Newser.com is an aggregator created by journalist and author Michael Wolff. Oh, just another aggregator you say, but what makes this one different is the most important new stories are not only regurgitated for your convenience like all other aggregators, but they are condensed into just two paragraphs.
In Wolff’s interview with CNBC he made two points to which I agree with. The first point is that the new business model is replacing the old business model. The technology is changing and people are moving in the direction of change so it is up to the news organizations to keep up. The second point is that advertisers are increasingly looking towards the Internet.
I disagreed with Wolff or maybe I did not have an understanding of exactly what he meant when he said, “I’m trying to kill newspapers.” Isn’t that like biting the hand that feeds you? Aggregators, of any kind, are getting their stories from newspapers and new sites i.e. The New York Times. As I was reading what people were saying about Newser.com, I noticed a resounding sentiment. Newser.com is easy, streamlined and not as parasitic as other aggregators. It seems that Wolff has been praised for his brainchild and everyone seems to be impressed that you can manuever and scan through it quickly. The edge Newser has on another aggregator like Huffington Post is that the site is easire to manuever through, but it lacks journalistic integrity. Who are the “writers” that are taking other journalist’s published news stories and editing them into two paragraphs?
As I stated in my FLYPmedia post I like sites that are not convoluted and overwhelming. Newser.com is very user-friendly. The conundrum for me is that yes newser.com is convenient because you can read through major news stories with ease, but I wonder how more condensed we’re going to get with the way we gather and receive news. We are living in the era of microbursts; “the digital info revolution”. I love reading stories. Storytelling is such an important factor in journalism. Sometimes I want the sordid details. Will I be able to get every detail in two paragraphs? Wolff seems over zealous about annihilating traditional journalism with his model. My thoughts? Not going to happen.
Someone might say, “Well you can go view the real newsite to get the whole story. If you want the minute details” Well, what’s the point of the aggregator? I am in no way a traditionalist unwilling to embrace new media. I do think that for certain stories newser.com would be suitable, particularly when I need a quick update, but when I really want the meat of a story it’s not where I’d go and I usually want the meat.
Newser’s tagline is Read Less Know More. Isn’t reading less the problem with America now? Quantity does not equal quality.
Below is a video of Michael Wolff in another interview with Marina Portnaya for RT. He discusses, new media, the state of the industry and newser.com. Take a listen. Leave a comment and tell me what you think?
