OJR front page archive for January 2009
The ethical journalist's guide to selling ads on a website: Part one
January 30, 2009
The reaction to my piece two weeks ago illustrates that the idea of a reporter selling ads on his or her website remains a troubling one for many would-be online publishers. So I decided to present a step-by-step guide describing how a journalist can sell ads without compromising his or her ability to report accurately.Step 1) Commit to learning about ad sales with same dedication you brought to learning about reporting.
When you start your own website, you no longer are merely a reporter. You've become a publisher, with all the additional duties that this position requires. In the highly competitive marketplace of online publishing, you must succeed in each of those areas if you site is to be successful. (Relevant cliche: "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.") So you must commit to learning about your content management system, cultivating and inspiring your readership, recording and managing your expenses... and earning money from your site.
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Filling in the blanks on DocumentCloud
January 28, 2009
Back in November, some folks from The New York Times and ProPublica filed an ambitious grant proposal in the Knight News Challenge competition. It asks for $1 million to fund DocumentCloud, a solution that would apply the wisdom of the crowd to the problem of organizing and examining documents.The much-buzzed-about idea aims to develop open standards and APIs to make source documents "easy to find, share, read and collaborate on." (You can find the full text of the proposal here.)
I asked three of the proposal's authors, Aron Pilhofer of the Times and Scott Klein and Eric Umansky of ProPublica, to elaborate on their vision for document nirvana.
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Papers must charge for websites to survive
January 25, 2009
You don't get free gas from a gas station.You don't get free meals from a restaurant.
You wouldn't walk into the Googleplex ... that's Google's corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. ... and expect a staffer to rush to the lobby with 1,000 free shares of Google stock for you.
At least we don't think so.
So why is the newspaper industry the only one in America that is expected to give its product ... in its electronic version ... away for free?
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The customized newspaper is right around the corner, if you're willing to go there
January 23, 2009
Mary Lou Fulton is Vice President of Audience Development at The Bakersfield Californian and a member of the advisory board of the Knight Digital Media Center.Newspapers are "one size fits all" publications fighting to survive in a world gravitating toward personalized and niche media. But what if you could have the best of both worlds – the serendipity of browsing a newspaper combined with content and advertising that was tailored just for you?
This idea has been kicking around for years, but in Europe, the Swiss Post (that's the postal service, not a newspaper) and the German tech startup Syntops are making it happen with their Personal News project. This is a small experiment, but a fascinating one that offers a mashup of section fronts from select newspapers in Europe and the U.S. An overview of Personal News, a three-month pilot project that launched in December, was presented by Syntops CEO Gregor Dorsch at this month's conference on Individuated News.
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Newspapers may seek philanthropy to support news-gathering
January 22, 2009
Could newspapers and local broadcasters begin seeking philanthropic support from the civic foundations and private donors that are starting to bankroll news non-profits? It appears entirely likely. With for-profit media watching their news-gathering resources dwindle, some editors say they're open to the idea of seeking help from donors.Charlotte Hall, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, told me the idea raises multiple questions about how newspapers could solicit philanthropic support and still retain credibility. But bottom line? "I believe that a model could emerge for foundations to fund some local reporting at newspapers -- investigative reporting or an important local beat, for example," she said in an e-mail. "A new kind of firewall would be needed to assure independent reporting and unencumbered editing."
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From buy-out to boss: A case study in post-newspaper blogging
January 21, 2009
When I decided to accept a buyout from the Orlando Sentinel after 20 years as the senior restaurant critic, I had a particular path in mind moving forward. There were a couple of companies I thought would fall over themselves to hire me; there was the occasional magazine article I would write for $1/word paychecks; and I figured I would start a blog just to keep my eye on the beat and to have a constant creative outlet. And, I’d heard that if you place Google Ads on your blog, every time someone clicks on an ad on your site, Google sends you a few pennies. I thought if I could just make enough money from the blog to pay for the restaurant meals I would write about on it, I’d be happy.None of the companies I applied to showed the least bit of interest in hiring me. And I found that while several local magazines wanted me to write for them, their pay-per-word rates made Google Ads look generous.
So I started focusing on the blog, or flog as I call it (food plus blog equals flog). The irony is that if I had started concentrating on the flog as soon as I left my position at the paper in July -- or, better still, before that – it just might be making money by now. Enough to keep me in the lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed? Probably not. But I think it eventually can be a supplementary source of income. But it isn’t going to be easy, and it isn’t likely to be fast – much too late for that.
But learn from my mistakes. If blogging is something you’re thinking about doing when your number is called for downsizing at your publication – and if you don’t think that’s going to happen, would you please turn the lights off when you leave? – I have some suggestions to help you get started even before you claim your first unemployment check.
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Journalism ethics 2.0: As the Internet changes the market, some conventions must change as well
January 16, 2009
With the deadline for applying to our News Entrepreneur Boot Camp approaching, I'm thinking in even greater detail about the steps print journalists must take to make a successful move over to online publishing.One change folks with print experience must be willing to make is to rethink some of the assumptions they may have had about journalism ethics. I'm not suggesting that journalists should change their core beliefs about this field when they switch media. The central tenet of journalism ethics (in my opinion) remains: Do what's best to empower your readers with truthful information. Everything we do ought to flow from that goal.
The practice of journalism is an act of service. But if we are going to be able to continue to serve our audience, we will need to change some of the conventions and assumptions we've brought to our practice if they now stand in the way of our ability to serve. What good are conventions designed a generation ago to protected our public image if following them today leaves us with a shrinking audience and no advertisers to support us?
Here are three widely-quoted tenets of traditional journalism ethics that I believe journalists must change in order to remain relevant in a more competitive online information market.
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First-year grand total for Knight's civic program: $17 million
January 14, 2009
Can community news non-profits persuade hometown civic foundations to help bankroll their operations? The answer looks like a resounding yes.In the first year of the Knight Foundation's $24 million, five-year program, 100 of the nation's community foundations sought some of the action, pledging their own philanthropy in applications for matching Knight grants. That amounts to nearly 15 percent of the nation's civic foundations – and many of them submitted more than one grant proposal.
Knight officials were taken aback by the turnout. "The biggest surprise for me was how many responded in the first year," said Trabian Shorters, Knight's vice president of communities. "It's not unusual with these grant initiatives that people wait and see. So that was a big and pleasant surprise." Shorters said the response indicated there's some "pent-up demand on this front."
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The challenge washingtonpost.com isn't meeting: How to connect the dots between words and action
January 14, 2009
[Editor's note: Tom Grubisich is a former Washington Post reporter and editor]The Washington Post does great journalism. Jonathan Krim, assistant managing editor/ local at washingtonpost.com, documents several examples in his response to my recent piece "Washington Post needs to do some structural work on its shaky new strategy." Except Krim mislabeled this journalism as a serious attempt at "deeper and broader [community] engagement." It isn't.
The best example that Krim cited – "Fixing D.C.'s Schools" – actually shows how the Post, particularly its website, remains stuck in this great paper's legacy of investigative journalism, where the investigators, who are word, not action, people, remain in total control. The series, put together by a team of 12 reporters, editors, videographers and others, was a devastating indictment of how the District public schools educate their students. But the articles, fine as they are, offer no avenues of help to District parents who have children in one of the worst public school systems in the country.
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We're looking for a few good aspiring online publishers
January 13, 2009
OJR readers,I'm excited about a project that OJR is launching, along with our new hosts at the Knight Digital Media Center. In 2006 and 2007, OJR hosted one-day conferences at the USC campus for online news entrepreneurs, and I've been wanting to expand on those programs, to offer more in-depth training and development for online journalists who are building the news organizations of today and tomorrow.
Now, it's going to happen. After the jump are the details, from the KDMC.
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So why aren't you Twittering yet?
January 9, 2009
Today's entry is for all OJR readers who aren't on Twitter yet. Here's my advice: Start. Today.Twitter has become what many of had hoped RSS would be, as well as the most vital forum for sharing links with other writers. Throw in Twitter's value as the ideal medium for breaking news, and you're crippling your online publishing effort by not participating.
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GlobalPost: A startup treads where big media retreat
January 8, 2009
Journalists can't resist "man-bites-dog" stories. Here's an example of one they'll find irresistible: Even as media companies shed revenue and staff in ever-growing numbers, a new company will spring to life Jan. 12 that will employ about 80 journalists with the un-modest aim of covering the world. And... it aims to make money.Boston-based GlobalPost is a Web startup that will try to fill a void left by newspapers and network television, which collectively have pulled back sharply in deploying journalists abroad. If it's successful, GlobalPost will be one of the most spectacular against-the-grain stories since news companies began their accelerating revenue slide almost two years ago.
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Washington Post needs to do some structural work on its shaky new strategy
January 7, 2009
[Editor's note: Tom Grubisich is a former Washington Post reporter and editor]In her first major statement as publisher of the Washington Post, Katharine Weymouth late last year announced a seemingly Zen-inspired long-term strategy of three pillars. The pillar that caught my attention was the second:
"Providing utility, engagement, and convenience for our local readers."
"Engagement"! Weymouth gets it, I said to myself, the Post is going to build a 21st century community to stay relevant, and financially healthy.
But after reading her whole "The Road Forward" document, I think my optimism may be misplaced.
Weymouth details what the Post will do about utility ("make the paper and washingtonpost.com go-to places for local information") and convenience ("make it possible for [local consumers] to complete many... transactions on the site"). But nowhere does Weymouth expand on how the Post will promote engagement.
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