Posts tagged news
Creative newsroom
trying, failing, cussing, growing
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Finally found the helmet I wanted for my Breaking News to the Maximus: Mobile Gladiator Workshop. Can’t decide if I’ll keep it at my desk for inspiration … or if I’ll start a pass-along award in our newsroom. Should it be for kick-ass mobile reporting? Or excellent breaking news reporting? Or inspiring leadership in breaking news? Hmmmm.
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![Journalists: Should we see ourselves as ‘knowledge creators’?
The core principle/values discussion in Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” reminded me of the more recent “Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel.
[ By the way, Jim Collins AND Bill Kovach both associated with Stanford in some way (and Rosenstiel is from Palo Alto) … once again showing all creative roads lead to Stanford. ]
This a long excerpt, but I think it’s spot-on when it comes to our purpose:
The News Organization as Knowledge Creator and Disseminator
Everything we have discussed so far in this chapter involves the idea that for journalism to survive in some recognizable form, news organizations, new or old, must understand and define the function they actually play in people’s lives. … What function does a newsroom serve in its community? What is its essential purpose, apart from generating revenue.
Telling stories is not the answer. Neither is delivering the news, or even monitoring government. All those have been part of it historically. But we think the essential function is something broader and more conceptual, and the future of journalism depends in part on embracing this broader notion.
A news gathering organization is a place that accumulates and synthesizes knowledge about a community, either a geopolitical community or a community of subjects and interests, and then makes that knowledge available and interactive in a variety of ways. (p. 190)
…
What are some of the kinds of knowledge that newsrooms have accumulated and not yet exploited? What other kinds of knowledge could they begin to accumulate? What are some possible markets for that knowledge? What are some of the ways to disseminate it? And how might those be monetized? (p. 191-192)
***
Building teams of creative, lifelong learners committed to this purpose of collecting, organizing and disseminating *useful* knowledge seems like a wise path to me.
If only we could come up with a cooler title than “knowledge creator” …. hmmmm ….](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6uufswyNv1qh2sivo1_500.jpg)
Journalists: Should we see ourselves as ‘knowledge creators’?
The core principle/values discussion in Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” reminded me of the more recent “Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel.
[ By the way, Jim Collins AND Bill Kovach both associated with Stanford in some way (and Rosenstiel is from Palo Alto) … once again showing all creative roads lead to Stanford. ]
This a long excerpt, but I think it’s spot-on when it comes to our purpose:
The News Organization as Knowledge Creator and Disseminator
Everything we have discussed so far in this chapter involves the idea that for journalism to survive in some recognizable form, news organizations, new or old, must understand and define the function they actually play in people’s lives. … What function does a newsroom serve in its community? What is its essential purpose, apart from generating revenue.
Telling stories is not the answer. Neither is delivering the news, or even monitoring government. All those have been part of it historically. But we think the essential function is something broader and more conceptual, and the future of journalism depends in part on embracing this broader notion.
A news gathering organization is a place that accumulates and synthesizes knowledge about a community, either a geopolitical community or a community of subjects and interests, and then makes that knowledge available and interactive in a variety of ways. (p. 190)
…
What are some of the kinds of knowledge that newsrooms have accumulated and not yet exploited? What other kinds of knowledge could they begin to accumulate? What are some possible markets for that knowledge? What are some of the ways to disseminate it? And how might those be monetized? (p. 191-192)
***
Building teams of creative, lifelong learners committed to this purpose of collecting, organizing and disseminating *useful* knowledge seems like a wise path to me.
If only we could come up with a cooler title than “knowledge creator” …. hmmmm ….
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Step 7: Why I *heart* HootSuite
Are you having trouble keeping up with all of your social networks?
I’ve found a really useful tool to help me monitor all of the Roanoke Times Twitter accounts — and my personal Twitter account —- all in one screen.
HootSuite creates a dashboard that can manage your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Foursquare and Wordpress accounts (but I’ve limited my use to Twitter).
Here’s why I *heart* HootSuite:
— The basic version is free
— It’s web-based, so no need for IT intervention (unlike upgrades for TweetDeck)
—- and you can access from any computer
— I can toggle back and forth between my personal and work Twitter accounts w/o having to keep logging in and out.
— You can create filtered streams that automatically track keywords, people or hashtags — and they update in real time (like a live Google alert)
— Customizable: I can tell it what streams I want to monitor (who I personally follow, fellow @roanoketimes tweeps, @roanoketimes mentions, etc.) — and in what order
— HootSuite can shorten your links for you (instead of bit.ly, etc.)
— As you troll the web, instantly share links of interest with your readers/followers by adding the “Hootlet” to your browser’s toolbar
— Free mobile apps are available
— This is one of my favorite features: I can schedule tweets to post in the future
— I’ve done this with weather-related school closing link (sent at crack of dawn); reminders for big games over the weekend; and other event shout-outs.
Take 5 minutes to get started here: http://hootsuite.com/
Already a seasoned HootSuite user? Please share your tips!
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Step 6: Mine the social networks with Google Realtime Search
Have you heard of Google Realtime Search?
Google says it best: Realtime search “lets you see up-to-the-second social updates, news articles and blog posts about hot topics around the world.”
That means you can quickly search Facebook and Twitter for any keywords or people on your beat.
You can narrow your search to a specific location —- and look back and see what people were saying about anything on social networks at a specific time.
This tool should definitely come in handy for breaking news —- a good way to instantly find chatter or sources as news is happening.
Take 5 minutes to give it a whirl here (and it might be a good time to update your Google alert e-mails, too).
Let me know if you find it helpful — and please share any problems or creative ways to use it!
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Step 5: Time to freshen up your e-mail sig?
Stephanie Ogilvie
Dayside Delivery Editor
www.roanoke.com / The Roanoke Times
540.981.3352 / (800) 346-1234
‘Like’ us! www.facebook.com/roanoketimes
Latest headlines on Twitter: www.twitter.com/roanoketimes
When was the last time you updated your e-mail signature?
Your e-mail sig is a small but easy way to build trust and a bigger followership with the countless e-mails you’re sending to sources and readers.
You might have your phone numbers listed, but what about your blog? Or professional Twitter account?
Don’t forget that you can create multiple signatures for different purposes.
You might use a specific signature to send to new sources (including a link to your From the Newsroom Q&A or professional Facebook page, so they can read more about you?) Perhaps another basic signature emphasizing your social media presence? Just think about how you use e-mail and what the most important information would be for the recipients.
I would suggest keeping your sigs short, with no crazy fonts or colors. I added a small-resolution photo (the same one I use for Twitter), just to make it more personable. But obviously, that’s optional —- and some e-mail clients won’t display it anyway.
Whatever you do, be sure to test your links and the overall look by sending e-mails to some of your other accounts.
HOW TO UPDATE:
In your Outlook menu bar, go to Tools »> Options »> Mail Format »> Signatures
Click through until you find “Advanced Edit” option, which will allow you to insert a photo and links to your text.
You can create a default sig for new messages and for replies/forwards. To choose a specific signature for individual e-mails, just choose “Insert” in the menu toolbar and go from there.
SHOW & TELL:
If you have a cool signature style, please share to help us all improve our outgoing messages.
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Step 4: On top of your own breaking news?
More of us are falling in love with our iPhones and Droids. And we know they are changing news appetites.
How are we serving readers who expect news to come to them —- and quickly? And how do we compare with our TV competitors?
No matter what your role or beat, I’d urge you to stay on top of our »> e-mail »> text »> Twitter »> efforts — and see what this growing segment of our audience sees.
If you haven’t already, please take 5 minutes to sign up for Roanoke Times breaking news (and daily morning) e-mails at this link here (Note: I registered by personal gmail account, so I can get alerts on my phone at all times)
Sign up for our (infrequent) text messages here
How about our competitors?
Channel 7 e-mails
WSLS e-mails
WSLS texts
WSET e-mails (scroll down page)
I haven’t looked into radio or other forms of media, but maybe I should? Any suggestions?
