Save the Media

Today, I’m turning over my blog to a guest blogger. Jackie Hai, is a freelance videographer and Web designer who will graduate next month with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and philosophy from UMass Amherst. She blogs at Convergence Commons about the changing role of the media. Her blog is among the many in my [...]

I haven’t done short takes in a while, so here are some interesting finds from around the blogosphere: The value of small talk: Steve Yelvington has the best explanation I’ve read so far for the value of social media. He compares the gabbing over Twitter, for example, that so many find banal to the glad-handed [...]

When I blogged last week about whether blogging is journalism, several people — through comments on Twitter and this blog — raised a key concept: Well, if blogging isn’t journalism, what is journalism? That seemed a fair question, so I decided to consider it. First, I crowd sourced the idea, asking my Twitter followers to [...]

The shooting in Binghamton, NY, Friday left 14 people dead, including the gunman who apparently killed himself, in a community center filled with people from other countries who were learning English. The news is tragic, and I feel for the families of all those involved. But I think the story provides a compelling example of [...]

I just bought a Flip-Video camera, so I thought it might be fun to let all of you get to know me a bit more through vlogging — video blogging. This is only the third video I’ve shot, so please be kind. It’s not art. Not even close. But I’m not showing this video to [...]

Well, I have some more short-takes for you — tidbits I found around the blogosphere: Are bloggers journalists? Look to history. Boston University journalism professor Chris Daly writes that “bloggers stand squarely in a long-standing journalistic tradition. … Their roots go back to the authors of the often-anonymous writings that helped to found America itself [...]

A colleague of mine asked today: “Is blogging  journalism?” She was helping her step-daughter write an essay, an assignment for a college ethics course. Two co-workers and I jumped in to answer the question to help my colleague assist her step-daughter. I found the question compelling because it goes to the very heart of this [...]

I’ve come across some new Twitter tools that I’ve found useful as a journalist, so I’ve decided to compile a new post of my favorite tools for Twitter. (Read my earlier list of favorite Twitter tools here.) Blip.fm: A colleague of mine, @LauraTRyan, turned me on to this  great tool. It allows you to search [...]

Time for some more short-takes, capturing interesting stuff I’ve found around the blogosphere: Who will will? Deborah Potter at Advancing the Story says “specialized media will win.” I agree with her, and I like how she puts it.  It’s just another way of saying, guess what, we’re not a mass medium anymore. But I like [...]

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s recent announcement that it’s ceasing publication of a newspaper — and going online only — is sad because of the jobs and lives impacted and what it means for the future of journalism. But I’m hoping the P-I’s online experiment can help us all learn a bit more about the revolution happening [...]