Will Old Media Paradigms Shift into the New Media World?

Tomorrow I am attending the Politics Online Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center sponsored by The George Washington University's Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet, as well as Campaigns and Elections' Politics Magazine. The conference will include the likes of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, and over a hundred panelists representing the cutting edge of technology, especially social media, in politics and government.

I will be moderating a panel called "Will Old Media Paradigms Shift into the New Media World?" on Monday, April 20th at 2:00 pm in Hemisphere A  in order to have a conversation not only about the differences between the old and new media, but to talk about the implication of diversity in each space:

As the new media world matures, how will it take on paradigms of the old media in terms of structure and diversity? The panel will feature a discussion between traditional journalists as well as bloggers and social media experts to identify the differences and similarities between the old media and the new media worlds. Specifically, the panel will talk about how the lack of gender, racial and socioeconomic diversity has hurt traditional journalism and how the online space can change this precedent. As part of this conversation, the panel will work to identify online gatekeepers and agenda setters and discuss whether or not these roles are being filled by the "boys club" or if a new diverse set of players has emerged. Finally, the panel will identify ways for traditional media to stay relevant in the online space by engaging with the two-way conversation model and leveraging social media tools."

Featured panelists will include:

• Steve Roberts, Author, Journalist, Syndicated columnist and Professor of Journalism at the GWU School of Media and Public Affairs program

• Karen Tumulty, National Political Correspondent for TIME Magazine

• Micah Sifry, Co-founder and editor of the Personal Democracy Forum, and TechPresident.com

• Amanda Terkel, Deputy Research Director at American Progress, Managing Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org

• Garrett Graff, Editor-at-large for Washingtonian magazine and a professor at Georgetown University in the Masters in Professional Studies Journalism and Public Relations program

Here are some of the articles I recommend reading to get a sense of what we'll be covering on the panel:

• Women's Media Center research on diversity in the media
• Pew Research Center's State of the News Media 2009 
•  Mashable's Stats: Old Media's Decline, New Media's Ascent

For those who are attending, make sure to use the #polc09 hashtag and come by to say "Hi!" You can most easily get ahold of me at the conference through @HumanFolly on Twitter.

Feel free to leave any comments or thoughts about the panels here.