We Made The Media: What went right — and wrong
We Make The Media was an intense day. As one of the sub organizers who spent the last few months helping Ron Buel and a core group of people create the event, it was both thrilling and heartbreaking to see how it played out.
Over the course of the day about 50 percent of attendees left and didn’t come back. Many that I talked to said they didn’t see value in simply discussing the problems of the industry. Several people told me they felt like the day was an attempt by OPB…
Oregon Understory
Twitter in the newsroom: hate it, love it — why we can’t shut up about it»
In this episode of Oregon Understory, I interview reporters, editors and anchors in Oregon, Washington and California about that much-critiqued social media tool: Twitter.
Stop rolling your eyes — this is more than just a Twitter love fest. We talk about why journalists aren’t using it, why it’s changing how the PR industry views reporters and why it really doesn’t matter if Twitter blows up and disappears in the next few months.
On this week’s show [...]
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Nonfiction Articles
Empty: The story of a boat, an abandoned town and $17 million worth of pot, pt. 2»
Night is falling. The tugboat towing the Saja is slowing down. They’re 22 miles up the Columbia River, and in the dim light the crew can see a forest of pilings sticking out of the water on the south shore. This is a ghost town. This is Bradwood Landing.[...]
Journalism
Hey media startups: J school students need your help (and you need theirs)»
I spent the better part of last weekend at the University of Oregon’s journalism school. On Saturday I was a panelist at the Building a Better Journalist conference, and on Sunday I took part in the Redefining J School barcamp. I don’t have a journalism degree. In fact, I don’t have a college degree at all. But this weekend I learned this: Professional journalists and their news organizations need to start thinking about how we can help students get the training they need.
It was a weekend of contrasts. I came away amazed by some sessions and depressed by others. The conversation during the barcamp was so fast and sharp at times it was almost impossible to take notes; the new media sessions at the conference had a great range in topics as well. Of course, there were also a few tedious veterans yabbering about “change.” I get cynical and bored with people who wave the word “digital” around like it’s some kind of healing wand without ever examining what has actually changed in our industry. Journalism students need answers, not aphorisms…
Digital Journalism Camp
Updated: Digital Journalism Camp has a schedule»
I’m posting this a little belatedly. Ok, really belatedly. Over at the conference site I have a schedule for Aug. 1, as well as list of a few of the presenters, panelists and moderators.
I just added Carolynn Duncan, founder of the startup incubator Portland 10 to the list. Her presentation is called “Square peg, wrong hole: Why your news product doesn’t meet consumers’ needs” [...]