• Article

    11th hour move saves the Oakland Tribune

    Published October 30, 2011 by

    Dori Maynard congratulates MediaNews on saving the Oakland Tribune after Martin Reynolds,  left, explained the paper's new media labs -- Photograph courtesy Elisabeth Pinio As I blogged, the nation's second-largest newspaper group, MediaNews, was set on Nov. 2 to kill the Tribune. I didn't get it. MediaNews got big through "clustering" Buy papers next to each other; Retain their names and flavor;  Merge 'em liked crazy behind the scenes.  Yet the company suddenly said it wanted to merge all its titles into two regional names. Like Frankenstein, the pieces of the Oakland Tribune would be sewn up with others into something called the East Bay Tribune.  The citizens of Oakland didn't buy it. They want their own newspaper. As long as newspapers are still around, a thin paper that's yours is better than a fat paper that's someone else's. So they complained. To have hope, traditional newspapers need to create cultures of continous change. They need to embrace journalism in all forms and technologies. They need to engage their communities, to quickly admit mistakes and change course. I hope these are the trends behind the change of heart that in the 11th hour saved the 137-year-old Oakland Tribune. At that moment, the management of MediaNews changed. Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that has been gobbling up newspapers in recent years, took control of the Journal Register Co. A new company, Digital First Media, was formed to manage both the Journal Register and MediaNews (Alden owns a reported 40 percent of MediaNews.) Digital First's new CEO, John Paton, thinks newspapers can transform into their digital age selves, but only if they are strong in local news. Next thing you know, backers of the old plan are announcing a new one -- as of last Thursday, The Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and other papers will retain their names. Executives said they had received "feedback" from the community on the plan and a "request" from new CEO Paton to review it. What's hopeful about all this is that the newly saved Trib will open two community media laboratories in Oakland. Those will be run by former Tribune editor Martin Reynolds in his new job with the Bay Area News Group as senior editor for community engagement. Reynolds brought national notice back to the Trib by countering staff reductions with creative citizen journalism and collaborative journalism projects. Reynolds calls the media labs "open newsrooms," offering wifi, blogging stations, community meetings, classes, open editorial meetings. The Trib also plans to expand its network of bloggers, perhaps partnering with newcomers like Oakland Local.    
  • Article

    Knight’s 2011 Election Meeting: Storifyed

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect. The creator of the contexual social media storytelling tool, Storify, took part in today's Knight Elections summit, so we thought it would be fitting to use Storify to capture our day. 
  • Article

    Cheezburger’s Ben Huh on improving political coverage in today’s polarized climate

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect. The man behind LOL Cats, FAILBlog and probably a few Internet memes you haven’t even heard of yet knows a thing or two about building strong online communities. And he says today’s political media are falling short when it comes to engaging voters.
  • Article

    Betty, Cab, and Louis

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    By Gregory Lucas-Myers, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History On October 15 and 16, 2011, the Wright played host to “Rhapsody in Boop,” a musical tribute to the big band jazz that helped to turn a cartoon character into an icon. The songs of greats that leant their...
  • Article

    Let’s get it right with real names in 2012

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect. Traditional news media have made a destructive mistake by encouraging anonymous commenting on their web sites. But it’s not too late to simply do away with this bad idea. The upcoming 2012 election – likely to be the greatest digital political event in American history – offers the perfect opportunity to get journalism’s house in order. This morning at a Knight Foundation brainstorming session, I was talking about this with Steven Clift, founder of E-Democracy.org. His long experience with political debate has led him to two simple rules: real names, no name calling. Do media leaders really want the 2012 election to go down in history as the nastiest, most negative and least factual ever? Anonymous commenting in civic forums encourages our worst instincts. It weakens all fact-based brands. And allowing it is just unethical. Professional journalists only allow sources to be anonymous when there is no other way to get important information. That same ethic should apply to web comments. Only leakers should be anonymous. Let’s update the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics to deal with digital engagement. (It hasn’t been updated since 1996).
  • Article

    Jamieson: Biggest threat to elections is the microtargeting of deceptive ads

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect. To kick off Knight’s summit on rethinking election coverage, the head of factcheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Kathleen Hall Jamieson, sounded a warning: “We are Tom Cruise,” she said. Let me explain. In a memorable scene from the Tom Cruise film, Minority Report, everywhere Cruise’s character walks, personalized ads move with him, call out his name, and sell products to him as he makes his way down a mall walkway.  
  • Article

    How journalists, technologists and thinkers are rethinking campaign coverage

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect. Just as technology and social media are getting credit for aiding democratic movements across the Mideast, millions of Americans remain disengaged in the civic issues that touch their lives. For the voters who are paying attention, the polarization that dominates American politics has eroded trust in media organizations, leading to questions about how truly informed the public is in today’s stratified media landscape. So this week, Knight Foundation has called together technologists, academics and journalists to briefly stop, collaborate and listen (as Vanilla Ice would say).
  • Article

    Knight Arts Challenge Countdown: What Happens Next?

    Published October 28, 2011 by

    Perhaps you’ve already submitted your idea, or your creative juices are still flowing. Either way, you’re probably wondering what happens after you hit that submit button. Here’s a quick rundown of the timeline. [caption id="attachment_27033" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Hidden City project at Founder's Hall, Girard College: nothing but what is herein...
  • Article

    Keeping communities informed and engaged

    Published October 27, 2011 by

    By Polly M. Talen, Knight Foundation St. Paul Program Director Keeping communities informed and engaged is a key tenet of Knight Foundation. This month Polly Talen, Knight Foundation St Paul Program Director, writes of this mission, its execution and impact for the Minnesota Council on Foundations. Talen references Random Acts...
  • Article

    Four-in-one at Vox Populi

    Published October 27, 2011 by

    In the space of its gallery this month, Knight Arts grantee Vox Populi essentially has four small shows featuring four different artists. Near the entrance is Emily Rooney’s exhibit “All Alone,” then, a room of drawings by Becky Suss appropriately titled “Drawings,” Kikuko Tanaka’s “Traumatic Encounter Forever!” and Piper Brett’s...