New York University's Clay Shirky is one of the original voices on digital media. Columbia Journalism Review has an extensive interview in two parts (part one here, part two here) which he discusses the direction of media. it ought to be required reading (if a little rambling) for any year-end reflection on the craft.
There is much to glean, including much optimism. "There's always Luddism when there is change," he says.
But he believes newspapers took far too long to discover civic function. He believes they'll have to turn themselves into different business models, and he decries the lack of business acumen in newsrooms.
"If there’s any lesson in all of this, it’s that you can breed an entire generation of really smart people to not think about existential threats to the business if you want to.'
