Innovation
Far too often, news organizations focus on the horse race between the parties or the leaders. The endless barrage of who is ahead or behind drowns out a lot of other coverage. Innovation editor Rob Washburn writes that these polling gaffes are an excellent reminder to focus on issues and analysis when it comes to election coverage instead of using the crutch of polls endlessly.
The Windsor Star has moved into swanky new digs, made its first foray into outdoor advertising, and opened a news café that executives hope will spark more reader interaction with the newsroom. These new ventures at the Star are a departure from the recent gloomy headlines coming from the newspaper’s parent company Postmedia Network, from staff buyouts to profits nose diving. Editor-in-chief Marty Beneteau sat down for a lengthy Q&A over the phone with J-Source.
For the large, silent majority of readers turned off by comments sections, the solution is simple: stop reading them. But for journalists, who are frequently themselves the subjects of discussion, and who are increasingly being pressured to moderate and participate in online discussions, ignoring the problem just isn’t an option anymore.
While many newspapers face a fiscal crisis, Mediapart is making money as a hardhitting, investigative publication online. It is earning a reputation for holding French politicians and government accountable, while generating revenue from a subscriber-only revenue model. Freelance reporter Pierre Chauvin gives a snapshot of this rising journalism star in Europe.
Newspapers Canada is considering a plan put forth by the Ontario Press Council to establish a national press council. The decision comes after a Ryerson University study on the state of press councils in Canada, which concluded the press councils were ineffective in their present form and did not meet the geographical and digital realities of the publishing industry.
With freelance budgets shrinking, some journalists have decided to take financing into their own hands and launched crowd-funding campaigns. J-Source interviews two freelance journalists who have successfully fundraised over $30,000 collectively.
This journalist-turned-entrepreneur is the chairman of brand and design agency Winkreative and editor-in-chief of Monocle, an ever-expanding global media venture encompassing a magazine, video and audio programming via the web, a biannual newspaper, cafés, and shops both online and on the ground. Join Tyler Brûlé as he talks about Monocle's business model, the state of journalism, and the importance of design.
Newsana has drawn many comparisons to the social media site Reddit, but its co-founder Ben Peterson argued Newsana will be maintain a higher standard than Reddit and will focus on quality journalism.
One of the most ambitious and exciting hyperlocal projects in Canada right now is the CBC project “Hyperlocal,” says J-Source Innovation editor Rob Washburn. This five-week project is a call to Canadians to tell stories about the neighbourhoods.
A Waterloo-based startup Media Spot Me says it can help journalists find reliable sources and experts faster.
Innovation
edited by ROBERT WASHBURN
This section is dedicated to tracking new trends, contemporary movements and latest developments in journalism. We will discuss and share news, information and commentary about what is transforming the industry. Robert Washburn is a former correspondent at CBC Ontario Morning and he currently teaches journalism at Loyalist College.
J-Source Innovation Daily
http://paper.li/jsourceinnovate
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