By CHUCK RAASCH, Gannett National Writer
October 28. 2009 4:28PM
WASHINGTON — Sometimes it seems like my industry is writing its own obituary.
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We flinch every time another report of falling newspaper circulation comes out, as we saw again this week with the report of a 10.6 percent drop in newspaper sales this year.
Coupled with cable news pioneer CNN's drop to third place among the news cable networks, this industry is undergoing an earthquake.
The irony is that "media" has never been so big and powerful. While traditional media outlets struggle over a sustainable business model, one that will keep American society the most open and informed in the world, we must shed the old definition of "media."
If you blog, tweet, respond to online appeals to e-mail your congressperson, have your own Facebook page, or opine on news organization Web sites, you are "the media." If you post car wreck videos on YouTube or go undercover to expose problems at ACORN, you are "the media."
Not "the news media," but "the media."
Somewhere between the birth of Yahoo and TMZ, "news" became "content" and information became entertainment. Wolf Blitzer, Glenn Beck and the bloggers on Red State and Daily Kos are part of the same media sphere as the cops reporter at The Daily Such and Such. They just run in frequently colliding orbits.
Even if you wanted to, you could not escape "the media."
It seems to me there are basically four types of "media" types these days: Actors, providers, commentators and sideliners. Here's a rough description of the four categories:
• Actors are people whose actions, fame, misdeeds, good acts or misfortune make them media figures — Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton and Balloon Boy's family. Once known as newsmakers, they now operate in a world where they can create their own media — or at least attempt to.
For some, fame is the only goal. Some play dual roles as actors and commentators (Mike Huckabee and James Carville come to mind).
• Providers, once known as reporters and photographers, are original chroniclers of events.
They are in the room when Howard Dean screams, they're on patrol with the troops in Afghanistan, they're standing in the cold while running the network cameras for pro football. They are the first script writers of history.
The problem is, providers are dropping like flies. If bloggers and other new-economy information entrepreneurs don't step up into this role in a big way, we're in trouble. Watchdog coverage of public institutions is an absolute requirement for a healthy democracy.
• Commentators are the news karaoke artists on blogs and social networks. They are not original witnesses, but they are heavily engaged spinners of the providers' work.
Once upon a time, they were primarily editorial page writers, campaign consultants and pundits. Today, they range from opinion bloggers to Larry the Cable Guy. Their cacophony is making the biggest mark of the information age.
• Sideliners. They pretty much stick to "old media" consumption habits of watching TV, reading newspapers (thank you), listening to the radio — or none of the above. One can't blame them for staying outside the fray.
Sometimes, the more there is to hear, the less you want to hear.
Contact Chuck Raasch at craasch@gannett.com, follow him on Twitter or join in the Facebook conversation.
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About RaaschChuck Raasch is national political writer for Gannett. His column, New Politics, appears here and on USA TODAY.com. A native of South Dakota and a graduate of South Dakota State University, Raasch has covered political campaigns since 1978, including Tom Daschle's first race for Congress and George McGovern's last race for the Senate. He has covered presidential campaigns since 1988.
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