The changing face of media, Part I

The prevailing mindset of those embedded within mainstream media (MSM) is one of a deteriorating and declining industry riddled with lay-offs and steadfast revenue-streams that have gone south. The Newspaper Association of America reported in March 2008 that, in 2007, the industry had its sharpest drop in advertising revenue of 9.4 percent. This attitude is so pervasive and so discouraging that it reinforces itself into a seemingly irreparable state of morale decline.

Terry Heaton, senior vice president of AR&D’s Media 2.0 arm which covers everything from the internet to mobile devices, makes an astute observation on his PoMo Blog paralleling this debilitating attitude permeating most MSM newsrooms to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross‘ five stages of grieving:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

The good news is that most newsrooms are depressed having recognized that the industry has fundamentally changed, that the internet may be a viable focus of anger but unlikely to result in anything, nor will short term compromises, band-aids or negotiations. The nostalgic notion of the traditional newsroom is gone with those left standing faced with the challenge of accepting and adapting.

Friday: The organizational mindset