Comments on: Journalism FAIL: Who is at fault?

By: Jason Preston

Jason Preston — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:45:49 +0000

Doreen - thanks for chiming in, I'm glad you've been reading for a while and I'm even happier that you're actually liking it! NewsU is definitely a good resource for journalists looking to jump to the web, and I think we'll see more resources like it as more people start to realize that they need to stay, as you put it, marketable. Wendy - Thanks! For me, StumbleUpon is the real winner. I actually get a lot of traffic from it, and it can be quite fun to play with as well. I really like the idea of having a crowd-filtered way to "find random cool stuff" online. I'd also tell you not to give up on making a living through your skills (although, you're right, I think you need a combination of the above to do it). If you'd like, I can also point you to some good, free "online business" resources as well. Just shoot me an e-mail (address in the sidebar). TeachJ - There are going to be TONS of niche opportunities for journalists and online publishers. The question is: how far down the long tail can they be profitable? I'm guessing we'll see a lot of part time volunteers or guns for hire working for a larger number of smaller shops.

By: TeachJ

TeachJ — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:48:08 +0000

I think in many ways you are right. But I also think that the web and micro publishing is going to open up a huge number of niches for journalists. But in general, I agree, the days of the giant, impersonal, general interest newspaper are numbered.

By: Wendy Parker

Wendy Parker — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:49:27 +0000

Jason, great clear-headed stuff. I’m making the transition from traditional newsroom creature to blogger/freelance writer/aspiring web designer and probably will never make a full-time living doing any of those things alone.

That’s the reality that’s setting in six weeks after taking a buyout from my paper, but I feel good that I’ve got some pretty good web skills to tout and build on. Even though I may never fully dig Digg . . . . that site just eludes me. StumbleUpon also, to some degree. Find myself spending way too much time on both.

By: DoreenatDMS

DoreenatDMS — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:32:16 +0000

Hi, Jason … i’ve been a reader (and fan) of your blog for a while now. Interesting post. You’ve had previous posts where you’ve reflected on the “new” newsroom, the journalists within, and the resultant work flow patterns. It’s definitely worth discussing the evolving skillset of journalists, esp. in this 2.0 world … and your “baby step” links are good ones … It seems of late, in the journalism world, everyone’s a-twitter about Twitter. Journalists may also benefit with a glance at http://www.newsu.org — i think they have a number of online courses, especially, that deal with the emerging newsroom, digital, etc. I admit I haven’t yet participated in any of these courses, but on the face of it, they seem interesting and timely. I think these days there is even more of a challenge that journalists face: to expand their horizons, keep current, *and* keep marketable.