Budget is the word of the year...

The word budget is not only the word of the day - it's the word of the year and possibly the decade. I have been hearing it for years related to newspapers. Today, during faculty meetings, it came up over and over again. Newspapers may be struggling, but they're not the only ones facing difficult economic times.

It is my belief that those newspapers able to survive the times by proving clear, accurate and informative news to readers will come out of these times stronger and better prepared to serve readers. They will understand what readers want, they will have discovered how to provide it, and they will not soon forget how fragile the news industry can become when those things are taken for granted.

The words of the future are integrity and speed! 

Exciting times

The end of summer brings exciting times for me. It's a chance to begin sharing what I have observed of the newspaper industry over the last 20 years - both as a beginning reporter and now as an educator and consumer. Times are definitely changing in the newspaper industry. I find the times to be exciting. 

How about you?

PR puzzle

Public relations and the press have long been opposing forces. However, they need one another.

My question now: Is it time for the press to swallow its pride and engage in some serious public relations work to improve its image?

A few things to ponder in that regard: Is it too late for the press to recover from the damage of the last 20 years? Is there even a problem with the press as it stands? What is the future of the press in the U.S.?

Online JRNL class?

I've been charged with pondering an online news journalism course for Ferris. It's just in the brainstorming phase right now.

I found this description of an online JRNL course at Michigan State:

Information gathering and reporting in multimedia platforms for online news delivery. Online style, text, headline, video, audio and other interactive elements will be used to produce online news packages for publication.

What do you think?

Doomed from the beginning

So, I learned something new about blogging. My friend Charles informed me its not a successful blog unless there's a "disliked" person on it. Well, I had that person lately. And it got worse and worse and worse and just finally had to end.

Maybe blogging was doomed from the beginning. The idea of open forum is great. The practice is not so easy.... I welcomed countering views, allowed some name-calling and inappropriate language, but then it became just way too much. This blog is not about my political views or the political views of anyone else. It was intended to spark debate primarily about issues as they relate to journalism.

I hope to get back to that..... but it may have been doomed from the beginning.

Blogging is curious

Blogging is a curious thing. So is writing, thinking and communicating. They are intertwined. I encourage my children, and my students, to write as frequently as possible. I believe the benefits of writing are far reaching. 

Unfortunately, with blogging and other forms of public communication comes pitfalls. They are difficult to avoid in any public endeavor. I certainly have my share of stories from my newspaper days..... Now, I seem to have an anonymous blogger stalker.

In newspapers, we required identification to publish letters to the editor, quotes, etc,... It is a standard rule: If you're not willing to put your name on it, then it's not worth printing. Remaining anonymous is weak and allows for far too great an opportunity to spout hate and untruths.

The dilemma becomes this: Does a blogger allow anonymous comments? I decided to allow them when I started blogging a couple years ago. I figured it would encourage comments and debate and discussion, outweighing the possible negative effects.

Now, I find myself wondering if I made the right decision. While I enjoy debate - with those I agree and disagree with - I do not enjoy name-calling, generalizations and pettiness.

Checking Obama's progress?

Candidate Barack Obama made a lot of promises during his campaign. Over 500! The St. Petersburg Times, a well-known conservative newspaper in Florida, started a web site tracking Obama's progress on his promises once he became President.

Check it out at PolitiFact.com.

It tracks a number of categories: Promises Kept; Compromise; Promise Broken; Stalled; In the Works; and No Action.

He is our president. Whether you voted for him or not, this web site or something like it should become a regular part of your media consumption. Holding all of our public officials, especially our President, is a vital part of a successful democracy.

So, how do you think he's doing?

Jobs?

Anyone working in newspapers or preparing people to work in the business have heard some form of the question: How do you feel about working in a dying industry?

At Ferris State University, where I teach, this is not as direct and serious a question as some surely face. We do not offer a straight Journalism bachelor's degree. There is a journalism emphasis within Technical Communications, a Multi-Media Journalism minor and a Journalism certificate. However, we are not preparing students specifically for a career in newspapers. While there are some on campus with that career path in mind it is a very small number.

When I do come across a student interested in a newspaper career, I am realistic with that person. I stress the opportunities available at Michigan's numerous smaller newspapers rather than planting in their minds ideas of grandiose positions with the New York Times. For example, the Ionia Sentinel-Standard.

The daily Sentinel-Standard is located between Grand Rapids and Lansing. The paper recently sent out a notice of hiring a full-time entry level reporter. These are the jobs I want my students prepared to land. They can do that through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on learning. Much of the hands-on learning available at Ferris, and on many other campuses, comes from student newspapers. Here at Ferris that is the Torch.

I'm not about to give up on newspapers altogether. I don't think others should either.

Ferris Torch becoming student-focused

One of the first things I noticed about the Ferris State Torch when I first became interested in it more than a year ago was the lack of focus on its readership: students. Too many stories were about topics and written in ways that were aimed at faculty and administration.

I believe the Torch made huge strides toward becoming more student-reader focused, particularly during the second half of the Spring 2009 semester. Take a look at some recent Torch stories and pages online and let me know what you think.

MSU to host News Summit: In Search of a New Journalism

New journalism is really nothing new. I heard the same term when I was in school 20 years ago. I've read it in textbooks. I'm not diminishing the importance of this event, just pointing out the fact journalism has changed many times over the years - and like many things it is likely to change more and at a much faster pace now than ever before.

This event is interesting. I was considering attending in person, but when I learned there will be a webcast, I decided saving the driving time, the gas money and the environment was too good to pass up. Here is the basic information:

News Summit: In Search of a New Journalism, 1:30-4 p.m. May 11 at Michigan State University. An RSVP is required to attend in person. The web cast is available at SpartanTV. Check out more information at MSU's journalism program web site or check out this PDF of the press release.

Torture

What do you think about the way the issue of torture has been covered? Is it fair to both sides? How has President Obama handled it? What about former VP Cheney's criticism of Obama?

This may tip my hat, but I found one particular part of Obama's 100-day speech interesting on this topic. He retold the story of Churchill during World War II. England was being mercilessly bombed. It was horrible. And England had about 200 enemy combatants. However, instead of stooping to torture chose to take a long-term, moral approach by not allowing torture. His reasoning was that once taking a step like that a society could never go back. No matter what happened the rest of the war, there would be this long-term impact of choosing to treat people that way. He took the more difficult path.

Torture is easier. Is it worth it for the short-term or long-term?

Media mayhem

We had some discussion in class today about weekend news. There were a few major headlines:

1. Outbreak of what is being called the swine flu.

2. GM is eliminating the Pontiac line, laying off 21,000 employees by 2010.

3. The NFL draft - like it or not, it's everywhere.

Those dominated the news, with other things like the economy, Obama's first 100 days, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the Yankees-Red Sox series, etc,... also drawing attention.

It was interesting to note one story that drew far less attention than I expected: A 57-year-old professor at University of Georgia in Athens shot and killed three people on Saturday afternoon. As of right now, there is an ongoing manhunt for him. My students had not even heard about this story. Here is the current story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, two days after the shootings:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/04/26/uga_professor_shooting.html

Why was it overshadowed?

If it involved students, would it have drawn more attention?

If it was involving a minority would it have been a bigger headline?

Decision-makers in the news had plenty to deal with this weekend, to be sure. I'm not sure if they missed this one or not. But it is interesting how a seemingly big news story can be shuffled aside simply due to timing of other big stories.

An article about WM newspapers

Here is a link to an article about the business of journalism, focusing on West Michigan:

Mibiz.com

New News Model

CMU Library exhibit on Michigan Newspapers

During the Michigan Press Association's winter conference in Grand Rapids, I had the opportunity to speak with Frank Boles, director of Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. Mr. Boles was on hand to display the libraries new feature: Celebrating Two Centuries of Michigan Newspapers. As a graduate of the journalism program at CMU (1995), I was pleased to learn my alma mater was recording the history of a business that is so vital to our countries history. In many ways, as Mr. Boles told me, newspapers are the first draft of our history. They tell is what is happening now. Books and other media tell us more in depth about our history much later.... The photo is courtesy of the Clarke Historical Library, displaying some of Michigan's rich history of large and small newspapers that continues today.

According to a press release by Mr. Boles, the library display is focused on:

*The importance of newspaper as information resources

*The longevity of newspapers as a means of communication

* The importance of preserving newspapers as historical resources

The state of newspapers

It really is doomsday out there. Newspapers are in serious decline and have no real chance to survive in their traditional formats, if you believe the pundits. But that's like listening to popular opinion about anything - it's the loudest who are heard most.

Doing a little deeper digger reveals a lot of great things going on in the newspaper business - some new and some very old. Like this from www.stateofthenewsmedia.org "On an average day, roughly 51 million people still buy a newspaper, and 124 million in all still read one."

That's not bad. Reports will often also show as a business, newspapers are making money. Like many businesses in the midst of our difficult economic times they are not making as much profit as they did five years ago and they often are not meeting projections. Does that mean they are not good businesses in the long run?

I don't dismiss the fact many newspapers are ailing. Just look at the Detroit Free Press, which is cutting home distribution to only three days a week. This is a 177-year-old newspaper that produces great investigative reporting. But is it the newspaper that is the problem or the business operations? I'm not convinced the product is the biggest issue. I believe many people still want their local paper to read good, well reported news about local issues. And newspapers are still the most reliable place to obtain that information.

Of course, newspapers have evolved over the last few hundred years and they must continue to do so. That does not only mean online. It also means in print. Many newspapers across the country continue to pay the bills with the print edition. For a decade or more many of those same papers have been sinking money into online ventures of all sorts hoping it will pay off one day. To date, it is not paying off for the vast majority of them. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to find a paper that has come close to a return for every dollar it has invested in online products. It can be argued that most papers would have been better off business-wise to continue operating as a print edition, investing the money in more graphics artists, more investigative reporting and the tools to do that work.

Stopping there would be ignoring the demand for online news. I don't believe that is wise. However, the format for online news that will be successful with consumers is really still evolving. It may require joint ventures between news outlets, better presentation and improved involvement with consumers. Those are just some of my ideas.

In the mean time, I propose we stop pushing print newspapers under the bus while they are struggling due to some extenuating circumstances: online products that have not paid off and tough economic times. Let's look at print media on its own merits. There still are many positive qualities to strong, traditional print journalism.

Too long... depressing news.... maybe

It's been a while since I last posted. A bit too long. News out of the journalism industry is consistently depressing in terms of the future of the business model we have grown accustomed. Will it improve? Or does the business model need to change?

One change I'm hoping to continue to pursue is in regard to the opportunity for citizens to produce high quality journalism. I'm working with some students this semester to publish a campus site. They are in the process of researching working models to determine the format they will utilize. I'm excited to see what they come up with, while constantly collecting ideas and examples to share with them.

I came across one recently: Examiner.com. With the leading publication in this group coming out of D.C. (where it is also anchored by a print edition), there are are many of these fledgling online publications in urban areas around the country. From what I can tell, anyone can sign on for the chance to be a writing contributor. I have found no evidence of pay for this type of work.

Is this a threat to reporters or simply a new outlet? We'll see.

Technology Scale

I feel like I'm in a bit of technology limbo. I blog, I follow blogs I feel a connection with, post comments on blogs I feel are worthwhile, use my laptop to stay in touch with family, friends, colleagues and students, use technology in my classrooms, and dabble in new technology now and then. I was aware of Twitter over a year ago - though I only tried it, but really did not jump in. I felt some pride in knowing a technology before most of my students....

However, reality is, on the whole scale of technology I certainly lean toward the ignorant. As a journalist, journalism professor and adviser to the Ferris State Torch I am doing my students a disservice if I do not move at least above the average on the technology scale. How can I expect them to be ahead of me?

That said, it is my goal to improve my standing over the coming years. I'm hoping to start by learning applications of Flash. I just found this link today. That's what office hours, summer break and other such times are for after all. Right?

Citizen journalism

As Jay Rosen of NYU defined it, citizen journalism is basically when consumers of information have the tools in their hands to produce and disseminate information. Well, we do. Computers are all we need to become journalists - spreading information all over the world.

I believe this process will be largely self-regulating, as with businesses. Do a good job, prove you're a reliable source of information, and others will stick with you. Fail to be reliable and others will abandon you.

This doesn't mean it will be a smooth process. And it doesn't mean we're ready to take off into a full-fledged, successful venture where citizen journalism is a viable alternative for information on a daily basis.

A former reporter colleague of mine, Matthew D. LaPlante, made a great point recently when we were exchanging some ideas by e-mail. He said, "I think it's going to be nurtured from the ground up, preferably through the public education system."

I agree with Matt. And I hope to be a part of this nurturing in some small way.

It's really over

Despite the ongoing news about the presidential election held Tuesday, one chapter is clearly over. It's a chapter that dragged on for what felt like thousands of pages. One of those books you wanted to finish, but also had to put down at times to get a break.

Now, it's on to another chapter. The post-election, pre-Obama presidency. Is he taking over a country in such bad shape that his destiny is predetermined? Will Republicans look back at the strides the Democrats made in 2008 as a turning point for the better because no one can right the ship? Will Obama overcome the difficult issues he faces, including the slumping economy, divided political atmosphere and an ongoing war, to have a successful presidency?

The stories will not end. The book is far from complete. Keep reading....

Newspapers not giving up yet

As pundits have debated the future of print newspapers over the years, I have held firm in my belief that many people will always hold on to a strong bond with paper: I do. As technology has become more and more prevalent, with tiny screens providing the means to access just about anything, anywhere at any time, in some ways that will also be the savior for newspapers.

What I mean is, we will only go so far with technology before there is some push back.

That push back may be happening now. According to research done by the National Newspaper Association, readership is up for newspapers (www.nna.org).  The NNA reports, "In 2008, more people reported reading a newspaper each week, rising to 86 percent form 82 percent in 2005 and 83 percent in 2007."

I thought that was an extremely high number. And it gets better, "They also report that they're spending more time reading the newspaper, up to 45 minutes, an increase over 2005 (38 minutes) and 2007 (42 minutes)."

While some want to write off newspapers as a dying breed, I'm not ready to jump on that bandwagon. I am ready to admit newspapers need to continue to be smart, responsive to readers and nimble enough to dance with the times.

While this may disappoint some who will have to admit they were wrong about the future of newspapers, they're not going away as an entire industry.