Jacob Torres February 15, 2012 COMM 2307.

02 Page One Page One is a stunning documentary that takes a look at the current pulse of the New York Times. The desire for printed word is on the decline, and was at an especially low point at the time of the movies filming. Furthermore the movies filming coincides with Julian Assanges major United States release of major diplomatic cables, also known as Cablegate. This event, when coupled with the state of the New York Times, puts great perspective on the importance of printed word, how fast it is able to be spread, and how relevant it is now, in a world where revolutions can be started at the speed of a tweet. In the past, major stories were broken through The New York Times, and would then disseminate down to all other publications, this is known as the The New York Times Effect. Stories were harvested, leads were followed, and writers would watch as their article developed from a little blurb in to a fully fledged Times worthy article. The modern journalistic content shift however, does not have to follow this model. A story can both start and end at the blurb level, the tweeted 140 characters level. Furthermore, with the rise of video technology and YouTube, crafted articles are no longer necessary to explain world events to the public. No, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a fifteen minute video of U.S. soldiers gunning down civilians and children is enough to spin journalism on its axis. Bruce Headlam, the Media Desk Editor for the Times, described the event as a collision of two worlds, [on one hand you have the] closed old world of expertise and classification of information and privacy, and [then you have the] new world that wants to crack it all open. The ability to see the video source of news removes the New York Times from the top of the trickle-down news model and instead puts it on level playing ground with everyone who owns an internet connection. However, it could be said that by not submitting the video through a verifiable and trusted press some accountability is lost, and more so a loss for protection of the

Jacob Torres February 15, 2012 COMM 2307.02 Page One submitter. This video ushers in a new era of journalism. Gone are the days of the Pentagon papers where presses had to be stopped, where official documents and leads were handed off in person, where it took months to get to the gotcha moment of journalism. In the 21st century news is made by dropping off a video on YouTube, showing Democratic Congressmans private tweets to the world, and by creating Facebook events to revolt against your militaristic President. If technology allows for the transmission of messages to travel at the speed of light, shouldnt it make sense that journalism is able to keep up? If the New York Times wants to be included in 21st century journalism, it will need to find a way to mobilize faster, to craft its stories in the same amount of time it takes to tweet 160 characters, and or incorporate more professional video journalism to keep up with a population that prefers seeing a picture to the printed press. Though a video does not hold the same prestige as the written word, and I am sure many in the Times building would be against the idea, it is the next logical step in their continued evolution into the 21st century. Although it appears as if news is dying, upon further examination one can see that this is simply untrue. The newspaper may be dying; but news is choosing to take different forms now, different forms that spring out of a desire for a faster, more cutting edge, and technologically relevant form. Currently, the Times has a shepherd into the technological age in Brian Stetler, a 26 year old Media Reporter, described by his colleagues as the embodiment of new media and a robot. Stelter, at the young age of 21, started an extremely successful TV news blog that broke stories and was a must follow for the Television community. He was hired by the Times and lectures on the importance of social media to his coworkers, and students. David Carr, the old school to Stelters new, works as a media and culture columnist for the Times. He is in constant opposition with the new school of thinking, and is constantly portrayed in Page One, as the defendant of the written

Jacob Torres February 15, 2012 COMM 2307.02 Page One word. In a way, these two are archetypal figures of what New York Times journalism is doing right now. They are trying to embrace the new, by beginning to post videos, tweets, and incorporation of Apple products, however they are still not known for these services. The demographic that is using this new media is not a demographic that fully grasps the Times as their go-to news source. It may be years before the full effect of this media is utilized by the twenty-somethings who grew up with this social media and who will embrace it as they begin to be more involved with news. Furthermore, the new media only appeals to more affluent consumers, perhaps increasing the gap of interest through socioeconomic variables. I believe that this needs to be limited if the Times is going to maintain relevance as a news source. Julian Assange argues that activism is a far more important value than that of journalism. He states that the value of activism is largely a struggle towards justice, while the role of journalism is more muddled, arguably watered down by a drive towards profit, complex agendas, and an attempting to keep a clean nose and appear credible. As of recent the Bill Keller, figurehead and editor of the Times, has gone through great lengths to separate themselves from Assange, labeling him as merely a source and certainly not a partner. Furthermore, they go on to attack his demeanor describing Assange asalert but disheveled, like a bag lady walking in off the street, wearing a dingy clothing, and smelling as if he hadn't bathed in days. Assange is not taking these attacks personally though, stating in a recent Rolling Stone article that "Keller was trying to save his own skin from the espionage investigation in two ways. First, on a legal technicality, by claiming that there was no collaboration, only a passive relationship between journalist and source." Assange also said that Keller and The Times used "all the standard tabloid character-assassination attacks," to personally denigrate him. Assange is currently under house arrest in Norfolk, England on a

Jacob Torres February 15, 2012 COMM 2307.02 Page One sexual assault investigation. Assange is convinced that the U.S. government is trying to lay the groundwork to charge him with espionage and computer hacking, crimes that are not political on the surface, but are very politically oriented. He has been closely following the case of Bradely Manning, the U.S. soldier who is alleged to be one of Wikilinks first sources. The Times is very much aware of the current campaign to silence both Manning and Assange, and have since turned their backs on the two for fear of being charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. Keller has gone out of his way to declare political alignment by printing, what Assange considers, a tabloid hit piece on the front page. For these reasons, I am fearful of the future of The New York Times. I fear that the Times, will succeed in maintaining power in 21st century. I fear that they will have bloggers capable of creating fact checking networks that can move fast on the ground and put out stories at breakneck speeds, but I fear the journalism will be in the pocket of a corporation, promoting an agenda. The Times needs to move away from journalism and move towards activism. Julian Assange, when asked what kinds of failings by the mainstream media inspired Wikilinks, responded with, my experiences in fighting for freedom of the press, freedom to communicate knowledge which in the end, is freedom from ignorance. The New York Times needs to help create transparency in a world deeply constrained by censorship and help educate the population.

Jacob Torres February 15, 2012 COMM 2307.02 Page One Citations Farhi, Paul. "A Bright Future for Newspapers | American Journalism Review." American Journalism Review. June-July 2005. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. <http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=3885>. John, Caroll. "The Future (We Hope) of Journalism." Www.poynter.org. 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/88659/the-future-we-hopeof-journalism/>. Julian Assange: The Rolling Stone Interview | Politics New | Rolling Stone. Interview by Michael Hasting. Rolling Stone | Music News, Politicsm Reviews, Photos, Videos, Interviews and More. 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <httl://www.rollingstone.com/politics.news.julian-assange-the-rolling-stone-interview20120118?page=2>. Keller, Bill. "Dealing With Assange and the WikiLeaks Secrets." The New York Times. 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/26/new-york-timesassange-wikileaks_n_814434.html>. Shirky, Clay. "Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable Clay Shirky." Clay Shirky's Internet Writings. 13 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/>. Page One. Rossi A., Novak k. Participant Media, 2011. Film