We Want Media

As the blogs and other online publications flourish, there have been many concerns about the future impact of new media. But for the most part, the focus has been on the future of traditional media, or how their content could carry over to the Web. Former television journalist Kevin Sites has proved the potential of the Web as an outlet for original content, rather than to just recycle stories from old media.

Sites gave up the mass audience that he had in television for telling stories that really have an impact on people’s lives. On his site on Yahoo, Sites covers stories from war zones including Iraq and Afghanistan. He says that he would not mind visiting locales that get neglected in the evening news.

I admire Sites’ decision to tell those stories, even though it must have been a difficult decision to give up the already established mass audience. And as future journalists, I believe this is something we should really think about. With all the new technology, publishing our opinions -- whether it be on pop culture or politics -- has become a lot easier. But even as we hear celebrity gossip everywhere, we hear less and less of real news and stories that really matter to individual lives. I hope more people will take advantage of the Web to share stories that matter, rather than those that may generate money but have no real impact.