Looking back on 2007

Posted on January 1, 2008 by Melissa Worden

The bad news first: As we are all too aware, 2007 was filled with layoffs, buyouts and hiring freezes. I fear it may not get better soon enough.

Circulation and advertising woes aside, part what irks me about the industry is the type of journalism we too often do: So many of last year’s headlines were dominated by “news” coverage of Anna Nicole Smith, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. (Here’s a top-10 headlines list I found, though, that evens things out.)

Not that this is anything new. But it seems so much more prevalent today given the drive for more revenue and the need to constantly update the Web and 24-hour cable TV shows.

A Pew poll from this summer shows the public blames the media for this coverage. Part of my job is to monitor their reading habits so I can put together a mix of news that satisfies both the readers and the editors. But what I’ve found: Readers are clicking on sex, celebrities, and money. Post a story about Britney, and it’ll pull in the page views. It’s a vicious circle.

Now for the good news: We’ve made some significant advances in the way we disseminate information (Susan Mernit outlines 10 more 2007 moments and milestones), and our newsrooms are transforming.

For a little New Year’s humor, here’s a year in review from JibJab:

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2 Responses to “Looking back on 2007”

Innovation in College Media » Blog Archive » 2007 - what a year on January 2nd, 2008 1:19 am

[…] Worden adequately sums up some of the trends in 2007. It’s worth your time to read. I try to remain optimistic about the state of journalism, but […]
Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media » Wednesday squibs (updated) on January 2nd, 2008 5:19 pm

[…] 3: Looking back on 2007. Mellisa Worden’s piece is a good read, capped off with a bonus: a JibJab look back at 2007 […]

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