First Draft

I've just encountered First Draft by Tim Porter, an astonishing, overflowing well of news and newspaper criticism. Mr Porter covers all the bases. Thanks are due to Road to Surfdom for pointing it out (which does not begin to do justice to Tim Dunlop's extravagant methods).

In a post on Media Bias, Mr Porter quotes LA Times writer David Shaw saying, "We're biased in favor of change, as opposed to the status quo. We're biased in favor of bad news, rather than good news. We're biased in favor of conflict rather than harmony."

While this is not exactly news, the rest of the post elaborates both the crisis that this represents and Mr Porter's optimism for newspapers in particular and the special place in the media they might be able to occupy.

"In an age of omni-media, where the incessant bleating of broadcast and Internet pundits, and the reduction of reporting into stacks of scroll bars creates a clamorously poisonous atmosphere that chokes out quality journalism, newspapers have an opportunity to foster a healthier, more vibrant news environment whose deep reporting, evocative writing and enticing photographs give the public's interest in knowing what's going on in their communities a chance to thrive."

(All emphasis in the original.)

Posted by Martial