Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Book people are maybe antiquarians by nature. The mere mention of an e-book is greeted in the publishing world with jeers of something overhyped.  And despite the advent of the Kindle, for book people, the physical object of a book is as sacrosanct as the words written on it.

Various publishers, such as Ugly Duckling Presse, have experimented with online only books, but few looked to the digital future as a replacement rather than a supplement for paper books. The book world, if many publishers had their way, would not go quietly into that digital good night. Far less than newspapers, books seemed ill -adapted to becoming paperless.

Last weekend the New York Center for Independent Publishing held its 21st annual bookfair and addressed the possibility of publishing in the digital age. These talks occurred against the backdrop of layoffs in that touched the highest reaches of the corporate publishing world at Simon and Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, and Thomas Nelson, as reported by the Times and elsewhere.

 So while addressing their long term survival in the face of changing technology, publishers were also facing the more immediate question of survival. But for independent companies, the news was somewhat mixed.

“Things are really grim out there. With what’s going on with the large companies it might be good for independents, so there may be an opportunity for independent presses to step into the breach. But what I worry about is how many independent presses will not be able to survive if people don’t buy books,” said Karin Taylor, executive director of the center.

Johnny Temple, publisher of New York based independent publisher Akashic Books  echoed Taylor’s sentiments. Asked whether the corporate shake up created opportunities for independent houses he was hopeful  that the size of independent companies might offer some advantage.  Nonetheless he cautioned that these companies would face real threats to their survival in the marketplace. Hear an interview with Johnny_Temple_here.

By Maya Pope-Chappell

Photo by Maya Pope-Chappell

With budget cuts, ad losses, layoffs and newspapers going bankrupt, it’s hard to be optimistic about the state of the journalism profession.  Speaker Bill McCandless, Executive Editor of Multimedia for TheSreet.com, spoke a couple weeks ago and said that most of the mainstream newspapers will go bankrupt in 14 months.

Wow, what a future to look forward to.

With the second class of CUNY J-School students graduating next week, the prospect for them is even more sour.  They are walking away with a degree in hand but with very limited job options.  Not to mention the dire economy.

I’ve talked with a few of my fellow students, both in the graduating class and the December 2009 class, and many are worried.  Some of the conversations I’ve had have ranged from, there are really no options, to complete pessimism and questions over their decision to enter into the field of journalism.

Many news outlets and publications are coming up with innovative ways to bring the news to their audience, from including more video and multimedia content on their sites, to producing original content only found online.   This is where I think I fit in and where I believe the most opportunities lie.  So I myself, while nervous about my options in journalism, remain optimistic about the future.

This industry lull is simply in a period of transition.  Transition after all is the best time to come up with new ideas and be on the frontlines of changing and shaping the industry into what it will become in the future.

What are your feelings about the journalism industry?