Eric Schmid - Newspapers or Journalists? A Matter of Trust.

In previous articles I already stated that I strongly believe that News3.0 will develop towards a branded network of journalists. The interview of Danny Sullivan's with Google's CEO Eric Schmidt about the Google - newspapers controversy is just further fuel for my News3.0 engine. But let us first listen to one of the paragraphs of this interview. (Thanks Danny! - it's really worth reading it)

Danny Sullivan (searchengineland.com): "... Is it just newspapers that have the important brands that people recognize as trusted sources, when it comes to journalism? -

[Eric Schmidt:] There are two different views. There are two different views even within Google. So one view goes like this: The institution becomes less important but the writer remains as important. So that’s sort of the new view.

I don’t happen to agree with this, but I want to make sure I report it accurately. And the rough argument goes like this: Newspapers existed because you needed an aggregation point of great talent. But you really go to a newspaper to read the writers. And because they have so many other outlets, they will become more like freelancers in this model. They will be paid by institutions and they’ll make enough money to get through the day and people will follow them. And some writers will become so famous that they’ll be like basketball stars – they’ll have large salaries and speaking [and] book deals and things like that, although the majority won’t get there.

I disagree with that view, because I believe that there is a value to the brand of the aggregator as well as this trust issue that I was discussing earlier that ultimately a freelance reporter, that ultimately it would be difficult for freelance reporters, as much as we favor them, to operate without at least some institutions of trust. And trust in two ways: trust to the reader, and trust to the sources. ..."

First Schmidt is talking about a freelance model, where newspapers like institutions still exist, and where journalists will not focus on one but on many "outlets" to distribute their content. Journalists will hop from one institution to another to make their living. Second he also refers to the power of a "brand of the aggregator" as a trust center. Now we're at the very core of the subject: it is trust, which differentiates both models.

News3.0 will nurture the seed of trust, since that is the base for journalism anyway. But the mechanism to build trust will be completely different. News3.0 will much more focus on the journalist in the center of the news production process and as part of a network of peers which will be responsible for the overall quality assurance as part of the publishing process.

Comments

[Steffen Konrath]

What would you personally do to find out if something is true? - Normally people would try to cross-check: they search for further evidence mainly others who support what was written.

[Reg B.]

I would trust Journalist more except that the are part of the newspaper and the editor will cut anything that the writer puts in his article. So you don't know if you are getting the truth or whole story.