Zombie Journalism » Rants

I’m more than a Twitter Monkey

Mandy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:59:08 +0000

I'm relieved to be out of my social media editor roles because I've been worrying about my future and the future of the social media role at news organizations, for lots of reasons. [...]

Sarah Palin’s emails and a call for collaborative journalism

Mandy — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:05:54 +0000

If you were committing an act of news on Friday, June 10, chances are every national news organization missed it.

Why? We all had boxes and boxes of printed emails of an ex-political official to go through. From the New York Times to Mother Jones/MSNBC/ProPublica, the Washington Post and my own employer – many national news sources spent enormous amounts [...]

New strategy: Berate bloggers, tell online readers to buzz off

Mandy — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:29:31 +0000

I’m not sure where newspaper execs are getting their PR advice these days, but whoever/whatever it is needs to be fired. The print news sector has put out some head-shaking proclamations this week – all of which have a common theme of holier-than-thou insults directed at online news consumers.

First up is the absolutely appalling handling of [...]

What measures success in journalism these days?

Mandy — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:04:54 +0000

Success in journalism doesn't have to be measured by the size and fame of the publication anymore. [...]

Today’s news now or yesterday’s news today?

Mandy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:30:38 +0000

I've seen a lot of newsroom culture shifts in my admittedly young career, but the online deadline of now seems to be the biggest gap to cross. Many editors and reporters don't think there even IS competition anymore. [...]

An anonymous comment ban could kill the public forum

Mandy — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:36:11 +0000

If news websites were to get rid of anonymous comments, we may be eliminating the opinions of some very valuable (and young) readers. [...]

Anonymity isn’t to blame for bad site comments, it’s a lack of staff interaction

Mandy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:50:12 +0000

We as an industry like to collectively wring our hands about the toxicity of online comment boards, but if we really want to improve the quality of on-site discussion we need to be willing to get involved in our sites in a hands-on manner. No amount of filters, comment-detecting robots and user-end moderation will replace the presence of a dutiful moderator. [...]

Furloughs – and the one year anniversary of Zombie Journalism

Mandy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:34:34 +0000

The furlough – a company cost-cutting measure previously associated with the manufacturing sector – now embraced by those of us working in paragraph factories around the nation.

In the last year, my husband and I have had three separate weeklong furloughs (perhaps it wasn’t so wise to marry a journalist after all). These furloughs are, we’re told, [...]

Kirkland trial coverage shows us why good beat reporting still matters

Mandy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:49:23 +0000

The court case of Anthony Kirkland is showing us that while Twitter and live blogs and all that are great tools for enhancing the way readers get news, it's tough to replace the know-how of an experienced beat reporter. [...]

The “lost” generation of journalists may be my own

Mandy — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:33:24 +0000

There is a lost generation of journalists, but they aren't college kids. We are the generation too young to remember the successful years of newspapers and too old to live on hope alone. [...]