OJR: The Online Journalism Review

Sasha Anawalt

Los Angeles, California

Sasha Anawalt is director of Arts Journalism Programs at USC Annenberg School for Communication and co-director of A National Summit on Arts Journalism

Contact:

Articles:

These articles are the work of their author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of nor an assignment by OJR.

Reinventing arts journalism... by starting with a virtual summit

September 29, 2009
Sasha Anawalt is director of Arts Journalism Programs at USC Annenberg School for Communication and co-director of A National Summit on Arts Journalism.

I'm told by people who know such things that I am lousy at the elevator pitch. But the question: "Hey, Sasha, what is this National Summit on Arts Journalism?" is a natural for people to ask, especially when trying to figure out if they should pay it any attention. With the Summit only two days away, I've now ridden a bank of elevators.

The Summit will showcase 10 innovative online projects chosen by a dozen judges that allow us to peek into arts journalism's future -- like a TED conference, but just about journalism. We hope to explore ideas and issues that have taken unpredictable and fascinating forms by looking into these diverse digital models for keeping arts journalism alive.

This Summit is a virtual summit. Yes, there will be a live audience on Oct. 2, settled into its seats by 8:30 a.m. at USC's Annenberg Auditorium. But the main audience is the one watching online during and after the event. How could it be otherwise? A field that's been so deeply affected by technology must reflect that technology. The Summit is itself an experiment in form. Because the Internet allows journalists to generate, gather and distribute information and opinion from a universe of sources, shouldn't our conference extend as far? More...

No comments | Archive Link