Journalism.co.uk’s top 10 blog posts of 2009

Unless there’s a Christmas surge in traffic, the top 10 posts on the Journalism.co.uk Editors’ blog in 2009 are as follows:

1. 1. Ten things every journalist should know in 2009: this list of tools and trends for journalists is essential reading for 2010 too;
2. 2. Twitterers claim victory over loaded Daily Mail gypsy poll: how Twitterers and emailing academics nearly brought the Daily Mail’s servers to a halt;
3. 3. Personal comments detract from original MMR/LBC debate: an update in Guardian writer Ben Goldacre’s copyright case with LBC;
4. 4. BNP members list leak gathers pace online – to link or not to link?: a post from 2008 that came back to light after speculation of a secondary BNP members’ list leak;
5. 5. How to: Track a conversation in Twitter: more handy hints on using Twitter from @johncthompson;
6. 6. The $10m lawsuit against the New Yorker – Papua New Guineans challenge Jared Diamond article: the story of a a $10 million defamation lawsuit in the US;
7. 7. Labour conference wearies political hack (and it’s only day one) #lab09: a napping Michael White caught on camera;
8. 8. Too old to become a journalist – The NCTJ fast-track course: say so long to your social life: part of our series from then Lambeth College journalism student Amy Oliver;
9. 9. paidContent:UK: Sun’s page 3 girls too ‘obscene’ for Apple : paidContent:UK’s story in our daily editor’s picks on why Apple rejected the iPhone app;
10. 10. Heather Brooke thanks the Speaker for ‘making my career’/Alan Keen update: FOI campaigner and investigative journalist on her investigation into the MPs’ expenses scandal.

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• New blog series: Am I too old to become a journalist?
• App of the week for journalists – Flud, an RSS and news reader
• Reuters: Former BNP man fined for leaking members list
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NYTimes.com: Interview with Guantanamo detainee and journalist Sami al-Hajj

Brian Stelter profiles Sami al-Hajj, the Al Jazeera cameraman who was held for six years at the terrorism detention centre Guantanamo Bay, and looks at how Al Hajj’s experience has shaped his reporting: “The captive has become the correspondent.”

Full story at this link…

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• Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj released
• BBC Radio 4: Sami al-Hajj on his return from Guantanamo
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BuzzMachine: Opportunities for newspapers facing bankruptcy

In response to the Associated Press’ announcement that six US newspaper companies have declared bankruptcy, Jeff Jarvis suggests some experiments that these firms could still carry out to help reverse their fortunes:

• staying in print, but splitting up the functions of the company and outsourcing everything possible;
• investing in a widely distributed network of independent local and interest sites with the company adding value with curation and sales;
• creating a pure ad network;
• creating a very high quality product and – yes – charging a lot for it;
• creating a series of special-interest niche services and, in some cases, publications;
• creating the still mostly free, but higher value Craigslist with more curation for quality and more services;
• experimenting with new services for local merchants – especially those too small to ever have afforded big, inefficient newspapers – including helping them succeed through Google, Yelp, et al;
• creating citizen sales forces to scale while serving those small merchants.

Full post at this link…

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• Civic Edition: Text message marketing for local newspapers
• US newspaper publisher Gannett conducting ‘small-scale’ paywall tests
• ‘Apptop publishing’ technology targets bloggers and independents
• Advertising: Newspapers sign up with Zillow.com and Politico; UK radio station launches motor ads site
• OJR: Interview with chief news officer of hyperlocal news site OurTown

HTFP: Johnston Press to axe sub-editing hub plans

HoldtheFrontPage reports that massive opposition from staff has forced Johnston Press to scrap plans for a new sub-editing hub in the Midlands.

Sources within Johnston Press have claimed the decision is the result of a new content management system being introduced, while others suggest the move has been postponed and not scrapped.

No jobs were threatened by the proposed hub, but the plans would affect operations at the Mansfield Chad series, Hucknall Despatch, Buxton Advertiser and Ilkeston Advertiser.

Full story at this link…

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• #FollowJourn: @tomatthechad/digital content manager
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The Drum: Marc Reeves on leaving the Birmingham Post

On New Year’s Day 2010, I will for the first time in 25 years not be employed by a newspaper publisher.

Marc Reeves, outgoing editor of the Birmingham Post, describes his reasons for not only leaving the paper, but leaving the newspaper industry altogether.

(…) I’ve decided to get out, not because I think there’s no future in newspapers, but because I believe that they and and a whole new generation of media brands and services are more sustainable if they’re unencumbered by the legacy and costly infrastructure of the big media owners.

Reeves does think there could be a reversal in fortunes for some large regional groups, but adds:

There may even be newspapers that, having taken radical steps to meet the challenge, will improve their circulation performance (note performance – not sales). The trick for the big companies is to keep all these plates spinning long enough to reach the moment when revenue from their digital operations is sufficient to underpin the whole business.

Full post at this link…

Also worth a read is departing Birmingham Post journalist Jo Ind’s farewell blog post: http://blogs.birminghampost.net/lifestyle/2009/12/bye-bye-birmingham-post.html

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#FollowJourn: @tombod/Welsh affairs correspondent

#FollowJourn: Tom Bodden

Who? Regional newspaper journalist.

What? Works as Welsh affairs correspondent for the Liverpool Daily Post.

Where? You can also read his Post blog commenting on the Welsh National Assembly.

Contact? @tombod.

Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips every day, we’re recommending journalists to follow online too. They might be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to judith or laura at journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – multimedia blogging tools

Blogging: Soup is both a multimedia blogging platform and also a place to bring all your online work and research together in a scrapbook form. You can also create a lifestream, fed by other websites and social sites you contribute to. Tipster: Laura Oliver.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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Stephanie Romanski: Social media for smaller newspapers

Stephanie Romanski, web editor of US newspaper the Grand Island Independent in Nebraska, has recorded a podcast on what smaller newspapers can learn from bigger organisations. Well worth a listen.

Full podcast at this link…

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Reflections of a Newsosaur: Presses stopped at 142 US papers in 2009

Alan Mutter looks at some of the reasons behind the closure of presses for 142 daily and weekly US newspapers this year and suggests the deathtoll was smaller than some commentators had predicted.

He also gives three reasons why the newspaper industry is still going:

1. The residual monopoly power of the industry
2. The magic of the bankruptcy system
3. The irrepressible optimism of publishers

Full post at this link…

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Google Public Policy Blog: Google’s open manifesto – what does it mean for publishers?

Some big promises from the search giant in this manifesto posted to its public policy blog yesterday. In The meaning of open, Joshua Rosenberg, senior vice president of product management, says openness as a company and on the web has no clear definition:

The topic of open seems to be coming up a lot lately at Google. I’ve been in meetings where we’re discussing a product and someone says something to the effect that we should be more open. Then a debate ensues which reveals that even though most everyone in the room believes in open we don’t necessarily agree on what it means in practice.

He then goes on to describe what open means for Google’s business – and how the search engine is attempting to become more transparent – a regular sticking point for the newspaper and publishing industry, which have criticised the secrecy surrounding the search engine’s online practices.

Rosenberg also levels another criticism:

We are often attacked for being too big, but sometimes being bigger allows us to take on the impossible.

Whether this will be enough to sate other players (namely newspapers) is uncertain, but it seems Google is making yet more attempts, following its recent launches such as Fast Flip and alternative indexing, to make 2010 the year of olive branches and openness.

Full post at this link…

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