Newspapers don’t need new ideas; here are lots of ideas for new revenue streams

Alan Mutter documents the no-longer-surprising fact that newspaper advertising revenues continued to fall for the 20th straight quarter in the first three months of 2011. This decline comes at a time when the economy has been growing for nearly two years, turning around declines in broadcast, magazine and online advertising. Mutter closes: “Clearly, newspapers need [...]

Read Full Post »

TBD aggregation editor Elliot Kort joins NJI Media

TBD’s community engagement team has all moved on to new challenges now, except for me. Elliot Kort, a late addition to the team, left Thursday to take a new job as an interactive strategist for NJI Media. Elliot and Elyse Greenberg produce Capitol Bites, one of the first members of the TBD Community Network. Before [...]

Read Full Post »

The 5 W’s (and How) are even more important to business than to journalism

Update: Lots of people are finding this post through Google searches for “the 5 W’s.” If you’re interested in something on the 5 W’s of journalism, you might try my post, The 5 W’s (and How) of writing for the Web. Jay Rosen wrote a thoughtful blog post, What I think I know about journalism, [...]

Read Full Post »

Jeff Sonderman joins Poynter: a perfect fit

When a friend at The Poynter Institute told me Poynter was looking for someone to write about mobile and social media, I thought immediately of Jeff Sonderman. Jeff starts his work with Poynter next month. He will be the final member of the outstanding community engagement team I hired last year to leave TBD. Other [...]

Read Full Post »

Obituaries: A chance to tell a loved one’s story

I enjoyed the full-page obituary of Marijane Auten Johnson Bensmiller Zegel VanNess Torjesen that ran in the Des Moines Register a week ago (might be easier to read online in the Legacy version, but check out the first link to see the page). She lived a full life and her son told her story well [...]

Read Full Post »

Join tonight’s #spjchat about updating journalism code of ethics

Update: The chat is finished. If you didn’t join us, read the replay below, or the Storify summary. I am pleased that my blog post last November, calling for an update of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, has stimulated a discussion about journalism ethics in the digital age. Tonight, Kevin Smith, chair [...]

Read Full Post »

Links on mobile ads, apps, check-ins, mistakes

Update: I originally forgot to include Amy Gahran’s post about Will Sullivan’s advice, but I’ve added it as the first bullet. Some interesting links relating to mobile-first strategy, about which I have written here repeatedly: Amy Gahran shares advice from Will Sullivan: “Make sure the people who are directing the organization really understand and use [...]

Read Full Post »

Job-hunting advice for journalists selling skills in the digital market

Treat your job hunt like a big story. Just as you research a source thoroughly, looking for clues and connections, you do the same with a prospective employer or company. If the employer blogs, read lots of blog posts. Read stories by and about people who will be interviewing you. Follow them on Twitter. Just [...]

Read Full Post »

Journalism ethics guidance from a great teacher, Phil Record

I share a lot of new-school views of journalism and journalism ethics in this blog. Today I want to share some old-school advice by a friend whose teaching of ethics transcended generations. In the fall of 2009, I returned to my alma mater, Texas Christian University, to lead a seminar on the challenges of digital [...]

Read Full Post »