Hyperlocal: The promise of entrepreneurial journalism

Dutch graduate students visited four U.S. journalism startups between December 2015 and February 2016 to observe how these entrepreneurs “make it work” and, in the process, redefine what it means to be a journalist. Their work is part of Beyond Journalism, a study of entrepreneurial journalism by 2015-2016 RJI Fellows Tamara Witschge and Mark Deuze, both journalism professors in the Netherlands.

The Common Reader: A quirky corner on the internet

Dutch graduate students visited four U.S. journalism startups between December 2015 and February 2016 to observe how these entrepreneurs “make it work” and, in the process, redefine what it means to be a journalist. Their work is part of Beyond Journalism, a study of entrepreneurial journalism by 2015-2016 RJI Fellows Tamara Witschge and Mark Deuze, both journalism professors in the Netherlands.

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

What is a Things 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.

Saving journalism—and story clips—from the trash heap of time

Altogether there are just 32 small envelopes, faded to an institutional green, with shredded corners and split seams. An unimpressive collection and, as their savior so plainly put it, not enough to fill a shoebox. Yet they hold almost three years of my life’s work. Work headed for a dumpster if not for the thoughtfulness … Continued

Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon

In the news The historic Paris Agreement is poised for enactment now that key milestones are nearly met for the number of countries taking part — including newly joined India — and for the amount of carbon emissions those countries represent. Back story When the United Nations agreed to the new climate change treaty in … 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