Michele’s list: Promising local news sites

This site list was last updated in June 2010. The list led to the establishment of Block by Block, a network of community news sites. The Michele’s List website is now available here. These are exciting, chaotic times for online news. Many startup news outlets come and go, but others are moving forward, learning and … Continued

Panel: Law and ethics in a changing media ecosystem

This panel looks at the challenges, both legal and journalistic, facing journalism ventures that seek to build and maintain online communities, from article comments to community forums and blogs. Including the role of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, dealing with and protecting anonymous commenters, and concerns regarding defamation and privacy. Patrick Carome – … Continued

Steal this idea! Hot new revenue for news

How does this sound? A million dollar revenue stream that requires only a salesperson or two, some web support and off-the-shelf e-commerce and newsletter tools? It caught my eye. And I’m suggesting you steal the idea for your local news operation fast before national competitors own the market. The idea is Deal Brokering. You use … Continued

Consortium idea leads RJI iPad/E-reader symposium discussion on final day

U.S., Korean and Japanese news-industry strategists wrapup up today three days in Missouri to assess the impact of the soon-to-be-launched Apple iPad on the news business — and on the fast-changing “E-reader” marketplace. On Monday, they considered the possibility of forming a news-industry consortium, and that idea is on the agenda today. It’s been the spring meeting … Continued

INSIGHT: From Paul Gillin — Curation’s growing value

http://gillin.com/blog/2010/03/curations-growing-value/ *Paul Gillin’s Social Media Report**March 4, 2010* EXCERPT: “Curation is an increasingly important part of the information value chain . . . Trusted curators who point us to the most valuable sources of information for our interests will become the new power brokers. Matt Drudge figured this out many years ago . . . … Continued

FTC tackles economics, technology, ownership and antitrust in ‘workshop’-style hearings next week

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will tackle economics, technology, ownership and antitrust as it convenes next week the second of two “workshop”-style hearings on the future of journalism. UPDATE: Here’s the link to the audio: The session entitled: “How Will Journalism Survive the Internet?,” will run from 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m. on Tues., March 9 and … Continued

From Chicago: A snapshot of online news experiments

I interviewed operators of three Chicago online news sites — Gapers Block, Windy Citizen, and Chicago Talks — recently and found the mix of content and revenue ideas worth following. I’m adding several Chicago sites to my list of promising online news sites. Gapers Block Led by Andrew Huff, this site is aggregates and offers … Continued

Discussion finds pros and cons to new ownership forms

Putting journalism under non-profit ownership is no panacea for financing it, a six-person panel found during an 80-minute discussion at the New England Newspaper & Press Association annual meeting in Boston moderated by 2008-2009 Reynolds Fellow Bill Densmore. There are challenges to obtaining foundation funding. Local-news operations in New Haven, Conn., and Brattleboro, Vt., are … Continued