You know those old-time journalists who insist the digital revolution is dumbing down our craft? Well, they might be right.I was perusing the list of sessions at next week's SPJ convention in Indianapolis, and I noticed something called Journalism 3.0 by Victor Hernandez, CNN's director of coverage. Since I'm hosting a session myself, I know that each presenter writes his own description — and no one edits it.
So here are some excerpts from Hernandez about Journalism 3.0 (read the entire entry by going here and scrolling to the bottom)....
1. "With the introduction of new needs and demands around converging newsrooms, so has the flood of new gizmos and buzz word, but who can keep up!?" Uh, what?
2. "The tenants of traditional journalism remain alive and well." You mean, there are people living in traditional journalism? What's their rent? Or do you mean tenets?
3. "With the advent of next-generation search engines, are you still using Google when time to embark on your story research-voyages?" Uh, what?
At this point, you might be asking yourself, "What does a CNN 'coverage director' do, anyway?" Well, according to his own bio, he oversees a 50-person assignment desk, 10 U.S. bureaus, and more than 900 "television and newspaper affiliate partnerships."
If that's not scary enough, here's one amazingly long sentence from Hernandez's bio (also on the SPJ site) that would earn any college journalist a solid F...
"Whether it’s overseeing the ‘big picture’ breaking news coverage demands and expectations from company headquarters or commanding troops on the ground from such noteworthy events as the historical 2008 Presidential election, unraveling complexities of the economic collapse or planning and execution of intense coverage from epic disasters such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires — Victor’s core leadership beliefs have always been encased in leading with vision and respect."
As silly as Hernandez looks for writing this crap, SPJ looks sillier for not editing it.
TUESDAY: An ethical guy ponders the LDF auction.
