Kirtz on new media

Northeastern University journalism professor Bill Kirtz covered a new media conference last weekend at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, at Harvard's Kennedy School. The theme was how old media is adapting to the emerging technological landscape.

The key quote is from Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president for digital operations at the New York Times Co.: "Technology is [just] a tool. It's the content, stupid. We use technology to create content in new ways."

As Kimberly Atkins told us yesterday, technology is becoming increasingly easy to use. What really matters are reporting and writing skills (and, increasingly, the ability to juggle audio and video as well).

Trouble is, as we all know, news organizations can do a great job with their Web sites and still have a hard time making enough money to support journalism. The Wall Street Journal today has a piece on the Boston Globe that's a little dispiriting: despite its skyrocketing online presence, it's on track to suffering its first unprofitable year in a very long time.