...
BuzzFeed is no scrappy little start-up anymore. It’s a big, profitable, influential news
organization. The viral videos it publishes—generally without vetting—occasionally turn
out to be hoaxes, the kind of mistake that delights old print curmudgeons eager to assert
their ethical superiority. But as BuzzFeed continues to grow—four new employees
checked in at the front desk in the 10 minutes I spent waiting there one morning—they’re
not just adding brilliant headline writers and producers who get the gestalt of cat lovers.
BuzzFeed has decided it’s no longer good enough to fix errors after publication, at least
not on its most popular posts. They’ve decided it makes good journalism and business
sense to assure readers that their posts are true, so BuzzFeed is embracing the ultimate
symbol of the overstuffed print newsrooms of the pre-digital past. BuzzFeed is hiring
copy editors.
President Bar
For nearly two decades, a culture war has divided journalists. The gap seemed mostly
generational, but it always boiled down to a battle over the very purpose of what we do.
All the dismissive sniping and straight-out antagonism between old-school defenders of
the print craft and the young digital brains propelling start-ups came down to a debate
over values: The old guard argued that they were driven by the quest for truth, and by
their sense of what citizens need to know to be informed participants in democracy.
Reporting was all about locking down the facts and presenting them to readers, who
would know best how to take advantage of the light we shined. Digital journalists
countered that their way was more honest and democratic—and quicker. If that meant
presenting stories before they’d been thoroughly vetted, that was okay, because the
internet would correct itself. Truth would emerge through open trial and error.
With the collapse of old business models, the debate over values turned into a death match. Print chauvinists still muster mock horror when a few news sites run with wholly unconfirmed reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, apparently fallen from favor, was stripped, caged and eaten by 120 ravenous dogs. And more than a few digital evangelists find a proud identity in the distance they keep from stodgy, superfluous, layered editing structures that persist at many newspapers and magazines.
But consider a new possibility: What if conciliation is at hand?...
http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/who_cares_if_its_true.php?page=all
With the collapse of old business models, the debate over values turned into a death match. Print chauvinists still muster mock horror when a few news sites run with wholly unconfirmed reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, apparently fallen from favor, was stripped, caged and eaten by 120 ravenous dogs. And more than a few digital evangelists find a proud identity in the distance they keep from stodgy, superfluous, layered editing structures that persist at many newspapers and magazines.
But consider a new possibility: What if conciliation is at hand?...
http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/who_cares_if_its_true.php?page=all
BuzzFeed
is no scrappy little start-up anymore. It’s a big, profitable,
influential news organization. The viral videos it publishes—generally
without vetting—occasionally turn out to be hoaxes, the kind of mistake
that delights old print curmudgeons eager to assert their ethical
superiority. But as BuzzFeed continues to grow—four new employees
checked in at the front desk in the 10 minutes I spent waiting there one
morning—they’re not just adding brilliant headline writers and
producers who get the gestalt of cat lovers. BuzzFeed has decided it’s
no longer good enough to fix errors after publication, at least not on
its most popular posts. They’ve decided it makes good journalism and
business sense to assure readers that their posts are true, so BuzzFeed
is embracing the ultimate symbol of the overstuffed print newsrooms of
the pre-digital past. BuzzFeed is hiring copy editors.
For nearly two decades, a culture war has divided journalists. The gap
seemed mostly generational, but it always boiled down to a battle over
the very purpose of what we do. All the dismissive sniping and
straight-out antagonism between old-school defenders of the print craft
and the young digital brains propelling start-ups came down to a debate
over values: The old guard argued that they were driven by the quest for
truth, and by their sense of what citizens need to know to be informed
participants in democracy. Reporting was all about locking down the
facts and presenting them to readers, who would know best how to take
advantage of the light we shined. Digital journalists countered that
their way was more honest and democratic—and quicker. If that meant
presenting stories before they’d been thoroughly vetted, that was okay,
because the internet would correct itself. Truth would emerge through
open trial and error.
With the collapse of old business models, the debate over values turned
into a death match. Print chauvinists still muster mock horror when a
few news sites run with wholly unconfirmed reports that North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, apparently fallen from favor, was stripped,
caged and eaten by 120 ravenous dogs. And more than a few digital
evangelists find a proud identity in the distance they keep from stodgy,
superfluous, layered editing structures that persist at many newspapers
and magazines.
But consider a new possibility: What if conciliation is at hand? - See
more at:
http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/who_cares_if_its_true.php?page=all#sthash.IbcuNo4O.dpuf
BuzzFeed
is no scrappy little start-up anymore. It’s a big, profitable,
influential news organization. The viral videos it publishes—generally
without vetting—occasionally turn out to be hoaxes, the kind of mistake
that delights old print curmudgeons eager to assert their ethical
superiority. But as BuzzFeed continues to grow—four new employees
checked in at the front desk in the 10 minutes I spent waiting there one
morning—they’re not just adding brilliant headline writers and
producers who get the gestalt of cat lovers. BuzzFeed has decided it’s
no longer good enough to fix errors after publication, at least not on
its most popular posts. They’ve decided it makes good journalism and
business sense to assure readers that their posts are true, so BuzzFeed
is embracing the ultimate symbol of the overstuffed print newsrooms of
the pre-digital past. BuzzFeed is hiring copy editors.
For nearly two decades, a culture war has divided journalists. The gap
seemed mostly generational, but it always boiled down to a battle over
the very purpose of what we do. All the dismissive sniping and
straight-out antagonism between old-school defenders of the print craft
and the young digital brains propelling start-ups came down to a debate
over values: The old guard argued that they were driven by the quest for
truth, and by their sense of what citizens need to know to be informed
participants in democracy. Reporting was all about locking down the
facts and presenting them to readers, who would know best how to take
advantage of the light we shined. Digital journalists countered that
their way was more honest and democratic—and quicker. If that meant
presenting stories before they’d been thoroughly vetted, that was okay,
because the internet would correct itself. Truth would emerge through
open trial and error.
With the collapse of old business models, the debate over values turned
into a death match. Print chauvinists still muster mock horror when a
few news sites run with wholly unconfirmed reports that North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, apparently fallen from favor, was stripped,
caged and eaten by 120 ravenous dogs. And more than a few digital
evangelists find a proud identity in the distance they keep from stodgy,
superfluous, layered editing structures that persist at many newspapers
and magazines.
But consider a new possibility: What if conciliation is at hand? - See
more at:
http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/who_cares_if_its_true.php?page=all#sthash.IbcuNo4O.dpuf
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