Benjamin A. Davis, award-winning journalist and former interactive editor-producer for MSNBC.com, discusses the digital pyramid. He believes there is a way to balance good journalism and integrity with writing for the web. Davis, a current professor, also discusses how journalism departments have been affected by the new media landscape.

View the Benjamin A. Davis Interview

Carolyn Byerly is a professor in the Communication and Media Studies Graduate program at Howard University. She shares her journey working as a woman in the media world, the difference between journalism in South Africa and US, and diversity in the newsroom.

Read the Carolyn Byerly Interview.

This is part of the Women in International Communications interview series conducted by the Univ. of Iowa.

Lisa Barone is a journalist turned SEO expert. She explains why social media helps journalists reach new information and people. She states, "Social media isn't a fad; it's changed the way people share and consume content." While there is a learning curve, it empowers journalist with tools to easily promote their content, and grow their rolodex.

Read the Lisa Barone Interview. 

Maia Szalavitz explains the new scientific findings about empathy, the ability to put oneself in someone else's shoes. Szalavitz states that while empathy is an innate capacity in most humans, it relies on certain environmental triggers to develop properly. Social media, she believes, can both help and hurt an individual's ability to sympathy.

Read the Maia Szalavitz Interview.

Paul Conti believes that, in the future, networks will have to synerize energies if they want to survive. Professor of communications at the College of Saint Rose, Conti states that local video news stories will be in high demand.The newspaper and TV station that works out a win-win partnership will be the leader of the pack.

Read the Paul Conti Interview.

Thomas Madden shares his thoughts on the future of television. Madden is the former assistant to the president of NBC, and former director of PR at ABC. Madden believes that while the digital revolution has hit the airways, local TV is quickly replacing local newspapers. He states, "Just like the airlines, news media have to merge to survive."

Read the Thomas Madden Interview.

Bill Hayes, president of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, provides his input on the future of televsion. Hayes believes that the dominance of the networks started way before the digital revolution hit. He states, "Any industry that has as long a history at doing something will deal with a painful transition.

Read the Bill Hayes interview. 

Mary M. Glick, associate director of the American Press Institute, discusses how digital delivery is impacting media outlets. She states, " the real divide isn't between print and digital, it's between the first wave of digital content ... and the social, real-time web." She also states that digital delivery alone will not save failing newspapers and magazines.

Read the Mary M. Glick interview. 

Amjad Umar discusses the digital divide, how technology helps reduce poverty, and the obstacles we face in closing this divide. Looking at his credentials, he should know. He is a Fulbright Senior Specialist on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with the U.S. Council of International Exchange of Scholars, a senior advisor to the United Nations initiative on ICT for developing countries, and a Professor and Director of Management and eBusiness at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. 

Watch the Amjad Umar interview.

Michael Ray Smith, professor of communication studies at Campbell University, explains how journalism departments have adapted to the current change in the media world. He touches upon what students need to focus on to be successful in today's market and digital storytelling. Smith warns, however, that "we are diluting something that takes a long time to learn."

View the Michael Ray Smith Interview

There's a very illuminating interview in bigthink.com with Daniel Okrent, former ombudsman of the New York Times, as he trashes much of today's journalism.

He said staffers at the NYT were plagued with "defensiveness" and in some cases "openly hostile" to him criticizing their stories ... that there's a "great displeasure" among readers about the use of anonymous sources, and that they think reporters are "making them up" ... that anonymous bloggers are "cowards" ... that the paper's politicized coverage of the Duke lacrosse case was a "catastrophe" ... and that he senses the Times is "very reluctant" to start charging for web news next year, though revenue is how reporters get paid.

He sums it up by saying the "peak years for quality journalism in this country were the 1970s and early 1980s."

The worst thing about all this? I'd say he's absolutely right.

On the Media Game blog is written by Gerry Storch.

Brian Bailey is the founder of the Facebook group, "I Love the Burg." The group currently has over 17,000 members and covers local news in Saint Petersbug, Florida. In a video interview, Bailey discusses the nature of online communities, why newspapers are having a harder time covering local news quickly, and provides tips on how you can cultivate your own community.

View the Brian Bailey Interview.