New media, new role?

This morning, internet pioneer Alfred Hermida reminded the group that it does no good to bemoan the fate of newspapers and other traditional media if the next generation simply isn’t reading them. He encouraged everyone to face the challenges and get excited about the opportunities presented by the internet.

It’s about “retaining the skills we have, but operating in this new medium,” he said.

He mentioned the participatory nature of the internet as a prime example of its potential to engage a new audience.

But participation is not what journalism has been about. It seems that the internet demands a whole new set of skills, and poses an important set of questions for what the role for science writers will be in the future.

The morning’s next presenter, Dan Grossman, gave excellent examples of various web sites (on Antarctica and Madagascar). If journalism can be likened to screenwriting, this is more like set design or directing.

Furthermore, the kind of content that Mr. Grossman illustrated has none of the ephemerality of a newspaper story. They stay put, and become part of a whole readily-available structure. Web pages like these provide an excellent bridge between working scientists and a curious public, but they represent a vast departure from the day-to-day nature of print media stories.

The fundamental questions here are:

Is the role of science writers online to create a structure for scientific education? Or is it to continually update the public on the advances and consequences of modern science?

... and is this a financially feasible process?

(I’d love to see some statistics on the viewing of these sites).