A forecast of how collapse may reinvent journalism

Via Common Sense Journalism: This 2006 piece from the proprietor of newspaperdeathwatch.com is still well worth reading for several reasons, including its positive spirit despite the gloomy-sounding verbiage, but also its comparison of newspaper economics and successful Web ventures; its breakdown of how the medium has shaped the writing:

Once a story was in print, it was permanent. This necessitated an almost obsessive attention to detail and fact-checking. All facts had to be assembled before the story was written. ... Structure was critical. Because stories were cut from the bottom, newspapers invented the “inverted pyramid” style of writing, in which more important information was placed higher in the story. Good information was omitted because there wasn’t enough space.
... Of course, all that is irrelevant online, and the new journalism will be based on an entirely different set of assumptions. Any report may be quickly and easily updated and corrected. Search engine results and referral links are the principal drivers of readership. Layout is almost irrelevant to a Web site.

... and its description of exactly what our business might look like AFTER it turns upside-down:

This will be nothing less than a complete rebirth of journalism around the concept that information is plentiful and cheap. Instead of 1,500 print newspapers, there will be perhaps five to 10 national “super-papers” and many thousands of regional and special interest community news sites.