When traditional newspapers, periodicals, learned reviews and anthologies enjoyed an unfettered media landscape the natural division seemed to be between the quality press and everyone else.

Originally, “quality press” referred to a category of newspapers in national distribution throughout Great Britain that were characterized by their seriousness, distinctly conservative editorial positions, and cozy relationships with the ruling elite. North American newspapers also produced a quality press, which generally espoused conservative fiscal policy, business interests, and the maintenance of the status quo.

Newspapers—and magazine empires—were also the private domains of individuals who understood that their common lot was not with the common man.

Another hallmark of the quality press was a steadfast objection to moving with the times, with the possible exception of the advertising and classified departments. Occasionally, this would manifest itself in such charming quirks as 1970s references to “Miss Gloria Steinem, the editor of Ms. magazine.”

New voices are changing our understanding of quality press and its less respectable cousin, disposable media. The latter is proliferating chiefly through digital formats while the former is evolving, also chiefly through digital formats.

It works like this: In order to be relevant to the audience you need to deliver your messages directly to them. Online versions of respected publications all over the world are now “delivering the news right to your door” just as they always did. Instead of a paper carrier you have the Internet.

Gossipmongers, society shenanigans and celebrity exposés were made for the Internet; easy to produce and easier to delete. The same equation works for more challenging, important, serious, worthwhile and necessary topics.

Freed from geography and habit, consumers today can explore the collected output of leading thinkers from digital sources that no longer feel constrained by an editorial calendar geared to support the interests of the upper echelons of society.

The new quality press is everywhere; the change is a good one.

Consuming news today is a vibrant, exciting and diverse activity. Resources from around the globe—with divergent opinions, thoughts and ideas—can be read, saved, clipped and shared and sent on a viral tour that has no boundaries. New voices are joining the ranks of the quality press without ever seeing their name on a masthead. Independent thinkers, writers, observers and citizen journalists are influencing larger audiences than ever before.

The main difference, I believe, between the two will be proliferation versus evolution. This distinction will preserve quality while keeping disposable media safely where it belongs.

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver are the first every winter games to feature bloggers as reporters, commentators, critics and shmoozers.

It is now possible to enjoy the games from the point of view of a citizen blogger; fresh, real and usually unscripted. (And in many cases, “unspell-checked”, too.) This changes the way the rest of us—who are not in Vancouver or commenting from our living rooms—will see, experience, enjoy and participate in future Olympiads.

Some of the blogs belong to accredited journalists who file a story for their home base—newspapers, magazines, or television news outlets—while the majority are written by citizens who have an Internet connection and a desire to publish their thoughts.

Even a cursory google search will bring up an astounding and impressive number of results for “Olympic Blogs.”

Always a place to be surprised, amazed, shocked and startled the Internet doesn’t disappoint when it comes to blogs about the Winter Games. Pictures of the crowds in downtown Vancouver are popular and designed to foster a sense of “being there” without actually having to “go there” in person.

Many people believe the new maxim “I blog therefore I am.” Mainstream, hardcore journalists have taken this to heart. Fashion journalist Jeanne Beker is blogging for Fashion Television, her home base. Jeanne is blogging about fashion at the Olympics.

Jeanne Beker is no lightweight in the world—and business—of fashion. She enjoys an international audience and her face and reportage are recognized around the globe.

A number of years ago I interviewed Canadian figure skater Matthew Hall and ended up in hot water when I stated—in print—that no sport could hope to be taken seriously if judges were expected to consider “costume” in the tabulation of scores.

Jeanne proves me wrong.

I recently watched Jeanne chat it up with the folks at CTV discussing, of course, the fashion sense (or lack thereof) of the figure skating competitors. Jeanne and the two reporters from CTV spent a reasonable amount of time discussing the various costumes that competitors were sporting (pun intended). The segment ended with a robust invitation to Jeanne to return before the Olympics end to continue the discussion.

Other fun blogs provide tips on where to eat (always handy) or what to see and do in Vancouver when a break from the Olympics is on order.

Not to be outdone, the tweeple* of Twitter are also busy spreading the message, 140 characters at a time. Of course not every tweet is worth writing home about. Just visit @wintergames for proof. Equally disappointing is the lost potential at @olympicgames where 140 characters is 140 too many.

The blogs are worth reading; real opinions and fun.

* With a nod to writer, actor, bon vivant and Twitterer Stephen Fry. I follow him on Twitter and I first encountered the word “tweeple” on his feed. I now use it shamelessly.

The developed world—particularly the wealthy nations of Canada, the USA, Mexico, and a rich island or two in the Caribbean—have opportunity staring them in the face in Haiti, should they care to look beyond today and see tomorrow.

The immediate need is to alleviate the current suffering that has captured the lenses of the world.

The community of nations, however, has a short memory and an even shorter attention span. One axiom of crisis communications is that another crisis is always looming. Bide your time and soon the eyes of the world will be diverted. The scale and magnitude of the devastation in Haiti (a scale so great that many grasp the wrong word—enormity—to describe it) is mesmerizing. The images still dominate the media and social media applications that matter. They should; we should be shocked, horrified and sickened to see people suffer such misery.

The secondary need, however, is slippery. What we have to do is prevent Haiti from slipping even further away from stability, democracy, dignity and opportunity.

Even in its best days, Port au Prince, was, by all accounts, a dismal place of violent crime, broken government and hopeless people. Numb from decades of dictatorship (a belated thanks-for-nothing to the Duvalier family and their henchmen), corruption (reportedly endemic) and environmental disaster (deforestation seems to have been a sport) have left Haitians with few expectations from the outside world. Nobody helped them when Papa Doc and his cronies crushed them; nobody cared when Baby Doc continued his father’s iron-fisted and corrupt rule. (There was a matriarch of sorts in the form of Madame Duvalier, too, who was sometimes known as Mama Doc, but not to her face. Her influence declined when her son married and booted her out of Haiti.)

We need to remain with Haiti until the nation can stand on its own two feet. This means we have to ignore kooks like Hugo Chavez who accuses the USA of occupying Haiti under the guise of giving aid. It means we have to tell religious crackpots to shut up when they lay the blame for the earthquake on a pact made with Satan. (Thereby giving all true believers a free pass on making a relief donation, or even giving a damn for that matter.) We also have to ignore our own desire to fix the problem quickly and go home.

The opportunity is that Haiti will be rebuilt. Physically—with safe buildings erected by competent contractors who follow real building codes—and governmentally with the foundations of a true democracy that works for the benefit of all the people and not just a selected few.

It takes a certain type of optimist to see a silver lining in such a tragedy. But optimism is not needed to recognize the reality of a society in complete collapse. In the absence of government there will be leadership and there will be rulers. In a place such as Haiti, however, rulers can be determined by who has more guns, ammunition and hired goons. Leadership can be exercised by whoever has the firmest fist, without any pretense of a velvet glove.

Haiti’s rich, developed neighbours (I include Canada as a neighbour) must respond with money, aid, support and patience.

The last item will be the hardest to source. It will also be the most valuable.

From time to time we can all be surprised by our own humanity. While evil has been described as “banal” (see: Hannah Arendt) there are fewer descriptions of destruction, natural disaster, or catastrophe.

Evil is active where natural destruction seems, in comparison, to be passive. It occurs but it does not require an agent to encourage it along. We can fight evil, but we can only respond to natural destruction. It is our response to it that makes us part of the human race.

Global media are consumed with the earthquake in Haiti; this is a valid and understandable response to such magnificent tragedy. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere—already suffering from decades of neglect, abusive regimes and greedy oligarchs—brought even lower by natural disaster.

What strikes me as significant, however, is how in this time of instant video reporting, camera crews on the ground and teams of reporters arriving by special flights (media stars were dispatched in record time to report from the scene) it is the still photograph that can cause us to stop, stare, wonder and respond.

Reputable newspapers (in Canada, The Globe and Mail, National Post and Ottawa Citizen) are all filled with images from the disaster. The all-too colourful images of Port au Prince call to mind the stark black and white photographs of war torn European capitals from previous wars.

The speed and efficiency of video transmission renders the images powerful, but somehow fleeting. A still photograph invites the viewer to linger and note things that would be lost with a moving image.

The look of despair, resignation and even defeat on the faces of the victims is something terrible to behold, but only visible if you can absorb the entire image and allow it to sink in. It is our ability to be moved—and subsequently to reach out and, somehow, respond—that reminds us of our shared humanity.

Want to help? Reputable relief agencies are soliciting money to help Haiti. Three smart questions:

1. What will you do with my money?
2. When will you use my money?
3. How much of my money will go to administration expenses?

Yesterday a colleague noted that the front page image of a major Canadian newspaper was credited to Facebook, the social media site that many use to keep in touch with friends and families. Birthdays, family vacations and pictures from a golden wedding anniversary are the stuff of social media lore. Long-lost high school chums finding one another on Facebook were, for a time, a staple of soft journalism.

In an earlier era the Personals section of daily newspapers often carried short ads from people looking for lost loves, estranged family members, past neighbours and so forth. There was an element of sympathy for the person who placed an ad encouraging someone to “call home, all is forgiven” or wondering whatever happened to the boys from the Cub Pack.

We read these ads knowing we would never know what happened to long-lost Uncle Joe, or if John and Marsha patched things up.

The Viet Nam War—a miasma of grief broadcast to hundreds of millions of living rooms on the evening news decades ago—created the modern take on the storied war correspondent. Images from the battlefield, field hospital or ruins made war real, and perhaps routine, to the audience back home. Given the media consuming habits of the Viet Nam War generation (tune in at 6 for the evening news, with a trusted anchor) the war could be presented, positioned and edited for public consumption.

Someone, somewhere, was exercising final approval on what made it to the network. Brutal images (still available all over the internet) from Viet Nam played no small part in sickening public opinion and helped turn its tide.

In due course the public lost their appetite for the war and the confrontation ended, after too many years, with a whimper and not a bang. Perhaps the audience had seen too much?

The image on the newspaper yesterday was not edited. It was real, raw and as unscripted as life itself. The growing bank of images—of mind-numbing devastation coupled with the awareness that Haiti is a place of poverty, struggle, dictatorship, crime, violence and a complete lack of hope—are reaching a new audience.

The audience today has countless options for information. Social media updates about the earthquake in Haiti will continue to proliferate as NGOs, news organizations (legitimate and illegitimate), charities, support groups, interested bystanders, family members and the  public reach out online for information, images, context and, most importantly, understanding of the events in Haiti as they unfold. Moment by moment.

I believe that this change is a good one. Unhindered by an editorial bias, citizen journalists are at their best when presented with a story that begs to be shared with others. Sharing the images, stories, experiences and developments in Haiti using social media tools empowers us. It is impossible to ignore the suffering of strangers when our knowledge of that suffering comes from a stranger.

The late Walter Cronkite was often called “the most trusted man in America.” I trust the citizen journalists, social media users and others “broadcasting” from Haiti just as much.

We have watched the destruction and its aftermath. Social media tools and citizen journalists will enable us to watch the response and reconstruction. We will know what happened to the people affected by the earthquake; watch hospitals, schools, police stations and presidential palaces reopen and—thanks to strangers on the ground—remain involved.

I am pleased to announce  the launch of  Thornley Fallis & 76design’s new online presence.

Our new websites, conceptualized, designed and developed by  our team of creative masterminds and technology all-stars, exemplifies our capacity to push the limits of innovation  in the world of social media and digital marketing.

Thornley Fallis & 76design is made up of individuals with fun, smart and professional personalities; personalities that have all contributed to the success of marketing & communications projects. To fully demonstrate  the range of personalities, talent and intelligence our  team has to offer, we’ve done something  a little outside the box.  Something very brave… or maybe something very stupid – we’ll let you know

We’ve created a live LifeStream for every one of our employees. This is more than just a standard funny profile picture and biography.  It is an aggregate of their work and online profile, intended to paint a picture of who they are, what they do, what they think and what they are interested in.

To explore the diverse and unique characters at Thornley Fallis and jokers at 76design, take a look through our people profiles and find out who you could be working with on your next project.

Not only is our team exceptionally talented (and good-looking), we are experienced & passionate about the work we do.  While adventuring through our People pages, zoom over to the Work & Services sections to see what Thornley Fallis & 76design has to offer.

My colleagues and I hope you enjoy perusing through our new sites.

Oh and one more thing… if you like what you see, don’t hesitate to call us, we’d love to hear from you!

I enjoy newspapers and still read—or at least scan—a few each day. The content is as interesting to me as the advertisements can be. Savvy readers today will note that there are fewer advertisements for high-end jewelery items and that car prices have dropped. Precipitously.

The Globe and Mail for Monday March 23rd (Globe Life Section; page L1) published an article outlining the pitfalls of social media tools used injudiciously. Net-net: Share judiciously. One citizen of the Twitterscene slagged a client (not a good idea) and another insulted a city that happens to be home to his client and their head office; also a bad idea.

Careeristinas with a past will recall—perhaps fondly—a time when office deportment was more strictly outlined. There were definite expectations for “professional” and “personal” spheres of life. It was not uncommon to know little about the private lives of colleagues; one woman I worked with some years ago kept her engagement and subsequent marriage so carefully under wraps that knowledge of both escaped notice until she arrived at the office on Monday sporting a wedding ring.

Social Media tools have changed how we communicate and how we expect to communicate with one another. Immediate communication tools, strategies and needs trump the now charming, decorous professional demeanour of yesteryear. There are no secrets on the Internet and exposing your life—in all its normal glory—is now commonplace.

The concept of the much-dreaded “personal phone call” at work is obsolete. Never mind a call from your physician, sibling or family lawyer: wide-open work spaces and team-based cubicles mean that co-workers often share intimate details merely by having ears. (Personal phone calls, fyi, are obsolete because cellular phones take up the slack.)

Social Media tools—from MSN as an inter-office yakker to the Biggies like Twitter and Facebook—enable people to indulge in sharing, posting, commenting and more from the relative comfort of their keyboard and an ergonomic chair.

Social Media tools are, however, forever. Each tweet, update and notification is a public announcement.

The ability to instantly communicate is wonderful. It is also powerful in more than one sense of the word and it includes the ability to have your thoughts spread like wildfire across a digital network of untold numbers of people. Publish for sure, but don’t publish and perish because you hit “send” before reflecting on your post.

Even a cursory glance at popular advertising now will reveal a new tenor to our times. With economic worries so topical (Note: When Prime Ministers and Finance Ministers are gloomy you just know it is serious.) the tone of advertising changes.

In the past week I”ve seen a new Loblaws ad featuring Galen Weston Jr.  comparing two shopping baskets filled with groceries. The brand name cart—filled with all the goodies people love—costs much more than the quality no-name products Loblaws retails. The pace of change is quick; only a few short weeks ago Galen was shilling mini Salmon Wellingtons as the perfect nibble for festive parties and drop-in holiday guests.

Boston Pizza is advertising an “under $10″ menu so happy diners can still eat out, but without straining the bank or their nerves.

Hamburger Helper—long a staple of the budget-conscious shopper—spreads the word that a family of four can eat supper for under $10 including beef and milk.

What to look for next?

Look for kitchen appliance manufacturers to promote slow cookers and casserole dishes. Websites for foodies will go heavy on stews and recipes that stretch every grocery dollar.

The new workplace will be about lunchrooms and kitchens as office-tower denizens start to brown-bag it during the week. Restaurants that (formerly) catered to the lunch crowd are well advised to announce lunch deals, buffet options and “mom” style foods such as mac & cheese, meatloaf and soup and sandwich specials.

Home decor—you’ll see this in weekend newspapers and decorating publications—will be less flash and less cash with an emphasis on discreet home electronics and a homey, less grand and formal lifestyle presentation.

Opulence is out for 2009; look for people to put the dog out, but not on.

The auto industry? Only he knows for sure.

After repeated tries yesterday and earlier this morning, I was finally able to register my phone number….

Blogs, links, jumps, sidebars, comments and emails. Spend enough time on the Internet and you will come across hundreds of thousands of each one.

This one lead me to this.

Then I saw this and I encourage you to read it. It is important, it is Canadian, and it is good. I am even going to encourage you to forward the link to people you know.

Then I read this.

No matter what happens over the next few weeks the spirit of these discussions will not go away. Even the requirement that foreign journalists will need to apply for access to Tiananmen Square 24 hours in advance if they want to interview, broadcast or film in the plaza won’t turn this story off. (Intrepid journalists will, I believe, find people to interview, film, record and photograph at other venues. I’ve visited Tiananmen Square and it isn’t the only venue in Beijing where one can reasonably expect to find citizens milling about. It is, after all, a big city.)

It is just not possible, you see, to shut the Internet down. Nor can true public conversation be silenced. Shouts might become whispers but never silence.