Out with the old and in with the new. That's the general consensus concerning media technologies at the moment. Television has gone digital, although it's going to take some time until it's fully felt. Fear and hysteria surround the future of Newspapers as content migrates online and becomes completely free. Why pay 80p? Well, I'd like to think of myself as rather traditional but the truth is it's easier on the eyes to read text on paper rather than on screen. The unnatural glow grates and constantly reminds you that you're staring at the face of a computer, so you can never completely lose yourself in the writing. Plus i try and persuade myself that i actually enjoy battling with unnecessarily big pages crammed heavy with useful information that absorbs my tea as the corners flap and dip unpredictably.
Still there is a lot to be said for the broadsheet and they certainly won't die out over night. On the contrary, they'll fight down to the last letter and more respect to them. Until we have e-paper like that in Christian Volckman's Renaissance the newspaper will have its place on our stands. Most have realised the necessity to be web-savvy and the Guardian for example, is the most trafficked newspaper website in the UK. And rightly so, there's more information contained in those cyper-pages than you could shake a Wii stick at. Jay Rayner had an excellent double page spread entitled "Is it curtains for critics?" Here he reviewed the issue of bloggers vs critics. The blogger, previously dismissed for their uninformed over opinionated ramblings, are now ousting the critics from their professional pedestals as we have seen many top journalists in the US losing their jobs. Now there will always be a need for expert knowledge, gained through years of education and experience but this present situation demonstrates how we are glamourising amateurish free content. Just take the colossal rise of Wikipedia for example. We are less interested in the wise words of a seasoned professional and keener to feast our eyes on the flippant views a snotty nosed student typing away feverishly in his halls of residence. Im all for the empowerment of the user but there will be no fickle substitute for investigative journalism. The internet is a tool and exhibition space that the old monoliths of the broadsheet industry must quickly become accustomed to or they face extinction as young guns spring from their ashes wielding blogs, broadband and a whole host of other digital advantages. Adapt or survive is the message for the elites that have been comfortable on their long established bourgeois thrown, never before challenged by the proles. Until now, the proles and prosumers with their new media technologies are nimble footed and swift minded, uploading their ideas online before the ancients have had a chance to proofread. Cloud computing, crowd powered media and other such technical jargon will have to be rapidly understood by the veterans before they're eating the rookies pixels.
