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The Journalism Iconoclast

The blog of online journalist and Web developer Patrick Thornton. This blog seeks to combine journalism and Web development to forge a new frontier.

CICM offering internship to Web savvy studentsYesterday

 

The NYT is selling front page ads. Oh nos!January 7

Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal.

Well, it is, but it doesn’t mean the quality of The New York Times will diminish. Nor do I think for a second that front page ads will influence editorial decisions.

But this is a big move for the Times, just not in a way traditionalists think it is. The Times is finding a way to add to its print revenue stream. We should all salute them for that.

Losing the Times would be catastrophic for the U.S. Putting front page ads in a newspaper? Eh, not really news.

Other, major U.S. newspapers already do it, and it’s common place in Europe. What this move signals to me more than anything else is that the Times is serious about trying to find ways to fight back in this troubled financial times (and to avoid defaulting on its debt). A front page ad in the Times is an advertisers dream, and should fetch a handsome sum.

The lone front page ad slot also sounds pretty harmless:

The first such ad, appearing Monday in color, was bought by CBS. The ad, two-and-a-half inches high, lies horizontally across the bottom of the front page, below the news articles and a brief summary of some articles i

Does triCityNews produce news, or just ad space?December 23 2008

Anil Dash wonders whether triCityNews is in fact a newspaper at all.

Not once in David Carr’s piece did the publisher of the triCityNews, Dan Jacobson, mention content, journalism, journalistic mission or serving readers. Instead, he talks about how “I don’t want anything that detracts from the paper and the presence of those big, beautiful full-page ads” and “business sense” and “running lean” and keeping advertisers happy.

All that’s great, but you would think that someone who started a “newspaper” startup less than 10 years ago, would talk about his love of journalism or how his newspaper is serving the community better. You know, the reasons that all of us got into journalism. Maybe this is Carr’s fault for not choosing one quote that relates to journalism, but Dash concludes:

That’s not to say Jacobson doesn’t value journalism. It’s just that it’s absolutely clear that his priority is his advertisers. Thus, I submit that the triCityNews, while certainly a paper, is likely not a newspaper.

Making a profitable penny saver is a lot easier than making a real, profitable news operation that serves its community. It sounds like the triCityNews exists to be a pleasant p

Social is the key part of social mediaDecember 17 2008

With more journalists jumping on the social media bandwagon, it’s good to remind people that the key word in social media is social and not media.

Traditional journalists are used to a one-to-many publishing approach. They are used to being arbiters of what information gets disseminated. They are used to pushing information to people but not accepting it.

That’s fine for a print world. Print is a one-way medium. Nothing wrong with that.

But social media is really about being social. It means interacting with people. It means two-way communication. And it means journalists no longer control what and how information is disseminated. 

Social media is not yet another place to push content onto. It’s not a repository for content from another medium. It’s its own medium.

It deserves — no demands — its own content. Social media can be a great way to connect with users. It can also be a great way to build a network of sources.

Beat blogging is all about using social media, blogs and other Web tools to build a larger network of sources. Beat blogging is a give and take. It requires journalists who are willing to interact with people and provide users with a service.

Social media can really help journalists report better. I think it can help make our jobs easier. But only if we are social on social media.

Being social comes down t

Today’s Thought: What/who will be left to rebuild journalism?December 12 2008

Let’s be clear about one thing: 2009 will be much, much worse for journalists and established media companies than 2008.

Much worse.

And 2008 has already seen more than 15,000 jobs lost at U.S. newspapers. I believe 2009 will be a defining point in time for U.S. newspapers and not in a good way. Many promising young journalists and students are leaving journalism for other fields.

So, I have to ask: When this financial crisis is over, who will be left to rebuild journalism? Will there be enough talented journalists left to rebuild? Will the journalists left have the Web skills that journalism sorely needs?

Usually, we’d look to the next generation. We’d say that the future will bring in new, exciting ideas and fresh talent. First, most j-schools follow the industry, not lead it. They are filled with more curmudgeons and technophobes than most newspapers. 

The other major problem I see is that many of our most talented would-be journalists are switching majors and planning on entering other careers. And many of the young talent that did work in news organizations left before they ever had a chance to get into a position of power to make significant change.

The future is beyond bleak for U.S. newspapers. The future of journalism is still up for grabs. There will be , however, many innovative journ