The Daily Rumpus
Get Overly Personal Emails
From Stephen Elliott
About a week ago Vice published an amusing article by Thomas Morton about what happens when journalists from outside Detroit come into the city to do a story: they cover their preconceptions, shoot “ruin porn,” and miss actual stories right under their noses — and in the case of the Michigan Central Depot, right behind their backs.
...moreYesterday I interviewed Scott Rosenberg at length for the Rumpus, and we spent a lot of time talking about the news industry and how it relates to online publishing, with special reference to blogging.
At one point he said (to paraphrase) “the news business has been in decline since the early 80s, and though it has accelerated in recent years, the decline itself is not a new thing.”
So it was interesting to read his thoughts about Y Combinator’s recent call for journalism startups.
...more“[The] image of the Internet as parasite has some foundation. Without the vital news-gathering performed by established institutions, many Web sites would sputter and die.
“In their sweep and scorn, however, [statements like 'the parasite is killing the host'] seem as outdated as they are defensive.
...moreIn the 1960s and 70s, Central and South America were rife with dictatorships which used secret police, the military, right-wing death squads and tight control of the media to quash dissent and keep power. One of the most egregious of these police states was Argentina, still recovering from its anti-democratic Peronist era.
...moreAn interview on New American Media with writer Richard Rodriguez has a fascinating take on what’s happening to American newspapers. Using the famously provincial San Francisco Chronicle as an example, Rodriguez says, ”I don’t think the Chronicle is dying so much as I think that San Francisco is dying.”
...moreI’m a union member and a union supporter, but this is not good at all. The Los Angeles Police Union has a $30 million investment in the group that just bought the San Diego Union-Tribune. (We can discuss the wisdom of that investment strategy later.) The Union-Tribune has been calling for cutbacks on salaries and benefits for public employees in order to help close gaping budget deficits.
...more
What do doughnuts and the internet’s erosion of journalism have in common?