MiamiHerald.com | 05/15/2006 | Is 'convergence' the next media disaster?

I don't like to rat out people my age (Boomers) but I think behind stories like this is a "generation gap." Yes, putting cameras in the hands of all reporters won't automatically produce prize-winning, heart-rending photojournalism. But what percentage of existing photojournalism is "great?" Expecting all reporters to be able to document news in a photo won't keep a great photojournalist down. What the real problem here is not the tech, or the convergence, it is the business model that is cutting staff in newsrooms today instead of investing in good reporters and other news staff. When your business depends on selling a product that is losting value (paper copies, video copies) -- information in a particular format -- you are in a dying business. But it is your business model that is dying, not the desire for news or not even the willingness to pay for information. Read my previous post or Kevin Kelly's "Scan the Book" from NYTIMES magazine to see what I mean. It ain't the copy of the story, its the point of view and news sense that is worth money today.MiamiHerald.com | 05/15/2006 | Is 'convergence' the next media disaster?