On June 27, NYU professor Jay Rosen published a bluntly worded clarion call to mainstream media organizations: The People Formerly Known as the Audience
Excerpt: “We feel there is nothing wrong with old style, one-way, top-down media consumption. Big Media pleasures will not be denied us. You provide them, we’ll consume them and you can have yourselves a nice little business.”
“But we’re not on your clock any more. Tom Curley, CEO of the Associated Press, has explained this to his people. ‘The users are deciding what the point of their engagement will be — what application, what device, what time, what place.'”
“We graduate from wanting media when we want it, to wanting it without the filler, to wanting media to be way better than it is, to publishing and broadcasting ourselves when it meets a need or sounds like fun.”
Meanwhile, over at the PR blog Inside the Cubicle, Jeffrey Treem comments on how Rosen’s views can apply to all communication — not just the mainstream media.
So — how closely does Rosen’s missive reflect the prevailing concept of “audience” at your news or media organization? Please comment below.
