This is interesting; and not for the usual reasons.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/532538.php
Or maybe it is – to find someone of Ms Bell’s long-standing, new media repute using the terms she does. It’s the tone that gives the game away; the urgency with she uses some fairly desperate language.
‘In the UK media, Bell said she could see five national newspapers going out of business, ‘the regional press heading for complete market failure’ and no commercial UK-owned broadcaster operating outside of the BBC.
“We are standing at the brink of what will be two years of carnage for western media…’
All of which leaves her invite to the Newspaper Society’s Xmas drinks party heading for the shredder. ‘Complete market collapse’ in the ‘next two years’… that’s not a moderate use of language; that is, indeed, the words of someone staring at the edge of an apocalypse.
Five national papers? Suggestions on a postcard please…
It would certainly be fascinating to know where Ms Bell would deliver ‘Black Spot’ – The People? A full TrinityMirror clean sweep? Desmond pulls the plus on his Express stable? The Independent?
But it is the final paragraph that really caught my eye; of where Bell sees journalism heading…
‘Journalists should be actively encouraged to see news as a conversation, and the relationship with readers, such as that of BBC business editor Robert Peston, should be promoted, she added…
Which is very much where we think this world might be head; doing little more than sparking someone else’s conversation on a regular basis.
http://outwithabang.rickwaghorn.co.uk/?p=119
And she’s spot on with the use of Mr Peston as a shining example of the new world order… that when it came to not only reporting, but actually shaping the global storm, the chosen method of delivery from the man from the Beeb was his blog.
Not his appearances on the Ten O’Clock News; not his thoughts on radio; but on his blog.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/
The point of putting that url address there is not for everyone to click through, but to look at the various elements therein and put them in an order of priority… where’s the biggest ‘brand’ value? ‘bbc’,'blogs’, ‘thereporters’ or ‘robertpeston’?
In this new, conversational world that we’re stepping into, where’s the greatest value to be found? And for me, it’s in ‘robertpeston’ – it’s his name, his ‘brand’ that I’d search for first. Probably – indeed, definitely – ahead of the BBC.
And what is even more interesting is if you have a little nose around these two babies…
http://www.robertpeston.co.uk/
‘This domain name had just been registered…’ runs the tag-line at the top.
I bet it just has.
And, hopefully, somewhere round the back of www.robertpeston.com and www.robertpeston.co.uk lies the man himself; that maybe he figures he can launch a conversation or two from there…
If it’s not him, then I’d have a word; someone’s parked a tank on your ‘brand’, pal.
And you deserve better.
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