FL#165: Trends and ideas from the ONA16 conference in Denver

PART 1: ONA16 conference recap This year’s gathering of the Online News Association brought together more than 2,200 digital journalists and innovators from all over the world for a three-day showcase of the latest trends and ideas moving journalism forward. There were many discussions that took place in Denver this year — on topics including … Continued

RJI Fellow alumnus leads team launching new social debate application

Team members behind a newly launched social debate application didn’t believe people had an adequate place online to share opinions about the latest news events and gauge support for their views. This led Advance Digital’s incubator Alpha Group to create The Tylt, which lets people vote on news topics such as Apple’s refusal to unlock … Continued

Alphabet-soup roundup of fall industry events, part one

The fall rush of industry meetings (ONA, LMA, NNA, SNPA and ASNE/APME) got underway in late September and ended Oct. 18, giving you only a one-week respite before heading into Inland. Whew! Missed one or more of these meetings? I’ll offer a brief recap of themes, noteworthy statements and observations, plus links to additional coverage. … Continued

News companies as tech companies: Some venture capitalists say yes

For years, the drumbeat among venture capitalists has been that content is expensive and is not worth their investment. But we’ve seen a turnaround, and the question is, why now? The answer may simply be optimism. As Hamish McKenzie and Sarah Lacy wrote in Pando Daily of the return to content: Large funding rounds don’t … Continued

Futures Lab update #40: News tailored for mobile platforms

This week we bring you three examples of how news is being reengineered for people on the go. PART 1: Circa The mobile app Circa has received a lot of attention for its effort to redefine the experience of keeping up with the news via smartphone. The operation is half newsroom and half tech start-up … Continued

Circa app adds breaking news alerts

Breaking news alerts are among the key features of Circa News 2, the latest update to the mobile news startup. Released last week, the feature is also included in Circa’s new Android app. Circa launched in October 2012 as an app on iOS devices and identifies itself as a news source that delivers news in … Continued