Events
Potter resumes newspaper listening tour this month in Virginia
Walter B. “Walt” Potter Jr., a retired newspaper publisher who works with the University of Missouri School of Journalism’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, will tour community newspapers again this spring. A year ago, Potter visited Missouri weeklies and small dailies during what became known as the Potter Listening Tour. He wrote a series of … 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
Online news startups explore revenue sources beyond advertising
Revenue was very much on the agenda when more than 100 local news entrepreneurs gathered at the LION Summit in Chicago Oct. 1-3. There were encouraging, if fledgling, signs that some sites are looking beyond banner display advertising. Supplemental sources include crowd-funding, membership programs, sponsored content, and events. For now, however, banner display advertising is … Continued
McCainspeakwrite plusgood, or How I came up with the name ‘Dodging the Memory Hole’
We started digging our current Memory Hole a few decades ago: Technological systems that support the creation and presentation of modern journalism, those digital troves holding “the first rough draft of history,” morphed so quickly and frequently over the years that we no longer know where the treasure is buried. Like drunken buccaneers, journalistic enterprises … Continued
McCainspeakwrite or How I came up with the name ‘Dodging the Memory Hole’
It’s been two years since I rolled out of Tucson, Arizona, and headed east on Interstate 10 toward the University of Missouri, a.k.a. Mizzou, my alma mater in Columbia, Missouri. Along with suitcases and camera gear from 30 years as a photojournalist, I brought audiobooks to pass the hours on cruise control. My first selection … Continued
Clyde Bentley, Missouri School of Journalism: 3-D and virtual reality as a cornerstone of future
Clyde Bentley took the long route to academia. He worked in the newspaper industry for 25 years before earning his doctorate in journalism at the University of Oregon in 2000. His dissertation, which examined the impact of consumer habits on newspaper readership, grew out of his prior experiences as a reporter, photographer, copy editor and … Continued
That’s engagement: Forum participants plot course to preserve born-digital news content
The opportunity to advance the preservation of born-digital news is real. That’s my takeaway from the Dodging the Memory Hole: Saving Born-digital News Content forum, which was held Nov. 10-11 at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism. One of the primary objectives of the event was to help build … Continued
Videos from Dodging the Memory Hole: Saving Born-digital News Content
In today’s digital newsrooms, a software/hardware crash can wipe out decades of text, photos, videos and applications in a fraction of a second. Digital archives can easily become obsolete due to evolving formats and digital systems used by modern media, not to mention media failure, bit-rot and link-rot. One recent survey found that most American … Continued
Digital archives not as complete or long-lasting as they should be — or could be
On a blustery February day in 1981, a two-sentence story moved on the Texas AP wire reporting the death of Bill Haley. It said something like: HARLINGEN, Tex. (AP) — Former Rock ‘n Roll star Bill Haley, 55, was found dead today. Police say they are investigating, but don’t suspect foul play. I was the … Continued
David Cohn: Circa’s mobile approach: The structure and form of news re-thought
David Cohn Director of News, Circa; 2010-2011 Reynolds Fellow, Reynolds Journalism Institute David Cohn is the director of news for Circa, a mobile-first newsroom and pioneer of the “follow” feature for news arcs. Previously, he founded the first platform to crowdfund for independent reporting projects and was a pioneer in crowdsourced journalism. Cohn has written … Continued