.
• ArborWiki.org: community directory, think Wikipedia about all things Ann Arbor.
• Progressive Ann Arbor Web Calendar: listing of Washtenaw County progressive events

How to use new media:

• Social Media Marketing and Campaigning for Nonprofits:  Audio file from workshop at Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp
• Social Media Listening Literacy for Nonprofits:  Article by Beth Kanter

Recommendations:

• Personal: Learn to use RSS Reader like Google Reader or Bloglines to help you keep up with local news sites
• Organizational: Learn to use the tools out there (Facebook, blogs, twitter, etc); develop relationships with new media news sources;
• Movement: Expand the Progressive Ann Arbor calendar to a more comprehensive Progressive Ann Arbor/Washtenaw site;