Information and Transformation (Part 1)

The leading newspaper in Cincinnati, the Enquirer, has made some forays into the blogosphere in the past two years. Various niche subjects have been given blogs: Sports, politics, art - even rollerderby and the Ben-Gals. The whole shebang is owned and operated by Gannett Inc., as we are reminded in the everpresent terms of service. A peek at their mission statement is revealing:

Mission: To successfully transform Gannett to the new environment. We will provide must-have news and information on demand across all media, ever mindful of our journalistic responsibilities.

Talk about a double-edged sword. Kudos to the big giant corporation for recognizing the new environment, as abstract as the notion may be, and also for identifying the need to adapt while remaining agnostic to media forms. And aren't we all in the business of "transformation", one way or another? For, me, as a Catholic, this has some reasonance as a seasonal thought, on the eve of Good Friday. But in the context of Internet-enabled communication many newspapers have been in the business of denial, even while the Romans arrive and roosters start crowing.

Except in this case the correct biblical metaphor has already been appropriated by Glenn Reynolds, and it's the "Army of Davids". Goliaths like Gannett seek to provide "must-have news and information" in a marketplace teeming with bloggers and alternative sources who share a very different set of tactical characteristics: They operate on a rapid cycle, cross all kinds of boundaries, and have a very different system for aggregating what's important. Thus the army of Davids - and they are positioned to have some leverage against not only traditional forms of media, but also against irresponsible government, global troublemakers, even social pathologies. (Look out! The Ben-Gals have slingshots!)

Enter Tom Callinan, editor and vice president of the Enquirer, and a man with a storied career in journalism. He began his Letters to the Editor blog on the heels of news that one of the other Cincinnati.com blogs, Grandma In Iraq, was, it turns out, written by a public affairs officer in the U.S. Army. Needless to say there was a spastic eruption of anger on the part of local leftists, most notably the connoisseurs of outrage over at the Cincinnati Beacon. They demanded equal time for coverage of dead Iraqi babies and suggested that the editors of the Enquirer were serving as accomplices in the military's propaganda operation. Of course, nobody actually called into question the veracity of Grandma's reporting, but that’s a blind alley for people who have an agenda – in this case scoring a few points on the supposed corruption of “corporate media”.

So it’s rough time for an editor to jump into the fray, but nonetheless, lets hope Mr. Callinan has the wherewithal, patience and good humor to continue his efforts, despite his recent misgivings. Editors trade in the business of judgment, and the public is sometimes hungry for more detailed explanations on why certain items and conduits of information qualify as “news”. Having this discussion in a public setting using the new media may seem pointless at times – with all of the braying an noise that comes along with it – but we might all be enriched by the debate.

Coming up in part two on this topic … some ideas on transformation.