After a long stint as book review editor at BusinessWeek, Hardy Green has left the magazine world. He’s now posting on his own site and recently completed his second book, The Company Town.
We checked in with Hardy for his thoughts on the changing face of the media. His perspective, from all sides of the publishing arena, is thought provoking, as he looks at where the media is now and where it is going.
Here are Five Quick Questions with Hardy Green:
Q: You’ve been on the front lines of the media for more than a quarter century, and right now, we seem to be in the midst of what may be the biggest change we’ve seen since the advent of radio and then television. Does it seem that significant to you?
A: Definitely—and sometimes it’s discouraging.
We know the changes are real, but some experiences drive the facts home. For instance, last month, I wrote an article for The Boston Globe, and I asked my brother-in-law, who lives there, to send me a printed copy. He told me he’d recently canceled his subscription and only reads the Times. Moreover, I’m just back from a book tour to the West Coast, where it seems none of my friends are reading the local newspapers anymore. The San Francisco Examiner is, they tell me, little more than a website now.
Also, I had a speaking appearance at a bookstore in Berkeley—admittedly a new store—close to where some friends live. They’d never even been in the store before.
Q: It is quite clear that media is moving online in all forms. Do you think that affects the quality of the journalism? Is it harder to determine trusted sources in our current environment?
A: There’s no doubt about it. Since I left BusinessWeek, I’ve written for some online “publications.” There’s no fact-checking, no one asks you to think twice about an assertion or to get more sourcing. Procedures that were routine
at print newsweeklies are foreign to the online world.
Q: Is there is a significant upside to the online world? Does it give more journalists a chance to go deeper, with longer stories and more in-depth coverage?
A: You might think that would be the case, since in the online world, there are fewer restrictions on article length. But a lot of these sites pay very little, which means free-lancers have to write tons of articles just to make ends meet. That means few writers have time to “go deeper,” as you put it. Moreover, print publications often insist on exclusivity—but online publications encourage you to recycle your articles and sell them to several places. It all boils down to encouragement of quick-and-dirty journalism, not to quality, in-depth reporting.
Q: You made the switch recently from the print world, where you were the longtime book reviewer at BusinessWeek, to writing for your own website as well as penning a new book. How do you like the switch?
A: One friend who returned to BusinessWeek after a book leave said he felt like he’d graduated from college and been sent back to high school. Being out on your own is definitely more of an “adult” experience—but there’s none of the warm-nest security that comes with a 9-to-5 job. And now I’m paying for my own health insurance.
Q: As someone who has been both author AND reviewer, tell us what it was like as your book, The Company Town, was just published to excellent reviews. Still a thrill?
A: It’s definitely a thrill. I’ve been on numerous NPR and other radio programs from Los Angeles to Seattle and Connecticut. I’ve been interviewed on Fox Business television. And my book has been reviewed in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and recently, The Economist. All of this has exceeded my wildest expectations. I’m only hoping the bubble doesn’t burst too soon.