If the future of news is online, newspapers are still figuring out exactly what that means and the best way to go about it. That’s the conclusion Douglas McIntyre of 24/7 Wall Street comes to after analyzing 25 top U.S. newspapers’ Websites. McIntyre, editor of the financial news Website, gave A grades to only two: […]
J-school grads are mastering digital news skills, freelancers should too
Nicholas Lemann, dean of the Columbia Journalism School gave the commencement address at the college’s 2008 graduation ceremony on May 21. It’s interesting reading for freelance writers contemplating where they fit into the increasingly digital world of news gathering and writing. As Lemann’s address makes clear, this year’s crop of journalism graduates is leaving school […]
2008 Knight News Challenge winners show future of news is digital
The 25 winners of this year’s Knight News Challenge offer a taste of things to come in the news business. And it’s digital. Sixteen journalists, bloggers and technology trend setters received a total of $5.5 million in the 2008 contest for their innovative ideas for gathering and distributing the news, particularly local news. The contest […]
Tofani proves freelancers can have an impact
Who says freelance writers can’t make a difference? Loretta Tofani has. On May 8, Tofani received the $25,000 Michael Kelly Award for a series investigating unsafe working conditions in China that she wrote as a freelancer for the Salt Lake Tribune. She was one of four journalists nominated for the prize and the only freelancer. […]
"The current period in journalism is….historic."
If you’re old enough, you remember when reporters wrote stories on IBM Selectric typewriters. Switching to a PC was huge. Well, that’s nothing compared with the changes happening in the news business now. Print is out. Digital is in. Newspapers are suffering, online publications flourishing. While some people lament these changes, others see opportunity. One […]
Read All About It: Best Blogs on the Media Biz
These days freelance writers have to keep up with the times – the New York Times, that is, and the LA Times, the Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor. Why? The fortunes of newspapers are changing and it’s changing what they want – or don’t want – from freelancers. Shrinking newspapers advertising means shrinking […]