Now that (most) journalists are working in digital – using audio, video, social media, blogs and databases in their reporting – how do we define whether any of it is good or not? It’s a tough question, and one that I’ve tackled a couple of times recently at workshops and conferences, most recently at the [...]
As you already know, news is no longer a one-way lecture. It’s conversation. It started with comments on stories and blog posts and has evolved in the age of social networking with Facebook and Twitter. So what’s next? Going “offline” and actually meeting with readers and sources, face-to-face. A small-but-growing number of reporters is finding [...]
It’s classic workplace culture: employees shake their heads and curse the inaction of management (whether under their breath of with colleagues around the water cooler). In times of stability, it’s a drain on innovation. In times of disruption, it’s dangerous (and quite possibly fatal.) I visited the newsroom of the Wichita Eagle yesterday and gave [...]
News21 is an ambitious project, attempting to chart a course of innovation for news coverage that is both “immersive” and “socially powerful,” in the words of Jody Brannon, News21′s national director. Brannon, who has been working in online news since 1995 with stints at washingtonpost.com, USAToday.com and MSN.com, has been leading the project for the [...]
Mark Briggs 
Posted in Execution is everything, Future is now 
Tags: asu, jody brannon, news innovation, news21 
No Comments » I’m in Cooperstown today, speaking at the New York Newspaper Publishers Association annual conference. As a left coaster, I’m a bit overwhelmed by the history here: the local newspaper has been around for 201 years, the hotel is celebrating its 100th birthday and this is the 156th edition of the conference. (And tomorrow I’ll be [...]
In the past 10 years, I’ve been involved in countless discussions about new and innovative ways to do journalism online. Staff meetings, editors retreats, conference panel discussions, workshops and on and on. Not once did I hear anyone set the goal as high as building an “insanely great web service,” as this excellent piece from [...]
(NOTE: The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Journalism Next, which will be published by CQPress and is due out in the fall.) Charles Betram was home mowing his lawn on a sunny weekend in Lexington a year ago when his assignment editor and good friend, Tom Woods, called. Woods was watching his [...]
Steve Buttry posted the complete – and I mean complete – details of Gazette Communications’ plan to revolutionize its business yesterday. It’s worth a glance if you care about the evolution of local news and worth a full read if you’re responsible for running a local news business. (Sorry, but suing Google is not part [...]
How easy can digital video be? It is estimated that 13 hours of footage is uploaded to YouTube every minute. The low cost and ease of use mean anyone can participate. The quality varies greatly, of course. Both in journalism and in the greater video ecosystem. This debate about quality has strangled many news organizations. [...]
