Ezra Klein sounds like the name of a movie star.
In all fairness, Mr. Klein is charismatic, funny, and quite captivating. His mannerisms are humorous, his speaking tone is friendly, and he strikes one as a very honest man. He presents himself and his work in the manner of a seasoned speaker and journalist despite being only 29-years-old. His accomplishments include creating Wonkblog, the popular policy-blog of the Washington Post, being named Blogger of the Year in 2010 by The Week, and an advocate for the integration of technology and analysis of political doings. Klein recently announced that he is leaving The Washington Post for a new media venture at Vox Media, which hired Klein to lead their developing political news site.
Why does this matter?
Klein spoke at Drew University on Wednesday, January 29th as the second of four speakers in Drew’s annual forum. He spoke very well, using Obama’s State of the Union address as a launching point for discussing the polarization of Congress and their inability to accomplish any significant legislature. He unfortunately did not mention anything about his new media ventures, stating only that he had “no idea what [he is] doing”. It is likely that Klein is also barred from elaborating on Vox Media’s plans to launch the political aspect of their already prolific site until such details are finalized.
The significance of Klein’s presence in policy reporting only grows as this new path with Vox Media becomes concrete. Vox Media, which boasts six individual sites dedicated to the umbrella topics of sports, food, fashion, real estate, technology, and even gaming, is the fastest-growing technologically based media outlet in the world. The site prides itself on its use of media in technology rather than the incorporation of technology in media production, an incredibly modern interpretation of information distribution. Almost every media source in the nation has a website of some sort, whether it is an extension of information in the style of an online newspaper, much like the Madison Dodger Online, or an archive for past stories and releases seen on television news programs like CNN or Fox News. The addition of Klein to the already stellar team at Vox Media only reinforces the idea that journalism is changing drastically. Many argue that newspapers are slowly yet surely dying as Internet news sites increase in number and quality. The comfort of the rising generations with technology as a source of not only entertainment but information as well almost ensures that the future of journalism and reporting lies within technology.
As the quantity of information on the interwebs soars, the want for quality information increases as well. From Buzzfeed to the Huffington Post to The New York Times, consumers are looking for accessible, reliable, and inexpensive information. The development of media in technology allows us to infer that this is indeed the path journalism is headed. The question remains as to how to sift through the growing number of media outlets and retain the reliable.
If Klein’s resignation from The Washington Post, which reportedly refused to endorse his multi-million dollar plans to launch a media outlet like Vox Media’s, is any indication of where online journalism is headed, it is safe to say that formal media distribution is in good hands. The key now is to ensure that reporters and commentators with Klein’s education and professional standards are the ones behind the keyboard informing the massive web of readers the Internet has connected.