Zombie Journalism

Personally, I’m not a big fan of social media policies. While I recognize a lot of companies need to have these policies in place to cover their butts in court, I generally frown upon anything that gives journalists any excuse to not communicate openly with sources and/or readers via social media.
So this isn’t a social [...]

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 [...]

It’s downright amazing what you can find out from Twitter’s formidable search engine. Here’s just some of what you can do with Twitter’s publicly available feeds:
• See what’s happening on your beat: Basic, but no less awesome. Follow the Twitter feeds of any agencies, officials and other contacts on your beat.
• Find people on the scene or [...]

As we’re hiring new staff members for every position from web producers to listings editors and transit reporters, a lot of my job at TBD will be devoted to bringing all those new hires – plus some of our existing staff from News Channel 8 and WJLA – up to speed on social media tools [...]

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

Allbritton’s Washington, D.C. metro site will be named TBD – and I think it’s perfect. News at the start of the reporting process is “to be determined” – and that’s exactly where readers should come in.

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 [...]

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.

Oh, Rupert
News Corp’s Murdoch says he’ll hide his content from Google very soon. I’ll believe it when I see it. And if he does do it, how long will it take for regret to set in?
Pay Models
Alan Mutter points to the indicators and recent comments from newspaper execs that all point to a continuation of [...]

While the Communications Decency Act of 1996 grants media sites immunity from legal liability for user-generated content. The Barnes v. Yahoo defamation case revealed a possible loophole in that immunity that can occur if you promise to remove content – and don’t follow through.