Belo’s Decherd: New Media Must Be Guided By Old Media Values

The Radio Television Digital News Foundation changed its name several years back to reflect the rise of digital media, but March 14 may have been the real milepost as the organization saluted Twitter as a First Amendment award winner. And while traditional journalists collecting their own First Amendment awards echoed salutes to the transformative impact of 140 characters and the technology that powers the Internet, the evening ended with Belo Chairman Robert Decherd advising/warning that investment in traditional journalism and its values should not be trumped by technology.

Decherd said that abrupt change goes with the territory. "How we adapt and how we make tradeoffs will have everything to do with journalism's media hierarchy. In journalism, reputation is everything." Decherd said that as "influence shifts to leaders whose intellectual roots are in science and technology, the most basic decisions about journalism have also shifted. But he remains high on the future of TV and print journalism, suggesting they "own local news."