I’m looking forward to exchanging ideas about the future of journalism tomorrow at Digital Journalism Camp Portland. Abraham Hyatt organized the event and has lined up an impressive menu of tasty selections for anyone interested in the intersection of journalism, technology and business.
I’ll be joining Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb, Greg Swanson of ITZ Publishing and Alex Wilhelm of Contenture on a panel called “Real-world successful (and almost-successful) revenue models.” You can see the full schedule here.
Many people looking for innovation in revenue models to support news and journalism seem to be holding out hope for a silver bullet. But that’s not how innovation happens. As Scott Berkun observed in The Myths of Innovation, it’s a long process that only results in success after long periods of hard work and perseverance. Then, the last piece of the puzzle is labeled as “the epiphany” (think Newton’s apple on the head) and other people hope a similar bolt of lightning will strike them.
So it’s unlikely this panel discussion will solve any of the big problems in building a business in jounalism and the news. But it’s important to come together often to discuss the small steps forward as we trudge through this long period of innovation. Here’s a breakdown of what I will discuss:
1. Niche content (localized or topical)
– examples: www.artsjournal.com, www.xconomy.com, www.pegasusnews.com,
2. Investigative content
– examples: www.spot.us, www.propublica.com, www.publicola.com
3. User generated content
– examples: Nowpublic.com, Demotix.com, OhmyNews
4. Applications to enhance digital journalism
– examples: Kachingle, Caspio, Publish2, Serra Media (my company)
Some recent reading on the topic:
– Taming the Web for Local Advertisers
– AOL Newsroom Now Has (Wow) 1,500 Writers
– Can ‘Good Blogging Seal Of Approval’ Help Mommy Bloggers Avoid The Regulators?
– Gannett, McClatchy Poised to Beat Profit Estimates
Note: I’m hoping to get down to Portland early enough to take in some of the other sessions, too, and I’ll be posting updates on my Twitter feed. You can also follow the conference’s hashtag (#journopdx) and follow the official feed here.
Mark Briggs 
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