(iverson's) currentbuzz

The Post-Intelligencer‘s last print edition was published March 17. The newspaper’s owner, The Hearst Corp., said the paper hadn’t been profitable since 2000 and showed no signs of turning around.

The P-I continues as an online-only news outlet, but it employs just 20 of the 150 or so journalists who had worked for the paper.

Seattlepostglobe.org has little money — about $3,000, with another $3,000 pledged. “We’re working as volunteers now,” Murakami said.

The site expects to rely to a great extent on reader donations. Murakami said the goal is to get 8,000 people to pledge $10 a month to help pay full-time, part-time or freelance staff.

Seattlepostglobe.org also intends to sell advertising. Murakami said it has struck a deal with the Seattle Weekly under which the alternative paper will sell ads for the site and keep half the revenue.

via Business & Technology | Former P-I journalists launch online news site | Seattle Times Newspaper.

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ProPublica | Eye on the Bailout.

From pro to am, journalist to citizen journalist, here is a resource from the nonprofit ProPublica that puts transparency into the bailout process. From a widget that lets you see if your bank is getting money, to a timeline showing how got where we are now, to a searchable database of recipients of the aid. There is more. Head over, bookmark the site, and get busy checking to see if yours

I missed SXSW, but I have heard about lots of very interesting sessions. I like Mark Briggs’ take on how you could set up a news site with low overhead, charge like $10 for life, and use some tricks to make it seem “cool” and attract visitors. I have always said that if PUBLIC SCHOOLS just told parents they had to fill out an application form, and that their kid might not get admitted, even if they admitted everyone, the school would be better. Anyway, if you are thinking of going commericial, here is one suggestion.

via Journalism 2.0 | Mark Briggs on how to survive and thrive in the digital age » Charging for news, but not for the money.

Of course, you’d need to be creative with marketing and making sure word gets out. Scott, who is a tech guy and not a journalist, suggested leaving holes in the paid wall and leaking out a few logins/passwords so, suddenly, people would feel like they’re getting a deal. Throw some Twitter and blogs by the writers into the mix for extra exposure and it just might work

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What will it take to get one of the remaining jobs in the all-digital newsroom? Certainly an understanding of, and probably enthusiasm for, new forms of media and storytelling. The transformed newsroom will be filled with multi-functional journalists who are comfortable carrying around a digital camera and tiny video camera; who make it part of their routine to record audio for possible use in podcasts or multimedia project sound clips; who are regular users of social networks and understand how to leverage them to communicate with and attract new readers, and share some personal information about themselves as well as promote their work; and who are comfortable and willing to put in the time to engage and communicate with their readers or viewers, including participating in reader comment threads accompanying their stories.

via The All-Digital Newsroom of the Not-So-Distant Future.

Steve Outing ponders what a digital newsroom will be like, including what those who work in one will need to do. I agree that journos will take pictures, but photojournalists will still be in demand. Flexibility and the ability to re-train yourself on the job, a bit every day, will be key to getting hired.

Journalists, writers, teachers, students who want to write will find this a good read. Academics discuss the MLA convention and the rocky relationship between journalists and academic writer/scholars. Inside Higher Ed :: Easy Targets

This summarizes their gripes but gives you something to think and even write about

Shumway argued that “reporters who cover academics are in competition” with the humanities community for public influence, so it is in journalists’ interest to deny academics the privilege to preach specialized knowledge, and to “create a world where [the journalist’s] own knowledge is enough.”

For their part, the journalists on the panel told the professors that they cannot cling to the elite sensibility that comes with specialized knowledge, and then expect that knowledge to be constantly thrust upon a wide audience.

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