Zombie Journalism » news

Lessons to be learned from TBD: International Edition

Mandy — Tue, 10 May 2011 20:18:39 +0000

During my professional sabbatical in the month of April, I had the opportunity to travel to Moscow, Russia to talk with Eurasian journalists about community engagement.

This is my name in Cyrillic!

On April 22-24, the New Eurasia Media Program held its annual International Conference, where I, along with other journalists and bloggers from around the world, shared [...]

Copyright changes aren’t necessary to save media

Mandy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:58:19 +0000

Yet another “academic” call has been made to change U.S. copyright law to provide special protection for mainstream news sources – and again, these academics ignore the very basics of what it means to aggregate news online.

This time, the nonsense comes out of the Wharton School, who one would think knows a thing or two about [...]

Pay-to-play commenting can eliminate trolls – and kill discussion

Mandy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:59:30 +0000

A Massachusetts newspaper is banning anonymous comments by charging for the privilege. This seems like overkill - and it can eliminate important discussion. [...]

Uses for Foursquare in news reporting

Mandy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:19:34 +0000

Aside from all the fun marketing options, Foursquare can be very valuable for reporters, bloggers and other news organizations. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Find a source with ties to a specific location

When you go to a venue’s page on Foursquare, you can see who has recently checked in there and who is there the [...]

The new kid in the downpour of fresh ideas

Mandy — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:30:27 +0000

When you’ve spent your entire professional career in a newspaper’s newsroom, it’s pretty easily to get your mind blown at a startup. I can attest to that firsthand in my first few days on the job at TBD.

Instead of shoehorning some new media approach into a centuries-old tradition, we’re building something so new, it’s still [...]

A bit more explanation of what’s going down in DC

Mandy — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:47:16 +0000

Poynter had a talk with Jim Brady, president of digital strategy at Allbritton and my future boss, about the as-yet-unnamed metro site I’ll be working on in Washington, D.C. starting next month.

Brady outlines the site’s coverage plan, which is, essentially, a bit of the umbrella (regional news readers care about) and the microscope (community-level news). He [...]

On making a move and taking new chances

Mandy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:00:14 +0000

For months now, I have been excitedly following the developing news of Allbritton’s local news site. As the parent company of Politico, many online types have hopes this as-yet-unnamed project can revitalize online news – and maybe give the Washington Post a run for their money.

I’m proud to say that as of today, I’m going to [...]

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. [...]