:: Future of Journalism

“The Economist’s shift to digital”- Tom Standage at news:rewired

currybetdotnet :: One of the panel sessions at news:rewired was devoted to the paid content model. Tom Standage, digital editor of the Economist, gave an upbeat talk about the title’s success in transitioning to the digital era. One of the panel sessions at news:rewired last week was devoted to the paid content model. Tom Standage, digital editor of the Economist, gave an upbeat talk about the title’s success in transitioning to the digital era.

[Martin Belam/Tom Standage:] if you ask (the readers) how they expect to consume (the content) in two years time, an astonishing 70% say they expect it will be digital, and only 30% print.

Continue to read Martin Belam, currybet.net

Inkling Habitat: Free cloud-based interactive e-book publishing platform

paidContent :: Startup iPad publisher Inkling is launching a free, cloud-based, interactive e-book publishing platform, Inkling Habitat. That may sounds a bit like iBooks Author, but a preview of the program suggests that it is indeed as Inkling describes it—a program for professional publishers producing e-books at scale, and a way to make a very expensive process more affordable.

Continue to read Laura Hazard Owen, paidcontent.org

Protecting your sources 2012: A high-tech war on leaks

New York Times :: Back in 2006, before the Obama administration made leak prosecutions routine, a panel of three federal appeals court judges in New York struggled to decide whether a prosecutor should be allowed to see the phone records of two New York Times reporters, Judith Miller and Philip Shenon, in an effort to determine their sources for articles about Islamic charities.

“I’ve been thinking about the scene in ‘All the President’s Men,’ ” said Judge Robert D. Sack, citing the leading cinematic precedent. He meant the part where Bob Woodward, in the process of unraveling the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post, meets his source in an underground parking garage.

“First of all,” Judge Sack asked, “do you really have to meet in a garage to maintain your confidentiality? Second of all, can the government go and subpoena the surveillance camera?”

Continue to read Adam Liptak, www.nytimes.com

Knight News Challenge: use existing platforms to drive innovation in media and journalism?

Knight Foundation :: Today we’re announcing a revamped Knight News Challenge. As illustrated by Michael Maness (video) we are evolving the challenge to be more nimble and more focused. We’ve expanded and narrowed the challenge this year, and are creating three opportunities for innovators to participate - each with a distinct area of focus.

Our first News Challenge, on networks, will open for applications on Feb. 27 and close on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. For this year’s first Knight News Challenge, we intend to harness the momentum from people thinking about and building networks.

Continue to read www.knightfoundation.org

Clay Shirky and Denise Warren: How online paywalls are changing journalism

NPR :: Online media advocate Clay Shirky has long been a skeptic of newspaper paywalls. He now thinks 2012 could be the year that a critical mass of readers will be willing to pay for news online. Shirky discusses his conversion and Denise Warren, general manager for NYTimes.com, explains the New York Times paywall strategy.

Listen to the story and/or read its transcript here - Neal Conan, host, www.npr.org

Helen Gurley Brown gives $30m to establish media innovation center at Stanford, Columbia

Poynter :: In a joint release, the schools say the new Institute will “recognize the increasingly important connection between journalism and technology, bringing the best from the East and West Coasts.” Helen Gurley Brown, who edited Cosmopolitan for 31 years, donated the money on behalf of her late husband David, a movie and musical producer who attended both schools.

Continue to read www.poynter.org

Local TV stations rally to oppose media transparency

Columbia Journalism Review :: Local television stations have now rallied against the key elements of the Federal Communications Commission’s media transparency proposal, which would require broadcasters to move their “public inspection files” out of their filing cabinets and onto the Internet. I described these proposals in detail, but the surprising hostility from TV stations—news organizations—to this transparency plan raises a broader question: Do broadcasters believe that they even have “public interest obligations” anymore?

Continue to read Steven Waldman, www.cjr.org

False Paterno death - Craig Silverman: Dangers of journalists chasing glory

Paterno’s family announced his death on Sunday morning.

Poynter :: As many people are now aware, on Saturday evening, a student news organization at Penn State reported that former football coach Joe Paterno had died. The information was picked up by CBS Sports and other major news outlets, and it spread quickly on Twitter. But it was wrong. Poynter’s Jeff Sonderman has an excellent round up of the erroneous tweets, how they spread, and how they were debunked. 

Now, as always, we’re left with the aftermath. Two points stand out to me, and they both relate to the dangers of journalists chasing glory.

Continue to read Craig Silverman, www.poynter.org

Washington Post :: Listen to previously unpublished excerpts from Joe Paterno's final interview with The Washington Post's Sally Jenkins.

Joe Paterno interview excerpts - Published by washingtonpost.com

Mobile (not digital) first strategy - Africa: 620 million mobile connections Sep 2011

Mobile Active :: The mobile industry in Africa is booming. With over 620 million mobile connections as of September 2011, Africa has overtaken Latin America to become the second largest mobile market in the world, after Asia. Over the past 10 years, the number of mobile connections in Africa has grown an average of 30% per year and is forecast to reach 735 million by the end of 2012.

Report is available for download.

African Mobile Observatory 2011 - Continue to read www.mobileactive.org

Why newspapers often don't call out politicians for lying

The Atlantic :: The status quo is a system that enables folks (politicians) who manipulate the public. These disingenuous people brazenly feed the press lies knowing that at worst they'll be printed alongside, and given equal billing with, a quotation from "the other side." "He said the world is flat. She said the world is round." Should a newspaper leave it at that?

[Conor Friedersdorf:] "He said rent control generally helps the poor. She said it more often harms them." ... Do you want your newspaper reporter to point out, in each of those cases, that the woman is right? 

Continue to read Conor Friedersdorf, www.theatlantic.com