TAKEAWAY: In an interview with Sunday’s El Pais, digital guru Rosental C. Alves, of the University of Texas’ Knight Center, calls it as he sees it: from media “dinosaurs” to those who are doing it right. We quote from the interview on key points of interest to all. PLUS: All about apps and some you can’t live without in this newly discovered site.
One of the reasons I so enjoy reading Spain’s El Pais—-especially its Sunday editions—-is because there is always one or two surprises in the content mix.
Yesterday’s edition had one very special one: an interview with Rosental C. Alves, founder of the University of Texas’ Knight Center, a professional training and outreach program for journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Although I have often heard about Prof. Alves and his no-nonsense approach to media strategies, I thought his interview with El Pais shed light on at least three topics with which I can identify totally.
Let me explain first that Prof. Alves, who is Brazilian, is one of Latin America’s innovators when it comes to bringing media houses to the digital revolution. In fact, we mentioned in this blog last week that Jornal do Brasil, which abandoned its printed edition to go solely online, was the first to go into the Internet; it was Prof. Alves who created, in 1991, the first digital edition of JB. He has been carrying the digital revolution banner as a consultant since then.
Highlights of the El Pais interview
On information flow today:
Information does not flow in closed packages anymore; instead, it circulates in open units, in a constant flow that is distributed through the Internet. We now face a logic that is totally different from that of the industrial society…..The creation of this Internet society opens the road to a democratization of information like we could have never imagined. Phenomenons such as Wikipedia, the open source movement….social networks, e-governments, the transparency of governments that is imposing itself little by little, lead us to greater democratization for a better world.
On the role of newspapers and journalism:
When asked if newspapers, which traditionally have exerted such control as stewards of journalism, will continue to have such journalistic power as printed products become more residual, this is what Prof. Alves responded:
I believe so. Capitalism is sufficiently dynamic, flexible and adaptive, and the existence of a free press is so important to society that I am optimistic that we are going to find the right formula to maintain this important role for a journalism that is free and independent. But it will be different. In fact, I even hope it will be better. We are going through a revolution with little precedent, which is comparable with that which Gutenberg produced. But revolutions are not quick, and this one is full of evlutionary and complex processes. The printed newspaper is not going to disappear from one day to another…….I don’t have a crystal ball to say when the end of the printed newspaper will come, but I believe that there will be printed newspapers in 2020. Paper will be a secondary part of a strong digital multimedia platform
On the difficulties of traditional media houses to move forward:
I underlined this part of the interview with Prof. Alves because it rang true with me and my own experiences. In discussing the new logic that should be part of every media house’s planning, Alves, who admits he is “used to speaking to many dinosaurs” says that now the “dinosaurs” are beginning to realize that if they stay in Jurassic Park, they will be extinguished. Alves tells of how difficult it is for publishers and editors with traditional journalistic mentalities to advance their products. The key statement here is that, in most cases, newspapers arrive late to innovation——no secret for those of us who work with newspaper teams on a daily basis.
I do not believe that the majority of publishers and editors do this on purpose. The reasons are many, and some have to do with what I would describe as the trappings that traditional journalists carry around them, primarily their sense of mission and purpose, which, as we know, these journalists see attached to a printed product, and not a digital one. I am convinced that there is no convincing some of these publishers, but I am happy to say that a majority have seen the light and are proceeding accordingly.
Here is Alves’ take:
“….we need to accept the new logic. See, for example, the power that a medium like Twitter has acquired and what it has become in two or three years. The traditional media will continue to arrive late because they can’t seem to break the difficulty of innovation. First, because they have too much commitment to the status quo. The first preoccupation of a newspaper, for example, is not to cannibilize the printed product. That in itself presents a great limitation. In fact, is it better to let others cannibalize our product rather than cannibalize it ourselves? That is the recipe for a suicide. If someone is going to cannibalize your business, then it is better that you do it yourself.
Who is doing right, according to Alves?
Alves cites the following as examples of places where good things are happening:
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
Texas Tribune
Voice of San Diego
Propublica
From golf to style, and even dental, apps you may not know exist are here
I only discovered it today, but this site carries a perfect guide to apps of interest.
If you are into wine, learn about the top five wine apps.
If you are into all things style, then go to the Top 5 Best Style Apps from NYTimes
I recommend it!
Go here:
http://www.appconsumer.com/category/top-5-apps-lists/
Galaxy no competition for the iPad
Page from Bild Zeitung, where tech writer Martin Eisenlauer says he is not too impressed with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab
Last week we posted a blog about the war of the tablets, mentioning that Samsung had officially unveiled its tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab, the latest of its products to attempt to compete with mighty machine Apple. I was surprised not to see too much written about the Galaxy Tab, not that I saw it as much of a formidable competitor for the iPad.
Apparently somebody else agrees with my view: Bild’s media techie writer Martin Eisenlauer writes that the Galaxy presents no competition to the iPad. and, says Martin, at 799 euros, “too expensive”.
TheMarioBlog post #625