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11 things I'd do if I ran a news org

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Inky_Wretch, Sep 15, 2009.

  1. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    by Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

    http://mediactive.com/2009/09/12/eleven-things-id-do-if-i-ran-a-news-organization/
     
  2. Charlie Brown

    Charlie Brown Member

    Interesting. But ...

    2. We would invite our audience to participate in the journalism process, in a variety of ways that included crowdsourcing, audience blogging, wikis and many other techniques. We’d make it clear that we’re not looking for free labor — and will work to create a system that rewards contributors beyond a pat on the back — but want above all to promote a multi-directional flow of news and information in which the audience plays a vital role.

    Based on what I've seen of wiki and some of those other things he mentioned, I'm going to need a lot more than this paragraph to convince me. And yes, I read item No. 3. Item No. 2 read like one of those infomercials that tell you how they're going to teach you simple techniques that transform your (whatever) using the latest in (whatever, whatever, whatever). And of course, you buy the tapes and you get six more hours of that.

    This is a trainwreck waiting to happen, this aptly named No. 2.
     
  3. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    Forgotten item No. 12: Readers will be expected to pay for news.
     
  4. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    People don't just want to read something on a piece of paper or on the web, they want to participate. This should be No. 1. (Though his No. 1 is a particular pet peeve of mine and I agree wholeheartedly).

    I liked No. 7 -- not using Orwellian PR speak -- but I thought his examples were pretty mild.
     
  5. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    People "partcipating" is just making them and everybody else miserable. Because so much of the crap posted by fans is just mean spirited bullshit. Racist bullshit, intimidating bullshit, name calling, stuff "journalists" never write. If we want to continue to let the "fans" have their say, go right ahead. I hope someday they give us the right to be just as crass right back at them. Oh wait, we can't. Our real names are on our stories.
     
  6. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    *shrug*
    How does he plan on making money?
    Things I'd do:
    1) Charge for online access to enhanced web features and mobile access but leave a free, bare bones site with links to content you have to pay for. Also develop a metered system where access if free at first but charges as you spend more time on the site.
    2) Tell the AP they could no longer pick up staff generated content.
    3) Develop message board forums that would form a sense of community.
    4) Recognize that The Paper is a brand and by linking to "basement bloggers" and others, all you do is enhance their credibility and take away from your own.
    5) Tell people who work at think tanks and other places telling papers how to do their business to put their money where their mouth is or shut the fuck up.
     
  7. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    I love how all the thinktank people constantly shit on the people writing the stories. We get it. We just make so many mistakes and leave so many unanswered questions. We are scum and should be told we are scum every day by all the anonymous posters. My god, what has happened to this business? The writers/copy editors/headline writers now are the scum of the earth I guess. These thinktank people just see so many holes in our stories. Even stories written so much better than any fucking citizen journalist could write.
    How can anybody disagree with my last 2 posts? Tell me. I just get so mad at how reporters have been turned into total scum by their own newspapers who relish this anonymous criticism and these thinktank people whose word is considered gold in many instances. My god.

    Holes exist in every story. Laziness exists in every story. Geezus. You write the story.

    No. 4 is a real doozy. Maybe they'll create a position for some watchdog to find all these errors. I need to go away for a month and get away from all this madness. It is killing me.
     
  8. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I'm really sick of audience participation. They can have the letters to the editor, even the inane online comments (with proper editing). But the "journalism process" is ours. We have training, either academic or through the job itself or both, to know what the hell we're doing. News organizations started to lose their way when they let focus groups and other ask-the-audience crap dictate the news coverage. If people want to tell us what recipes to print in the food section, that's fine. But we do the news.
     
  9. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    What's this guy's beef with anniversary stories? I'm not crazy about them, but I could see this guy's thinktank groups criticizing newspapers for not doing the 9-11 anniversary/update pieces, or recognize anniversaries of stuff in the community. The 100th year of whatever.
    I don't really like writing or reading many anniversary stories, but WTF? Editors especially love these things, assigning anniversary stuff. I'd think they'd have heart attacks reading this thinktank guy's first mission.
     
  10. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Newspapers rely way too much on this crap.
     
  11. jlee

    jlee Well-Known Member

    Some great ideas there. Now who has the money to hire all these folks?

    He shoots himself in the foot a little bit with the last point. "Top-ten lists are trite. Here's a top-eleven list!" The list format made his piece easier to read and discuss.

    On a side note: One of the commenters mentioned having a "paid Citizen Journalist" ... umm ... wat?
     
  12. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    This. Oh so very much this.
     
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