The Gatekeeper Generation

What struck me the most is your suggestion that mass media will be eliminated and replaced by individual & independent media outlets. I agree that the established mass media outlets have been rocked to their core and the existing companies may, if they don’t adapt, go under. However, I don’t think mass media, the act of dictating the media consumption to the masses, will die. I think it will adapt, get smarter. And I do think it could take the form of a big corporation as it was with the old mass media. And I don’t think we have to look far to see the next iteration of mass media: Google.

Good stuff, David. It’s an extremely interesting/overwhelming time for communicators, media folks, as well as men, women, and children everywhere… like it or not, everyone is impacted!
I agree with Ryan - I don’t ever forsee mass media going under. How people consume info from mass media and the ability to interact with it and pass it along has changed.
One thing that I have noticed about everyone being able to self publish is a dilution of the truth… opinion miscontrued as fact often gets passed on to large numbers of people without the editorial standards of more “traditional” media. On the flip side, having different opinions available is a good thing.
You’ve worked through a lot of changes and have been on the media, communicator, and public side of these transitions. I’m looking forward to reading more about what you have to say.

You might be right, Ryan, about the concept of Mass Media organizations adapting and getting smarter. That’s what’s been so interesting to watch.

Almost all Mass Media outlets have adopted some form of online presence. Blogs written by Mass Media journalists are becoming more and more commonplace. And we’re seeing a growing number of traditional journos adpoting some of the newer, Web 2.0 technchologies/services/tools as a way to stay in touch with their audience members, create interactive feedback mechanisms, and even recruit story ideas.

I just believe it’s still VERY early in game as far as “The Gatekeeper Generation” is concerned, but that’s what’s great about prognostication.

Thanks for the feedback, Ryan.

Malcolm:

No question about it: Citizen-bloggers and -journalists have not typically been trained in the nuances of journalism and/or reporting. And yet many do not seem to understand either the ethical challenges of working in journalism or the responsibilities that come from being part of the Fourth Estate.

Regarding the question of Mass Media going under, I may be ahead of the curve on this one. But then again, I wouldn’t have believed that an esteemed Mass Media outlet such as “The Christian Science Monitor” would have moved out of print and completely onto the Web either.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I’ll keep in touch as I add to “The Gatekeeper Generation.” Thanks, Malcolm.

Hi David,
David from PEMBAserves here. You asked for some feedback on a direct tweet. I’m kind of a social / media theory hack with 20 years in the outdoor industry recently hired by Pemba to work on navigating this complex landscape.

If you haven’t already I’d recommend checking out the work of Douglas Rushkoff and Mark Pesce.
http://www.rushkoff.com
http://blog.futurestreetconsulting.com/
They seem to be articulating the state of flux that we’re currently experiencing.
(I’m also board moderator at rushkoff.com)

::..
If you’re going to read / watch one thing from these guys please watch this video.
Doug Rushkoff on the New Renaissance
http://blip.tv/file/1047324
::..

Yes, we are in the midst of a Great Coming Apart, but also a Great Coming Together. I sense that’s what your venture is attempting to explore and define.

From my perspective, where you stand depends on where you sit. My Perception creates My Reality. At one time My Perception was shaped by the Professional Gatekeepers you listed above. Now, My Perception / My Reality is shaped through multiple media streams communicated through different mediums accessed simultaneously from anywhere.

If anything I don’t feel like a Gatekeeper. I feel like some kind of information Alchemist, blending information and communication conduits that ultimately shape my perceptions, my reality and how I engage the Universe.

In redesigning our agency’s social media strategy my inspiration is Rushkoff’s analogy of the Surfer and the Cartographer*. In the rapidly changing landscape of today’s media environment the marketers and pr people who were once schooled in map-making may need to learn how to become surfers.

See also - The Map is not the Territory**
“…individual people in fact do not in general have access to absolute knowledge of reality, but in fact only have access to a set of beliefs they have built up over time, about reality. So it is considered important to be aware that people’s beliefs about reality and their awareness of things (the “map”) are not reality itself or everything they could be aware of (”the territory”).”

So, you trying to build a Map or a Surfboard?

Interesting times indeed.
David Sweeney
PEMBAserves

*http://rushkoff.com/books/open-source-democracy/
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map-territory_relation

David of PEMBAServes:

Great comments and suggestions. I will definitely check-out the work of both Rushkoff and Pesce.

I love the surfer/cartographer analogy. I also appreciate the fact that surfers also need to know how to “read the map” of the ocean, the incoming swells, the sloping floor of the ocean beneath and the shoreline before them. And if they can’t “read” those aspects of surfing, they’re in for a terrible ride.

Finally, I also love the concept of a “Great Coming Apart” and a “Great Coming Together.” Yes, that is a fairly accurate description of how I feel (deep down in my gut) about where we are — in the middle of a media maelstrom.

Thanks again for your great thoughts & feedback.

Dave Politis

I had my first journalism gig in the same city where David had his first gig as a communications professional. As an intern at the Palo Alto Weekly last year, I felt that I was contributing to a community conversation instead of fortifying a gatekeeper. I felt hopeful that newspapers with a community angle could keep up with their dynamic readership. The Weekly homepage’s “Town Square” gave me this confidence. It features reader-contributed comments to further localize its articles’ relevance and encourages its audience to be both readers and contributors without negating the Weekly’s own journalistic authority. Like Facebook, My Space and Twitter, the Weekly creates conversations that pertain to readers’ local interests. Like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Economist, the Weekly publishes articles readers need to become an informed citizenry. If only I had a great local community publication to turn to…I might stop feeling torn between my Facebook account and the New York Times homepage.