Earlier this week, at the Society of Editors conference in Bristol, U.K., video journalist Michael Rosenblum delivered a powerful, irreverent talk about how the news business needs to change — and can change — fast.
Tidbits contributor Paul Bradshaw, who was there, observed that Rosenblum was “the only person on stage all day who seemed to realize just what a hole the news industry was in.”
Bradshaw shot several short videos of Rosenblum’s talk, where he shared “his own experiences in creating video journalism for the web, and makes some very strong points about disruptive technologies in history.” Here’s one, and you can watch the rest on Bradshaw’s blog.
Michael Rosenblum @ Society of Editors 08 from Paul Bradshaw on Vimeo.
During the Q&A part of Rosenblum’s talk, Doug Melloy (editor of the Rotherham Advertiser, a small weekly paper in Yorkshire, U.K.) should run video on their site. Rosenblum replied at the conference, but then thought it over and expanded upon his reply on his blog. In Open Letter to a Newspaper Editor, he wrote:
“I think you can do much more, once you have made your staff video literate. You can turn your paper into a machine to produce video and digital content for your community, no matter what the platform.
“For example, ITN is in the process of contracting its regional news coverage. It is far too expensive for them. But it isn’t for you. You are already there, covering the regional and local news. You can solve ITN’s problem, and yours at the same time. Deliver the video news to them, as well as to your paper. In fact, you could plant ITN’s regional TV news in your own newsroom, allowing them to close down their studios. There is an appetite for what you do.”
…This intriguing strategy might work well for several smaller-market news organizations in North America, too. Or even bigger markets. Rosenblum did a video journalism bootcamp with the Newark Star Ledger in May 2008, and he must have inspired them — because the Star Ledger now has its own show on Blip.tv.
