Guest blogger Bas Timmers on the customisable future of news

Bas Timmers is Newsroom Editor at Dutch broadsheet de Volkskrant

It´s 2015. Newspapers don´t exist anymore. At least, not as a mass medium. Because everyone is living in his own cocoon, his own little world, assembled to his own preferences. Customizable, as the phenomenon is generally called. A television(or a computer screen or electronic paper?) displays documentaries and YouTube-like videos from internet users with the same preferences and the same lifestyle. The mp3-player pounds out songs automaticallty that fit the mood of its user, because the bloody thing can sense the mental state of of its boss. And in the meantime it also suggests some new songs that might match his preference. Continue reading →

A model for the 21st century newsroom pt2: Distributed Journalism

46 Replies

In the first part of my model for the 21st century newsroom I looked at how a story might move through a number of stages from initial alert through to customisation. In part two I want to look at sourcing stories, and the role of journalism in a new media world.

The last century has seen three important changes for the news industry. It has moved… Continue reading →

Blogs and investigative journalism: looking for leads and a co-author for a book chapter

6 Replies

I’ve been asked to write a book chapter on ‘Investigative journalism and blogs’ for the next edition of ‘Investigative Journalism’. If you know of any examples where blogs have been used for investigative journalism, or useful contacts, please let me know.

I would also particularly welcome anyone who is interesting in co-authoring the book chapter via a wiki. Continue reading →

USA Today realises political potential of Flash journalism

12 Replies

Here’s a great example of Flash journalism from USA Today. The ‘Candidate match game’ allows you to see which candidate’s views match yours most closely by answering 11 questions on issues ranging from the Iraq war to same-sex marriage and health insurance.

A particularly nice touch is the sliders which allow you to ‘weight’ each issue – so if health care is more important to you, and you couldn’t care less about immigration, you can skew the results accordingly. More “news you can use”, and less politics-as-spectator-sport. Nice.

Twittering the European Bloggers Unconference

3 Replies

For the next two days I’ll be meeting bloggers from across Europe at the European Bloggers Unconference (previously reported here). Assuming I don’t look too rude texting away, I’ll be Twittering throughout. Check out my Twitter account for updates.

How to be a journalism student

278 Replies

A colleague of mine once wrote a hugely entertaining blog post entitled ‘How to go to uni‘. As the new term begins, here’s my supplement: How to be a journalism student. (Note: there is now a wiki if you want to add extra tips/corrections/clarifications).

Read the news. Amazingly, some journalism students don’t read newspapers. I don’t know why they want to write news, but chances are they won’t if they don’t read it. And yes, that means newspapers, in print or online. For the most part newspapers dictate the news agenda that broadcast news and magazines then follow. But yes, watch television news and listen to radio news as well, and read magazines. And do all of this often, and do it critically. Continue reading →

A student from the Philippines writes… (Q&A)

5 Replies

Following hot on the heels of the email from a Brazilian online journalism student comes one from Carol Bernanda of Quezon City in the Philippines. Once again, here are the questions and my answers:

Q. What is your description of blog journalism/what is blog journalism?

Blog journalism is journalism that is published using a blog. Nothing more, nothing less.

Q. What are the peculiarities and unique distinctions of blog journalism?

Blogs are only a platform, so really any type of journalism can be published on it – including audio and video. But the blog format has brought its own cultural histories, and so blogs tend to be more reflective, opinionated, and analytical. Links are integral to the form, and a good blogger is expected to link to their sources in a manner that makes blog journalism more transparent than traditional journalism. That said, the blog format is still evolving – we are seeing more original reporting, and more analysis.

Q. Is it the same as online journalism? How is it different/similar?

Online journalism is journalism on the internet, so again it’s only a platform. You could call blog journalism a subset of online journalism. All blog journalism is online journalism but not all online journalism is blog journalism.

Q. Do you prefer blogging to writing for a publication?

Yes, in that I prefer being my own boss. But writing for a publication is good in different ways – the restrictions can make you more creative and improve the quality. A lot is said about the unlimited space of the web, but there is something to be said for word limits too.

Q. Can you recommend me samples of sites of blog journalism?Look at my blogroll in the right hand column. And my bloglines subscriptions at http://www.bloglines.com/public/paulb

Q. What are the tips/advice that you can suggest to aspiring blog journalists?

See https://onlinejournalismblog.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/how-a-blog-can-put-you-on-the-road-to-success/ – I’m preparing a lengthier version for a book chapter.

Preston: Owners are to blame for press decline, not the net

11 Replies

Here’s the second report I wrote for Press Gazette from the Future of Newspapers conference last week. The version which appeared in Press Gazette is here; the original is below:

Former Guardian editor Peter Preston has said that owners who are “giving up the ghost” must take some responsibility for the decline of newspapers. Continue reading →