Future of Journalism notes: Change won’t slow down

In the mood for some Big Thinking about the Future of Journalism?

My old boss and cubicle next-door neighbor, Richard Gingras, now the head of news products at Google, gave the opening remarks at the TechRaking 2012 conference, co-hosted by Google and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

TechRaking 2012 is bringing technologists and muckrakers together to discuss how they can help each other tell stories “in the public interest.” That is, how technology and journalism together affect the future of journalism.

In his Opening remarks, reprinted at NiemanLab.org, Gingras said:

We need to rethink every facet of the journalism model in light of the dramatic changes in the architecture of the news ecosystem. I’m not suggesting that everything must change, but a comprehensive rethinking is a necessary and valuable intellectual process.

He then goes on to identify eight themes and questions for conference attendees to think about. The last of them is the one that everyone in the scribbling and chattering racket should pay attention to: “The pace of technological change will not abate. If anything, it will continue to increase. To think of this as a period of transition from one state to another is unwise.”