Why I quit my job as a national newspaper editor to be a bloggerWhy would any self-respecting journo leave their job as an editor at one of the US’s largest national newspapers, the LA Times to work for media gossip site Gawker? To be part of the nation’s “cultural conversation”.
Future of journalism
Stilgherrian: What do journos do better, exactly?
The “bloggers vs. journalists” debate is stupid, says Stilgherrian: of course journalists are better at journalism — they’re the ones doing it. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other important roles people can play in the broader media community.
The highlights and lowlights of Media140
Margaret Simons wraps up the recent social-media-types-get-together-to-tweet-about-talking-about-Twitter Media140 conference in Sydney. Where is social media headed in Australia? Can it save journalism, or will it just kill it faster?
Caroline Overington drops some hints on Rupert’s paywall plans (and tangles with Annabel Crabb)
Margaret Simons reports live from the Media140 conference in Sydney, where journalist Caroline Overington pissed off News Ltd by talking about its paywall plans, had a crack at the ABC, and clashed with Annabel Crabb.
iTunes for print? Selling the story instead of the magazine
Online aggregator Maggwire.com is planning “to do for magazines what iTunes did for music”, by selling “premium” magazine articles for a few bucks online. It may save the companies, but could it kill off the printed versions in the process?
When a city loses its newspaper
When a newspaper goes bust — as they’re increasingly want to do these days — it isn’t just the writers and readers who are affected: government becomes less accountable and society becomes stupider.
How to save business media: more sex and cow farts
Business magazines are going bust and Stanley Bing knows why: they’re full of boring rich farts. Time for less “what old guys are thinking” and more “what young people are doing”.
Chairman of Australian Press Council calls for accountability
Ken McKinnon, the departing boss of the Press Council, is criticising the media for failing to live up to its own rhetoric on ethics, privacy and independence. Namely, the Utegate scandal and fake Pauline Hanson nude photos.
A blueprint for rebuilding journalism
Former Washington Post editor Leonard Downie Jr and Michael Schudson have written an incredibly comprehensive report on how they believe the American journalism industry can be reconstructed. It’s 17 pages, but worth your time.
Crikey Says: Does journalism still need a separation of church and state?
News.com.au editor David Higgins believes the commercial-editorial division is a “luxury” the media can no longer afford. Oh dear.
Photojournalism in Australia: the best of times, the worst of times
Aussie photojournalists discuss the trials and triumphs of their craft in the current media climate. More photographers have been forced to go freelance, but technological advances have opened up amazing new possibilities for the solo shutterbug.
Shafer: Non-profit journalism still comes at a price
The rise of non-profit new organisations like ProPublica, and NPR seems like a win-win for journalism and the public. But while they may not be looking for revenue, the people providing the financial backing for these operations still have issues and agendas to push, says Jack Shafer.
Let newspapers die their natural death
Newspapers are dying: and we should just let it happen already, says Daniel Lyons. Online news sites like Politico and The Daily Beast are already faster, better, and more profitable. Why delay the inevitable?
Iranian elections meet cute cartoons
Iranian politics is combined with whimsical illustrations, podcasts and text, in an interview with Hooman Majd, author of Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran. The docu-comic style has been dubbed the “cool new future for literary journalism.”
Fall of the media empires as simple as ABC?
ABC boss Mark Scott is to give a critical media lecture, titled “The Fall of Rome: Media After Empire”. It’s post colonial time as the media empires crumble, writes Margaret Simons.
Freedom (or freebies) of the press takes another meaning
There was once a time when photographers were sent to cover major events, like today’s Sydney dust storms. These days, free pictures are harvested from the internet.
Fed-up unis take science reporting into their own hands
Sick of the mainstream media’s mediocre reporting on science and medicine, 35 US universities have partnered to create the non-profit wire service Futurity to distribute articles about their research and discoveries.
Facing some ugly truths about modern journalism
10,000 Words looks at 10 unfortunate realities of the modern media industry, like the unfortunate reliance on wire copy, the slipping standards of subediting, and the fact that no-one has the answers to fix it.
Investigative journalism is the right medicine for an ailing media
An expose by NYT journalist Duff Wilson exposing some very unhealthy links between Harvard Medical School and Big Pharma and its subsequent attempts to silence critics demonstrates the critical need for good investigative reporting.
ROI journalism: pragmatism vs. the public interest
Despite ideals of hard-nosed investigating and serving the public interest, for many journalists, it’s only pragmatic to chase stories they’re sure will end up in print, says Tim Burrowes. But are journalists being lazy, or just efficient?
newspaper death watch 
New York paper “restructures” its “Information Center”
New York’s Journal News is undergoing a “comprehensive restructuring plan”. What does that mean? It’s renamed the newsroom as an “information center”, beats are now “topics”, and 288 staff members will be fired so they can reapply for only 218 “new” positions. Innovative!
Gottliebsen: fears for a free press
As classified advertising’s “rivers of gold” dry up, so too will the numbers of talented journalists employed by the mainstream media, says Robert Gottliebsen. But it won’t just be a blow to the newspaper industry: it will also weaken Australia as a democracy.
Collaboration: is it the future of investigative journalism?
On Sunday, The New York Times published a gripping 13,000 word investigative article on Hurricane Katrina. With a value of $US400,000 could it have been written without the help of not-for-profits?
Watching the slow death of traditional political TV, part 1
Is traditional political television dying? Have the likes of Insiders and the Laurie Oakes interview been left behind by new media and canny politicians? Bernard Keen weighs-in in the first of a two-part series.
Crikey Says: Murdoch talks journalism but lacks credibility
James Murdoch’s view on the media have a major credibility problem — they are the views of a Murdoch.
