FL#170: Lessons from Reported.ly

Lessons from Reported.ly For 20 months, Reported.ly adopted a grassroots approach to telling stories by sourcing from social media to get perspectives from people around the world. But on Aug. 31, Reported.ly was shuttered after its parent company, First Look Media, pulled its funding. We spoke with Reported.ly founder and editor Andy Carvin about what … Continued

FL#169: Building a 360 toolkit

Building a 360-degree toolkit Journalists are routinely using virtual reality and 360 video to put viewers in places they wouldn’t otherwise be. But for smaller newsrooms with modest budgets, 360-degree video can seem out of reach. Shaheryar Popalzai, a Knight International Journalism Fellow, says building a 360 video toolkit is easier and cheaper than you … Continued

FL#168: Electome from MIT Media Lab

Electome from MIT Media Lab Electome is a new tool from the Laboratory for Social Machines at the MIT Media Lab that uses data to help capture and analyze social media conversations around the 2016 presidential election. The system uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze hundreds of millions of Tweets every day. … Continued

FL#167: 4 tips for embracing startup culture in newsrooms

4 tips for fostering innovation through startup culture In recent years, the newspaper industry has suffered a series of blows — from consolidation to a shrinking workforce to declining ad revenues. But with these setbacks comes the opportunity for innovation and growth. McClatchy is one company that’s embraced that opportunity. We sat down with Andrew … Continued

FL#166: CNN’s approach to Snapchat

CNN on Snapchat Most news organizations have limited functionality within Snapchat. But as one of the Snapchat Discover partners, CNN can offer multi-part news updates that are available to all Snapchat users. We talked with Ashley Codianni, director of social publishing, about how CNN hopes its effort on the platform will create a constant news … Continued

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

FL#164: NowThis’ approach to Snapchat

NowThis on Snapchat In addition to using Snapchat Stories to reach younger audiences, NowThis is also one of 20 top publishers using the Discover feature. Executive Producer Sarah Frank explains her team’s Snapchat strategy and offers tips for any newsroom experimenting with the platform.Reporting by Mitchel Summers and Hailey Godburn For more information NowThis delivers … Continued

FL#163: NPR’s approach to Snapchat

NPR on Snapchat NPR has found creative ways to use the most basic features in Snapchat to connect differently with its audience.Reporting by Mitchel Summers. For more information The NPR social media team has shared many posts about Snapchat strategies and experiments on its blog. Some of those posts include: A brief history and breakdown … Continued