Columbia Journalism Review: Mike Hoyt

In a time of uncertainty for the media, online and print editor of the Columbia Journalism Review’s Mike Hoyt said this era should be exciting for new journalists.

“We’re kind of in the best of times, the worst of times,” Hoyt said. With twenty years with CJR, Hoyt said his university is adding classes for entrepreneurship and journalists. The industry, Hoyt said, is in need of a new economic model. CJR plans to hire a beat reporter to cover the search for a new economic model.

“The people who just focus on the web are really doing incredible things,” Hoyt said. Hoyt said while he remains partial to print because of the opportunity for deeper reporting, the younger online demographic allows for conversations in real time, the story to develop through that democratic discussion and for visual interaction with the story.

“We’re sort of tip-toeing into the possibilities there,” Hoyt said. Crowdsourcing, a type of journalism where public feedback is used to obtain information on behalf of the writer, is an area Hoyt said is growing. However, it does involve a leap of faith and trust in the public’s respect of traditional journalistic values.

People are hungry for information, Hoyt said, and more entrepreneurship is needed to figure out exactly how to get the public the features they crave.

“People want this quality stuff, but journalists need to figure out how to pay for it,” Hoyt said. Read some of Hoyt’s work on The Brooklyn Ink, or check out the sites for some of the authors for CJR's next issue:

1. Politico
2. Planet Money
3. Global News Enterprises

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Hoyt? Check out the video below: