Deadlines and Disruption: My Turbulent Path from Print to Digital
In 2004, at what might have been the age of retirement, longtime Business Week editor-in-chief Shepard decided to take his life in a new direction: he would become the first dean of a new journalism school, based at City University of New York (CUNY). Starting a new journalism school at a time when many experts were predicting the demise of journalism altogether? That took guts. This is two compelling books in one: Shepard’s story of his life in print journalism, and a clearheaded look at the way journalism is evolving due to electronic media, social networking, and the ability of anyone with a computer and an opinion to make him- or herself heard. Is journalism dying? Not according to Shepard. It’s changing, yes, but in some respects it’s also improving: the division between news source and audience is blurring, with the audience now being able to report its own news and to require established journalistic entities to tailor their output to suit the audience’s needs (witness the rise of “hyperlocal” journalism). The author is eminently qualified to write about this subject, and he’s an excellent writer to boot. --David Pitt