News Mixer API spawns Iowa Content experiment

News Mixer, the final year project of programming-journalism students at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University aimed at breathing new life into commenting systems on news sites, was always intended to be developed and adapted further by third parties.

“We got a lot of the hard work out of the way and the code is out there for anyone to play with (…) it’s free. Use it,” Brian Boyer, one of the developers behind it, insisted in an interview last year.

The open source nature of the project has allowed three developers from e-Me Ventures to create Iowa Content – a WordPress-based widget that aggregates localised news content from a range of sources and is connected to Facebook Connect.

Iowa Content is based on News Mixer’s quip function – short-form responses to news items, ideally suited to Twitter or Facebook status updates.

Being linked with the social network will encourage readers to discuss and comment on the news – as well as share links via their profiles.

It’s in the experimental stage right now, but as the intro video below says, it’s about ‘grassroots creation of meaningful content’:

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Independent news org backs Spot.Us story

An update from Dave Cohn, founder of crowd-funded journalism start-up Spot.Us, tells us that recent pitch was brought to life in 11 days with the help of a donation of $325 (50 per cent of the costs required) from independent news organisation The Raw Story.

The article on the shooting of Oscar Grant in the Oakland area, pitched by independent journalist Sam Arbizo, also attracted individual donations from a host of journalists – both local and national.

The Raw Story site will get to publish the content first, as part of its donation, says Cohn.

This is part of Spot.Us’ aim in action: matching organisations as well as communities with investigations and stories they want done. Funding in this way allows cash-strapped/time-strapped news orgs to participate and publish quality, local content.

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Video: Sally Murrer and Tony Gosling on press freedom

This On The Edge programme from a couple of weeks ago features Milton Keynes Citizen journalist Sally Murrer and freelancer Tony Gosling.

Murrer, who was cleared of charges in connection with the alleged leaking of confidential police information in November last year, describes the growth of a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to the press within police press offices.

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Early Day Motion support for New Statesman negotiations not really needed

Update: The National Union of Journalists met with New Statesman management today and talks on a recognition agreement will continue, the NUJ has confirmed.

27 MPs have signed an early day motion supporting recognition of the UK National Union of Journalists by the New Statesman magazine management, but their support isn’t really needed anymore after the New Statesman owners agreed – last week – to meet the union after all.

The NUJ originally reported that the magazine management was refusing to recognise the union. In response, an Early Day Motion, proposed by MP John Cummings, was submitted on January 20, and asked for ‘the owners of the New Statesman to recognise the NUJ, to suspend the redundancies and to begin negotiations with the union over the future of the magazine.’

But on January 15 it had been announced that New Statesman management members will meet with the union to discuss the right to negotiate pay and work conditions.

Journalism.co.uk asked NUJ campaigns officer, Miles Barter, if the MPs’ support was a bit redundant. “It is yes,” he said. “The EDM was put in when they [New Statesman] weren’t [meeting with NUJ],” he said, but added that the NUJ is ‘grateful for their solidarity.’

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Johnston Press Release: Board changes at Johnston Press

Ian Russell to succeed chairman Roger Parry from March 2009.

Simon Waugh to leave board from January 30 following appointment as chief executive of the new National Apprenticeship Service.

Full release at this link…

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CommentIsFree: Angela Foster on ‘why we still need a black press’

A former news editor of New Nation – which went into administration last week – argues that there is still a need for ethnically specific newspapers.

“… with mainstream newspapers paying scant attention to stories affecting the black community – and with so few ethnic minority reporters working on those papers – then, yes, we absolutely needed a black newspaper,” Angela Foster writes.

Full story…

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NYTimes.com: Iraqi PM pledges plots of land to thousands of journalists

“At a recent meeting with the Iraqi journalists’ union, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki made a pledge that would have scandalised the Iraqis’ American counterparts: the government would give plots of land to thousands of journalists, for a nominal price or possibly even free,” the New York Times reports. Full story…

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B2B flight website tries out video blogging with ‘Runway Girl’

The first video-cast from FlightGlobal.com – the website of various flight B2Bs including Flight International, Airline Business, ACAS, Air Transport Intelligence (ATI) and The Flight Collection – (hat tip: Adam Tinworth).

‘Runway Girl’ aka Mary Kirby starts off optimistically: “the world of in-flight entertainment and connectivity is getting so exciting that it absolutely demands that we start putting a little bit of video down…”

First update: Cingular Wireless and their application to the patent office. She welcomes constructive criticism. It will be interesting to see how much success it has for the publication.

First video below:

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CJR: The Polis financial journalism paper dissected across the pond

A take on the Polis paper from the States. The Columbia Journalism Review’s Dean Starkman says that the Polis’ ‘What is Financial Journalism For?’ report addresses ‘one of those big, “dumb” questions’ that he ‘finds so valuable.’

“Those kinds of questions don’t get asked much on this side of the pond. That’s too bad. Even the subject of business media’s performance in advance of the current crisis seems to be something of a taboo.

“The scant attention the subject has received has been either the once-over-lightly treatment, a la Howard Kurtz, and or an ‘all-clear’ for the business press from our cousins over at the American Journalism Review.”

Full story…

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MondayNote: Sarkozy’s news prescription – ‘a band-aid to an ailing industry’

Yes, Monday was two days ago but Frédéric Filloux’s take on Sarkosy’s media prescription is a good read and clearly set out. “Tons of cash for publishers, little in return,” Filloux starts.

“That’s the Sarkozy prescription to ‘save’ the press. For €600m ($767m) to be spent over three years, the French president is buying if not influence, the French media barons’ ear and goodwill. This is not a stimulus package. This is a band-aid to an ailing industry that has a shown a tremendous resistance to change, at every level.”

Full story…

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