There are stacks of flaws in proposed business models for traditional journalism as it attempts to move into a new sphere. All of them are cloaked with a decent dose of assumptions – that people prefer traditional media, that people will pay for content, that they are the only entities producing good ‘quality’ journalism. So on and so forth. None of the models offer any kind of real... 

The earthquake in Christchurch this week saw mass media pick apart a city like the vultures they have too often become. The beautiful city and its people had suffered an incredible event, but they needed support to tell their stories – not “professional journalists” coming in to tell them with an extreme horror movie agenda, often using these people and their experience  as an excuse... 

The web is all about transparency (dirty secrets), so here you go. I’m standing up. “My name is Jo.” (Now you say, “Hi Jo.”) “On Sunday I signed up for a subscription to the print version of The Denver Post.” I’ll wait if you need to read that again, because I realise that coming from me … it’s hard to comprehend. Background (excuse): I was... 

While many people align technology adoption and use with age, the facts show it’s not all that easy to stereotype the creators of content in the online media. Today’s Pew Report on Teens and Social Media amplifies a very real issue in the US. Our teens and young adults are engaging in “new” media, but on a very limited level. The majority of them are not creating new content. In... 

Some mainstream media have incorporated the fantastic ability of the web to allow reader comments to stream live. Apparently, the misguided professional believes this is a wonderful way of operating public journalism, which seems to be so popular right now. Really, we’re demonstrating our real connections with our audience. Unfortunately, when reader comments are opened on every story, and allowed... 

As I predicted right here on Mediamum.net in March 2009 when the Rocky Mountain News folded, Colorado’s the Denver Post is now also in trouble. Its owners are asking for bankruptcy protection. They’re still not humble. I’m hearing professional journalists and academics in journalism blame all sorts of things for this situation: 1. Falling ad revenues (you know, that’s a failure... 

The Islam and the Media conference, held by the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder (January 7-10) was a huge success in bringing together leaders in thought and practise on religion and media. But you wouldn’t know it if you’d been watching mainstream media. At a time in our history that international front pages and lead stories are obsessively... 

Ah the miracle of medicine, look how much you’ve done for women and babies. Birthing in the Western World is no longer fraught with danger, thanks to your hand. Or is it? Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net The oh-so convenient Christmas miracle story splashed internationally across mass media headlines of a Coloradan woman and her baby dying through childbirth and then “inexplicably”... 

Usually, I don’t consciously pay for content. I say ‘consciously’ because if I click on a link and there’s a paywall, I won’t do it. I also don’t subscribe to any newspapers or magazines (online or in ‘dead tree’ format). Basically, the quality of the content I’m seeing doesn’t make me want to pay for more of it. Mr Murdoch does have the... 

This pre-internet installation was and remains a vital consideration in the future of media. It has been supposed for a long time that communication and media technologies allowed people who already knew each other to improve existing relationships. Alternatively, broadcast media were used to send corporate-owned messages to the ‘masses’. There has been very little in the understanding of communities... 

The new buzzword in social media appears to be Influence. According to conferences, some marketers it’s what people want. To influence others. This is a mistake. It demonstrates a very shallow, one-sided view. (cartoon from xkcd.com) Talk to most people in social media for example, and they’ll tell you the truth. What they’re doing is looking for, and responding to resonance,... 

Let’s confirm who professional journalists are: People (trained or not), paid to produce content under the mastheads of traditional news outlets. Let’s confirm what they’re supposed to do: This is a tricky one. No matter how many times I have asked, and how many people, across Australia, the USA and the UK, nobody can give me a core definition of journalism. Maybe it’s a secret. A magician’s... 

I’m writing for the online news site, Examiner.com as the Boulder Startup Examiner. Why? Am I insane? Don’t I have enough to do? I felt compelled to do it. Boulder is a wonderful town, with a fantastic tech community of people. It’s a really big community, for a small town. It’s exciting, vibrant and smart. It’s full of incredible people. And they’re all doing their... 

I do wish people would stop analysing the ‘death of print’ and focus on the future of journalism. There are so many traditional media with stories like the nicely titled “Is democracy written in disappearing ink” which attempt to say journalism will die along with the traditional formats. While I like the title, the answer if obviously “only if you guys want it to!” Suck... 

In discussions with people who view the media climate as being a binary between big media and bloggers, many times the exclamation rises, “Well, if MSM didn’t exist what would bloggers talk about? All they do is talk about ‘real media’ stories.” But how the tables have turned. The last couple of weeks across the US and Australia has seen a great rise in MSM’s coverage... 

So now the can of worms is opened. As expected, newspapers are closing. Many print journalists are inexplicably in shock. Their next paid employment may well include the words, “do you want fries with that?” And that, truly, is devastating. But we still have new people entering schools, wanting to be journalists. Play with me here: Let’s say we have a new intake this year. They’ll... 

The print edition of the Rocky Mountain News has hit the newsstands for the last time. It’s no secret that I have little time for those who are crying over the death of print. In fact, I believe that journalism has never had better opportunities than right now.The money in media has not just ‘disappeared’. It’s still there. The only difference is that now the playing field... 

Traditional print media’s attempts to embrace an online presence has been lacklustre, and in fact has helped kill their brands. Most print MSM have incorporated blogs as part of their delivery mechanism. They have made their existing, print-trained reporters produce content for a medium they are not familiar with. It’s like having a trained print journalist produce television. There are... 

Following my previous post about unhappily swimming in the B Pool, I’m pleased to have been able to scramble my way through to a bit of a splash in the A pool. You know, that place where the cool kids are?   My final paper for Media Ethics,  Twittering a Funeral: Social media’s challenge to professional journalism received a final A grade. I think my professor was just as relieved and... 

Since moving to Boulder I’ve actually started picking up the local free newspaper each day, but I’m over it. Why? I read it online and believe it’s the cheapest, easiest way of helping the environment – even easier than all that other recycling we do. In Australia to get a paper you need to visit a newsagent, or the train station – basically have a human interaction.... 

Moving online has caused Mainstream Media (MSM) quite a few headaches. I explored this a little during my Pubcamp presentation earlier this year. Unlike many, I believe there is still life in MSM yet - they just have to learn to adapt to the new environment and, staying true to their code of ethics, make the most of new media in a way which better serves the audience. Too many MSM consider they... 

The Rocky Mountain News has taken a lot of my attention this week. Primarily because it is one of the first MSM outlets which I’ve come across attempting to incorporate a greater range of Web 2.0 usage as part of its general reporting effort. Virtually all MSM now features online sites with reader polls and reader comments. Those have their own incredible issues which are related, but I...