Who's Afraid of New Media?

[BlueJessamine]

Who's Afraid of New Media?

by Paul Waldman

Obama hasn't shied away from engaging with the new vanguard of media. And the only people who seem bothered by this choice? Old-media reporters.

Excerpt:

It started at the first press conference of Obama's presidency, when among the reporters given the privilege of asking a question was Sam Stein of the Huffington Post. No doubt, more than a few reporters turned their heads in surprise when Obama called on Stein. But the Huffington Post has a larger audience than many traditional media outlets; an analysis by the research firm Comscore found that the site had 4.5 million unique visitors in September. While the Huffington Post is often referred to as the leading blog in America (though it is arguably a news aggregator, not a blog, and even then, blurs the lines between "news aggregator" and "news-gathering organization," since it employs reporters like Stein), others also have vast audiences.

For instance, the Daily Kos has more readers in a day than all but four American newspapers do for their print edition. The administration understands that there are far more ways to reach Americans than there were just a few years ago -- and it will use whatever works.

Nonetheless, many of these newly visible media aren’t new at all. In his second press conference, Obama called on a reporter from Univision, the Spanish-language network that reaches millions of Americans (in some markets like Los Angeles and Miami, Univision has a larger audience than the four broadcast networks among "the demo," meaning adults 18 to 49). He called on a reporter from Stars & Stripes, the newspaper that serves American military personnel all over the world. He called on a reporter from Ebony magazine. And he called on a reporter from Agence France-Presse, the French wire service whose reports are read all over the world.

You could look at this as nodding to a series of constituencies -- Hispanics, check; service members check; African Americans, check; foreigners, check. But those nods have real meaning. They say to the people who use those news sources, "I think you're important -- I'm listening to you, and I'm speaking to you."

The complete article is here:
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=whos_afraid_of_new_media

[ixion]

1. The "old guard" MSM can take a flying f**k at the moon

for all I care.

[PM Martin]

2. About time!

:bounce: