Friday, April 17, 2009
News about the class
Hi all. I have reconsidered the subject for the next session, Monday April 20th. The topics will be the Intellectual Property (especially copyright and copying) debate and its effects on newspapers and books in particular. How will the delivery of news change? Can newspapers survive? If so how? I apologize in advance for any disappointments about not covering the topics originally planned, but I think this will make for a more interesting discussion.
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One thought is based upon 20 years reporting experience, mostly with Time. It was then the perfect place for someone who was brought up short by an editor who asked for a rewrite that "left out the birth of Christ." Yes, I tend to write long and Time reporters, who now mostly write to space with a byline, did not always. There was no byline and the reporter, or correspondents as they/we were called, wrote at length for writers in New York to shrink to magazine size. A complex cover story could run to 1 million words. They were often very impressive documents and one's sources generally knew that they would have the opportunity to provide a lot of background or context, if you will, to complicated events and/or people. So here is my point. It is called the Sy Hersch model. Sy Hersch, who most people know has some of the best intelligence sources in the US and elsewhere, works freelance and publishes in the New Yorker, mostly. Because of his reputation and standing, he is known as the go to guy by spooks with a beef. He cannot be ignored. Multiply the Sy Hersch model to the daily metropolitan news world. Every newsroom have a few individuals so experienced and plugged in that anything they write will have instant credibility. If the newspaper is dead in their city, put it on the web and charge a subscription fee for use. Comments? Donn Downing
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