The Visible Media Maker

I would add that it was the story but, the Newspaper too mattered To a larger extent . Now with the commoditizing of News and Newspapers, Journalists have a playing field in which they can engage the readers without having to lean on or tow the line of the powers that run the Newspapers.

I think one to one business (either marketing or journalism) is back, I think we need engagement and story lines with our ADHT society, more information more need to be of impact (service).

The blogoshere is allowing us to comment and tell our story so it increases engagement, storytelling is a two way process and is all that matters in the mental chatter. The game changers are people like JeffJarvis spanning spaces Guardian articles with online blog posts (blogarticles), its allways been a shared story, whether prospecting in the Klondike or working for Kodak. Klik engage.

Verdict : We are the commentariat, forget about personal branding, tell the collective tale, span informational spaces, give a shit.

Also thinking of how London won 2010 Olypic bid, it was by telling a story of multiculturalism which one we major cities want to hear, one of cohension. That story outbid the other entrants a by very long way.

Hi Chris - I love this distinction of writers also being people outside of their writing. Such an important realization, and really sets certain writers apart from the pack. Thanks for sharing this!

A good story without a good storyteller will lose the audience in the long run. Especially with so much media competing for our precious time, being able to relate to the bringer of news is critical.

That's why new anchors are more valuable than beat reporters!

"The story used to be the only thing that mattered. Somewhere along the way, storytellers came into importance."

It has always been important to think about who it was that told you the story. This is not in any way new. I remember growing up with people who would only listen to Cronkite or Brinkley or ... The story teller was important even then.

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Thanks Chris, another great post.

I think the opportunity for small business to become storytellers and more personal is huge, and the tools that we now have are giving them an edge over larger corporates. They have a much greater ability to be interact with all customers, simply because of their size.

I see a lot of larger businesses still with their head in the sand as unengaged, faceless giants who put product first and public second, and I only have to read a newspaper or Twitter every day to gauge public sentiment and opinion towards them.

Nice work pointing that out. I know in a few days I'll be surrounded by the newest technology the world has to offer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES).I can't hide behind a fancy corporate logo adn I'm still thinking through the implications of this.

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People have a face, a voice and character. Offering "brand" extensions of themselves in the digital space allows them to further develop these characteristics and gain more enthusiastic and loyal followers, just like any business.

I would find it even more interesting/pertinent to take story telling in journalism beyond "entertainment" toward have a greater "learning" element.

"The fact of storytelling hints at a fundamental human unease, hints at human imperfection. Where there is perfection there is no story to tell."

"Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger. "
~Ben Okri

This is why story-telling will always out-do any "vessel of information."

People internalize stories differently based upon the way in which the story is delivered (and by whom). Sincerity and authenticity cannot be faked; therefore, when the storyteller is credible and accessible, the content of the story carries more power.

As to the answer to your question: what would I do with it? I'd take it as an opportunity to truly cross-check myself and make sure that my message (story) was in alignment with my "personal brand." I think that there is an intrinsic need among humans to belong; to contribute. In order to be the most effective person I can be, my "story" must be consistent across my words, actions and internal barometer. Thanks for the forum! Best, M.

Another great post. Nice job picking a few of the people that are capturing and delivering the news with a new Point Of View. Thank you for highlighting Seattle's own @JenniferCabala --- She is incredible. I work with her on the Social Media Club Seattle (smcseattle.com) board and she always brings a new perspective to the way we connect with the Social Media scene. Of course, I see her on TV too --- doing things her way with a little twist that often makes the story that much more interesting.

I very much enjoyed Valeria's post on the engaging journalist and realized that today news is no longer separated from the person delivering it. The idea has been transformed as we connect more and more in person and online. The once ivory tower has been lowered for many, but not necessarily a bad thing.

A person's reach is more than just the information they relay. Before online media connected us so closely, many of us looked forward to our favorite reporters or editorial writers to share their story. The difference now is that aside from their voice, we are now getting to know them.

The question is, does this dilute the news and how we interpret it. Facts are facts sure, but I'm just curious if by knowing the journalist personally, or having access to the "news" if we are somehow crossing a line?

Just throwing it out there.

You can also add @MistyMontano here in Denver. She's the Assignment Editor at CBS4.

Thanks a lot for this "Godin-esque" post, Chris. Personality, relationships, "people skills". Business is getting more and more "humanized"...

Happy Holiday Season :-)

Jason Kellie below has a good point: how does one differentiate between the story and the storyteller? How does someone successfully relay 'hard news' without injecting personal bias or objective? Or perhaps the argument is that this isn't important anymore? If that's the case, then the viewer has more responsibility than ever before. And that's probably a good thing.

It is a balancing act - and the best not only tell engaging stories, but also allow others to tell their best stories as well. I know Anderson Cooper gets a bad rap from some, but I always liked him because you can tell he is invested in the story and isn't just reciting from a stale teleprompter.

Plato said "those who tell the stories rule society." The art of storytelling, and perhaps the art of charisma, is extremely important to the way we engage with information. Really interesting post, Chris, but I'd argue that storytellers have always been just as important as the story itself. In today's media landscape, as the way we receive information becomes less personal, I think the role of the "storyteller" is simply becoming more apparent.

The same goes for music writers/journalists and the live concert industry. The more those folks realize that telling the stories of fans in a new and creative way is vital to the future of the live music business, the better off both fans and everyone else will be.
Just look at what Studs Terkel proved with "Working" and apply that book to telling live music stories and it easy to see where we need to be heading.

Chris: I usually agree with your posts, but not here. As a former print journalist, I know that there was a reason we just "turned in the news the way we have all along." You know something about this word: trust. As long as we kept ourselves, our point of view, our opinions, intentionally out of the story, our readers/viewers/listeners knew we were giving them the straight stuff as best we could. They trusted that we weren't using our personal filters to bring them only parts of the story or to intentionally emphasize certain points of view.

The alternative was/is commentary. Columns, OpEds, editorials, etc... Those were known to be opinion pieces. The reader knew that the writer was providing his or her view of the news. Certainly, there's a trust element there. Certain columnists you trusted (probably because you either agreed with their point of view or found them to be usually quite engaging), and others you didn't.

Now, there's a huge erosion in trust of the news media, thanks to the "personality-ization" of the news. We have Rush Limbaugh to thank for this. And Shawn Hannity. And Fox News. And Rachel Maddow on the left. There's a blurring of fact and opinion. It's intentional on their part and intentionally misleading. It's been part of the perpetual campaign that makes governing damn near impossible in this country.

Certainly, I was never 100-percent "objective" in my reporting and neither are any of today's "straight news reporters." But by trying to get as close as possible to that goal, we were doing our readers a real service and helping them trust that what we told tham was real, not spin.

Stlevine,

I would argue your points, are precisely why it is more important for journalist to 'brand' themselves. You have only one way of taking on the Rush, Oreilly's, Maddow's etc. and that is to beat them at their own game. Establish yourself i.e. the journalist/reporter as THE voice of reason. Call out both sides, present the news as it is, facts, no opinion, or clearly mark it as such, unlike those you mention.

These new tools allow for a journalist willing to carry the torch from the likes of Murrow, into a bold new area that as you pointed out is sadly lacking in todays world of news media.

A respectable, good journalist, doing the right thing can use the tools of twitter, facebook and blogging to reach millions more than all of those blowhards combined by putting out top notch content with unquestionable journalistic standards. These tools, are really the only hope one has. TV, print, etc. rely on advertising revenue now, and once money is involved, well.. we all know how we got here.

What would I do with it? Don't have it yet. Here's how I'm working to get it.

Just finished Rubie & Provost's book on story telling. So I teaching myself how to write inciting incidents to lead off blog posts.

I'm not sure I agree with you on this one Chris. That is if I'm understanding your view point correctly anyway. While there is certainly a time and place for OpEd I would rather not get the Journalists opinion to sway the news one way or the other. I realize this is a nearly impossible task as the most basic function of deciding what is news worthy is at times left to the author and therefore already slightly tainted with their opinion. Most times however, the story breaks and the subject is decided by popular demand for information on the events as they unfold. I guess even then a small portion of the journalists opinion is likely to leak through while reporting, but I certainly would like to have the option of hearing the facts then a separation with a disclaimer of "my opinion". I think this lends more credibility to the author for me. I now respect that person a little more even if I don't agree with their take on the news. I do want to identify with the journalist as having a personality and by expressing their opinion make them more relatable as a human, but at a minimum I like turning it around as you do by asking a question to engage the reader. I think that is more effective. To simplify I'd rather read someone who keeps news, news and opinion, opinion... then ask me to contribute to a conversation. Thank you for always making a point of doing that.

Stories are a great way to communicate. An article with a bunch of facts will never really capture people's imagination, or connect with their spirit.

A good example is the TV show 60 Minutes. Although the show is a "news" show, each segment has a compelling story. Sometimes the story is "Look what is going on, and no one knows about it." Sometimes the story is about a great injustice. Whatever the story is, it is filled with fascinating emotional components that draw us in.

It's like any industry - you have those that want to share stories and those that want to tell tales. The medium has never really mattered, only the people.

Chris, I couldn't agree with you more. I've worked for years in the Broadcast Industry with "talking heads". We started to relate to those talking heads when they started to be human. You have probably seen the tapes of Walter Kronkite breaking down on air when Kennedy was assassinated. (I say that knowing you are too young to remember it happening). That's when he became a welcome member of the family in peoples homes. It is in those human moments. Now Those that are making a difference are truly engaging.

I have also noticed that. Chris Schauble of NBC news in LA has started an iron man run. I think its about making him more interesting to the general public and also knowing who you appeal to.
Dr Wright
Wright Place TV Show
http:/www.wrightplacetv.com

I see your point and certainly like anyone with (good) personality in the media. I do wish the 'adding too much opinion' would be used with caution from media personalities. At times it's hard to extract fact from viewpoint.

Perhaps social media will create a lot of accountability for journalists and make them more concerned with the legitimacy of what they say on the air — something a lot of them have been lacking in the rush to get to a story first — because their words are so closely tied to their personalities on the web. This could also be helped by the fact that twitter makes it possible to know more of the facts, faster than ever.

Glad to see some early adopters among the people who are being watched. Bring on the accountability.

Spot on.

As a journalist with 20 years experience, I'm lucky to be a technology early-adopter. Just by being in the "look-at-me" social media world has allowed me the perspective that it's OK to show your face while you tell the story - as long as you don't try to get up on stage with the story.

Additionally, participatory reporting is growing and the insight it provides is invaluable. Readers are ravenous to hear how a reporter's emotions alongside the facts. It makes us all more human.

Nice work pointing that out. I know in a few days I'll be surrounded by the newest technology the world has to offer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES). It will be like being a kid in a candy store - this I know from reporting on this event every year.

I hope my enthusiasm for the good tech...and my disdain for the crap...shows through my reports from the field. That's what I see as the real benefit to allowing myself into my journalism.

Live from the world....Jeff Cutler reporting.

Big media news used to be your only source of facts

Big media news has to be become analysis/journalist micro brands

thanks for your post

The opportunities are changing and one issue I'm having to think really deeply about is that when I blog, people are not just reading what I write, they are accepting 'brand me'. I am my brand, I can't hide behind a fancy corporate logo adn I'm still thinking through the implications of this.

It's exciting and scary at the same time!

Have a great Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous and fulfilling 2010.

Nic

Hello Chris,

In France, LEXPRESS.fr is more and more trying to engage fans & readers in very different ways, depending on the topics (style, fashion, but also very political topic). It's a mix of embedded "content makers" (so not only journalists or bloggers) & community management.
A kind of PR for readers : Readers Relations ?

if you want to get more details on that, you have my email ;)

a big hello from Paris !