NewsTechZilla » Journalism

The Separation

Trace Sharp — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:51:32 +0000

There has to be one if you are a journalist.

I suspect every editor can tell stories about conversations with newsmakers who attempt to use their access and perceived friendship to influence coverage, which, predictably, turns out to be negative. I certainly can. I have also worked with editors who loved the access to newsmakers and being on the inside.They have said that it gets us stories we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

But more often, I saw how that has influenced news coverage for the worse.

Let’s break it down a bit more. Politicians will placate a journalist (and now bloggers too) so it’s best to remember that the job comes first, the public interest is the most important thing and sometimes elected officials don’t like that you have to do your job.

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YouTube Reporters’ Center

Scott Adcox — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:15:27 +0000

Here’s a pretty cool service being launched on YouTube to help citizen journalists with tips and videos. I can imagine there are lots of great ideas there for those with a journalism background as well!

I’m more of a reader than a video watcher myself, but this is a great potential way to catch up on technology really quickly and conveniently.

HT Tech Crunch.

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First Thoughts Of An Unemployed Journalist

Trace Sharp — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:27:31 +0000

Your kind and gentle hostess here at NewTechZilla has taken a bit of time off from our endeavor here because the inevitable finally happened. I was downsized at my newspaper and according to my publishers, it came down to money.

Scott was very kind in letting me go through the six degrees of seperation and work through some of the things that go along with being laid off. It was not unexpected although it was still shocking. I’ve never been laid off before.

After I reeled through the various emotions that accompany such news, I realized it was time to have a plan, and also a time to take off and breath. Sometimes when the other shoe finally drops, there is a sense of relief as well as a constricting fear of the unknown.

My plan is not so much of a manifesto as that it is to deal with the realities head on. So I made a list:

As I’ve never filed unemployment in my life, I am going down that road this month. I have a little money put aside so I’m taking a couple of weeks to figure out what the next road I want to take to and the best journey for me long term.
I am not rushing into any decisions. This has been advised to me by a great deal of people. On the other hand, I’ve never been very good around the house so there is that. I know I’m going to get bored very quickly.
I am open to any and all opportunities.
One thing that I believe is very important for any of us in the journalism field who is confronted with this dilemma is to keep any and all options open. It’s also important to be honest with ourselves and prospective employers on what we are willing to do and what we aren’t. It’s imperative that we have a business model, but of course, the business this time is ourselves.
If you are reading this site, then you have already committed to an online persona and have honed your image on the Internet. This goes for all of us as we must determine if we want to expand that presence online and if this is a realistic path to take.

As Scott and I became partners in this venture months ago, the one issue that we discussed at length was me taking a more active role in learning the latest technology and how much of it perplexes me. In the near future, I will address some of the obstacles that I run into with certain limitations regarding lack of once available software, my search on the job market and some of the paths that others like myself are encountering in these bleak times for newspapers.

I want to add though, these are not “bleak” times for news. As I’ve said before, news distribution is evolving. We are in the midst of a revolution. It’s a matter of recognizing the right direction to head toward.

We will take this journey together.

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Some Advice From a REAL Expert

Scott Adcox — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:03:18 +0000

Google guru Matt Cutts has posted a letter he wrote to a young journalist friend back in 2007.

It seems like most of the advice still applies, although there’s admittedly more of a sense of urgency now than there was then.

I don’t expect that sense of urgency to be waning any time soon.

So the first thing I’d recommend is to grab a domain name and work on burnishing your personal reputation online. It’s definitely not the case that everyone needs a blog, but having one place that acts as a face to the world can really help. There’s room for a resume/CV, but also for some writing samples that show off your abilities.

Sounds familiar, huh?Similar Posts:

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Do Journalists Deserve Low Pay?

Scott Adcox — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:34:15 +0000

Did the headline grab you to? When I saw Robert G. Picard’s post titled “Why Journalists Deserve Low Pay“, it grabbed me. Remember it’s just a headline…it’s meant to grab your attention. Although you may expect this to be a hit piece on journalism, it’s actually an economic explanation of where we are and what needs to change to bring more economic value to journalism. It covers many of the same topics we talk about here.

Today all this value is being severely challenged by technology that is “de-skilling” journalists. It is providing individuals – without the support of a journalistic enterprise – the capabilities to access sources, to search through information and determine its significance, and to convey it effectively.

Take a deep breath, count to ten, erase the headline from your mind, and read this article. You may gain some insight from it!Similar Posts:

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Evolving Because We Don’t Have A Choice

Trace Sharp — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:49:54 +0000

The news continues to be bad for many journalists so I keep trying to find the good ones. As a person that is still on the cusp of whether or not she will have a job by the end of the year, it’s disheartening to always see bad news.

I had trouble finding any good news, quite frankly, about the print news industry. I guess the “bleed it leads” standard will always apply even when we are talking about the unknown future of print journalism.

Despite it all, I found a couple of things:

From the Weatherford Democrat:

The images will live forever.

The heartbreaking moment caught in time when firefighter Chris Fields carried the body of baby Baylee Almon from the rubble of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.

The fiery Twin Towers just seconds after two airplanes crashed into them and minutes before the buildings collapsed into an enormous cloud of dust on Sept. 11, 2001.

The smiling face of then President-elect Barack Obama holding hands with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha as thousands cheered on election night 2008.

These three historic photographs, displayed on front pages everywhere, exemplify the staying power of newspapers.

It’s true. Look at sales of historic days of papers. I even have a copy of Dewey beats Truman somewhere.

And there is a different way to look at things. The industry is no different than other industries right now.

Newspapers will begin to heal when the nation’s economy rises from its knees and people spend money again. Business conditions are bleak now, but eventually Americans will buy more cars, houses, vacation packages and restaurant meals.

It is disheartening to read all the bad news. It’s frightening waiting for the other shoe to drop.

We can’t count ourselves out yet though. If we do that, then we have already lost the battle. It’s just a matter of evolving.

As is life, we are just going to have to adjust in the same way that autoworkers or business owners are.

We don’t have a choice.

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‘My Future Collapse Around Me’

Trace Sharp — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:04:01 +0000

Hilary Lehman writes of watching her future at a newspaper during very dark times.

My internship at the Herald was not, in many ways, ideal.

Four weeks into my internship, the next round of newsroom layoffs was announced. Three weeks later, they were implemented.

Those three weeks were tense and quiet. The silence was the most unnerving. A few rumors swirled, but nothing like what you would expect from a room full of journalists.

People talked about furloughs and discussed privately whose jobs they thought were in trouble.

Then the layoffs came, and everyone from secretaries to editors were crying in the bathroom.

Being an intern during that time was draining. I wasn’t completely a spectator, but I wasn’t participating either.

My job wasn’t at stake, and my career wasn’t on the line. As an editor darkly noted later, I didn’t even take a pay cut.

But I was watching my future collapse around me.

We are in a time of change. What we knew and what we are looking at are two very different things.

I sometimes feel the same way Hilary does, but my fingers are crossed.

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‘I Never Learn Anything When I Talk’

Trace Sharp — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:02:07 +0000

Sorry about the blogging hiatus but due to some rather wicked weather, your girl Friday here has been on this series of ‘tubes for a bit of time. All Righty then, let’s get on with it.

This is EXACTLY how I feel about Twitter.

Every time I go to Twitter, I find a story. That’s right. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It is a great listening post. And that’s exactly why I started following bloggers more than seven years ago. Twitter and blogs are online town hall meetings, barber shops, churches, community centers, PTAs and neighborhood ball fields all rolled into one. Too bad some people are too busy talking to listen. I never learn anything when I talk.

From the mind of Michael Silence.Similar Posts:

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The Lede Wasn’t Buried

Trace Sharp — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:18:59 +0000

From Richard Thompson on pay cuts for journalists in Memphis.

In his Feb. 5 column for The Memphis Flyer, Bruce VanWyngarden didn’t bury the lead.

“I just took an 8 percent salary cut — and so did almost everyone else here at Contemporary Media, Inc., which publishes the (Memphis) Flyer, Memphis magazine, Memphis Parent, MBQ, and various other specialty magazines,” Contemporary’s associate publisher and editorial director self-reported in the column.

It’s the first such pay cut in CMI’s history.

Some employees at the lower end of the pay scale took a 4 percent pay cut and the company also suspended its 401(k) matching program.

His article focuses on how journalists are taking pay cuts but he is also focusing on profit margins for the papers.

Honestly, every single person I know has taken a cut in pay in the last six months. But as Chris Davis points out, it sucks but unemployment sucks more.Similar Posts:

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Free Classes And Thinking Niche

Trace Sharp — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:13:52 +0000

Some very practical advice for surviving a life after journalism by Kim Pearson.

To position yourself for those opportunities, you have to hone your 21st-century reporting and business skills. Let’s take the first part first. If you are laid off and gettiing unemployment, you might be able to get money for If you aren’t in a position to go back to school right now, there are a host of free online classes and guides on topics ranging from multimedia reporting to legal issues for onlie publishers.Many of them are from leading institutions such as Poynter’s News University, MIT and Tufts Universities.

As you think of retraining, think about specializing in a niche where there is likely to be an ongoing demand for expertise, even in a down economy.

A lot of what we talk about here at NTZ is what to learn and what to do. Free online classes couldn’t hurt anyone, including yours truly.Similar Posts:

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