[As is often the case, I was inspired by a post elsewhere and as I was writing my comment, I realized I had much more to say on the subject. So here is my longer comment on an article on Wired called, "Dear Malcolm: Why So Threatened?"] 
I sat in on this years SXSW Interactive panel on the Death of MSM. There seemed to be three camps within the panelists and in the audience asking questions.
- The MSM Writer: "All of this 'blogging' is really diluting the quality of the writing. I mean, MSM journalists have the degrees, they have fact checking departments, they have a standard to uphold." And they are losing their shirts.
- The BLOGGER who believes in laissez-faire: "Let the giants die. The Old Gray Lady is losing money, so what. Let her adapt or perish."
- The Internet Gen Upstart: "Fk'm. I write. I don't make a living at it, I do it because I am passionate. And then I work my day job."
The Huffington Post has done a fine job of not paying writers and basing giving the HuffPo lift to the writers to participate. So as a writer, we are on our own. It's a brave new "social media" world out there and you'd best sharpen your wit and look for your niche.
I keep getting asked, "How are you going to monetize your blog?" My answer, "By getting consulting work and possibly a better job than the one that just laid me off."
The papers won't die. Just as Rock didn't die. They will have to continue to evolve, be more agile, and embrace the "community manager" rather than "editor in chief." Long live MSM. MSM is Dead.
BTW: As a paper copy subscriber to the NYTimes (THUR - SUN) I can't tell you how happy I am on Thursday mornings when the thump on my driveway is double the normal local-only paper. Those two plastic bags, one blue one clear, hold the possibility of excitement, learning, drama, humor. Often I am let down by my overly imaginative projection. But mostly I just love the thrill of unwrapping the ATOMS of paper and getting the ink all over my fingers, keyboard, coffee mug. Yes, the newspapers must and are changing. Some will die. New one's will rise up in their place.
Just think, the "journalist" now has so many more outlets. More job opportunities. How you make your money from it, well... That's where you have to get creative.
@jmacofearth
permalink to uber.la: http://bit.ly/MSM-vs-Blog
Note: I would love your comments here. We can have a dialogue about this.
Also check out my collected Posts about using and abusing Twitter - The Twitter Way
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