Michael O'Connell, Author at It's All Journalism

#327 – Black Dance Magazine aims for January relaunch

Dance has long been an important part of Norma Porter’s life.

“I’ve been dancing since about 4,” she said. “I started at a local studio … (and) moved on to a program at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.”

It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell smiles with his former classmate Norma Porter, publisher of Black Dance Magazine.

But by the time she was in high school, she was a little burned out on that world and took a break.

Porter’s parents wanted her to pursue a degree in a program that would have better odds at a stable career, leading her to study journalism with a minor in dance at American University.

It was the interactive journalism program at American University that put dance back in the forefront of her life.

A class assignment involved either speaking to a journalism startup about their business model and how they got off the ground or to develop a business model for a new publication.

“I had been out of dance for a long time,” she said. Porter had an idea for a publication focused on dancers, and dancers of color in particular, written by dancers and aimed at schools that had otherwise been largely ignored by mainstream media publications.

“There are two major black dance companies that most people know about, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and the Dance Theater of Harlem. Those were the only companies you saw,” Porter said. “There’s got to be more. I think the journalistic person in me felt there had to be other people like me, in cities across the country, or self-taught dancers that were making dance and performing. Their stories needed to be told.”

She discussed her idea with one of her former teachers, Carol Foster with the International Association of Blacks in Dance, who mentioned the organization’s annual conference that happened to be coming to Washington, D.C., in just a few months.

“I was pushed out there and it was interesting because I probably would’ve never done it,” she said.

Porter introduced the concept for Black Dance Magazine in early 2013 and published three issues that year before going on hiatus so Porter could take a longer, more serious look at the publication and its audience.

Now Porter lives in Philadelphia, working at Temple University, spending a lot of her time with the Boyer College of Music and Dance. She’s seeing more dance and getting ready to relaunch the magazine in January 2019. This time around, thought, the magazine has nonprofit status through its relationship with the International Association of Blacks in Dance. Porter is also running a GoFundMe fundraiser to start the project out right.

On this week’s It’s All Journalism, Producer Michael O’Connell talks to publisher Norma Porter about the relaunch of Black Dance Magazine, which tells the stories of dancers of color. Porter is running a GoFundMe fundraiser for the magazine, which will relaunch in January.

Underground press pioneer John Wilcock, 91, dies

John Wilcock, 91, a British journalist who was a pioneer in the underground press of the 1950s and 1960s, died Thursday in a care facility in Ojai, California.

It’s All Journalism interviewed Wilcock in 2017, and he spoke about his early involvement in the underground press in the 1950s.

“There were nine papers in New York City, nearly all dailies or weeklies, fairly big papers,” Wilcock said. “I’d worked through papers with a million, 2 million, 3 million circulation. I’d always been very interested in little papers. Although there were plenty of little papers in England, or were then, there were hardly any of that type of journalism here.”

John Wilcock

An ambitious man, Wilcock and a group of four friends founded the Village Voice, a legendary publication read religiously by the trendy, the counterculture, the artists and the young in New York. It is also considered the first alternative newsweekly in the country.

“We weren’t much interested in daily news but we were interested in people and what they did,” Wilcock recalled. “We had everything in [the paper] — sports, every type of thing except current events.”

While the entire team viewed themselves as equals, Wilcock quickly became the paper’s columnist. According to legend, the late Leonard Cohen, among many other notables, read Wilcock’s columns without fail.

Wilcock, in addition to helping to create the Village Voice in New York City and finding himself near the middle of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene, was the editor of Echo Magazine.

As the ‘60s turned into the ‘70s, the underground press Wilcock helped to pioneer in the U.S. grew. But after 1972, the publications that might’ve been considered “underground” a few years prior had changed mindset.

“They might’ve called themselves the underground press but it was different,” he said. “They were grown-ups who acted in a very civilized way and didn’t play around. We were very serious but we weren’t tied down like the straight press, doesn’t say certain things, can’t say things in a certain way. We were totally free and easy, we printed anything that appealed to us.”

Ethan Persoff, a writer and graphic novelist, who chronicled Wilcock’s career in a series of comics, spoke to It’s All Journalism about Wilcock’s journey through American journalism and the art world.

“Even approaching 90, I’ve never known someone to be so urgent and capable about pushing things into a kind of being,” Persoff said. “I think that was his role in the ‘60s. That part of your soul doesn’t die out.”

Wilcock’s story involved him in the same orbit as many famous people during high-profile events, yet his name isn’t fodder for history books.

“All these people he was around, they were permanently remembered,” Persoff said. “How is it he gets left out? The more you learn about John, you do see, and this is represented really nicely in the comic, he would make something and then something would happen and he’d get thrown out.”

#246 – Journey down the underground press rabbit hole

#318 – These may be the 750 best movies of all time

If you’ve listened to Jason Fraley’s previous appearances on our podcast, you know that he is passionate about movies.

Fortunately, his job as the entertainment editor at WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C., affords him the opportunity to share his love for good filmmaking with his audience, both online and on the air.

Jason Fraley is the entertainment editor at WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C.

But even Fraley admits that the daily grind of covering the entertainment scene can get a bit tiring. It’s a challenge sometimes to keep things fresh. So, as a treat for his audience, he created a comprehensive Best Movies of All Time list to help people get through the dog days of August.

As a digital journalist and fan of movies myself, I can attest that people love best movie lists. And Fraley’s list is a great example of how to take a simple idea and roll it out in big way.

Rather than a Top 10 ranking or a Top 100 list like the one released by the American Film Institute, Fraley has brought together 750 great movies and divided them into the Top 25 films in 30 different genres. Every day, from Aug. 1-30, Fraley is teasing out a new genre with a video, which he adds to the interactive blog he’s created. It’s there that he talks to his readers, defending his picks and hearing all about their favorite flicks that he somehow forgot to include.

It’s a massive, fun project that anybody who loves good movies will get lost in.

On this week’s It’s All Journalism, producer Michael O’Connell talks to Jason Fraley, the entertainment editor at WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C., about the Best Movies of All Time list he’s created. The multimedia project includes videos, an interactive blog and a breakdown of 750 great movies into 30 unique categories.

#287 — That time of year when reporters count backwards

Jason Fraley is the entertainment editor at WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C.

Creating a Podcast: How to Edit Audio in Audacity

It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell explains how to edit and mix down multiple audio tracks to create a finished podcast using the free open-source Audacity program.

#312 – Podcasting: A way to promote press freedom abroad

It seemed like a crazy idea, traveling 7,000 miles to talk to Tajik journalists about podcasting. According to Reporters without Borders, Tajikistan ranks 149th out of 180 countries on the 2018 World Press Freedom Index — the U.S. ranks 40th. Podcasting was the last thing the country needed.

At least, that’s what I thought at first.

But spending 9 days in country talking to young people and media professionals, I realized that podcasting could be something of great valuable in Tajikistan.

Certainly, the country, its people and those journalists striving to tell impactful stories there, face many challenges.

From an economic standpoint, the country is poor. Many people emigrate to other countries in the region, primarily Russia, to earn money to send back home.

From a technical standpoint, Tajikistan does have the internet and many people own smartphones, but service is slow and expensive.

Much of the information the public receives originates from state-run media and there are laws against criticizing government officials, in particular President Emomali Rahman. There is an independent press, but it struggles, both politically and economically, under these restrictions.

So how does podcasting make a difference?

: Guzal Mahkamova interviewed me for Tajik radio and then I interviewed her about what it’s like being a journalist in Tajikistan for It’s All Journalism

: This group of young journalists helped me to record a podcast in Khujand.

: My home base for much of the trip was the American Space in the capital city of Dushanbe. I recorded several podcasts in both English and Tajik.

: I got to talk about podcasting and being a journalist with members of the journalism club at the American Space in Isfara.

: I spent a Saturday in Bokhtar recording two podcasts with students from Bohktar State University. This group recorded a conversational podcast in Tajik about things that scared them.

: This group of students from Bokhtar State University recorded a podcast about learning to speak English.

Podcasting is a bottom-up form of storytelling. It’s cheap to produce. You don’t need a big media outlet to create or distribute it. The creator controls the content.

It’s also a personal medium. Unlike video or text which requires the audience’s full attention, podcasting is consumed passively, often alone. Audio stories consumed this way have a powerful effect on listeners, they are moved emotionally by what they hear and inspired to take action.

The students and journalists I spoke to wanted to tell stories that made a difference in their communities. Most of them had never heard a podcast before. Those that had certainly hadn’t heard one in their own language.

Part of the presentations I gave involved playing American podcasts to demonstrate the different styles of audio storytelling. However, I quickly figured out what was more meaningful for my audience was to help them create a podcast in Tajik or Russian, the second-most commonly spoken language. Once they heard their voices in that format, it all clicked.

The highlight of my trip took place in Bokhtar, where we recorded two podcasts, one in English and the other in Tajik. While the first was a simple Q&A interview, the second was a free-form conversation about what things the six participants were most afraid of. There was no structure, just six young people talking and cracking jokes. It was a true podcast.

It’s All Journalism Producer Michael O’Connell travels to Tajikistan at the invitation of the U.S. State Department’s Speakers Program to train young journalists in podcasting.

Protected: #307 — Radio Diaries: Personal narratives reveal big stories (Preview)

#300 — The who, what and where of podcasting

It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell speaks during an April 5 panel sponsored by Humanities DC. Also on the panel are, from left, moderator Jill Olmsted of American University; Alicia Montgomery of NPR’s Morning Edition; and Mary Nichols of the FuseBox Radio Broadcast.

The District of Columbia’s rich landscape of podcasting was on display Thursday, April 5, as It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell joined Mary Nichols of the FuseBox Radio Broadcast and Alicia Montgomery of NPR’s Morning Edition and Code Switch, for a panel on podcasting. HumanitiesDC, which aims to enrich people’s lives through the humanities and grants, hosted he event at Busboys and Poets. Jill Olmsted, a broadcasting professor at American University, served as the panel’s moderator.

When should we end the podcast?

I’ve been asking myself that question a lot lately, especially as we’re about to post our 300th episode. That’s what milestones are for, a time of reflection and looking at the direction you’re heading.

By the way, this is not an April Fool’s joke. This just happens to be the day when I found some time to write.

By any measure, It’s All Journalism has been a success. We’ve consistently posted weekly interviews for more than five years. Our audience has grown steadily all that time. We’ve had great conversations with many smart people about journalism, learning lessons that have certainly helped me in my job. The podcast has opened doors professionally — I got a book deal out of it. It’s provided a platform to discuss ideas and answer questions. Creatively, it’s been consistently rewarding.

So why quit?

The weekly show we launched in August 2012 began with lofty ambitions — we were going to talk to working journalists about how they did their jobs and learn together how we could face the challenges facing our industry. Ambitious, certainly, and maybe a little naive.

This last year has been particularly tough on our industry and the choice of guests has reflected that. We still try to book “how to” episodes to help people learn new skills. But more and more, I find myself seeking people out to talk about the bigger questions in our industry, topics about trust, transparency and “fake news.”

What got me thinking about the podcast’s future were three recent interviews, this week’s conversation with Ed Madison, author of Reimagining journalism in a post-truth world: How late-night comedians, internet trolls, and savvy reporters are transforming news, and two upcoming interviews with Carey Henniger of Storyful and Amy Webb, Future Today Institute.

All three conversations paint a bleak picture of where journalism is now and where it’s heading in the next five years, or more importantly, where it could be headed if things don’t change. I encourage you to listen to all three interviews and think about what decisions are being made in your newsroom and how you can affect real change there.

So, when will this podcast end?

Probably not for the foreseeable future. We’ll definitely do another year.

But the thing is, as journalism has changed in five years, so has podcasting. We’re doing our best to make every episode entertaining and informative. We’ve tried to tighten things up a bit from an editing perspective and keep the conversations focused. Still, I’d love to try posting shorter, more frequent interviews and bring more storytelling to the podcast, but that just takes time and effort. Most weeks, for me, but also the other producers of the podcast, it’s just enough to book and record interviews on a regular basis around a full-time job.

Stay tuned.

— Michael O’Connell

#292- Where do college students get their news?

It all started last August when I met Miranda Spivack, an independent journalist and the Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She’d just participated in a panel on government transparency at the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s annual conference in Washington, D. C.

It’s All Journalism Producer Michael O’Connell talks to a student during a live podcasting recording at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. (Photo courtesy of Miranda Spivack)

I invited Miranda to come on into the studio and record a podcast. We had a great conversation. In turn, she invited me to visit DePauw to talk to students about podcasting.

That’s how it is sometimes. One invitation leads to another.

So, on Monday morning, Feb. 5, I showed up at DePauw with my laptop and recording equipment, ready to spread the good word about podcasting.

I had a blast.

First up, I talked to eight of Miranda’s students about how to put a podcast together. They’d each gone out and interviewed their fellow students about “fake news.” I helped edit the interviews down to a six-minute podcast and posted it to the It’s All Journalism SoundCloud account.

Later in the day, I gave two presentations about launching a podcast and what makes a good podcast. During the second presentation, rather than do a Q&A, I turned the tables on the audience. I handed out wireless microphones and ask them: “Where do you get your news?”

On this week’s It’s All Journalism podcast, Producer Michael O’Connell travels to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, to talk about podcasting. In a live podcast recording, he asks a room full of college students how they get their news. It’s a fascinating peek how young people consume their news.

#272 – Lack of government transparency leaves press, public in the dark

Facebook will do what Facebook does

This column was originally written for the It’s All Journalism newsletter. Sign up for our weekly newsletter where you’ll receive exclusive content and learn more about future podcasts and live events, click here.

Last Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be changing the focus of customers’ news feeds, giving priority to posts from friends and family over content posted by brands, businesses and media outlets. This decision, he said, was based on feedback from the social media platform’s customers.

Michael O’Connell

As a Facebook consumer and journalist, I’m of two minds on this.

As a consumer, I welcome a newsfeed that displays posts from those with whom I have personal relationships over products or news sites with which I have only tangental interests. Having been on Facebook for over 15 years, I’ve seen how my interactions with friends and family have shifted as the platform altered its algorithm to try and match my perceived interests. Machine learning is great, but it’s still pretty imperfect. Yes, I was looking at graphic novels on Amazon, and, yes, I might be interested in reading an article about this particular artist or even purchase his latest book, but I’d also like to hear the latest from my Aunt Delores, who posts infrequently. I don’t want to see her content pushed down because I don’t talk to her that often.

As a journalist, though, who uses Facebook daily to post content from Federal News Radio and interact with our audience, I’m frustrated by this change. The reason? Well, Facebook has a less than sparkling relationship with the news industry. In the early days, it was eager to get newsrooms to post their content on the platform. Newsrooms, who were struggling to convert print readers to digital readers, were hesitant to post content there. Why should we send readers to your website when we need to get clicks on ours?

Over time, perceptions changed. The philosophy became that you used Facebook to engage readers, build your brand and entice them to come to your website and subscribe there. It made sense to bring your content to where the readers were and that place was Facebook.

In a perfect world, that made sense. But, it’s Facebook’s playground. They set the rules. If they think video via Facebook Live is the wave of the future, then they’ll give priority to live video over other posts. That forces newsrooms to scramble and invest in live video — even though there was no evidence that their readers wanted live video — just so they can have a stake in the game.

Facebook did give me a moment of hope last year. I had the opportunity to attend a Facebook Journalism Project training session in Washington, D.C. There was a lot of talk about live video, of course, but also discussions on how to use Crowdtangle, Instant Articles and other tools to help engage readers and improve your content on the platform. I came away with the feeling that Facebook finally was willing to listen to newsrooms, who were often frustrated by the company’s lack of responsiveness to their concerns.

However, Facebook’s change of heart probably had more to do with accusations that it had facilitated the spreading of “fake news” around the 2016 election. The Facebook Journalism Project and accompanying trainings were more of an olive branch to the news industry and PR stunt, than a true sign they were willing to listen.

And now there’s Zuckerberg’s news feed announcement — what does it all mean?

One thing that’s telling about Facebook’s announcement is that readers will be able to prioritize how pages they follow will show up in their News Feed. The posts from those pages that get the most priority are those that receive the most engagement. Guess what posts get the most engagement?

Videos, especially live videos. So, expect newsrooms to shift priorities and resources accordingly.

On a positive note, and I do try to be positive about these things, priority will be given to posts that generate conversations. So, rather than using a post to broadcast new content, newsrooms will have to engage in conversations with their readers, which is more fitting to the platform and will benefit more digitally evolved media outlets. That’s not a bad thing.

— Michael O’Connell