Bootstrapping for journalism

10/04/2009

Listen "Bootstrapping for journalism"

Episode Synopsis

“Bootstrapping, a computer concept – also applies to journalism.”
Dave discusses the concept of “bootstrapping” in the context of the evolution of technology and journalism. He recounts his personal experiences with the rise of personal computers, networking, and software development, and argues that the replacement for the current journalism system will emerge through a similar bootstrapping process - a gradual synthesis of various experiments and false starts, rather than a single “big bang” solution. Dave believes the great thinkers in the news industry should be more actively experimenting and iterating on new models, rather than just critiquing the current state of affairs. He suggests platforms like Twitter could be a key part of the future of news distribution, if leveraged properly by media companies.