14 May 09 Research, Writing, and Wikipedia
A self-described “old newspaper man” recently asked me about a sign in my library. The sign promotes an electronic version of The Boston Globe. He asked if the school library had to pay for the service. I told him that it was part of The Globe’s Newspapers in Education program and that it was free. He responded by saying, “That’s why they’re struggling. They need to charge for these things.” As it turns out, The Globe is where he had worked—as a wire service guy. In addition to suggesting that the paper start charging for electronic content, he went on to say that the “bloated” organization must be substantially downsized. I was surprised at this. I thought that papers had been making cuts. I wondered aloud if the costs of printing and delivery were insurmountable, and if the paper (and others) were doomed by that issue alone. In his opinion, the viability of newspapers is tied to controlling the costs of workers. Efficiency is the name of the game, he said. There’s simply way too much waste.
If this is the main issue, and newspapers truly are bloated with employees, then printed errors of fact are pretty hard to explain. Yet, the AP reports that an Irish university student duped newspapers around the world by fabricating a wordy quote and inserting it into a Wikipedia article. The student deliberately set out to see how much journalists relied on Wikipedia for obituary writing. In this case, it was used a lot and used carelessly.
Wikipedia is a favorite research tool of students at all grade levels, including college. Librarians, teachers, and professors routinely caution against its use for anything more than basic, step-one research. It’s open-source, after all, and can be edited at any time. While many articles are closely monitored by users interested in accuracy, others are not. If a researcher uses the wrong article at the wrong time, therefore, truth will be sacrificed. This lesson, repeated in classrooms around the world, is apparently not repeated in news rooms around the world.
If an old newspaper man is to be believed, and newspapers are still substantially staffed, errors of fact must result merely from sloppy research. If substantial mistakes can’t be ascribed to job cuts and too few staffers trying to do too many things, then the basics of research and Wikipedia’s use could and should be followed by the pros, and not just school students. Learn about Wikipedia as a research tool.
12 Apr 09 Newspapers in Libraries
In a recent listserv conversation about library periodical subscriptions, I explained that I had discontinued USA Today and The Boston Globe, and had suspended the The Wall Street Journal—all due to a lack of interest by my library’s student patrons. One listserv participant responded by arguing that libraries have an obligation to continue supporting print papers, basically for nostalgia reasons. As newspapers slowly disappear, the author wrote, librarians need to ask themselves, “What role we play in the tragedy?” My retort was a bit defensive, pointing out that I do still subscribe to two local dailies and one weekly, and that I now get the electronic version of The Globe. I’m now thinking that I errored in that approach and should have just pointed out that information consumption habits have changed and it’s time that we all come to grips with it.
Despite growing up in a household with newspapers and despite the fact that I still enjoy the feel, the layout, and the serendipity of print papers, I do believe the print model is doomed. This week’s Time magazine reports a 72% decline in the number of media outlets dedicating reporters to Capital Hill. Ad revenue is down because circulation is down. It would seem that reporters simply can’t be paid. The same thing is happening to TV news. At home and at work, people are increasingly online and getting info throughout their day. And given that most people don’t even yet know about or use RSS technology, the efficiency of online news gathering will only improve.
I’m afraid that looking toward the past will only leave librarians in the past. Rather than merely lament the loss of print, it’s perhaps time to embrace the digital and teach about RSS, Bloglines, Google Reader, and the like. It’s time to see sites like the New York Times online as an amazing information tool and not just a poor substitute for the original. I think that the late NBC reporter Irving R. Levine would have loved it. He is also mentioned in this week’s Time magazine in a piece written by Tom Brokaw. Brokaw says that before looking at the daily newspapers, Levine would always don white cotton gloves in order to avoid getting ink on his fingers. Doubtless there are layout and other disadvantages to digital news publication. Box scores and league standings are, for me, one of the biggest shortcomings. But a couple of good things are guaranteed with online news: (1) It’s easily accessed and (2) you’ll never get ink on your hands.
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