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 […]
As new media grows, old media goes shopping
CBS is buying purchase CNET and Conde Nast is expected to announce on Monday that it’s buying Ars Technica, the technology blog. The acqusitions are the latest moves by established media companies to use acquisitions to solidify their stakes in the new media business. I’ll go out on a limb here and predict that we’ll […]
As advertising moves online, writing jobs will follow
Want to know why newspapers are cutting jobs while online media companies can’t hire people fast enough? Advertising. Last year, Internet advertising jumped 26 percent to $21.2 billion, according to the 2007 Internet Advertising Revenue Report released this week from The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. It’s the fourth year of record growth for online […]
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 […]
"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 […]
Why I'm Proud to Call Myself a Reporter
I’d planned to write about something else today, but it can wait. The 2008 Pulitzer Prizes came out yesterday, the newspaper industry’s highest honors. The Washington Post won six, a record for the paper, including the esteemed Public Service award for its reports on sub-par treatment of war veterans at Walter Reed Hospital. The paper […]