The subject of MSM versus new media has often been debated on the blogosphere, and while I have never argued that blogging or citizen journalisn will fully replace mainstream media, I think it does serve as a valuable addition. I was struck this week, after reading an article in the Evening Echo (yes I know it’s a local tabloid, but still), that if I had written the same piece on my blog, it wouldn’t have been long before I was discredited. Judge for yourself:
Business section, Evening Echo, Page 12, January 11th 2006.
Aer Lingus to increase service to Cork
Aer Lingus is to base a fourth A320 aircraft at Cork International Airport from June.
The additional aircraft will facilitate three new routes to Berlin, Birmingham abd Tenerife.
This latest increase in services will bring to over €100 million the investment made by Aer Lingus in Cork to-date, and will result in a further 300,000 seats into and out of Cork on an annual basis.
In addition to the new services from Cork to Berlin and Birmingham – both three times weekly and Tenerife once a week – additional frequencies will also be added to existing Aer Lingus routes from Cork to Nice, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Alicante, Malaga and Rome.
The developments were welcomed today by the airport management board which also disclosed that a record 202,764 people used the airport during December.
This represented an increase of 51,702 passengers, or 34.5% on December 2004 figures.
The board also confirmed that Aer Arann plans to immediately increase its daily service Cork/Dublin service from four to five flights. Further information and booking details are available at aerarann.com.
Ryanair also operates a daily Cork/Dublin service, as well as a twice daily service to London Gatwick. Further information and booking details are available at ryanair.com.
Passengers should note that Ryanair operates a strict check-in procedure on all flights, with check-in desks closing 40 minutes prior to take-off. Passengers must also be prepared to produce photo ID for inspection for all Ryanair flights, including domestic flights. Acceptable forms of photo ID are a current passport, driving licence, or national identity card.
Jet2.com is currently operating a direct service to Newcastle. Flights start from as little as 14 € one-way, inclusive of taxes.
Further information and booking details are available at Jet2.com.
Malev Hungarian Airlines currently operate a Cork/Budapest service four times a week. Further information at malev.com.
Airport management would like to remind passengers to allow plenty of time for check-in – at least one hour and 30 minutes before scheduled flight departure times, and at least two hours and 30 minutes before charter flight departure times.
Passengers are asked to limit hand luggage to one item, and to refrain from placing sharp items in hand luggage.
Now tell me what you think might be wrong with that article. If it was by a staffer I might understand, but it was written by the Deputy Editor of the paper.
while I have never argued that blogging or citizen journalisn will fully replace mainstream media, I think it does serve as a valuable addition.
It’s not going to replace journalism at all, unless you take special cases like hybrid journalist/bloggers such as Josh Marshall. Pajamas Media has been a exercise in humiliation for all the conservatarian US blowhards who’ve been mouthing off for years about how they’re going to kill the “MSM”.
What they’re going to do, though, is to provide a revolutionary medium for punditry, i.e. comment and analysis on news. But ordinary reporters needn’t put away their notebooks quite yet.
But reporting as quoted in the piece is something that I know I would never get away with on here…essentially copying and pasting press releases and not attributing it. I think perhaps the MSM could learn something in the online medium – greater feedback and conversation with their readers.
But reporting as quoted in the piece is something that I know I would never get away with on here…essentially copying and pasting press releases and not attributing it.
Well, we copy and paste too, albeit usually with the attribution.
I think perhaps the MSM could learn something in the online medium – greater feedback and conversation with their readers.
How many people do you know that take criticism well?
Actually, if I can make a point here – this argument about the MSM and its relationship or otherwise to blogging could be construed as largely cultural for the time being. A lot depends on whether you see it as a confrontational relationship, say either/or or not. Interestingly enough, in France (sorry), the so called main stream media (I’m sorry Gavin, can’t stand that term) has largely embraced blogs…Le Monde is a prime example – it hosts quite a lot of blogs (many of which are very interesting) and uses both blogs, and chat, and various fora as major feedback. Have to say it still surprises me, if only because feedback via letters to the editor were never a major feature of the newspaper. Similarly Liberation hosts blogs, although not to the same extent as Le Monde. The two government television channels, France 2 and France 3, host blogs as does one of the biggest radio station chains in France (SkyRock via skyblog).
Regarding the Echo’s piece – well it’s a local paper, and I would say it has a very different agenda to a political blog, for example. In other words, the question you could ask yourself is do you want to be judged by your own agenda, or by the agenda of a local newspaper. Blogging’s reach is pretty much global. The Echo’s isn’t.