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

What is a social media photo editor?

Gone are the days when news organizations had just copy editors and page designers. Today, there are newsroom titles like digital optimizer, audience analyst and executive mobile editor. As social media platforms have evolved so have job titles, along with the tools journalists use to communicate with audiences. In this series, RJI will learn more about these titles and the people who hold them.

What is a social video producer?

Nina Raja is a social video producer at CNBC where she produces and edits video for the network’s various social platforms — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Vine — and its website.

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

Can structured news reinvent archives and reimagine objectivity?

In earlier posts I have reviewed the long-term potential of structured journalism to make newsrooms economically sustainable, empower news consumers and future-proof journalism as a profession. However, journalism is not just another business. Its economic and market success is important not only to its shareholders, customers and employees, but also to society in general. Journalism, … Continued

Kevin Poortinga: Controlled Chaos: The Balance Between Herding Cats and Collaborative Innovation

Kevin Poortinga, USA TODAY Kevin Poortinga leads the USA Today Lab, a department designed to quickly incubate concepts, new businesses and new initiatives for the media network, which consists of more than 100 local news organizations and flagship USA TODAY. When not prototyping or experimenting, the Lab also champions an internal innovation grants program, a hybrid … Continued

Katie Hawkins-Gaar: Old Walls, New Problems: Collaboration at Poynter

Katie Hawkins-Gaar, The Poynter Institute Katie Hawkins-Gaar is a member of the digital innovation faculty at The Poynter Institute, where she teaches journalists, stays on top of industry trends and geeks out about newsrooms testing new and exciting ideas. She is on a quest to prove that newsrooms don’t have to be unhappy places. Before joining Poynter, Hawkins-Gaar was … Continued

Mark Horvit: The Power and Peril of Collaboration

Mark Horvit, Investigative Reporters & Editors Mark Horvit is the executive director of Investigative Reporters & Editors. He oversees training, conferences and services for more than 5,000 members worldwide, and for programs including the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR) and DocumentCloud. Horvit also is an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, where he teaches … Continued