4 things the feds should do instead of protecting newspapers

The federal government has lots of important issues it needs to deal with these days. It doesn’t need to deal with protecting newspapers. It shouldn’t protect newspapers. It can’t afford to protect with newspapers.

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   howardowens Dear Uncle Sam: Butt out. We don’t need your interference in the news business. 29 May 2010 from web

The Federal Trade Commission wasted taxpayers’ money on a hearing last December on whether the government should take some action to prop up the nation’s faltering newspaper industry. The discussion will continue June 15 and an FTC staff report on discussion points makes clear that this exercise isn’t about saving journalism, but about saving newspapers.

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A journalism professor seeks advice on learning and teaching social media

Joe Sheller, who teaches journalism at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, asked recently on Twitter what he should be learning and teaching about social media:

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   JSheller OK Twits. Retweet by @stevebuttry sold me–I need social media in j courses. What should I: A) Learn? B) Require students to do? 12 May 2010 from web

I answered in an email with a link to my November post about journalism curriculum (and I didn’t think of it at the time, but I also recommend reading Vadim Lavrusik’s post on the same topic). Then I added this (edited, expanded and updated a bit for the blog):

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My tweeps help with tips and examples of Twitter’s value in covering breaking news

I like what the Houston Chronicle is doing to aggregate tweets from the community about breaking news stories.

I asked my tweeps last week for breaking news tips for a Twitter webinar I was leading for the Online Media Campus. I got some great answers from a colleague at the Chronicle (some other tweeps responded as well, and their advice will follow the Houston tips and examples).

Houston tweets, middle bottom of screen

Blog editor Dwight Silverman has enlisted a “Twitter news army” of people using the #hounews hashtag to tweet about breaking news in the community. Chron.com aggregates tweets from the army that use the hashtag in a “Houston tweets” box on the home page.

“We’re actively recruiting more people to take part in Dwight’s ‘Twitter news army,'” Chron.com Content Director Dean Betz told me in a series of direct messages.

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Tips on landing your next job in digital journalism

I have recently gained experience from both sides in job-hunting in digital journalism.

First I spent nine months looking for my next gig, landing at TBD as Director of Community Engagement. So I studied the issue from the hunter perspective. More recently I have filled five positions on my community-engagement team (hope to fill one more position before long). I have screened more than 100 applicants and interviewed more than a dozen.

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As Mom’s memory fades, my memories of her grow more precious

In my earliest memories, I am sick, struggling for breath on Mom’s lap as she strokes me gently and sings Brahms’ Lullaby in her clear soprano voice.

We lived in England then, the first of Dad’s military assignments I can remember. My memories of Utah are more vivid. In the dry mountain air, my asthma faded, and I started playing baseball in our back yard with brothers or friends or by myself (providing my own radio play-by-play).

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