There is an ongoing debate about whether the sort of digital content found on platforms like Vice qualifies as “journalism.” (My answer is generally “no.”) One of the exceptions is Vox, which while opinionated is grounded in solid journalistic traditions. Now Vox has partnered with ProPublica, a leading investigative journalism non-profit. (Full disclosure: back in my news reporting days I knew some of the people who went on to work with ProPublica.) It offers a new model for funding investigative reporting, as many traditional media outlets (read “newspapers”) have significantly reduced their investigative coverage.
Print publishers have seen their business model decline to the point where they are ready to do (seemingly) anything to generate new revenue. In the case of the Boston Globe,
they rented a theater where on a
Friday night last month editors and reporters shared “insider” perspectives. (One editor played recordings of his telephone conversations with then-candidate Donald Trump.) While the Globe is the first newspaper to do something like this, Public Radio programs like
This American Life and
The Moth regularly schedule live “performances” of their stories. (And while they are still “radio” programs, an ever-growing percentage of their listeners hear them via podcasts.)
Increasingly, journalists working for a news publisher don’t have to be located in the city (or even the country) where that publisher is based. Cheap, reliable and fast Internet service means that reporters, or even entire units, can be scattered around the globe. This is of particular concern for HuffPost — formerly The Huffington Post, prior to the departure of founder Arianna Huffington — which operates units in 18 countries.
Digiday posted a great story recently on how the company is trying to virtually “stitch together” an organization that spans continents and time zones.
I don’t know how many of you watched the Tony Awards recently, but I always listen to the Tony Awards. That’s because NYFA News audio maven (that’s “expert”) Joel Spector was once again on-the-job at this year’s ceremony. For years (I won’t say how many) Joel has been the “secret ingredient” in major TV event audio. Fortunately for our students, he brings the same dedication and commitment to his work at NYFA. Thanks, Joel!
We also got another dispatch from Broadcast Journalism instructor Zack Baddorf, who is currently “on sabbatical” in Central Africa.
“Today, after descending from a helicopter, I met this beautiful eland and (very slightly) helped collar him with these rangers, researchers and a vet at a nature reserve in Central African Republic. It was an incredible experience.”
We also heard from NYFA grad Francielle Mianes, but since her message went through Google Translate it doesn’t read as well as it should.
“Today was my debut in the presentation of the program Programa Ver Mais da RICTV Record de Blumenau. This month I’ll lead the program while Gisele Scopel is on vacation! Thank you for trusting in my work … Thank you to all team involved!”
Finally, there is an old saying: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and at the worst possible moment.” Here is an example, a “live shot” by a reporter at the CBS television station in Chicago. Somebody should have spotted this before it went on the air, but nobody did…
Stay tuned.