In my ‘digital thinking’ class, the goal is for students to emerge fully literate in the changes affecting journalism. Here are the main currents and trends that I expect them to master by the close of the term.
For each, they should understand: What it means, why it’s important, and where things are going with it. I’ve added a link or two to help get you started. And I’m happy to receive your comments about what’s missing from this list.
1. Social media and sharing-as-distribution. As social platforms take greater command of the relationship with users, especially Facebook. (Link.)
2. The shift to mobile devices and on mobile to apps. Now happening with stunning speed. (Link.)
3. New business models for news. Beyond the usual method of generating audience to sell subscriptions and ads, including:
* Capturing data… to better target ads and personalize products.
* Selling specialized research… by subscription as Giga Om does or via conversation as Techdirt does.
* Events… leveraging a news brand into convening power. (One link.) (Another.)
* Native advertising and the agency model… The way Buzzfeed and Vice do it. (Link.)
* Non-profit models… as with ProPublica, Minn Post and Texas Tribune. (Link.)
* Crowd funding and membership… as with Beacon, De Correspondent, The Guardian, Voice of San Diego.
4. Analytics in news production. Learning from audience behavior without becoming enslaved to the numbers. (Link.)
5. The “product” focus in news companies. Bringing tech, editorial, business and user experience together. (Link.)
6. Interaction design and improving user experience (UX). Toward an ergonomics for news. (Link.)
7. Data journalism. In all senses: collecting data sets, connecting to data through API’s, data visualization, finding stories in the data, making cleaned-up and searchable databases available to users, sensors in news work. (Link.)
8. Continuous improvement in content management systems and thus in work flow. As an engineering culture takes hold in some news companies. (Link.) (Another.)
9. Structured data. To capture more value from the routine production of news. (Link.)
10. Personalization in news products. Why send everyone the same report? (Link.)
11. Transparency and trust. As “trust us, we’re professionals” gives way to “show your work.” (Link.)
12. User generated content (including verification of) networked journalism and crowd sourcing. The people formerly known as the audience as producers, in fruitful collaboration with journalists.
13. Automation and “robot journalism.” If machines can do it cheaper and better, human journalists can move up the value chain. (Link.)
14. Creating an agile culture in newsrooms. So that adaptation, collaboration and experiment are not such an ordeal. (Link.)
15. The personal franchise model in news. Based around an individual journalist’s online following. (Link.)
16. News verticals and niche journalism. Doing one thing well and finding a market for it. (Link.)
17. The future of context and explainer journalism. Providing the background needed to understand the updates. (Link.)
18. “News as a service.” Rather than a product appearing on the news company’s schedule, a service that helps a user do something. (Link.)
What’s missing? If you know, hit the comment button and let me know. I have already received some great suggestions and I will be revising this post to incorporate them.
Photo credit: Jessica Strelitz and Catanify at #ONACamp. Used by permission.