A SXSW panel discussion this morning on "Covering Music in the New Media" threw out lots of internet new-speak -- "compression," "the speed premium," "webalicious" -- but came down to the old verity, "Content is king."
Representatives of eMusic, AOL, Pitchfork and public relations firms -- including two panel members with histories in Seattle, Erik Flannigan, who was a writer and broadcaster in Seattle and still is a consultant to KEZP-FM, and Michael Azerrad, who wrote a book about Nirvana -- at first expressed disdain for "the old print school" and "gray, old newspapers" but eventually had to admit that Rolling Stone, Spin, The New York Times, the L.A. Times and other creaky old print mediums still have more clout than all the new media put together.
Credibility and readibility count, and accuracy and intelligence trump speed and shallowness in the long run, panel members seemed to say.
There are not a lot of good reads in new media, and the thrill of immediacy is short-lived. Also, you can't make big money in new media, most panel members admitted. While new media may be hot, it still has a long way to go.