What, what, where, when, how…
: Ross Mayfield gives us an eloquently succinct summary of the new methods of getting (and giving) news:
We often pride ourselves as bloggers for how we break news, dig deep, gain sources, carry the story and highlight the details of fast moving events. However, with complex unfolding news, I find myself turning to different outlets for different reasons. We aren’t the best at coverage, we just have a special blend….
Press
Who: Editorial voice
What: Official sources
When: Episodic
Where: Coverage permits
Why: Profit
Blog
Who: Individual voice
What: Opinionated sources
When: Interest piques
Where: Anywhere conversations
Why: Pride
Wiki
Who: Group voice
What: Balanced synthesis
When: Evolving
Where: Common space
Why: Co-creation
That’s a good analysis. But he also says this:
Turn to Press for the official record, Blog for social context and Wiki for the public record.
I will disagree pretty strongly with that last bit.
I don’t go to the press for the official record (I can go to the web for that now). I go to the press — if they’re doing their job — for (as some students at an NYU class said to me yesterday) for succinct writing and good reporting among multiple sources.
I go to weblogs for far more than social context, far more. I go to weblogs to edit the web for me and point me to the best of the press. Weblogs are now my first stop; they are my gateway to the press.
And wikis are new to news but I look forward to seeing how they can improve the presentation of news; they have great potential.
Ross gives examples of each through the tragic lense of the Madrid story: press coverage, blogs (he linked to boingboing; I linked to Technorati), wiki (which I linked to yesterday).
