Panel: Cross-Platform Media By Becky Regan
2006 AWSM Intern with The Plain Dealer Every morning, three different newspapers arrive on Kelly Whiteside’s doorstep. Yes, Whiteside has heard of the Internet and knows how to use it, but the self-proclaimed old-school journalist isn’t interested in ditching her paper pages just yet. Whiteside, a newspaper and magazine writer, won’t be trading her print copies in for online editions any time soon, but she showed even old-school is adapting to media changes when she spoke at the Baltimore AWSM conference. Whiteside, along with four other panelists, spoke about cross-platform journalism and technology driven changes during a Saturday morning session entitled “Not Your Father’s (or Mother’s) Oldsmobile: If You Haven’t Noticed, Your Job Has Changed.” Other panelists were Washington Post Prep Sports Editor Jon DeNunzio, South Florida Sun Sentinel Assistant Sports Editor Sherry Skalko, New York Times sports writer Lynn Zinser, and washingtonpost.com Executive Editor Jim Brady. Steve Klein, who teaches at George Mason University, was moderator. Brady said that although some journalists are digging their feet in against changes, their resistance won’t stop the evolution to multi-media storytelling. Cross-platform journalism isn’t a choice, Brady said, and it means more than shoveling paper content online and saving the good stuff for print. Cross-platform means more outlets for journalists. “You’re not limited to one form of story telling anymore,” Brady said. “You can tell the story the way you feel is best.” Telling the same story to a new tune is appealing to audiences, but it’s hard for journalists to embrace changes that mean more work and less time. Brady said cross-platform journalism presents three challenges for reporters. The first challenge is time commitment and quality journalism. Finishing a story is just the beginning, Brady said. The second issue is lack of technical skills. Reporters’ video clips sometimes resemble highlights from America’s Funniest Home Videos. “We had someone the other day turn (the camera) sideways to get the long shot,” Brady said. The third challenge is voice and objectivity. It’s a tricky balance for reporters to voice their opinions online and maintain objectivity in their beats, Brady said. There are no clear answers to these issues, but the benefits of cross-platform journalism outweigh its problems.
One of those benefits is podcasts. Panelist Skalko downloads news pod casts in the morning and listens to them on the way to work. “The most significant way you can reach your audience is by giving them something different,” Skalko said. Back | 
