Moved Next Door
I've moved this blog to a simpler address: revolution.typepad.com. I'll be adding posts about online politics, in addition to media resources.
NYT API HUH?
The significance of the announcement last week that the New York Times plans to offer an open API by this summer probably passed most editors by like alphabet soup off a duck's back. But the message for journalism students is clear: learn the basic computer skills to collect, mix and match data to tell a story online. Don't worry about it not being creative enough; inconsistent data and visual challenges keep it interesting.
"Be the Tallest Dwarf"
That was Chris Anderson's recommendation to anyone running a niche media site, cited in a TechCrunch blogpost that argued that old media companies should go even farther and recognize that the era of control is over, and that users are as interested in talking to each other as in reading journalism handed down from on high. This is completely true. But it's also completely true, as Howard Kurtz writes in his latest Washington Post media column that "the economics of the Web, for now, won't support a staff that can hold
public officials accountable across the region and still cover every
Nationals game." So embrace the new reality, but do so without arrogance, because it comes at a price.
Don't Blame Craig
That's the title of a Dave Morgan blog post that takes aim at the idea that Craigslist is responsible for the troubles in the US newspaper industry. He blows that charge right out of the sky, by showing newspapers are just one of many industries to take a dive after a near-monopoly on distribution was exploded by the Internet. Steve Pearlstein's recent Washington Post column does a great job of describing the forces buffeting the industry, and why publishers just can't bring themselves to make the right business choices.
It's All Semantics
Caught a few minutes of the Semantic Web session at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. So far, looks like database queries that produce mashups on steroids.
Google Publishing: Just Add Content
Free is a great business model if you can afford it. Google's beta launch of a free ad server looks to me like another step toward becoming the Alpha and Omega of online publishing. The company already provides a lightweight CMS and text ads links at the low end, has acquired Double Click at the high end, and analytics in between. I'm expecting a free, industrial strength CMS at some point. What this ads up to in the infrastructure for online publishing -- just ad content. Of course, there will be vast amounts of low-quality content at the low end. Thing is, only Google will have the knowledge to slice it, dice it and make it valuable.
Reuters Covers Iraq
This piece on five years of Iraq is good multimedia built on great journalism.
Update: USA TODAY unveils an interactive database of the fallen. Excellent data-driven journalism, but grim: "Deaths based on your selection."
Twitter as a Reporting Tool?
When Twitter erupted early last year I described it as an annoying social chatter utility, eliciting an objection from my 20-something assistant that merely reinforced my point. But now I have to agree with Jeff Jarvis that the application, that allows you to broadcast your IMs to a network of subscribers, can be a good tool to report a big, rapidly breaking story -- live blogging accelerated. But broadcasting the banality of your life? Spare me.
Josh Has News for You
Just because early bloggers tended to wear pajamas and liberally wield flamethrowers, it doesn't mean blogs can't be used for good journalism. Want confirmation? This week blogger Josh Marshall was awarded a prestigious Polk award for his dogged, online-only coverage of the U.S. attorneys scandal.
Beauty Queen Skins Muskrats
Unfortunately, the Washington Post's photographer didn't get the money shot of pageant contestants Dakota Abbott (right) or Samantha Phillips skinning local varmints in their gowns and makeup during the talent competition, but the slideshow is still great and the story is good enough to use to teach feature writing -- lots of local color without big-city condescension. The Washington Post
Storybuilding the Integrated Newsroom
"Storybuilding." It's just the practice of posting short news items online, building them up during the day and producing a full-fledged story for the next day's paper. The Financial Times deserves credit for giving names to this and other sensible practices of the integrated newsroom, described here.
Let Your Data Do the Walking
Citizen journalism draws lots of chatter, but I think that the type of projects funded by the Sunlight Foundation could have an even bigger impact on journalism and public policy. For example, OpenSecrets.org lets citizens and journalists alike follow the money, and OpenCongress.org uses technology and journalism to tell the real story behind legislation. But there's still a gap to be filled by journalist who can tell readers what the exposed data means and why it matters.
Talk to the Newsroom
This Q&A with NYT web editor Fiona Spruill provides a good glimpse into the nuts-and-bolts of online journalism, with questions like "how do you plan multimedia?" and "what skills do I need to get hired?"
Sign of the Times
With broadband making video the new vernacular, it's only logical that the New York Times should accept a video letter to the editor.
Not a Complete Bloodbath
Mark Glaser sees new media jobs replacing a large part of the print newsroom cuts that generate headlines, though the comments on his post indicate that not everyone is convinced. What's clear to me is a decline in foreign postings with expat packages and well-paid jobs in prestigious urban newsrooms -- the kind of jobs that have attracted careerist graduates of top schools to journalism since the mid-70s. Does that mean that the atomization of advertising killed the profession? Hardly: there are new ways to tell stories, and new models are emerging to support them. If you want stability and security, though, try dental school.
The Future of Images
Take a look at what happens when Photosynth effectively hyperlinks the images on the web.
A Resource for the Resourceful
This site describes the changing media consumption habits and fragmenting business model for news in the U.S. It offers solutions grouped into the three pillars of new media: databases, multimedia and community. These articles can be accessed through the "Pages" links in the right column.
The slide presentations below also touch on online marketing and advertising, content management and the transformation of the newsroom. Strategy and training resources are linked from the right column.
State of the Art
This video was just published on Apple's website to promote an upcoming product (that my organization have been waiting for). It's the first time I can say I'm seeing Internet video that's higher quality than television, and it loads fast. If you want to see state of the art in online video, this is it.
Here Are the Slides
Here's where you can download copies of the PowerPoint slides I used during my presentations in South Africa.
- The Changing Business Model for News Download businessmodel.ppt
- Multimedia for Dummies (my personal favorite) Download multimedia4.ppt
- What's Happening in America Download usexamples.ppt
- Online Marketing and Advertising Download marketing.ppt
- Transforming the Newsroom Download newsroom.ppt
Half of Award Nominees Aren't Media Companies
The finalists for Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism were announced yesterday, and I noticed that half of the nominees are not traditional media companies. They include CFR's interactive guides to world conflicts, TechPresident's data-rich reporting on how candidates are using technology, and some collaborative journalism projects. The old-guard Reuters news agency caged a nomination -- for its news bureau inside roleplaying game Second Life.
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