If you’re a journalist in Seattle these days it’s easier to stumble into a panel discussion on the future of journalism than it is to stumble into a coffee shop. Almost.
Last night’s was called “Journalism on the Brink. Can Digital Save it? (video coming soon). Tonight’s is “No News is Bad News: Seattle as a No-Newspaper Town?“.
Naturally, the search for a business model that will sustain journalism is the overriding question everyone is trying to answer. But a common theme usually emerges: some of the same people wishing for new business models dismiss, out of hand, any suggestion that the future will include a significant mixing of business and journalism.
The “wall” must remain, this line of thinking goes, to protect journalism from the unseemly financial forces that will certainly compromise it.
MSNBC’s Cory Bergman suggested last night that the wall needed to be at least “lowered,” if not eliminated. Or there needs to be a separate unit that straddles the line.
The panel discussions and formal events that are taking up this topic will likely have little impact on corporate organizational structures. But those of us organizing these events need to move forward. Journalists have had their turn. It’s time to open up the tent.
1. Let’s bring other expertise into the fold. We need the web developers, the business strategists, the marketing gurus and the advertising executives in on the conversation. Sustainable journalism in a digital future (and present) won’t exist without them.
2. We need a focus when we bring all this brainpower together, a ball to move down the field. The Newsinnovation barcamps last weekend in a handful of cities were a step in this direction.
3. We need to focus on the future, not the past. See the Beachwood Reporter on this. ‘Nuff said.
These are the conversations we have at Serra Media. It’s a small team, but each member brings something different to the table: web development, business development, software development. I’m the only journalist but prefer to think of myself as an “entrepreneurial journalist,” which means I’m seeking innovation that will lead to sustainable journalism.
Just as you wouldn’t challenge the notion the West Seattle Blog or Pegasus News are journalists, you wouldn’t challenge the notion that they are also entrepreneurs. This is entrepreneurial journalism.
They didn’t need to tear down the wall between business and journalism. Instead, they just didn’t build one in the first place.
Sure, there must be recognition of the potential pitfalls and conflicts of interest. But this slope is not as slippery as some would have you believe.
Smart, ethical professionals with good values practicing serious journalism can build trust with an audience just like monolithic corporate news companies did.
The wall isn’t what matters. It’s the work that makes the difference.
Mark Briggs 
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Mark, I’d like to think that the focus of the evening was to find a new “business model” for journalism. Which to me means bringing down that wall (something that we raised early), and taking a far more entrepreneurial approach to this particular form of communication (actually all forms of communication, from PR to advertising to journalism require such an attitude).
As an academic and a small business person, I love the idea of finding new ways to make this work.
Re: not building a “wall” in the first place … here’s my take, as someone who did spend a LOOOOOOONG time in traditional “old media” newsrooms, and who also was often in the role – for better or for worse – of the high-level manager in meetings that involved sales reps, to filter them from direct access to lower-level employees:
“Not building the wall in the first place” doesn’t mean hey, anything goes. But it means that you find different ways to achieve integrity, transparency, and success — for all involved.
We run advertorial posts, for example, when a new sponsor joins, and we are clear about what they are: We are welcoming a new sponsor, and we always offer new sponsors the chance to tell you something about their business, so here’s what they want you to know …
In other contexts, my favorite little disclosure gesture is one I would like to see in ALL media (I’ve seen a bit of this done elsewhere but never routinely and seemingly not consistently): Every time we mention a sponsor, whether in a story or a calendar item, we follow the first mention of their name with (WSB sponsor).
Because some of our sponsors also are organizers of major ongoing community events, this tends to mean you see this a lot. “Readers” can judge for themselves whether they feel the relationship has affected the quality or nature of the coverage, but at least we leave them NEVER having to wonder whether a business we’re writing about is a sponsor, or not.
We also joined the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – I’m pretty sure, its first member with “Blog” in the business name! As business development director, Patrick usually represents us at their monthly lunches, but last time, for example, I went, because it was guaranteed to be a newsworthy event I’d want to write about – held at the local police precinct.
Neither of us came into this with a shred of business savvy; both of us had parents who failed miserably at family-owned retail and we swore we would NEVER try to start a business. But … this happened, and we learned fast. Still a LOT to learn after a year-plus of businesshood, but this is THOUSANDS of times more rewarding than any and all of my “old media” jobs ever were.