New York, NY Will tracking pop stars and images of swirling hurricanes on cell phones and through social networking sites become what future generations think of as “news”? Over 100 media representatives, librarians, academics and technology specialists gathered at the New York Public Library to talk about preserving news for future scholars on Oct. 23 - 24, 2008. As “On the Record” A Forum on Electronic Media and the Preservation of News got underway it was clear that one thread of the discussion would also address the larger issue of keeping the genre of serious public news reporting alive in an era of shrinking interest and tight budgets (New York Times Co. Reports an Earnings Decline of 51%, New York Times, Oct. 23, 2008). The event was sponsored by the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the Center for Research Libraries/Global Resources Network.

Clockwise from top left: The NYPL entrance; the main reading room; the map room.

Alex Jones, Laurence M. Lombard Lecturer in the Press and Public Policy Director Shorenstein Center, Harvard University, and John Carroll, Former Editor of the Los Angeles Times discussed the significant public record that news provides in their keynote conversation.

Though their missions may sometimes diverge, Jones pointed out that the great libraries of the world are in the same business as great newspapers in trying to make distinctions between fact, fiction, and authentic knowledge. Jones and Carroll were in agreement that serious public affairs news reporting as a service in support of a citizen’s ability to make informed decisions about participating in democratic processes is now threatened in the United States.

Jones explained that The New York Times was the first news organization to publish a searchable news index in 1913. This early effort to treat a news record as a scholarly resource was printed on longer-lasting paper to aid in its preservation. This gigantic book cataloged every article by date and location on each physical page by year. The New York Times sold two copies in every town—one to the editor of the paper and one to the library for reference.

Carroll explained that today people expect better and immediate access to news and other content. News delivered in paper editions has not traditionally provided minute-by-minute information. News is now primarily born digital—produced in electronic form online and over the air waves. Both libraries and news organization’s preservation strategies have been developed to preserve paper or facsimile versions of paper on microfilm.

Other speakers pointed out that the future of microfilm as a preservation technology is not assured as digital imaging revenues continue to out pace film technology profits.

Newspapers’ business models have been shattered. Web news engages young readers, ruins paper circulation revenues, and has wrecked havoc with the print advertising model. Community newspapers were once an accepted monopoly because there was no other way to advertise goods and services in order to reach potential local customers. After an economic boom in the 1980s when most newspapers added investigative reporters, they are now in economic decline.

Large media corporations often acquire struggling newspapers, and replace them with online and broadcast media organizations which do not place an emphasis on having reporters in the field. Newspaper reporters are part of a traditional newsroom culture whose activities have been understood to contribute to the greater good. By actively looking for facts and verifying details newspaper reporters have created a record of public affairs that often does not exist anywhere else.

Jones and Carroll regard newspaper readers as both customers and citizens. “We perform a function in support of their citizenship,” said Carroll. They concluded by suggesting that new economic models to ensure that news in the public interest survives are needed.

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Several speakers presented library challenges and strategies around understanding news content and structure in order to preserve it digitally and on microfilm. Andrew Madden, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Google, presented the company’s recently announced historic newspaper archive microfilm scanning initiative that seeks to organize the world’s older information and make it as universally accessible and useful as Google’s other web-based information (Google to Digitize Newspaper Archives, The New York Times, Sept. 8, 2008).

Content within Google indices has increased particularly with respect to burgeoning types and formats. Google Earth, Books, and You Tube are some examples. Because less than 1/2 of 1% of all Google users use advanced search or look beyond the first page of search results, there are questions about how to manage and provide access to specialized and complex content going forward.

People often look for older content within the Google News space. “Archival” can mean 30 days or older, although users could be searching for 200-year-old documents. Two years ago Google News stories were maintained in the news space for 30 days, and then were rolled into the crowded Google index.

For the last five years Google has begun to focus on off line content with scanning initiatives like the Google Book project and discovered that before 1995 most news was not born digital, and had been preserved on microfilm if it has been preserved at all.

Madden pointed out that Google would like to work with libraries in the same way that they work with publishers as they look towards preserving news archives. Google underwrites the cost of the program, and will share advertising revenues in exchange for access to content.

Rights management is a critical piece of the project of going forward as it has been for Google Books. Experimentation with providing partial news archive content is encouraged. Along with providing digital news archives back to originating sites in an I-frame, Google will provides a use analysis “dashboard” to partners. Google News Archive bundles a microfilm reader service within the browser.

Madden believes that making news archive content live back on library and publisher web sites will enhance context for understanding the historical record of news.

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Valerie Komor, Director of the Corporate Archives of the Associated Press, suggested that there was a disconnect between what news “is”—information that people read and react to right now—and the concept of news as a part of the historic scholarly record. “News is not written or reviewed to last beyond today even though we understand its cultural and historic value. We must ensure that format is not destiny,” She said.

Which is why born digital news, its meaning, and how its natural structures are tracked and managed, were also on the minds of attendees. While many preservationists roll their eyeballs and throw up their hands when venues for news aggregation such as Twitter and Facebook are mentioned, others, like Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and New Media Professor, Columbia University, caution that the onslaught of new communications methods and strategies cannot be overlooked in shaping policies for preserving the news record. News is emerging in new types of online “pockets” every day.

Sreenivasan explained, for example, that news of a recent California earthquake was first reported on Twitter by a person who was experiencing the effects first-hand.

“Facebook is competing with the Internet for your time and attention,” He said, “That’s their strategy.” With more than 100 million Facebook users worldwide, it seems to be working. He believes that journalists should take advantage of social spaces like Facebook where “BAW” (Bored at Work) users can easily stumble on news.

He suggests that libraries and news organizations might look into ways to host citizen journalism news content in the future as a way to generate revenue.

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In conclusion Bernard Reilly, President, Center for Research Libraries made several observations: paper and microfilm are rear-guard news preservation strategies that will go away in 5-7 years; collective support for local preservation efforts is key; transparency helps in sharing information about efforts especially around collection development.; systematic opportunism works–taking a comprehensive approach to collecting materials, and; common requirements for “default” news repositories such as LC, CDL, Google, News Bank, ICPSR and Portico will promote interoperability and utility in managing digital news objects. The Center for Research Libraries and the Global Resources Network will release a report based on presentations and discussions from this meeting.