1 Response to “Journalism Good; Government and Journalism Bad”

1. 1 Alfred R.
   Mar 26th, 2009 at 3:46 pm

   “Serial tech entrepreneurs” would compare newspapers to outdated tech products, wouldn’t they? Their lives have become defined by their gadgets and networks, and their universe has contracted into their brave new world (or abbreviated new world) online. Thought — as on Twitter — become bite-sized, limited to 150 words, to suit the latest innovation. You can see all the buzz words in the technocrats’ tweets on the future of journalism: innovation, old business model, progress, traditional media, evolutionary shift, Darwinian …. It’s the group-think of Twitter “followers,” of tech-driven lemmings. Do they even read newspapers — or books? Why would they? And why even discuss what newspapers contribute to our communities, our nation, our democracy? To them, the “old business model” doesn’t work — it’s that simple. So get rid of newspapers and save some trees.

   Perhaps publishing companies should be allowed to die, too. And libraries, churches, and public schools and universites. It “would be an opportunity for young people with new ideas to make better things.” They could build a new world out of tweets. “Who gives a crap,” as the tech entrepreneur writes, about newspapers — or any enterprise or institution struggling under old business models — when we can all stay connected online and talk about ourselves in real time? The new gadgets, the new interconnectivity, would seem to enable us to hold the universe in the palms of our hands, while they actually allow us to twitter our lives away. I’d suggest that the tech entrepreneurs pick up a good newspaper or book from time to time.