Results matching “launches journalism of a”

The FrontLine Club has launched its own quarterly title to sponsor independent journalism.  FrontLine: A Broadsheet, will comprise of foreign coverage, as well as articles investigating British culture and politics.  In fact, its creators hope to resurrect "some traditions lost from the British market".

The identity of these traditions is as of yet vague, however the publication's ethos has been made clear.   This, according to Vaughan Smith, founder and managing director of the Club, is "political, but party-politically-allergic, irreverent and iconoclastic".  The subject choice in the selection of articles for the first edition suggests that these values are indeed underwriting the content.  Up for discussion is Tony Blair's Catholic faith, the return of British sleaze and peacekeeping in Kosovo.

Amidst the doom and gloom of newspaper closures and declining advertising revenue, it makes a welcome change to report on the launch - albeit online - of a news site.

Headed by Basque firm Hispa Vista, Globedia is entirely and exclusively written by the online community. According to El País, the website's aim is to "offer people information published by anyone with a desire to express and spread an idea or thought on current affairs and general interest issues."

In what the Financial Times describes as "a first step towards charging for its content on smartphones", Thomson Reuters has launched overhauled its mobile applications. The new apps contain video and market data, as well as headlines. Whilst remaining free for the moment, Alisa Bowen, head of consumer publishing at the company added "It would be a logical conclusion that there would be a paid element in time... The ability to launch premium services is our ultimate goal."

Similarly, the Wall Street Journal's iPhone and Blackberry applications remain free - despite content being charged for on the publication's website. However, Rupert Murdoch recently revealed that users of the paper's iPhone application would soon be required to "pay handsomely". Journal editor Robert Thomson also revealed that it will launch "a sophisticated micropayments service" for the main website this autumn.

The Huffington Post has announced that it is to launch an Investigative Fund with an initial budget of $1.75 million, in collaboration with The Atlantic Philanthropies and other donors. Founder Arianna Huffington told the AP that she believes that "All of us increasingly have to look at different ways to save investigative journalism."

The funding should be enough to support 10 staff investigative reporters, and Huffington hopes to use laid-off journalists, who will work with freelancers to look at stories about the US economy. Although the site generally has a liberal leaning, Huffington was adamant that the investigative journalists' work will be non-partisan, and the fund's executive director Nick Penniman pointed out that the group would be quickly discredited if it puts out faulty information.

French citizen journalism portal Citizenside has announced the launch of its iPhone application in English. Version 1.1, in French, was launched at the end of January. Citizenside co-founder Matthieu Stefani explains that the English version of the application should help the company to extend its already global reach, as the "international application market is over 20 times larger than the French one".

The platform, which was launched in 2006, acts as an agent between amateur photographers and publications, as well as helping other publications to set up their own citizen photo sites. Citizenside has also developed technology which allows detailed authentication of the origin of the images it receives, and helps avoid the pitfalls of photos which aren't what their owners say they are.

The Financial Times group yesterday unveiled the launch of a new search engine called Newssift aimed at business professionals. Rather than scouring the entire web, the tool will give users access to relevant databases, as well as filtering articles from a wide array of international business news outlets, including professional sites, opinion pages and blogs.

This week saw the launch of Media Cloud, a website created by the Berkman Centre for Internet and Research. The aim of the project is to track the flow of media on the web, and observe how news stories unfold. The Harvard based project has also teamed up with Thomson Reuters to use their Calais technology, which is providing data-analysis for one of the site's tracking strategies.

The Journal of New England Technology reports that Media Cloud is "intended to determine what types of stories are covered by certain media sources, where news stories originate, what parts of the world attract attention and which do not, what role reader comments play in setting the news agenda and how the blogosphere's coverage compares to traditional media coverage". Users can create graphs and maps displaying topics and areas of coverage, and can select up to three news sources to compare. Whilst the list of sources lacks some names, there are enough options to make interesting comparisons - looking at the global coverage of NYT, Al Jazeera English, and China's Xinhua for example, provides interesting contrast.

Friday 27th February saw the last ever edition of the Rocky Mountain News, after it became "a victim of changing times in our industry and huge economic challenges" according to Ricky Boehne, CEO of Rocky owner E.W. Scripps. However, now that the presses have stopped, many former staffers have migrated to the employee created I want my Rocky online-only news site.

I want my Rocky was created by Rocky Mountain News employees in December, initially to fight for the newspaper and as a "way for readers to send in their comments" explains Mel Pomponio, former Rocky Union chair and presentation editor, in a video entitled 'The Final Edition' on the new site. But it seems that the project has gone further now that the RMN is no more; many of its former journalists have begun publishing regularly on the site.

The debate about making online content paid-for has been raging in the media world for a while now. Though this move may not be completely evident to people, several media pundits have advocated the view, stressing that newspapers can be saved from extinction by making this crucial, but improbable, change in the news-providing process.

T.J. Sullivan, freelance writer and former staffer at four dailies, talked to journalism.co.uk, about his online petition, suggesting that Associated Press (AP) and other US newspapers to shut their websites for a week in July 2009. In an effort to put the spotlight on the importance of news-gathering organisations, Sullivan hopes to educate people "of the colossal domino effect that the loss of newspapers is having on both democracy and every other type of newsgathering organisation"

Media houses and industry experts have explored this idea, considering the pros and cons of having people pay for something that has always been free. Some argue that the amount of revenue generated from news websites cannot considerably change the fate of print newspapers and thus a move like this could be more self-destructing. What was clear was that if online content has to become a paid-for model, only a consolidated effort from the media industry can change the situation. Thus making petitions like Sullivan's a heroic effort, but one that could be doomed from the start.

Sullivan remains hopeful. "I hope the goal of the petition is realised - that newspapers and The Associated Press actually unplug their websites for one week starting July 4 2009."


Sources : journalism.co.uk

Citizenside, a French citizen journalism portal, has launched a free iPhone application so that its members can now send in photos and videos directly from the field. 

Citizenside was launched in 2006 and provides a platform for amateurs and professionals to shares their and sell them to media organisations around the world.  AFP is a shareholder.

Adding an iPhone application is all the rage in the news industry right now: papers such as the New York Times, USA Today, L'Equipe and Le Figaro have all recently jumped on board.

Source: CB News

Boston University yesterday launched the New England Centre for Investigative Reporting.  The Centre is a university based, not for profit multimedia collaborative that aims to breathe life back into investigative journalism, which 'has become a luxury rather than a necessity in too many newsrooms' explains college Dean Tom Fiedler.

In association with the Boston Globe, Boston.com, New England Cable News, WBUR-FM and New England Ethnic News, the NECIR will provide assistance to all afore mentioned partners in getting investigative journalism back into their newsrooms, produce in-depth multi-platform investigative news reports and experiment with effective ways to produce investigative community reports online.

To mark the relaunch of the Editors Weblog, the World Editors Forum is running a special series entitled "Doing More with Less." The series highlights major trends that editors-in-chief are using to steer their newsrooms through the difficult economic climate. The third of the series takes a look at the new online-only international news service launching today, GlobalPost.

Amidst reductions in international reporting at newspapers across the US and Europe, GlobalPost, an American online-only international news service whose number of overseas correspondents is second only to the AP, launches today. The Editors Weblog spoke to President, CEO and co-founder of GlobalPost Philip Balboni and Senior Editor and Regional Editor for Africa Andrew Meldrum about the project, and asked the AP's John Daniszewski for his thoughts on a new news organisation that could potentially rival the Associated Press.

 
Filling the international gap

Balboni was passionate about his motives for founding the organisation: to fill a crucial gap in international reporting accessible to the American people. "I have seen the steady diminishment of foreign reporting in television and radio," he explained, added that this "has just been stunning." And he stressed his belief that "even the great American institutions that remain with a meaningful foreign staff are in jeopardy because of this devastating downturn in the economic underpinning of newspapers." Meldrum echoed his sentiments: "in the US, so much international news is being cut."

Daniszewski, AP Managing Editor for International News, was confident that the AP was providing "a comprehensive international news coverage," and that there was not a lack of information out there for people who were determined to find it out.  He was positive about the creation of a new service, however: "it's really good to have those eyes, ears and notebooks out there, and I am sure they have a lot to contribute."  

Complementing the AP and newspapers

Balboni insisted that GlobalPost intends to be a supplement to a newswire service, rather than a competitor. Balboni explained that the sort of "distinctive story-telling" that GlobalPost offers is very different to that of the AP, Reuters or AFP. "As a wire reporter, you chase the story of the day and there is a tremendous need for that, but it has become a commodity and you can find these stories everywhere."  And indeed, GlobalPost will also aggregate the top news agency stories of the day on its site. Its original reporting, though, will be different: "what we are focussed upon is the context behind the headlines," generally stories that will not be widely reported in English. Daniszewski was insistent that he does not see GlobalPost as a competitor to the AP because in terms of scale the AP is far larger. Rather he considers it a complementary service that will contribute to the "great need for the world to be informed."

"We hope to help newspapers, not hurt them"

Balboni also emphasized his hope to "help newspapers, not hurt them." He explained that GlobalPost is a "partner for newspapers," as part of its business model is to syndicate content to newspapers all over the world.  "We want to give them the opportunity to have high quality original reporting which they can print or publish online," he added.  He added that in the Web 2.0 world, it is less useful to put your content in a "walled garden, you have to let it be free to go where users want to find it."

Old-school correspondents

The 60 to 70 correspondents are essentially stringers, filing one piece a week.  As Meldrum described it, "this is designed to be a string that any correspondent could add to the other work that they are doing."  However, GlobalPost is making a significant commitment to correspondents, offering a guaranteed monthly salary and shares in the company, and hopes that its reporters will "feel that they are invested in our success," explained Balboni.   The correspondent group includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, among a mixture of experienced, accomplished journalists and those who are at an earlier stage in their careers.  

The correspondents will be on the whole country-based, meaning that they know the language and are familiar with the history and current affairs. The idea, Balboni explained, is that readers will have "the opportunity to follow developments from someone you can come to know and trust."  Daniszewski thinks GlobalPost is trying to return to the old model of a foreign correspondent, "that sort of authoritative, contextualized, interpretative voice, who adds different perspectives that people bring to a story with their own personalities." As "traditional newspaper correspondents out there are now acting more and more like a wire service," Daniszewski believes, there is a gap to be filled by people who can produce a more in-depth, time-consuming story.  

The five regional editors are working full time, or "more than full time," as Meldrum put it.  There are regional editors for Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and a team of half a dozen senior editors based at the HQ in Boston.  Seven beat correspondents will have a truly global scope, reporting on issues such as health, climate change and technology worldwide.  

"Journalists know best"

"The goal is for this not to be a top-down model, but a bottom-up model," Balboni clarified, as correspondents "know best about what the interesting and important stories are." Meldrum remarked that "it's much like a traditional foreign desk," with correspondents pitching stories, editors approving them and then editing once they are sent in. The content management system used means that correspondents are able to follow the story process "right from conception to completion."

Interactive multimedia from abroad

"These days a freelance journalist is always going to be multi-skilled" asserted Meldrum, and "we are all on a learning curve." Correspondents have all been issued with Flip Cams - video cameras the size of a mobile phone - which they are encouraged to use whenever possible, whether to produce narrated pieces or natural sound shots that will supplement their story.     Photos are also expected to feature significantly on the site, taken both by correspondents and by other photographers who will contribute.

Reader comments will be allowed on articles throughout the site.  "We want it to be as interactive as possible," Meldrum commented, explaining that they plan to respond to readers and adapt to how readers want to use the site.

Partnering with the best

According to Balboni, it is "imperative" for a new venture to form relationships with other news providers. And GlobalPost is already doing this, having established a partnership with the Huffington Post whereby some of GlobalPost's content is available on the Huffington Post's new world section. Correspondents are also appearing on 'World Focus', a night news programme on US television channel PBS, for a Q&A session with the TV anchor about whatever story they have covered that day. Balboni said that the organisation is also exploring similar opportunities with radio and in commercial television.  

Entrepreneurship drives online-only journalism

Balboni was enthusiastic about the potential of an online only publication. One of the main advantages is the "incredible distribution platform at a very modest expense." The Internet solves the problem of how to reach the audience.  He believes that there are "incredible opportunities as well if you can be entrepreneurial enough to create a new model, and if you can fulfil a need." By operating online-only and keeping distribution costs low, GlobalPost hopes to be able to produce a higher quality of product.

The other crucial point, he explained, is that serious news consumers are now looking mainly online to find their news.  He worries that newspapers have been "dumbed down" in an attempt to attract more readers, pushing many people online. It is not just about chasing numbers of viewers, and GlobalPost expects to have a "very high quality user population" of intelligent, well-educated people.  

Stamping "Passports" to profitability

"Paid online content will be the salvation of journalism if it can be worked out"

Balboni expects the site to become profitable in three years, and it will be funded via syndication, advertising and paid premium content.  He expressed his conviction that paid online content "will be the salvation of journalism if it can be worked out." GlobalPost's premium content aspect to the site will be called 'Passport' and will be available for an annual fee. The Passport area of the site will include a service called Foreign Desk, which will allow subscribers to write suggestions for stories that they would like to see.

The foreign news solution?

There is a gap in the market for this sort of well-investigated, foreign news, and as long as GlobalPost can find enough readers who are interested enough in the world around them this site has much potential.  The passion of the people behind it for international news is indubitable, and the model that they have chosen is forward-thinking and may well work. Being online only allows it to have a vast scope and reach with comparatively few resources. It will be particularly interesting to see how successful the paid content model is, and whether this can, as Balboni hopes, save journalism. 

Related links:

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/01/globalpost-aims-to-resuscitate-foreign-correspondents-online008.html
http://www.journalism.co.uk/5/articles/533189.php
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/davidwestphal/200901/1615/
 

Gannett has announced that it will begin rolling out a single website, ContentOne, for all of its 85 newspapers beginning tomorrow, according to journalism.co.uk.  In December, Gannett had announced its initial plans for ContentOne.   

According to Gannett Blog, most of the content will be generated by USA Today and individual local newspapers will add the website to their own. 

The New York Times is to develop its website by launching a new "Instant Op-Ed" feature next month, according to Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal.  The new feature will enable NYTimes.com to post expert viewpoints on breaking news almost immediately.

"Our Op-Ed now is very rapid response, but it is at the most the next day," explained Rosenthal. "We are looking at a way to take advantage of the expandability of the Internet, the back and forth of it and the instantaneous nature of the Internet."  

Three editors and a Web producer are gathering a list of experts on a variety of issues, who will be ready to provide quick comments or columns on issues in the news.   There will be a dedicated Web space for the comments, and readers will also be able to comment. 

Rosenthal noted that this initiative is the first collaboration between the Times' editorial page and the news department.  Jill Abramson, managing editor, described the development as "a blended kind of journalism"  which "convenes outside voices" to discuss their news.  

Source: Editor and Publisher

Both the Wall Street Journal's print edition and The New York Times Online will both be adding new elements this week.

The WSJ is running with advertiser Dell's cover wrap on Thursday for the first time in its history, according to Ad Age.

PV Media Group has launched a news aggregation website, BreakingNews.com in partnership with the wire service Breaking News Network Inc.

The group is an online marketing company that is headed by Steve Rosenberg, former Universal TV executive.

Within 24 hours after Barack Obama won the election, his transition team launched change.gov, a web site designed to be a "source for the latest news, events and announcements" so that the public can "follow the setting up of the Obama administration."

The site has a blog, a newsroom and a countdown to inauguration.  According to CNN, the website "is an extension of Obama's online strategy during the campaign."

Users will now be able to control more data on the New York Times' website with the launch of their Visualization Lab.  

The Lab allows readers to experiment with different ways of visualizing data - either stats, figures, or even words from an article, according to Journalism.co.uk.

Some examples include words from Barack Obama's acceptance speech:

The Bradenton Herald announced plans to relaunch its website this week.  The new design is set to aid in the integration of news, advertising and information-sharing between print and online editions.

The Herald will expand multimedia capabilities and include original video content throughout the site.

The new site will be simplified, more interactive and personalized.  Users will be able to build their own blogs, forms and even a personal profile like those of MySpace or Facebook.  In addition they will be able to comment on stories posted on the site. 

On October 27, the Financial Times launched a new discussion area for its blog-site, Alphaville.  The new area is entitled The Long Room after a famous pub in London.

The chat room will emulate the pub by creating virtual discussion tables that registered users can sit at and join the discussion.  Users can also start their own discussion tables.  Users will be able to contribute text comments along with documents and multimedia contributions.

Telegraph Media Group has launched an application specifically for the Google Android phone.  According to Journalism.co.uk, they are the first publishers in the UK to do so.  

The new application was launched by Telegraph Labs, which was launched in May in order to develop new products for the TMG.

CBS Interactive will be launching an online service nicknamed the "social viewing room" that will let multiple users to watch and interact with streaming TV content, reports the European Journalism Centre. The feature will be a mixture of a chat room, video conferences and live streaming.

A new French language newspaper L'Hebdo du Vanuatu is set to launch in Vanuatu, an island in South Pacific Asia. The title will be published by the country's Daily Post paper and will offer coverage on Vanuatu as well as New Caledonia, where it will be additionally distributed.

L'Hebdo du Vanuatu is the most recent deal for Daily Post publisher Marc Neil-Jones, who acquired backing from the European Union.

Source: European Journalism Centre

The New York Times launched Application Programming Interface (API) on Tuesday, October 14.  The NYT APIs are  a way in which outside developers can access NYT data for use in other applications, interfaces and mashups, according to Read Write Web.

The Campaign Finance API was the first to be launched.  The next API to be launched will be a movie review.  

The NYT website describes the new API; "With the Campaign Finance API, you can retrieve contribution and expenditure data based on United States Federal Election Commission filings. Campaign finance data is public and is therefore available from a variety of sources...you can use the Times Campaign Finance API to quickly retrieve totals for a particular candidate, see aggregates by ZIP code or state, or get details on a particular donor."

Citizen journalism may receive a boost as prominent interactive video streaming website Stickam.com reports the launch of Stickam Mobile. The service will allow users to upload live video to Stickam players though mobile devices, to see the number of live viewers at a given moment as well as get a glimpse of chat room content on their mobile phone screens.