What those who want to provide the news must understand is that this new lean-forward consumer requires a new kind of journalism. This shift away from relying on one news organization to be our primary news provider is the real meaning of the breakdown of the gatekeeper role. Getting the news is no longer a “lean back” experience, in which we put our feet up and have an anchorperson tell us what’s happening or flip through the newspaper. Some have even come to call it a “lean forward” experience, in which we look for things we are interested in-for answers to our questions. As we hunt for news on our own, instead of relying on what a news gatekeeper provides in a single newscast or newspaper, news consumption has become a more proactive experience. We seek the news today, in effect, by story rather than by news organization. 227 Pages.The news has become unbundled from the news organization. In their concluding chapter-“What We Need from the ‘Next Journalism’”-Kovach and Rosenstiel describe “eight essential dimensions or functions that the new news consumer requires from journalism.” With permission, we are presenting an adapted version of their words.īlur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Informationīloomsbury. In their new book, “ Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload,” Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, who previously partnered as the authors of “ The Elements of Journalism,” explore the evolving relationships, responsibilities and roles of journalists and news consumers in the digital age.

Blur by Bill Kovach