Archive For The “Journalism & Media” Category
Despite swirl about the hyperlocal model, training and development for reporters is the elephant too few are discussing.
The fatal conceit of non-academic social media professionals is that they focus on short-term technological developments at the expense of a deep understanding of interpersonal dynamics. The metrics about SM use seem impressive — like “Second Coming of Christ” level in the grand narrative of human history — until you drill into them and notice that there seems to be an upper cap of around 150 people or so that Facebook users can really manage, and that a huge number of prolific Tweeters don’t actually read other people’s Twitter streams (the “echo chamber” effect). The growth so often trumpeted belies the truth that humans are hard-wired to live in tribal groups, not huge communities, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the major SM platforms looks a whole lot closer to Usenet post-AOL-deluge than many are willing to admit publicly.
The entrance path for non-connected writers is the standard query. Understand that a harried editor will look at dozens or hundreds of queries each week, so don’t expect multiple shots at grabbing his attention. After all, if you can’t sell the query, how can you sell a compelling article that adds value for the publication?
Statistical competency can help writers cut through the fog that too many sources, particularly in government, blow over a difficult story. Bottom line is that you have to understand how to calculate the bottom line.
You own your copyright. Take all necessary and proper steps to protect your intellectual property from theft by online scammers.
Hard work, networking, skill development and appropriate infrastructure increase a writer’s odds of meeting his goals as a freelance writer.
Authoritative blogging — the kind that doesn’t sound like fourth-grade bluster — is more of an art than a science.
Small-to-medium print papers can obtain significant effectiveness improvements through targeted changes to the daily copy flow.
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