How can we get back the trust?

The latest Pew survey of people’s attitudes toward the media brings more bad news. Obviously this is troubling for the news media, but less obvious is how can we change this? I have found the same attitudes in my students. The distrust is mainly aimed at the broadcast media, but there is little difference in many people’s minds. It’s part of the reason for my research into corrections, which seem to me to be the absolute least news organizations can do. But what else can we do? What can I tell students?

Figuring out journalism’s brave new world

Ernest Wilson makes an important point in this essay on Poynter.org where he asks: Where are the J-Schools in the great debate over journalism’s future?

Everyone in the business, from professors to professional editors, has been too complacent. In j-schools and j-departments like mine, we are racing to master new skills, to figure out what to keep and what to jettison. The very basics of journalism must remain. But Wilson of the Annenberg school is right when he says we have to be more entrepreneurial and that we have to adapt or become irrelevant.

I am excited about what we are doing at Creighton.  We have to keep pushing forward and keep bringing pieces together in different ways. We have to challenge each other and our students to take risks, now more than ever before.

It is time that someone called out journalism schools and departments.

Inviting Godzilla in

Amy Gahran from Poynter posted this on her Tidbits blog. It looks a great resource for those of us testing the waters, wading in or doing a belly-flop into multimedia. (I’m somewhere between wading and belly flop.)

Where Journalism and Technology Collide

The reality of downsizing

A former colleague posted this on his Facebook page and I, too, am moved by the eloquent and heart-wrenching way she describes her last day and how she writes of the news business and its problems.

9to5to9: A 30 on a near-30-year career

Journalism on a tight rope

Nicholas Kristof’s column offers food for thought for all of us who know journalism can be complicated in its practice. The day-to-day deadlines and push for more information can lead to decisions that might not seem right in hindsight. That doesn’t mean they weren’t the right decisions at the time.

Op-Ed Columnist – Media’s Balancing Act – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com

The end/future of newspapers… maybe

I found this on Bryan Murley’s blog and couldn’t resist posting it to mine as well. I’m not sure whether to laugh/cry.

Newspaper industry woes deconstructed

Twitter and breaking news

I find myself posting a lot about Twitter because it interests me.  Amy G.’s post about this shows what people can find out/learn without relying on mainstream media.

Poynter Online – E-Media Tidbits

Political reporter talks about his craft

I have always loved “Boys on The Bus” and hearing other stories about the way journalists cover politics.  This speech by a Washington Post political reporter gives me hope too.

News – Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Ssshhh, it’s a secret

In my attempt to become a better journalist, I’ve been investigating all of the tools that are listed in various places, including Twitter. And I have to admit that I also am undecided about this one.  I just don’t see the point. But I did sign up.

Poynter Online – E-Media Tidbits

Choose your favorite motto

I love the idea of this contest and the variety of mottos for journalism.

Poynter Online – Writing Tools