Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 75 INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR DENNIS SWIBOLD UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA JOURNALISM PROFESSOR it repeatedly, and that politicians who repeat falsehoods will be successful, to some extent. Our echo chambers are Petri dishes for false news. Research also shows flagging something as false doesn't stop people from sharing it. Better journalism may be part of the answer, but we have to teach information literacy in the schools too. e best way fight false news is to prevent its publication in the first place, but doing that poses big problems in a society that values free expression. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE WILL SEE FUTURE GENERATIONS WITH LIMITED INTEREST IN SIMPLY "READING" THE NEWS? Readers will exist as long as there's language, but I'm sure other forms of communication will grow in influence. We may be enter- ing a golden age of good oral storytelling, given the popularity of podcasts, streaming radio, and public storytelling events. Video is booming, and much of it is powerful and moving. Critics have long considered vast swaths of television as wastelands, but much of the visual storytelling we watch in series form is binge-worthy for good reason. Great young songwriters and poets are everywhere. All of these forms have something to teach journalists, the best of whom have always borrowed from the hot forms of the day. Good, true stories can be told in many ways, and its producers will need to be fluent in most of them. WILL NEWSPAPER OWNERSHIP BECOME MORE OR LESS FRAGMENTED IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS, AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE INDUSTRY? I think we'll see the news industry morph in many directions. Some ill-managed news organizations owned are bound to fail. Some innovative and aggressive owners will stake out new ground. As they explore new ways of operating, many will find ways to survive online, though the transformation won't always be pretty. I believe the news DENNIS SWIBOLD is a long- time professor at the University of Montana's School of Journalism. He's a former newspaper editor and reporter and the author of Copper Chorus: Mining, Politics, and the Montana Press, 1889-1959 (Montana Historical Society Press, Helena). industry—not just newspapers—can adapt to new models of ownership and new formats. Along with failures, we're seeing bold experiments, and some will succeed. Ironically, we've also seen a return to an older style of media ownership, with wealthy individuals buying news orga- nizations large and sometimes small. e quality of those organizations will depend largely on the motives and ethics of their owners—and also how well news fits with their broader business strategies. WHAT POSSIBLE PATH CAN YOU SEE FOR NEWSPAPERS TO SURVIVE OR FLOURISH OVER THE COMING DECADES? It's a confusing and sometimes painful time, but it's also an excit- ing period of experimentation. News has always been subsidized— by subscribers, by related businesses such as commercial printing, and even by public funding models. Now we're seeing nonprofit or employee-owned models, partnership models and community own- ership efforts. One interesting Colorado experiment is banking on blockchain technology to cut transaction costs and increase security for online news vehicles. e subscription/advertising model is likely to remain a part of whatever mix finances the future's news. My main concern is for community news organizations, especially those that cover smaller places. ey're essential to the social fabric rural America, and those in Montana have fared better than most. I hope they continue, even if forms and formats change. FINALLY, DESCRIBE FOR US A SUCCESSFUL NEWSPAPER BUSINESS MODEL FOR 2049, IF IT EXISTS. It's difficult to think of just one because communities differ in so many ways. Large ones have advantages of scale, but small ones may be able to build on the amenities or industries that make them unique and still engage a more connected world. Print—ink on paper— isn't going to disappear. But it may be more of a niche product in the future, part of a multimedia world of enterprising partnerships.

• Cover