Karin Dryhurst

A Battle Between Editors

All this talk about the end times of news has led to a battle between the old guards of media and the defenders of new media.

This week New York Times editor Bill Keller and Politico editor John Harris traded barbs aimed at the dueling business models.

Keller focused on Politico’s scoops as fodder for Beltway insiders, while Harris told Greg Sargent that the two had “placed starkly different bets about the future of the news media.”

The TNR piece that sparked the debate points out characteristics of Politico that have propelled its success: namely its early-to-rise posts and its fervent commitment to the viral quality of the Web.

Newsrooms should take heed of the first point; reporters can no longer stroll in at 10 a.m. But, they should maintain a certain distance from the sensationalism and gossip that causes Politico reporters to end up on cable networks.

What worries me most is the statement that Politico bankroller Robert Allbritton dismisses long-term investigative journalism.

Allbritton refers to the money spent by the Times for enterprise journalism as “a public service play.” This comment represents a dangerous possibility for the future of government accountability.

Whether the Times produces content out of a game for reputation, or out of an altruistic motivation, the fact remains the same. Investigative journalism, represented by source-building and fact-checking, provides readers with the information necessary to make choices about their government. (See Gary Kamiya’s Hobbesian description of a world without newspapers).

Kamiya points out that “online media is tailored to respond to the individual’s conscious desires,” rather than the individual stumbling upon a story that awakens them to new information.

The mainstream media has clearly dropped the ball in the past and exposed an elbow-nudging tightness with political insiders, but its support for investigation remains its hope for survival.

Over at the Nieman Journalism Lab, Zachary M. Steward points to the fact that the Times Web site vastly outruns its newspaper competitors (Politico included) in terms of unique monthly visitors.

While Politico may pique a certain salacious interest, the Times remains a valuable resource for millions. Yet Allbritton expects to turn a profit this year as the Times struggles to meet its debt service.

This situation presents another example in which the for-profit journalism model alone may not allow for the continuation of a democratic press.

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Posted at 3:27 PM, Feb 19, 2009 in Media
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