Link: Why digital-native media will (almost) always win

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This quote sums it up:

The biggest issue is not that (traditional media) can’t see the need to change, it’s that they are caught between trying to manage their existing businesses— which in most cases still produce the bulk of their revenue — and trying to create new ones.

This article is dead-on, but I will take it a step further.

In digital world, there’s always something new, shiny and exciting to play with, but it kills me to see newsrooms jump at every “new” thing, significantly increasing the load of worker bees. Chatting with friends in digital positions across the country, the problem seems to be everywhere: Consistently “improving” a CMS, adding another step in the social media process, creating new conventions every few months … sometimes it feels like newsrooms are a car Xzibit got a hold of on Pimp My Ride.

It’s easy to rail on newspapers. I think the argument exists for broadcast and cable newsrooms as well, though.

Newspapers were the first to go the way of the T-Rex because of a horrendous business model, but it won’t be long before broadcast news goes the way of print. In my opinion, what decisionmakers fail to realize 99.9 percent of the time is that people won’t pay for something they can get for free elsewhere. After a certain point, viewers don’t want to put up with new and shiny. They want quick, free and convenient.

I am not giving up hope on WAVY’s future, or CNN’s for that matter. I think the shift needs to come from within though. Focus on digital/mobile FIRST. Use what’s left (on-air, print, marketing, etc.) to accentuate your online product.

In my little brain, that’s what will make quality journalism stand the test of time.

Link: 5 digital tools for newsrooms and how they help journalism

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I stumbled over this link yesterday and decided it was worth posting. I’m a big fan of Storify and think it’s an amazing resource to not only gather the voices of your community, but a great way to control what is posted. Twitter aggregators often are hashtag- or keyword-based, meaning spammers can easily pick up on trending words to clog up timelines. You also run the risk of publishing vulgar, offensive or completely off-topic language to your page if you are auto-pulling tweets from Twitter. Storify also has the ability to combine many social outlets to give tell the entire story over different media. I’ve had success with it before I even worked in a newsroom, and pitch to my producers how valuable it truly is in weather or breaking-news stories.

Also happy that they included Google Maps in the article, as many people forget how customizable this tool truly is. I’ve had a lot of fun playing with these for a couple of different stories. The possibilities are truly endless.

Photo borrowed from Shruti's Soapbox. (shruti914.wordpress.com)

Times are hard.
People are hurting.
Money doesn’t go as far as it once did.

I understand these things. But I think I have read my last article about the plight of the middle class and remained silent. I have a blog … that’s what these things are for, right?

CNN just posted “I’m worse off than my parents,” where the first feature is from a woman in Chesapeake. She’s caught in a “nightmare” because they have a mortgage that is underwater and she wants children, but can’t afford it. She says:

“When my mom was my age, she was already living in a house where she would raise me and my three sisters. She had already achieved her American dream and I’m not able to do that.”

Forgive me for being crude and walking on that delicate political tight rope, but what in the world makes someone entitled to a home? Children? Fancy clothes? A new car?

I needed to take out student loans for my education, so I am responsible for paying that debt. No one else. I would love to be in a house right now, but it’s out of reach. My husband and I are not going to jump into homeownership  just because we feel like we deserve it. If we wanted to have children, we would have to do serious financial planning around that before we just said, “Oh, we deserve it. It’s time. I want four daughters, just like my mom.”

These are not justifications why we are renting and childless. I really just feel like it’s common sense.

Before people complain about being up to their eyeballs in debt and how they can’t have anything they want, I think they should direct their attention to the lasting words of George Petrie, who wrote the Auburn Creed:

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.

I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.

I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by “doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.”

And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it.

At the end of the day, you can only count on yourself for what you have and what you want. Work hard, prepare yourself and demand success from yourself. Living within your means doesn’t just mean clipping coupons – you have to adjust your mindset.

When people start being accountable of themselves and dependent on their own hard work, we’ll become stronger as a society. If we keep moaning on about what want and spending what we don’t have, we are only perpetuating the problem.

Climbing off the soapbox now. I hope the four people that read this blog are too surprised at the off-the-beaten-path subject of this post. More journo/Web postings in the future. Promise.