Presentation to Masters students at Xavier Institute of Communication, Mumbai

1. If anyone can publish, what exactly is a journalist? George Brock Professor and Head of Journalism City University London St Xavier’s Institute of Communication, Mumbai March 2011 City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 1

2. When were these shown and what did they show? City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 2 2008 1976

3. Where did journalism come from? In Europe, fusion of two things: Commercially useful information Coffee house opinion in print City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 3

4. Mixture of elements New facts Judgement Selection All these make journalism a field of fire, never uncontroversial, always in dispute There is no “just the facts” version City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 4

5. Journalism is often in upheaval E.g. Libération, Paris City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 5

6. Why upheaval right now? Print isn’t king an more But that`s not all down to the internet City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 6

7. Causes of turbulence Loss of trust City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 7

8. Causes of turbulence Fragmentation (not conglomeration) UK, 1960: 8 national daily papers, 3 radio stations, 1 TV channel UK, 2010: 9 national dailies, hundreds of radio stations and TV channels, millions of websites Audiences for main TV evening news bulletins have fallen by 50% over 20 years “Doing more with less” = Falling perception of value Fragmentation strengthens PR and makes “churnalism” more likely City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 8

9. Persistent erosion in circulation (7,5% in 2010) Newspaper division only accounts for 14% of the revenue Since 2004, for each dollar added to online revenue, the paper lost $5 on print Kaplan Education division accounts for 62% Newsweek merges (in desperation) with the Daily Beast City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 9

10. Causes of turbulence Washington Post: City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 10

11. The crisis of daily print in the UK/US 1985 – 05: 405 regional and local papers close, around a quarter of the total Birmingham Evening Mail: loses 54% of circulation 1995-2008 In 12 months to March 09, UK government became the country’s biggest print advertiser, outspending Procter & Gamble Pew 2011: newsrooms 30% smaller than in 2000 City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 11

12. Another cause of turbulence Young readers drifting away City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 12

13. The biggest change of all Scarcity to glut How long does the planet take to generate two exabytes of data? Comparison and overproduction Introducing the planet’s biggest news junkie… City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 13

14. Khrishna Bharat’s insight “Usually, you see essentially the same approach taken by a thousand publications at the same time….Once something has been observed, nearly everyone says approximately the same thing….It makes you wonder, is there a better way?Why is it that a thousand people come up with approximately the same reading of matters? “Why couldn’t there be five readings? And meanwhile use that energy to observe something else, equally important, that is currently being neglected….I believe the news industry is finding that it will not be able to sustain producing highly similar articles.” (The Atlantic, May 2010) City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 14

15. Crises have their uses Don’t buy the gloom Rahm Emmanuel’s reminder Why should journalism be important? To establish the truth of what matters to society Rebuild the justification Does defining journalism matter? City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 15

16. To rebuild, you need a design Journalism four key functions: Verification Sense-making Eye-witness Investigation It’s a public service (= obligations) Ethics and training count City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 16

17. Apply those four core functions to the Middle East Tunisia Verification, eye-witness Egypt Verification, sense-making, eye-witness Libya Verification, sense-making, eye-witness All will be followed by investigation City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 17

18. Why have I said so much about print? I spent my life as a journalist in it The value and importance of words in new story-telling Harry Evans: using old in the new Journalism is vital to a “mixed economy” of ownership and regulation Journalism’s wild card (broadcasters bound) Rules are always under pressure and get broken Britain’s most recent parliamentary scandal City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 18

19. Re-invention is happening Mobile wireless user-generated content dominates “first moment” sound and images Mobile dominates US local info consumption (Pew 2011: 47%) Best stuff is at grassroots outside capitals Verification is the crucial interface with public City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 19

21. How does Indian journalism do? You will be setting the standards for this part of the world Is power held to account? Are the standards right? Is the training right? “You can buy editorial.” Is this right? City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 21

22. Keep this is mind It isn’t just a business Don’t let platform get in the way of content But journalists have to think about the biz But there is in many places a crisis about creating value It may strike here (rolling waves of disruption) They will need you to help Do it as if it matters City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 22

23. www.georgebrock.net @georgeprof www.city.ac.uk/journalism City University London www.city.ac.uk/journalism 23