william couch

Ladies and gentleman, I think we have reached a turning point.

Social capital and user-generated content are two of the most active trends on the Internet right now, and the mainstream media are finally starting to capitalize on that, but just barely. The New York Times, with the savvy Khoi Vinh at the wheel, is leading the pack with its recent redesign, addition of podcasts and streaming video versions of articles (I’m particularly fond of David Pogue’s tech videos each Thursday), and recently, the beta release of a user-customized news page reminiscent of your AJAX homepage du jour.

Called MyTimes [the feature is only available to users who expressed interest shortly after the launch of the redesign], the feature presents a drag-and-drop interface for modules displaying content from varying areas of the NYT and other pre-chosen sites (at this stage, you can not add your own pages or RSS feeds). Also, users can list their favorite journalists at the Times and view their customized pages showing what news sources they read and rely on. This is perhaps the coolest and biggest differentiating factor between itself and every other homepage aggregator. Features aside however, My Times follows in the struggle of news organizations as they try to keep readers on their pages, and away from sites like Newsvine. And the Grey Lady’s unveiling of this feature comes shortly after CNN, the USA Today, and the BBC [forthcoming redesign] redesigned and revamped their sites with current web trends, and a greater breadth of consumable media.

The New York Times’ foray into a customized news page, is in interesting step to make in the profession of journalism. First, it demonstrates that the mainstream media is not only acknowledging, but further proactively transforming its delivery platform in the wake of a medium rapidly rising in popularity. Second, and perhaps unfortunately, it shows how news organizations are having to compromise some of the very foundations of journalism in order to compete in an increasingly one-sided war with the Internet. Similar sites have been developed at other leading news organizations, such as Newsweek and the USA Today. These sites have worked out a partnership with Newsgator, to deliver their sites’ content to users in a straightforward manner via RSS, without requiring knowledge of RSS on the user’s behalf. After all, only 12% of Internet users have used RSS, and only 4% have done so knowingly [Yahoo! PDF].

While these sites are pretty slick, from a theoretical editor’s point of view, they are in fact detrimental to the principle of hierarchal news structure. One of the key values of a newspaper and journalism in general is to present the most important stories to readers and that notion simply falls by the wayside when the hierarchal structure of news delivery disintegrates; and this is precisely what is happening with the introduction of My Times, My Newsweek, and MyUSAToday. Journalism is already having a difficult time adapting to the web, and while adapting a trend such as customized content would seem like a natural step to take, it can actually inhibit journalistic traditions to the extent that journalism is becoming its own worst enemy in this blurring of print and digital.

This all said however, it is is arguably extremely difficult for the very notion of hierarchy to exist in a platform as democratic as the Internet, and therein lies the conundrum. How do you deliver what users want while maintaining editorial control? Is it even possible? I certainly don’t know the answer to this question, and surely, only time can tell, but I believe news organizations, instead of adapting their content to pre-existing delivery methods, should be more innovative and utilize their exclusive assets (journalists) with these new methods. Again, this is something the New York Times has done with My Times. The ability to see a journalist’s resources is a powerful and excellent example of integrating news and the Internet. Likewise is getting a visual and aural component of an article, as is done by the likes of A.O. Scott, Thomas L. Friedman, and David Pogue with their weekly videos showcasing films, global issues and new products whose print counterpart lies within pages of newsprint. You can listen to Maureen Dowd’s latest Wednesday column by subscribing to her podcast available via Audible (although I’d prefer her as the narrator) or download the “Mosquitone” that’s whirring in classrooms and mini-vans alike via the link right beside the article. No longer can traditional news outlets simply add some blogs to their sites and tout it as “Exclusive Content!” I can go to any one of thousands of sites that pertain to the same topic and get better, faster and more current news updates; case in point: Newsvine, Technorati (especially with their new version), and 9rules.

In the end, no matter how one views a news organization, whether as a corporate business or a founding institution upholding and protecting national values, it is really the journalists, reporters, investigators, designers, photographers and editors that define the organization. As such, this assemblage of passionate people is the best line of defense in the involuntarily-waged war between the Internet and news organizations.

Update: This article has been edited for errors. 14 June 2007