Freedom isn’t free
I’m not sure if I’m creating a blasphemous analogy on the anniversary of our nation’s founding by saying this but here goes.
It may come as a shock to some that newspapers need to make money. Yes, we are the guardians of the First Amendment, a voice for the voiceless and the afflicters of the comfortable.
Newsrooms everywhere are in a downward spiral. Tampa Tribune editor in chief Janet Coats, according to blogger and news intern Jessica DaSilva, decided to reorganize the newsroom and reprioritize the newspaper’s coverage.
Essentially, it’s a shakeup of the traditional beat system. From Mindy McAdams’ blog:
- Managing editors
- 5-6 audience editors — keep in touch with what the print, TV, online audiences want/need
- 5 sections of reporting (all the reporters for print, TV and Web are mashed up together in these groups):
- Deadline — for breaking/daily news
- Data — specifically for database stuff
- Watchdog — for investigative reporting
- Personal journalism — stuff for people’s every day lives like weather, health, entertainment
- Grassroots — citizen journalism
Outside of these groups are three “finishing” groups for print, TV and online to determine what stories should be covered and with what medium.
Read more of McAdams’ blog. I really like how she lays out the system for news coverage.
Friday, July 4th, 2008