My criteria for promising online news sites

As a fellow at the Reynolds Journalism Institute this year, I am working on a list of promising sites. The idea is to identify and work with the best – to learn from them and to figure out ways RJI might help them. Here are my criteria: Content: The site is devoted primarily to original … Continued

With the tidal

The first time I watched Wall Street with my son was on DVD and he loved it. He was totally captivated by the world of high stakes finance and arbitrage practiced by Michael Douglas playing Gordon Gekko. Then the movie comes to one particular scene where Gekko is walking at sunrise on the beach before … Continued

Exploring Government 2.0

I’m excited about the potential of Government 2.0, a growing movement to use the Internet to improve government practices and make government more transparent and participatory. Here’s what organizers of last fall’s Gov 2.0 summit say: “Over the past fifteen years, the rise of the World Wide Web has resulted in remarkable new possibilities and … Continued

Stephanie Padgett: Mid-year report

In search of opportunities for small to mid-sized newspapers to increase revenue from online content, I have arrived at three critical factors that I believe will lead to success: Identify natural segments within a newspaper site that will have strong appeal to local and/or regional advertisers and create a plan to develop strategies for serving … Continued

Sean Reily: Mid-year report

In the (near) paperless world of the future, reading from an electronic screen has long been hypothesized as the method through which readers will receive the bulk of their printed news and information. To augment this electronic news consumption, it has also long been hypothesized that optimizing the E-reading experience through the technology of E-Reader … Continued

Michael Skoler: Mid-year report

With so many meetings, conferences, reports and workshops about the future of news, it’s a wonder anyone has time to think creatively about the future. I have read reports, attended a few of those meetings, and followed tweets and notes about others. My impression is that most of today’s discussion on the future is not … Continued

Michele McLellan: Mid-year report

I’ve learned a lot about online civic engagement in fields other than journalism (social causes, politics, even marketing) through conferences, interviews and looking at Web sites. I’ve also connected with numerous community news startups and learned that many of them put civic engagement and community building at the top of their agenda. I think established … Continued

Behavioral targeting

Advertising leaders visited RJI on Oct. 14 to talk to professors and students about the importance of ethical advertising. Wally Snyder moderated the discussion with Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL part of the panel. The panel discussed proposed ethical principles to enhance ethics in the advertising industry. Reynolds Fellow Stephanie Padgett discusses the … Continued

L3C: Explaining the new corporate form for journalism

Bill Densmore interviews Jennifer Towery and Robert Lang AUDIO: Explaining the L3C — a new lease for newspapers? Jennifer Towery and Robert Lang are an unlikely alliance. Towery: A young editor from DeKalb, Ill., and union president at a chain-owned daily in Peoria. Lang: a retired costmetics manfacturer from Westchester County, N.Y. But each shares … Continued