The Public Journal
Here is the latest essay for your consideration, The Public Journal.
As traditional media companies struggle to hang onto models that have served us well for a very long time, the forces of change are leading us down a path that’s not quite as foggy as it once was. I wrote about it a few months ago in “News is a Process, Not a Finished Product,” and I continue that theme in this essay with a look at how the “journal” in journalism is shifting from the private to the public. This new journal is the product of many voices, all coming together to serve the information moment. It is sometimes raw and sometimes unedited, but mostly it’s the collaborative work of amateurs and professionals alike.
This concept will challenge your assumptions about media in a way, I hope, that will produce a genuine willingness to explore what I view as a pretty clear path to tomorrow. It’s scary, but in an exciting sort of way. The only question is this: will we wait until somebody else figures it all out, or will we pave the way in our own communities and beat everybody else to the punch?
