The revolution will be televised

Jennifer Lush of Editor’s Weblog makes an interesting point that despite the rise of blogging among the unwashed masses, there’s a hole in video blogging that journalists can exploit:

Video blogging, quite simply a blog which employs video as its medium, is a phenomenon which hasn’t shown the same success as its text-based parent amongst everyday web users. Despite the fact the ‘tools of the trade’ – cameras, editing software, and a platform to broadcast – are no longer unaffordable or complex obstacles, the significant investment of time to produce something that is of a publishable quality is still a drawback for many.

She says that while any man with a decent command of language and a fresh perspective can out blog a trained journalist, it’s a lot harder to out video-blog someone who is trained and experienced in video.

As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words, and journalists should take advantage of the skills they already have, with some modifications for the online audience, and make the most of the void in the video blogging market.

In related news, the Telegraph’s report that Twitter was about to launch video blogging turned out to bogus.

Journalist quits his newspaper, buys plane ticket, and starts blog

Here’s a nice yarn for you: a print journalist named Adam Jadhav quit his job at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to begin a new life travelling and blogging.

Since I entered J-School, I’ve been dreaming of being a foreign correspondent. Unfortunately, the journalism industry doesn’t have the scratch to afford many of those these days.

finally pulled the trigger this summer, told the bosses I’d be quitting and bought plane tickets. I am bound for the developing world, with a stop in Kenya and before an eventual long-term stay in India. There will be sidetrips elsewhere (Thailand for at start, but who knows where the winds will blow).

His blog is adamjadhav.com. He has also made a rap video to celebrate his transition, which feels rather hackeneyed considering the number of rap parody songs out there, but it is midly entertaining:

We must wish Adam the best of luck on his new journey and hope that he gets plenty of freelance work to support his travels. Dare we say Adam Jadhav, “‘international journalist 2.0″, could exemplify the opportunties that are open to intrepid word-smiths in the so-called new era of journalism?

Either way, this is an inspiring story to any journo student yearning to become a foreign correspondent but worried about being restricted by a miserly newspaper company.

I know a few people who will be heartened by Adam’s tale…

Pay news and the end of ‘the great democratiser’

Editor’s web blog has some intriguing analysis on the economic viability of online news subscriptions. Emma Heald tucks away a nice thought at the end of her blog:

“And although one can argue that the consumer will be benefiting from the quality content that would be supported by pay schemes, their online news experience is likely to suffer if they are confronted by frequent paywalls that stop them from roaming the web freely.”

If online news subscription models become common place it will be a double edged sword. High quality journalism will be sustainable but it will no longer reach a vast number of people. Say what you will about the decline of newsroom numbers and the rise of PR-infused reporting, but right now anyone anywhere with an internet connection can access the cream of the crop of global journalism.

It’s an obvious point to make but a strangely ironic thought that although journalists desire a business model to sustain their battle to ‘preserve democracy’ they’ll no longer be reaching the masses they seek to inform.

I can’t imagine it’s exactly what Al Gore imagined when he was getting teary-eyed about the internet and the free flow of information.

Information comes with a price tag, baby.