Matthew Levinson

'Epic' end to mainstream media?

Published on 07/05/05
by matt

Stateside media commentators The Poynter Institute have been predicting that online media would overtake its mainstream rivals for ages. Epic, a new film by two fellows at the institute, appropriately available online, predicts that newspapers will lose the race for online readers within the next 10 years.
I’ve often wondered when that change will arrive, because the two media cater to fundamentally different needs in their readers. People tend to ‘read’ papers, absorbing information about a range of subjects. They’re more likely to get to an online news source via a search engine, specifically searching for the answer to a pertinent question. Aren’t those quite different? But the superficially sci-fi story forecasts that the new online media will sidestep the traditional outlets (in Epic it’s The New York Times), relying instead on new ‘freelance editors’ (AKA bloggers) and their filtering and reprioritising skills.
The Financial Times said “The film’s core message has started looking less fantastical since it began capturing the imagination of figures in the media world.”
Whatever your take on the issue, it’s pretty crucial stuff and essential viewing.

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