Results matching “journalism providing valuable i”

In a recent article, Cnet reported that Google CEO Eric Schmidt, believes the Internet is "a cesspool where false information thrives."  According to Cnet, because there are no barriers to entry and easy production and distribution, it is easy for false information to "infiltrate" the Internet.

Schmidt goes on to say "branding" is a way to avoid this infiltration.  He also gave the example of blogs such as GigaOm, Politico, TechCrunch, Huffington Post, and VentureBeat, which are providing valuable alternatives.

Must-read. AJR's Senior Editor Carl Sessions Stepp has noted that while news remains as valuable as ever, journalism is certainly changing as daily newspaper circulation has declined every year since 1987.

Is it time for newspapers to panic? It could be, had Stepp not come up with an expansive list of very good editorial and business ideas for newspapers.

Instead of cutting everything, from staff to newspaper sections, Stepp argues that newspapers should be creating a product that is high quality and indispensable. Journalists need to embrace arriving technologies and make their articles more exciting. But how?

Here's a list of Stepp's ideas, more or less in his words, that could help newspapers recapture "domination of the overall information market":

-  A four section daily paper with journalists and readers sharing and discussing news together.
Section 1: a "dynamic, definitive guide" to local news featuring digests, analysis, listings, links, columns and audience contributions; excerpts and synopses of top content appearing elsewhere; and an annotated guide to the top material concerning international, national, regional and local news, sports, business and arts.

Section 2, the most important local, national, and foreign news, fully updated and differentiated from earlier Web copy.

Section 3, an in-depth package that changes everyday, which would present serious, investigative, quality journalism, not available anywhere else.

Section 4, all the expected features from crosswords to comics, plus new ones including reader creations.

- An online information superstructure built around a double home page, with an easy toggle back and forth: one screen for an orderly display of news and other content, the other a portal-type screen offering a master index of anything useful and appropriate for your audience, with more choices, more services and a nontraditional license to experiment.

- A new, more conversational tone, both online and in print, including staff and outside blogs, behind-the-scenes essays from staff members and a higher proportion of analysis and explanation.

- Archives and galleries with a more user-friendly format like Google or Yahoo! that cluster content by precinct, neighborhood or topics. Searches that index advertising or searches programmed to answer questions such as where a movie is playing or when the school board will meet.

- Expanded interactive guides to movies, shows, concerts, galleries and other arts, with amazon.com-like reader reviews and interaction.

- Real-time online traffic and weather blogs.

- Contests every day for the funniest, weirdest, most helpful or most outrageous local images, audio and video.

- Tournaments, online and in-print, pitting local individuals and teams against one another in solving puzzles, predicting sports or election outcomes..

- Online book clubs and discussion groups on local sports, religion, relationships and more.

- Original uploaded programming, in which readers Web-cam their neighborhood news, read political commentary, offer Leno-like stand-up comedy bits on the news and debate key local issues.

- A complaint forum, directed toward local government or business, in which editors or audience choose which questions have merit and pose them to local authorities.

- A local records center, providing agendas and minutes of every significant meeting in your area; text or links to as many public records as feasible; and your homemade community databases such as local sports stats, crime maps, home values or restaurant menus.

- Greater capitalization on the treasures of your archive; readers can develop and download scrapbooks featuring every article, photo or other mention of themselves and their families in your library; or publication and sale of special in-depth or feature reports drawing on your archives and research capabilities.

- A help-needed feature, a sort of super-classifieds, that lets readers pose questions, seek products, evaluate services and possibly engage in transactions from which you share the profits.

- Moderated forums and advice segments for personal finance, health, travel and other subjects.

- New products and revenue sources: frequent-visitor points, premium services (such as customized news delivery, conferences featuring star journalists, first crack at ads and coupons, local discounts), neighborhood magazines, daily auctions (lunch with the editor!), grants from nonprofits, vastly upgraded searching services and search-related ads, customized magazine and book-length reports on key topics.

- Staging regular creativity meetings throughout the news organization and in the community.

- Hosting an ongoing online suggestion box with prizes.

- Spend real money by giving $100,000 to three or four of your smartest people and challenge them to design something breathtaking.

Read Stepp's article for more of his ideas.

Source: AJR

As more and more journalist jobs are cut in the newsroom newspaper reliance on ‘wire stories’ is becoming evident. Some consider news wire agencies a potential threat to unique or tailored news and commentary being delivered to the masses. Whose responsibility is it to ensure that the public gets the varying opinions and commentary on the news they need? Where does this changing role of news wire agencies leave newspapers in the future?

 Every web-based news source must take great care in providing an efficient layout. For two reasons. Studies have shown that, in a general manner, the print-format of newspapers is still more practical than web versions for cursive visual scans and information retention. The second reason is common sense: since traditional newspapers’ readership is migrating to online, it’s even more essential for them to produce a quality online format. So how do you do it? 

Just this month, I stumbled upon the beginnings of a truly global web community all about infographics.  Blogs, forums, tips, critiques.  And suddenly, I don’t know where to start with the one thing I’ve been craving for the past 10 years.

The Columbia Journalism Review's blog gives a favorable opinion of the work of Kevin Sites, the photojournalist Yahoo! hired to conduct what is arguably the most ambitious dive into journalism by an Internet company. The multimedia site Yahoo! launched known as The Hot Zone is being watched closely by media outlets, but most have come to the conclusion that it does not pose a threat to traditional journalism.  

Although it is well documented that newspaper circulations have been declining for years, a slide that does not seem will reverse itself soon, it has been shown that newspaper website usage has been rising rapidly. But does their digital readership make up for the loss in print? Will sustainable online financial models emerge? Will the Internet change newspaper journalism?