If you want to understand why the newspaper industry is doomed, read the comments of Sun-Times Media Group CEO Cyrus Freidheim from a Columbia College panel this week. The press is “nowhere near as robust or strong a watchdog as it has been…The free press really is the newsroom. It is not technology. It’s really the newsroom.”

Freidheim’s comments reflect the kind of insularity that will only hasten newspapers’ collapse. Across the U.S., too many editors and executives are convinced that there is only one kind of “true” journalism, and that it involves a newsroom, editors, reporters, slot men and a copy desk. Any model that doesn’t conform to this rigid and traditional view isn’t genuine and so should be dismissed. They are blind to the prospect that any other form of journalism could deliver value, much less improve upon the current model.

As Old-Timers Curse the Darkness, Others Innovate

Há dois tipos de burros: os que não sabem, e os que não querem saber. Quem já tentou mudar alguma coisa nas redacções e ouviu coisas parecidas, por favor, deixem comentário.

There are two types of fools: those who don’t know,and those who don’t care to know. If you ever tried to change your newsroom and heard similar things against it, please share them with us.