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What is a Word Worth?

By Ophelia Chong
August 18, 2009
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What is a word worth? What is a career worth? The slow and steady shift in the value of journalism is changing daily. With print news changing their business plans, Newsweek becoming an "Atlantic" wannabe, and the fact that News is old if it was posted over an hour ago - journalists are on a flying trapeze with no safety net, let alone a bar to grab on the other end.

A debate is going on this question now on Poynter about how Huffingtonpost.com is acquiring journalism for little to next to nothing to nothing at all. During the layoffs at the Los Angeles Times, I wondered how would these journalists survive in a new world where their writing can be bought for next to nothing? They are competing with anyone with a laptop and an internet connection, of course the quality of writing is not comparable, but in this age, are we looking for quality or speed? For instance, Twittermay say they are not a news feed site, but the moment anything happens, it's posted there, and commented live on CNN. How many people prefer to get their news in 140 character byte size chunks. And be a citizen journalist to boot?


What is the new paradigm for journalists? How can they stand out in a crowded field? And even if they have a following online, how do they monetize it? The Gutenberg Press gave the masses access to the Bible in the 1450's, a book that was previously only found in the homes of the wealthy or viewed in church, the advent of movable type brought the written word to anyone who desired it. Now the internet has brought the world to our fingertips, it has given us access to anything we desire, but at what price point per word will that enlightenment be?

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