I like the iReport approach for breaking news that happens before the “pros” can get there. do I think it will replace them? No. Is it a service that can make them some money? Sure! I think people would pay via advertising rather than subscription fees (this is the future free content on websites). Also, if you took a video that CNN choose to use, you want to be able to show your friends, not make them pay to see it. This is also help established media make money – they’ll sell advertising for the prestige of having your video selected to be on their site (“Dude, my video’s on CNN!!!).

There could be something like an “iPad Pro” in the future which combines all of this. People are already editing video and such on cell phones, so the only thing missing is the camera. With WiFi memory cards, you could send the pictures/video right to the iPad without a connection, edit and upload them straight to the web.

Think that covers it. Let me know if I missed anything.

Thanks for the support!

For now, I look at the iPad as a media consumption device (a portable apple store if you will), but it has interesting potential as a media creation device if it was not for its limited input sources. I know you can buy a photo adapter for downloading photos from a camera or memory card so perhaps all it would need now is a more fully, featured app to edit those photos and perhaps a layout program that could transform those photos to be part of a presentation or report. I imagine something similar could be done with video.

On a somewhat tangential thought: If everyone becomes a reporter, how do the newspapers still make money? Are they just an aggregation of user generated reports and articles? Is what they provide simply an editorial service that organizes and categorizes the reports? And would anyone pay for that?

/ end ramble