AS ONE OF THE TOP TEN WORKS OF JOURNALISM OF THIS DECADE

CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIO’S THIS AMERICAN LIFE AND NPR SHARE HONOR

FOR LAUDED EXPLAINER OF SUBPRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS

April 5, 2010; Washington, D.C. – It was a compelling, even humorous, hour of radio, making sense of the mortgage crisis and Wall Street turmoil, and in the process creating one of the finest pieces of explanatory journalism on the economy – months ahead of its collapse. Now, “The Giant Pool of Money,” an hour-long documentary co-produced by NPR News and This American Life from Chicago Public Radio and distributed by Public Radio International, has been named one of the decade’s best.

New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute announced today that “The Giant Pool of Money” was selected as one of the Top Ten Works of Journalism of the Decade in the United States. “Giant Pool” is ranked fourth on the list and the only broadcast piece cited out of all ten works. The works were selected by the NYU journalism faculty and a panel of outside judges representing media, the non-profit sector, philanthropy and academia. The full list is available at: http://journalism.nyu.edu/decade/

“The Giant Pool of Money” was reported by NPR economics correspondent Adam Davidson, This American Life producer Alex Blumberg and host Ira Glass, and aired on that program in May 2008. With personal narratives and memorable storytelling, Davidson, Blumberg and Glass told the story of the housing crisis, mortgage backed securities and the collapse of the banking system in a way that made sense. The program was heralded as “a brilliant piece” by the Columbia Journalism Review, TIME wrote of “a riveting narrative with distinct characters and plot twists” and it earned Peabody, duPont-Columbia and George Polk awards. “Giant Pool” was cited by the Peabody committee as “impressive for the arresting clarity of its explanation of the financial crisis we’re in, and even more so for its having aired so early – in May 2008.”

“’Giant Pool’ forever changed how we approach storytelling. To take something so complex and make it relatable, even entertaining – it struck just the right chord at the perfect time,” says Ellen Weiss, Senior Vice President for NPR News. “We are incredibly humbled to be included among the works on this list, and thank NYU for such an honor.”

The success of “Giant Pool” led to the creation of NPR’s Planet Money, a multimedia reporting project led by Davidson and Blumberg, covering the global economy on radio and through a blog, podcast and social media (all available at www.npr.org/money). It launched, by coincidence, on the first day of the acute financial crisis – September 7, 2008 – and has since established itself as the place for clear and innovative financial reporting. The Planet Money team regularly reports for NPR and This American Life, has recently covered Haiti’s post-earthquake economy and is following the progress of its very own toxic asset – purchased to help track how the housing bust is playing out.

-NPR-

I think that the press has been all over the iPad because Apple puts on a good show, and because everyone in journalism-land is looking for a daddy figure who’ll promise them that their audience will go back to paying for their stuff.

 -read the entire article at BoingBoing

Here’s TechCrunch founder and co-editor Michael Arrington, “On Monday evening I received a phone call from someone I trust who told me that one of our interns had asked for compensation in exchange for a blog post. Specifically, this intern had allegedly asked for a Macbook Air in exchange for a post about a startup.”

1.  I’m stunned that TechCrunch, one of the most influential and widely read blogs in the world would allow someone so young to create content for the site.

2.  I’m glad they fired him and deleted his content.

3.  One of the comments tips you off  to the fired intern’s  identity but he’s a minor so I’ll let you figure it out on your own.

4.  Another commentor links to an insightful article by Mark Cuban who breaks down the legality of “unpaid” internships. (tl;dr they’re illegal if your work benefits the company in any way).

5.  I’m now much more skeptical of some blog content. If there is more than one author on a blog site, I want to be directed to the bio of the author when I click on the author’s name, not to a list of all their other blog posts.  Seeking Alpha is one example of a good author link (for full disclosure I am a contributor to that site).

When I interview Don Carli about sustainability in news media a while back we had the following exchange, which is relevant.

RI- Will people still care where they get their news from?

DC- I don’t think people care so much about where their news comes from, but journalism… yes I believe they still care. Anyone can make news and anyone can report it, but journalism is different and that difference matters. For example, Twitter is fast becoming one the most important source of breaking news, but it isn’t journalism. I think a robust Fourth Estate capable of independent investigative journalism is essential. The first tenet of sustainability is having a political system that secures effective participation of its citizens in decision making. That is the role served by journalists and the media channels that deliver and store their content. …full article

Anyone can make news. ps i could use a new car ; )

1.   When Veterans Come Home: A Workshop for Working Journalists

The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism is collaborating with the Dart Center on Journalism and Trauma and the Carter Center Mental Health Program to offer a workshop on “When Veterans Come Home: A Workshop for Working Journalists” on Jan. 7-9, 2010 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga.  The workshop will address the special challenges facing local and regional news organizations seeking to improve their coverage of critical issues facing returning veterans, with a special emphasis on journalists in communities with high concentrations of veterans or military families. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will be the opening speaker.

The workshop is underwritten by generous grants from the McCormick Foundation and the Carter Center Mental Health Program.  All selected participants will receive a full scholarship to cover travel, hotel and workshop registration and materials.

Application Deadline: November 20, 2009

Application Information: http://dartcenter.org/content/workshop-when-veterans-return

2. Want to Get Smarter About Your Work? Become a Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership Fellow

The Columbia School of Journalism is seeking applicants from news organization leaders for the Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership Program fourth year, which starts January 25, 2010. (See http://www.sulzbergerleadership.com)

This program springs from a simple observation:  Leaders in the news business grow as they themselves tackle their companies’ most critical business challenges. The program is offered to 20 high-ranking executives over a 12-month period. During that time, the participants learn to use strategy, innovation, and other critical approaches to undertake challenges confronting their companies. We spread classes over four sessions of 3-5 days at the Columbia campus. The program is augmented with peer learning, business advisors, specific assignments, and tailored content – all designed to achieve a project or workplace challenge that participants bring to the program.  For more information, contact Associate Dean Arlene Morgan at am494@Columbia.edu or at 212-854-5377. She can put you in touch with editors from the Providence Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, ABC, the Associated Press as well as some start-up digital media leaders who have completed this unique leadership initiative. Application  deadline is Nov. 20.

3. Seeking Entries for John H. Oakes Award for Environmental Reporting

The deadline for entries for the John H. Oakes Award has been extended to Nov. 20, 2009 and now includes original stand-alone online work and websites that accompany newsprint projects.    The winner receives a $5,000 prize and trip to New York’s Columbia Graduate School of Journalism to appear on a panel on environmental reporting issues.   The story can be a single topic or series, published between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009.  A series must be designated as such by the publication when it is printed. A regular column may also be submitted as a series.  An entry form and additional information are located at the Columbia Journalism School website at www.journalism.columbia.edu under Oakes Award.   For more information, contact Lisa Redd, program director, at lsr21@Columbia.edu or 212-854-6468.

Advanced Google Docs, Cloud Computing for Journalists: Get the latest tips and tricks about Google Docs, the suite of web-based, collaborative computing services that many journalists are using these days – http://docs.google.com. Learn best practices as well as new features. We will also address the questions that are central to the idea of cloud computing: how safe and private is my work? Please call-in/e-mail/Twitter with your questions and comments.

SPEAKERS:
* Marian Liu, the arts and entertainment reporter for the Seattle Times; leads the daily’s social networking committee; uses free collaborative web tools to run a special program at the Asian American Journalists Association convention – http://twitter.com/marianliu

* Christina Tynan-Wood, the author of “How to Be a Geek Goddess,” the owner of the popular blog GeekGirlfriends.com, a reader advocate on InfoWorld, and a contributing editor for Family Circle, among other outlets – http://twitter.com/xtinatynanwood

* Jonathan Rochelle, group product manager at Google’s NYC office; primarily responsible for the development of Google Docs and the Google Apps product suite (one of the companies he co-founded was responsible for the technology behind spreadsheets in Google Docs – http://twitter.com/jrochelle

* Jason Freidenfelds, a communications manager for Google’s collaborative web apps including Google Docs, Gmail, Google Calendar, and others – http://twitter.com/jfreiden

MODERATOR: Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs and digital media professor, Columbia Journalism School – http://twitter.comsreenet

Thursday, Oct 15, 2009
Noon-1 pm ET,  9-10 am PT
see local time around the world: http://bit.ly/2cOTeG

Listen live, or later to a recording, here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ColumbiaJournalism/2009/10/15/Google-Docs-for-Journalists

Call in with your questions (or listen live): +1-646-915-9583

Before the show, e-mail us comments/questions to ask sree@sree.net (subject = webcast) or via Twitter – @sreenet or #columbiaj

If you Twitter about this, please use this hash tag – #columbiaj

Here’s a sample tweet you can edit: Here’s a sample tweet you can edit: WEBCAST: Advanced Google Docs for Journos, w/ Google execs, Thurs, 12-1 pm ET: http://bit.ly/columbiajdocs #columbiaj

DOWNLOAD TO iTUNES: These audio webcasts are also available as downloadable MP3 files for your personal collection and on-the-go listening. If you want to subscribe to these as podcasts on iTunes, go to “Advanced” within iTunes, then select “Subscribe to podcast” and type in http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism/feed and hit OK.

PREVIOUS WEBCASTS:
Sept. 2009: Advanced Facebook for Journalists
http://bit.ly/columbiajfb

Jan. 2009: Twitter for Journalists, or everything you ever wanted to know about Twitter, but were afraid to ask
http://columbianm.blogspot.com/2009/01/webcast-twitter-for-journalists.html

Jan. 2009: LinkedIn for Journalists – or everything you wanted to know about LinkedIn, but were afraid to ask
http://columbianm.blogspot.com/2009/01/webcast-linkedin-for-journalists-or.html

Feb. 2009: Launching Your Own Media Business
http://columbianm.blogspot.com/2009/02/webcast-launching-your-own-media.html

Columbia Journalism School is doing several webcasts with our faculty, alumni and friends to add to our collection (50+) at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism (suggestions welcome)

NON-COLUMBIA-J-SCHOOLERS! Signup to get alerts about future Columbia Journalism School events and webcasts: http://snurl.com/columbiasignup We list the school’s in-person events at http://bit.ly/columbialectures (lots more coming there shortly). Our events as a Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/columbiajschool

[A quick note to remind any experienced journalists looking to earn a Master's degree that Columbia J-school's new nine-month M.A. program (which allows you to specialize in business, arts, politics or science reporting) is a great option. In addition to in-depth specialization, you can also learn the digital skills that are in such demand in newsrooms today (an example is this webcast). This program is in addition to our more traditional M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Details at http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/admissions .... Questions to admissions@jrn.columbia.edu ]

NEW-ISH WAYS CONNECT WITH COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL:

Facebook: friend “Columbia J-school” – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=611726581

Twitter: http://twitter.com/columbiajourn

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/columbiajournalism

Blip.tv: http://cujs.blip.tv/ (five- and 12-minute mini-documentaries about the school + events at the school)

Audio webcasts with faculty, alumni and more: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism (set automatic e-mail reminders there for yourself)

MAIN WEBSITE: http://www.journalism.columbia.edu

Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009
1-2 pm ET
(see local time around the world: http://bit.ly/wY15O )

Listen live, or later to a recording:
http://bit.ly/columbiajcm
(you can set an e-mail reminder for yourself at that link)

Or call-in to listen and/or talk to them at +1-646-915-9583

Send your questions/comments via e-mail to sree@sree.net (subject = webcast) of via Twitter @sreenet or #columbiaj. You can also use the chatroom that will be open at the link above to ask live questions.

Even if you miss the live version, you can listen to the archive at the link above or via the MP3 info below.

ABOUT THE CASE METHOD: The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism two years ago launched a new program, the Knight Case Studies Initiative. Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Initiative aims to give journalism educators a powerful new tool for the classroom. The Case Method–long familiar to students of business, medicine, law and other professions—is an interactive, discussion-based approach to learning which asks students to think for themselves by confronting them with real-life dilemmas of leadership, management and ethics.

Join us to learn what works about this teaching method! You’ll hear from both Initiative Director Kirsten Lundberg, and from Prof. Sheila Coronel, an experienced case teacher and director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.

In the Case Method classroom, students put themselves in the shoes of a protagonist facing a decision to which there is no “right answer.” Students are expected to analyze the problem, identify options, predict the likely consequences, prescribe a solution, defend their views, and persuade their colleagues. The vicarious real-world experience students gain in the case classroom will stand them in good stead when they become news industry leaders and managers in their own right.

Learning happens on three levels: students master the content; they acquire and hone critical thinking, judgment and behavioral skills; and they assess their personal values. Faculty have found this teaching method stimulating to student and instructor alike. One teacher said: “I found that this case allowed us to go deep on a number of tactical and strategic investigative-reporting lessons that would otherwise be hard to teach.” A student observed that: “This case study was so useful to me because it introduced a conflict that I could ACTUALLY see one of us encountering in our own professional lives.” To see more about Case Method and journalism, go to: http://casestudies.jrn.columbia.edu – or e-mail Kirsten Lundberg at kol2101@columbia.edu

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS: Prof. Sheila Coronel is director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. A journalist since 1982, she worked for decades in the Philippines, where she founded the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism to promote investigative reporting and train journalists. She is the author and editor of more than a dozen books, including Coups, Cults & Cannibals. She joined the Columbia faculty in 2006 and was one of the first in the school to adopt case studies for her teaching.

Kirsten Lundberg started the Knight Case Studies Initiative in 2007. She was a reporter in Brussels, London, Stockholm and Moscow in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later became a case writer for the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She has run numerous workshops on Case Method, both in the US and abroad. In just 2.5 years, the case collection at the Journalism School has grown to nearly 25 cases.

To see more about Case Method and journalism, go to: http://casestudies.jrn.columbia.edu – or e-mail Kirsten Lundberg at kol2101@columbia.edu

MODERATOR: Prof. Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and member of the digital media faculty

===> HOW TO LISTEN VIA YOUR IPOD: The audio webcasts are also available as downloadable MP3 files for your personal collection and on-the-go listening. If you want to subscribe to these as podcasts on iTunes, go to “Advanced” within iTunes, then select “Subscribe to podcast” and type in http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism/feed and hit OK.

==> See/hear our full lineup of 50+ webcasts: http://blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism

NEW-ISH WAYS CONNECT WITH COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL:

Facebook: friend “Columbia J-school”
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=611726581

Twitter: http://twitter.com/j_school

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/columbiajournalism

Blip.tv: http://cujs.blip.tv/ (five- and 12-minute mini-documentaries about the school + events at the school)

Audio webcasts with faculty, alumni and more: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/columbiajournalism (set automatic e-mail reminders there for yourself)

MAIN WEBSITE: http://www.journalism.columbia.edu

Prof. Sree Sreenivasan | sree@sree.net
Dean of Student Affairs, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
http://www.sree.net | http://www.sreetips.com
SREE’S TWITTER GUIDE FOR NEWBIES & SKEPTICS: http://bit.ly/twitterideas
TWITTER: @sreenet – http://twitter.com/sreenet

We want a ‘new media’ approach to the Vancouver Olympics so that people can have a ‘behind the scenes’ view of the Olympics as an experience not just a standard audience view point because people are demanding greater and greater access that we are able to deliver.
—Mission Statement

Read all about their efforts at the Vancouver Project blog.

]]> http://blog.metaprinter.com/2009/07/the-vancouver-project-shoots-for-new-media-coverage-of-2010-olympics/feed/ 1 http://blog.metaprinter.com/2009/05/columbia-journalism-school-event-forging-an-international-consensus-on-development-and-climate-change/ http://blog.metaprinter.com/2009/05/columbia-journalism-school-event-forging-an-international-consensus-on-development-and-climate-change/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 14:07:10 +0000 Robert Ivan http://www.metaprinter.com/?p=2696 Continue reading →]]> South Asian Journalists Association
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
The John Oakes Prize for Environmental Journalism

present a conversation with one of the world’s leading experts on the environment and climate change…

Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri
- received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which he leads)

- in July 2009 becomes director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute

TALK & Q&A: “Saving the World: Forging an International Consensus on Development and Climate Change”

Tuesday, May 19
6:45-8 pm
Columbia Journalism School
Stabile Student Center (lobby floor)
116th St & Broadway (#1 train to 116th St stop)

Free and open to the public; no RSVP required
Free open wifi available

NOTE: A recording of the conversation will be webcast later in the week. Feel free to send questions for Dr. Pachauri to saja@columbia.edu (subject = Questions for Dr. Pachauri)

BIO: Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2007 on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which he heads. One of the top world experts on climate change, environment and development he heads The Energy and Resources Institute, an international think tank and scientific research organization headquartered in New Delhi with centers around the world. This year, he was also appointed director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute.

Dr Pachauri started out as an engineer, which gives him a unique insight
into environmental issues. He has PhDs in industrial engineering and in
economics from  North Carolina State University in Raleigh and has taught at
several U.S. Universities.

He has advised the Indian government on environment and energy policies and
TERI was the major contributor to the Indian government’s policy on climate
policy announced last year.

As chairman of the IPCC, he guided the organization in producing its
monumental survey, The Fourth Assessment Report on climate change, which
reflects the international scientific consensus on the immediacy and gravity
of the climate change problem. The Nobel Prize was principally in
recognition of the IPCC’s role in drawing global attention to the imminent
dangers from climate change.

An important aspect of Dr Pachauri’s work has been to look for solutions to
climate change problems that also take into account the alleviation of
poverty and development, while trying to build international consensus in
dealing with it.

“They rely on pulling data from other sources, so they really can’t function if news organizations disappear,” said Steve Outing

“In many cities, the local blog scene is so rich and deep that even if a newspaper goes away, there would be still be plenty of stuff for us to publish,” said Adrian Holovaty

In a brief twitter exchange with @steveouting he revealed that the single quote in the NYT article is out of context of a long conversation he had with the NYT reporter. So there is no battle between the two.  Having read his blog and articles for a long time, I believe him, but the NYT set up his quote and the entire article as a battle of old versus new.

In my interview with Montclair, New Jersey news blog Baristanet.com, cofounder Liz George sees no problem blogging without newspapers.  See the excerpt below.

RI- Some statements have been made that blogs are not real journalism and that if newspapers die, so does journalism. If traditional newspapers went bankrupt would it hurt or help your business? How would you adapt?

LG- I certainly don’t want to see traditional newspapers go under, but I don’t think journalism dies if they do. I’m an NYU J-school grad, and I think newspapers that survive will find a new identity in response to the Internet. As far as blogs not being “real journalism,” I think a lot of blogs, including ours, commit random acts of journalism on a regular basis. There are many instances both locally and nationally where blogs are breaking stories before “traditional journalists.” Still, covering all the news a traditional newspaper might cover isn’t always the full-time job of the blogger. In the case of our site, in addition to reporting news, we are looking for ways to entertain, elicit comments, link to national or state stories but with our own local twist, create and build a community, incorporate social networking tools, reunite lost dogs with owners, deal with offensive commenters, solicit our readers for opinions with polls and other interactive features.

RELATED:

Hyperlocal Sites Make Gains, But Struggle With Dropoff In Online Ad Spending -PaidContent.org
comment #2 is outside.in founder Mark Josephson

RI- You are responsible for projects like Walking With Angels, what exactly do you do on a daily basis at STLtoday.com and what is your latest big project?
WS- Just to be clear, the Haiti project you refer to is from a previous job as Interactive Projects Editor at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, Florida. At my current job as Interactive Director at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I help try to bring the newsroom into the 21st century and beyond. My recent big projects have been working on search engine optimization training/development changes within the newsroom, marketing and IT departments, as well as some new social media initiatives.

RI- What types of social media initiatives?
WS- We’re working with reporters to use social media tools to report faster and converse with their audience. We had great success during the 2008 election using tools like Twitter and Qik to report live from events and are building on that getting more people on board: http://www.stltoday.com/twitter

RI- Are you responsible for this seizure inducing layout or did someone’s grandson get to do the web design during March Madness?

WS- Holy Toledo! That’s quite remarkable and news to me. I believe it’s an total-page-buyout ad campaign though, not normal design (as you can see all the ads on the page are paid for by Mizzou). It’s a premium ad placement package that’s very expensive.

RI- Where were you Editor in Chief? What was that like and why did you transition away from it to become an Interactive Director?
WS- It was at the Independent Collegian in Toledo, Ohio. It was a great experience at my college newspaper learning all the roles in a newsroom and buisness organization and how to manage them. We were going through some rough times after going completely independent, breaking away from university control and funding. I left the job because I graduated.

RI- The Journerdism site is cleanly laid out. What is it built on? Why don’t we see newspaper websites this cleanly laid out?
WS- Journerdism is built on Word Press and probably needs a redesign soon. While I think that’s a pretty broad statement about all newspaper websites (they are improving… albeit slowly…), I think there’s a perfect storm of problems for newspapers’ design woes. To name a few:

• A daily tsunami of content in multiple forms every day, constantly, 365 days a year.
• Corporate design-by-committee templates that don’t allow any flexibility, customization or logic
• Antiquated content management systems that don’t embrace modern languages and technology
• An underdeveloped and antiquated advertising model that relies on annoyance and bigger, louder display graphic ads rather than quality or targeted relevant ads
• An unrealistic demand to squeeze every possible opportunity to monetize online revenues to account for the same revenue that print revenues did (decades ago in a time of total market control)
• Leadership that has enjoyed monopolistic control of their medium and who are averse to change or trying any new ideas (newspapers just copy other newspapers)
• Chronic organizational culture that fears or is antagonistic towards technology
• Leadership that doesn’t acknowledge, understand or respect user experience and the impact usability in design plays on their bottom line

RI- I didn’t see any of the Flip Video cameras on your picks page, as a matter of fact, I didn’t see any video cameras cheaper than $300. Do you really think that’s still necessary?
WS- If that’s what you can afford then rock it. Be careful on your audio with Flip’s though, there’s no control or external mic and users have no patience for horrible audio (they’ll generally tolerate bad video if the content is there). They also lack of removable memory, durability, zooming and overall video and audio quality. But it’s the message that matters, not the gear. We use point and shoot cameras for quick video and photos and they get the job done. We also use professional gear for larger projects and it gets the job done. We use mobile phones for live streaming video and it gets the job done. Use the tools that you can afford at your organization to deliver content.

RI- “What news outlets do you regularly visit to stay on top of news?” is a question I regularly ask non media/journalism professionals and most of the responses are something like, “I don’t. I have a cell phone and a computer and a TV so I figure that news will find me if it’s important”. What do you think of this newer mindset (news should find me) that the ubiquity of communications devices is creating?
WS- I’m one of them for the most part, except I’d add that I have RSS feeds, aggregation tools, smart filters and semantic recommendations feeding me my news. I think it’s fantastic to have so much choice and competition for audience’s attention. I wish more journalists acknowledged/understood this (specifically that there’s more competition that the local TV station… or if their lucky, and still work in a market with more than one newspaper, the other newspaper) so we could abandon 70 percent of the b.s. filler and wire in newspapers that is not unique and start focusing only on unique, original and relevant news reporting that no one else is doing anywhere. Competitive news markets produce great journalism.

RI- Do you own an eReader? Why or why not?
WS- No, but I’ve used a friend’s first generation Kindle though and enjoyed it. I’ve been considering the new Kindle, but have been hoping for some sort of open source effort to materialize.

RI- You are on a lot of social sites; where do you spend most of your time and why? Have you quit any?
WS- I use Delicious, Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook the most. Delicious is my library and archive. Twitter/FriendFeed is just like reading a bunch of tiny blogs and targeted news aggregation for my interests/people like me. Facebook is to keep up with friends and family. I try a lot of different sites to keep up on what’s developing on the web and see if there are opportunities for news organizations to partner or use them. I’ve tried many sites and didn’t love them so I don’t use them much anymore. Does that mean I have to delete my account also to quit it? Sometimes these companies evolve and improve so I like to have accounts with many to check in and see how things are changing.

RI- I have to admit, my favorite “interactive design” news site features are the NYTimes audio slideshows and the entire experience of Boston.com’s the Big Picture blog. Besides your own work, what do you like happening on news sites?
WS- The new news API’s being developed from the NYTimes, NPR and The Guardian are brilliant.

RI- Given the dramatic cutbacks/ layoffs/ furloughs/ hiring freezes in traditional media, what do you tell people / students when they ask you about getting into journalism?
WS- I tell them to not expect to work for the traditional media. This is the greatest time in the history for journalism (and the worst time for traditional media monopolies) — the ‘penny press’ just became pretty much free and accessible to everyone. There’s lots of opportunity out there.

RI- What should I be asking you right now?
WS- What’s the secret to life?

RI- Last thoughts? Thanks.
WS- These pretzels are making me thirsty

RI- Will Sullivan is available for consulting, freelance, teaching and speaking engagements at: will [at] journerdism.com