Five podcasts in seems to be a good spot to take stock of where we’re at and where we’re going.

When my fellow producers, Megan Cloherty and Jolie Lee, and I first envisioned this website and podcast, we wanted to recreate some of the conversations we’d been having the last few years with journalists about what’s going on in our industry.

The three of us met in the weekend Interactive Journalism Program at American University in Washington, D.C. Besides picking up a lot of useful skills, we were fortunate to meet a number of professional journalists who were concerned about the direction their profession was headed.

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By Michael O’Connell

Here’s a nice summary of some the issues surrounding the coverage of the Aug. 24, 2012, shooting at the Empire State Building in New York City. It was written by Jeff Sonderman for Poynter.

This was a fascinating story to watch unfold on Twitter. The curtain was pulled back on the journalistic process, exposing its many strengths and weaknesses. A lot of incorrect information was being reported and repeated as events unfolded and reporters sought out confirmation of the real facts behind the story. There was this rush, by both digital journalists and witnesses, to post and repeat content quickly.
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By Michael O’Connell

This was originally published on another blog on Memorial Day 2011.

Reading Matthew Ingram’s post about journalist Andy Carvin tweeting reports from North Africa and New York Times reporter Brian Stelter talking about using Twitter to provide real-time coverage of tornado-struck Joplin, Mo., got me thinking, how would Ernie Pyle have used Twitter?

Of course, I’m going to ask about Pyle since I’m an Indiana University School of Journalism grad and spent many hours learning how to report, write and edit news in Ernie Pyle Hall.
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By Megan Cloherty

Staying on top of multiple social platforms can be tricky and not to mention time-consuming. Inevitably, most of of us let one or two start to slip and then assume since they haven’t been updated in a while, give up on updating them altogether.

If we’re doing it right, we should use a different voice on each platform we use. Avid Twitter users know that sharing bit.lys and quippy responses just aren’t recieved the same way as personal accomplishments and photos are on Facebook. A good first step is to know just how many active social media profiles you have up and running.
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By Jolie Lee 

This article was originally published on another blog in April 2011.

The Internet has disrupted every industry, from real estate to airlines to, yes, news organizations. In his 2009 book What Would Google Do, Jeff Jarvis explains how the business strategy of the search engine giant has allowed it to not just survive but thrive in an online world.

A key to Google’s success is embracing free as a business model. Google offers the use of its various features – Google maps, AdSense, Blogger, YouTube – for free. It acts as a platform, not a creator. By not charging people, Google is able to amass a huge user base and in turn huge profits from advertising.
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