Tag Archives: BeatBlogging.org

BeatBlogging.org funding ends September 1

Pat Thornton reports that funding for the site he edits, BeatBlogging – part of the NewAssignment.net project will cease on September 1.

“The fate of BeatBlogging.Org is undecided for now. I can at least assure you that the site will not be going away, as it is too strong of a new media brand to let die or even languish,” he writes.

“Being the editor of BeatBlogging.Org has been a great ride. I’ve learned a lot about how beat reporters are adapting to the web, how social media is changing journalism and where journalism is heading.

“Working with NYU’s Jay Rosen has been a great learning experience. It’s very invigorating to work with someone who is interested in answering, “what’s next?” And in journalism, that’s the No. 1 question we all must answer.

“What’s next for me? I don’t know yet. I hope to be able to contribute to the search for journalism next.”

Full post at this link…

Beatblogging.org: Not-for-profit MinnPost news site raises $13,190 in micro-donations

MinnPost, a non-profit journalism organisations that publishes MinnPost.com, has raised $13,190 after calling on users and supporters to make micro-donations.

While a significant chunk was donated by the Harnisch Foundation, MinnPost users gave $6,595, with more opting to pay $25 than $10 from the two suggested amounts.

This isn’t a long-term business model (and the MinnPost isn’t setting it up as such), but is this a sign that readers will pay for hyperlocal news?

Full post at this link…

BeatBlogging.Org: ‘UK news regulation stands in the way of newsroom convergence’

I’ve provided a guest post for BeatBlogging.org, the US-based site that looks at how to use social networks and other web tools to improve beat reporting. Using examples from various Journalism.co.uk pieces, I argue that it is very difficult to look towards coverged newsroom, under the hybrid regulatory systems with which we operate as UK-based publishers. Thoughts welcomed.

Read it in full over at the site. Here’s an extract:

We talk about converging newsrooms of the future that transcend boundaries between online, print and broadcast, but at a very fundamental level that process is impossible in the United Kingdom.

Martin Belam, information architect for the Guardian, recently emphasized that point in an interview with Journalism.co.uk:

“In a converged media landscape, it seems odd that [BBC’s] Robert Peston’s blog is regulated by the BBC Trust, [Channel 4’s] Jon Snow’s blog is regulated by Ofcom, and [the Guardian’s] Roy Greenslade’s blog is regulated by the PCC.”

Now, Martin was actually wrong on the Jon Snow point: Ofcom does not regulate any television Web sites at all. That is to say, the brands which must adhere to a strict code for television content are completely unregulated online. Ofcom advises consumers to make complaints about online content to their Internet service provider.

The BBC Trust regulates the BBC online; the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) regulates newspapers, magazines and their online content.

And Stephen Fry, who – at the time of writing — is nearing half a million followers on Twitter? Or Guido Fawkes (aka Paul Staines) who has a loyal readership to rival most newspaper commentators? Well, they govern themselves – unless the law gets involved.

When the traditional media sectors go online, they’re regulated by their various bodies, and the ‘online-onlys’ only have the courts to worry about. Press publications have a less strict code than broadcasters, but online, broadcasters have more freedom than the press – though they don’t seem to be exercising it.

In a nutshell, a financial commentator from a newspaper has greater freedom than a financial commentator from a broadcaster, and an independent online-only financial commentator has the greatest freedom of all.

What happens when a bank crashes? Channel 4 and ITV can theoretically report how they like – online. The BBC must always answer to the BBC Trust. The newspapers must comply with the PCC code. Martin Lewis, of the MoneySaving Expert can, if he so chooses, be a law unto himself.

Same news and it’s all online but in very different guises. We might think people know the difference, but do they?

Full post at this link…

BeatBlogging.org: ‘Mini experts in a major network’ at AllVoices.com

AllVoices.com is a citizen journalism site, and Amra Tareen’s ‘answer to closed, controlled traditional media.’ It was launched in July 2008 ‘with the goal of including as many people as possible,’ BeatBlogging reports.

“If Tareen had her way, the AllVoices community would be all six billion people on earth. But within a site that aims to be global and all-inclusive in its scope and membership, a curious thing is happening.

“Even with free rein in topic choice, Tareen tells us that many of AllVoices’ contributors are choosing very specific beats and becoming mini experts within the larger framework of the massive site,” the article continues.

Full post at this link…

BeatBlogging.Org puts out a call for all journalists on Twitter

US-based site BeatBlogging.org is collecting names of journalists who use Twitter to “help report, find sources, ask questions and more”.

Beatblogging.org is part of NewAssignment.Net, and is on a mission to look at “how journalists can use social networks and other Web tools to improve beat reporting, with an empahsis on “pushing the practice” and spotlighting innovation”, according to the site’s authors.

They have 57 responses so far, mostly US-based. So how about we get a UK thing going here? If you are a journalist using Twitter in the manner described above, please leave a comment with your Twitter handle below. I’m @johncthompson and this blog’s other authors are @jtownend and @lauraoliver. All our news is broadcast on @journalismnews (and you can talk to us on that channel too).