Zombie Journalism

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 [...]

Despite its reputation, Twitter is not just to tell people what you had for breakfast. Journalists willing to learn the tool well can also use Twitter to:

Monitor the activities and interactions of people you cover
Crowdsource stories by asking your followers for ideas or info
Quickly find [...]

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 [...]

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.

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.

Reporters who want online audiences to appreciate their lengthy watchdog pieces and enterprise journalism should consider writing a bulleted synopsis version to run online, a la Gawker.

Although I was a regular producer for WKSU, my own voice very rarely actually appeared on the radio. Lucky for me, during the holidays I had more opportunity to get a piece of my own on the air. When the Inventor’s Hall of Fame in Akron, OH (in our coverage area) announced it would be [...]

A roundup on the latest news in efforts to save newspapers and make money in journalism, including a look at legislation, micropayments vs. subscriptions and research for hire.

This enterprise piece, written in December 2000 and published in the May 2001 issue of The Burr magazine at Kent State University, placed in the 2001 Hearst Awards.
It’s sort of funny looking back, as this was written back before the books were super big – back  before the movies were even in production. Now, there’s [...]

This feature was so much fun to write and research. I pitched this to my editors at the Enquirer when I was an intern – it was pretty much right in the thick of the Dance Dance Revolution craze. I spent a lot of time with my sources, but I’m still pretty terrible at DDR.
The [...]