Richard Burton 15/11/07

[Rebecca Cotton]

The Power of the word

It was refreshing to hear from a traditional journalist who has worked his way up from a sub-editor to an editor that convergence is possible and print is not dead.

Richard Burton spoke about the importance of writing well, by being accurate and articulate and having a broadcast mentality in the way of being first and quick with the news; the main tool a good journalist already has. He also said anyone can learn how to become 'naturally technically literate.' So does this mean there is hope for print journalist in this modern digital age? Can they learn fast how to use online technology effectively and spread their skills across different platforms?

The Mining Journal (the one man brand) on the Telegraph website is a low cost site which is wrote by specialised correspondents and converted for the internet by a technical team. Is this a better way to attract brand ownership and loyalty from people by using professionals in their field, even though it is labour intensive? Would the extra time taken at the beginning be worth it in the end because people usually prefer a recognised brand?

I know every day news stories and specialised subjects are different commodities but both solutions allows print journalist to stay employed as newspaper sales are in decline, or so I am led to believe. But how realistic is it?

I am an old fashioned mature trainee broadcast journalist that likes to believe it is better to employ or use people qualified for the job. So if I can retrain I am sure others can. A well written story or news item is much better than a quick fix.