Archive for Journalism

Evolution of sports journalism

// December 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Journalism, Social Media, Sports

As newspapers continue to downsize and die a slow death, all those reporters are finding themselves out of work on life rafts as their former bosses steer the Titanic.  For news reporters, it’s arguably a little easier to find work on the Web, especially if they’re tech savvy.  Sports reporters… the waters are a little more murky.

Newspapers used to be great PR advertising machines for sports teams.  It wasn’t unusual for a big city paper to have a sports reporter per team, whose sole job was to find and write stories about that team.  Think of all the free publicity that creates.  But now newspapers are cutting costs, laying off staff and sharing stories across newspapers.  The Raleigh News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer used to write up separate stories about games — now they share stories based on geography.

Sports teams, sports leagues, and Web sites that recognized this shift early are capitalizing on it, and it’s paying dividends.  I just want to take a minute to look at a few of those early adopters who have helped turn sports journalism on its head and are leading the evolution of sports journalism as we enter a new decade:

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“Balloon Boy” story shows power of social media

// October 15th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Journalism, Social Media

baloon_boySix-year-old boy flies thousands of miles over Colorado in runaway balloon.

The headline is pretty gripping (even though it turned out the boy wasn’t inside.)  There are some breaking news situations that spread like wildfire through social media sites… Miracle on the Hudson, Michael Jackson’s death and what’s became known as “Balloon Boy.”

How did you hear the news?  Facebook?  Twitter?  A news alert emailed to your inbox?  We are now able to find out breaking news mere moments after it happens.  When something goes viral across all media — including social media — you know about it very quickly.

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CNN integrates social media into iPhone app

// September 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Journalism, Social Media

cnn_iphone_appCNN is a little late to the iPhone party but what an entrance it made!

PCWorld writes, “CNN’s new iPhone app puts rivals to shame.“  Wired adds that the new app is “informative and empowering.”

But then again, NPR has a terrific news app of its own, so what makes the new CNN iphone app so special?  Social media.  The World News Leader now offers it’s legion of iReporters a way to quickly and simply share pictures and videos remotely.

Let’s pretend another incident like the Miracle on the Hudson happens.  People who saw the crash right when it happened posted pictures on Twitter and one Twitpic image went viral.  Now those same people can send CNN images directly and CNN can turn that around quickly, adding it to CNN.com almost instantaneously and airing it on TV a short time later.

It gives CNN an army of reporters and makes it the go-to source for breaking news.

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WWII: One Soldier’s Story

// September 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Journalism

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Pfc. David Gordon

I always wanted to interview a World War II veteran and have them tell me their story.  Last year, Pfc. David Gordon was kind enough to tell me things that he had never told anyone before.  It was an eye-opening interview and one that will stay with me for a long, long time.

Mrs. Gordon listened from the kitchen, and she later confessed that he told me things he hadn’t told her in 64 years of marriage.  This interview is a tribute to those men, like David Gordon… and like my grandfather, who fought in World War II, helping preserve our way of life and saving millions more in Europe.

“Thank you” is not enough… but it’s a start.  Thank you.

Click here to see more from my interview with Pfc. David Gordon

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