Go to the Nieman Lab webpage (part of Harvard university) and watch the video of Clay Shirky presenting to Harvard students. The video is also available on YouTube below but the Nieman Lab website has a written transcript of everything Shirky says.
Play the clip AND read along with the transcript below to ensure you are following the argument. You need to watch from the beginning to 29.35 (the end of Shirky's presentation). Once you've watched and read the presentation and made notes (you may want to copy and paste key quotes from the transcript which is absolutely fine), answer the questions below:
1) Why does Clay Shirky argue that 'accountability journalism' is so important and what example does he give of this?
Because of budgeting, newspapers' capacity to produce accountability journalism is reducing
He uses the priest pedophile example o show that the reporters did not know whether the story would have substance ie. the priest would be charged or bailed.
2) What does Shirky say about the relationship between newspapers and advertisers? Which websites does he mention as having replaced major revenue-generators for newspapers (e.g. jobs, personal ads etc.)?
2) What does Shirky say about the relationship between newspapers and advertisers? Which websites does he mention as having replaced major revenue-generators for newspapers (e.g. jobs, personal ads etc.)?
"Best Buy was not willing to support the Baghdad bureau because Best Buy cared about news from Baghdad. They just didn’t have any other good choices."
advertising in newspapers is becoming an unlikely occurrence
newspapers were less motivated to do "long-range, high-risk work"
3) Shirky talks about the 'unbundling of content'. This means people are reading newspapers in a different way. How does he suggest audiences are consuming news stories in the digital age?
3) Shirky talks about the 'unbundling of content'. This means people are reading newspapers in a different way. How does he suggest audiences are consuming news stories in the digital age?
, the decision about what to bring together into a bundle is made by the consumer and not at the level — and not by the producer.
more active consumers
4) Shirky also talks about the power of shareable media. How does he suggest the child abuse scandal with the Catholic Church may have been different if the internet had been widespread in 1992?
4) Shirky also talks about the power of shareable media. How does he suggest the child abuse scandal with the Catholic Church may have been different if the internet had been widespread in 1992?
It would have been shared a lot of times and become a stale story. Spreading the news to more people makes it a more trending story
So the ability to reuse and republish that material was a huge part of the battle.
5) Why does Shirky argue against paywalls?
He thinks that the newspapers put profit over the quality of the news. Of course, people have to be paid, but the public reuse Shirky mentions should mean that the reporters get paid a lot.
6) What is a 'social good'? In what way might journalism be a 'social good'?
6) What is a 'social good'? In what way might journalism be a 'social good'?
Shining a light on something that people may have not known
7) Shirky says newspapers are in terminal decline. How does he suggest we can replace the important role in society newspapers play? What is the short-term danger to this solution that he describes?
7) Shirky says newspapers are in terminal decline. How does he suggest we can replace the important role in society newspapers play? What is the short-term danger to this solution that he describes?
- the digital age can reduce the load of the investigative journalism by spreading it out on a smaller model
- it is something that'll make users complacent to news
- accountability journalism will decline massively
8) Look at the first question and answer regarding institutional power. Give us your own opinion: how important is it that major media brands such as the New York Times or the Guardian continue to stay in business and provide news?
8) Look at the first question and answer regarding institutional power. Give us your own opinion: how important is it that major media brands such as the New York Times or the Guardian continue to stay in business and provide news?
I think that these major companies should use their platforms to spread reliable and quality journalism, albeit without the use of a paywall might mean that users will be put off using it and then switch to other competitors. I think that the money generated by these brands should be distributed a little more wider so that areas that accountability journalism is taken seriously by the public.
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