XMLToday.org managing editor Kurt Cagle reports that he gave a presentation earlier this month at the Online News Association conference in San Francisco on how the semantic web will impact journalism:

The talk was only semi-successful - due to a number of factors (not least of which being a parade of revelers passing in front of the conference hotel wearing little more than paint ... and sometimes not even that) I had a number of people abandoning the talk about halfway through. However, I think the talk provides a good overview of how Semantic Web technologies factor into the field of Journalism ... though without the nude party-goers.

It's hard to believe that Drupal references and taxonomy definitions can't compete with naked, but based on Cagle's account, such appears to be the case.

Cagle's slide presentation is embedded below. It's very thorough and interesting, especially his view of the evolving role of journalists ("The significant journalists today are analysts. Their role today is to discern meaning and validity in a rushing tide of assertions. Increasingly less important is their role as reporters.") and how semantic technology is enabling this transition.

Oh, in case you were hoping, Cagle was good to his word: There are no nude party-goers in the slide show. You'd think he would have learned something from his recent experience.