Former NYTimes Ombudsman Fears Blogs Could Overcome MSM

Posted on February 15, 2006

An article from the Media Giraffe Project cites Daniel Okrent, the former ombudsman of the New York Times, as saying blogs will become the major news source if the mainstream media can't transfer their brands to the web.

Blogs will overcome mainstream media as a source of news unless traditional media organizations successfully transfer the integrity of their brands onto the Internet, the former ombudsman of The New York Times says.
Family ownership is the common thread among the three most prestigious newspapers in America, adds Daniel Okrent, the first "public editor" of The Times. Okrent was at Williams College tonight for a public talk after a private dinner with staff of the Williams Record student newspaper and invited guests.
Okrent also said poor news coverage allowed the Iraq war to happen, it's a "horrible time - financially" for newspapers, and the death of print is happening more quickly than he predicted six years ago.

Most blogs continuously point to mainstream media outlets as sources so that should help the MSM with online branding. The mainstream media also still has the upperhand in investigative journalism. They have much greater financial resources to conduct investigative journalism and research. The article said Okrent fears the growth of blogs because of the "difficulty in determining their credibility."

"The good news, I think - my fingers are crossed - is if the responsible, serious members of the so-called mainstream media live up to their own standards, when you see something by okrent.com and nytimes.com you are more likely to trust these guys [nytimes.com] because their brand means accuracy and thoroughness and fairness," said Okrent. "As these brands move onto the web, what's essential is that those brand names still mean what they mean or even more. If not, then we will not only have reason to fear these blogs - we will be beaten by them."