A music critic at my old paper used to end every column with something along the lines of, "I have seen the future of rock and roll and it is..." and he would discuss a new group.
So I wonder if I've seen the future of journalism.
For anyone who hasn't taken a peek, the St. Pete paper launched the results of four years of work this week. Who would've thought a zoo held such a story?
More evidence that a great reporter can find a great story in anything.
But I digress.
In this era of trimming resources, this reporter went to Africa to help chronicle a local story. In an era of shrinking news hole, the St. Pete paper dedicated the space. In an era of short stories, this runs long.
This is the kind of journalism that will save our product. Not gimmicks. Not schemes.
We have to provide our readers something they can't find elsewhere. That's CAR. That's investigations. That's fearless writing about stories that matter.
If we don't do those things, who will? TV won't. They're too busy covering meth busts and house fires.
It's the content that matters. Medium is secondary.
We have to find our niche. And we have to promote it. And we have to convince readers it's worthing taking the time to read, whether it's in print or online.
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You now can download a podcast version of "Zoo Story" read by Tom French at iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=271088022
Or you can listen at:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/webspecials07/special_reports/zoo/
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