before Do not tell me, tell me more On Sunday 25 I leave for Caracas, invited to participate in the fourth edition of the Seminar
Information Design (on Twitter,
# SDI2010 ) with a paper holder occurred to me "Do not tell me before, tell me more" because I want to defend against the deep journalism precipitate chafardero the true front, against alleged professional citizen journalism.
And as an appetizer, the daily Últimas Noticias
of Venezuela today published an interview with Ana María Carrano did to this humble servant.
You have worked on the relaunch of European and Latin American media. What differences have you found in the way we do journalism?
There are not many differences. Of course, each has its own characteristics, not only between countries but between cities within the country. In the end, wrote David Randall, there are only two kinds of journalism: the good and the bad, and both are universales.Tanto so that a high percentage of problems, concerns, aspirations and difficulties are common in European and American media. For example, organizational issues, concerns about how to get more and more to the audience, hopes to become the reference half of its market, or difficult to understand and exploit the great potential that the Internet poses to any media. What
elements can predict the success of a revival?
Fundamentally, the organization, and not just writing, but all levels of the company. I have found means to have made a genuine effort to invest in the technological but, however, have neglected the human factor undoubtedly the main capital of the empresa.Yo always say that the first restructuring to do is mental because if not, the other measures (integration of newsrooms, editorial reorganization) is useless. In short, the success of the relaunch of a medium is that all people within that environment not only accept but also want to do it. The the rest is work and training.
What are the main difficulties in dealing with this kind of work?
So I just said, means that they are personal wills. If half the director leading the change, but its editors are reluctant, there is a serious problem if the managers or managing directors of departments do not cooperate, it will be difficult to advance, if the company president wants a revival but the wording is to fear any reorganization, the work is an uphill struggle. Let me give you two contrasting examples: a case in Latin America (not mentioned for obvious reasons), where president and director wanted the relaunch, but most of the writing, wealthy for years to routine work, refused to endorse, yes, in disguised form, without help. At the other extreme is, and yes I can cite here the case of the newspaper Ultima Hora Paraguay, where from the first to the last of the members of the staff believed in the future and today, after months of hard work, become leaders in their mercado.Ha been one of my most successful.
With the immediacy that has led to social networks, it seems that has been set aside depth. What kind of journalism come from?
I am an advocate extreme depth and I do not think demand has dropped. In my surveys and research I can tell you when the depth is worth it, the city dedicates his time. However, if the alleged depth is in fact a firecracker, it is normal that users flee from the web. Go around my speech in Caracas: "Do not tell me before, tell me better."
How do you think citizen journalism has influenced the way of storytelling?
Well, look, like I just said I defend to the final depth journalism, I do not believe at all in the so-called citizen journalism, if by that is understood to be the citizen who contributes content the environment. This is business as usual, ie, that the citizen is a source that provides data to the journalist, but can not speed up information as does a professional. It now has more means, yes, because in addition to calling the media can send pictures and videos but, again, that's not being a source. Better equipped, but a source. For me, citizen journalism is developed by information professionals and exclusive service to their community, their neighbors, not the political and economic powers, which unfortunately is also an almost universal practice.
What new narratives are built with multimedia journalism?
There is a debate more academic than professional, the concept of new narrativas.A me personally, the names or definitions rather I care nothing. What is happening, thanks to advances in technology and telecommunications, is that journalists need more and better tools to deliver your message to the recipient. At the moment the video is still king of the Internet, with interactive graphics, and are taking steps in pursuit of interactive video. The essays are a constant laboratory experimentation. Interactivity, increasingly, is being imposed, now live broadcasts of a normal event and is accompanied the user feedback through its identity in social networks.
Where should recast the role journalism?
is the eternal debate. I come from the paper, I have ink in their veins, and it hurts me more than anyone to see newspapers languishing, indecisive and, if I may, to cowards. I do not believe at all in the death of paper, but it is clear that a large majority still does not react. My passionate defense of print journalism goes through the banishment of outdated information, declarations endless public agenda full of vested interests and other metastases that dragged on for some time. When the paper recover what is expected of him, which is the analysis, context and depth, well complemented by digital editing, then return to see their future.
