Blog moved

I've moved to a new site to have more flexibility. Check it out at www.dunnreporter.com.

Soldier Comes Home

Blog moved

I've moved to a new site to have more flexibility. Check it out at www.dunnreporter.com.

A downside of Internet culture

On the front page of The News and Observer today appears this article, the latest in a recent McClatchy series on John Edwards regarding the tabloid article accusing him of having a love child.

The fact that the N&O and Charlotte Observer felt the need to write these stories shows that traditional media outlets are trying too hard to fit in to the "blogosphere" news climate.

There is still not a shred of evidence that Edwards was having an affair with the woman, besides the Enquirer's pronouncement. But across the Twitter-verse, etc., came questions of when the "mainstream media" would cover this story.

Excuse me, but why should they have to? Are newspapers also going to follow up on "REVEALED: WHY O.J.'S AGENT FINALLY BETRAYED HIM," or "Newbie parental units Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have pleaded with paps not to shoot whilst visiting Down Under."

Just because there was a lot of activity online about the topic doesn't mean the traditional media must cover it. Why, at a time of crisis, should standards be lowered?

The story linked to at the beginning of this post is the most legit coverage I've seen of the scandal. If party leaders indeed are considering snubbing Edwards, that's news. But the politicians and the news media who bought into this rumormongering just haven't figured out how traditional publications should respond to the Internet.

Newspapers are struggling to survive, so many think they need to have all the coverage that the blogosphere has. That's a thought that's pushing the industry under. The Enquirer has its audience. The N&O has a different one.

We read newspapers for vetted and checked information. We read supermarket tabloids for rumors. North Carolina's McClatchy papers should remember that.

"Flashing" my resume

So my Flash project, done with Sprout, is finally complete. It's a way to present my resume and clips.

See it here.

What do you think?

Talking shop on my last day

Unfortunately, today was my last day at the St. Pete Times. I will miss it dearly. I feel blessed that I got to work with supremely talented people. For the past five years, I've read the SPT regularly and told myself those are the people I'd like to emulate. It was like a dream to work alongside them.

I went to the editorial board meeting today for one last hurrah. In the room with me:

• Phil Gailey, editor of editorials, former political reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, Washington Star and New York Times.
• Tim Nickens, deputy editor, former political editor and AME at the SPT.
• Bill Maxwell, editorial writer, professor and columnist.
• Jon East, ed writer, Tar Heel, local government and education extraordinaire.
  

Despite their nearly 150 years of combined experience, on this day they wanted to grill me on the future of journalism.

They did not grow up with computers, and to them it was a big deal that I and many in my generation did.

I told them that the future of newspapers lies in two main things:
1) Changing focus from a newspaper to a news organization.
2) Having a clear online strategy.

It sounds simple, and in essence it is. The first part is mainly just accepting that change is coming. It's hard for some people, and I understand. I, too, love the feel of a newspaper in my hands. I'm starting a collection of front pages. But my true love is journalism, and it doesn't matter the platform. News organizations can't be scared of change.

The online strategy is the hard part. Right now, I don't know of very many papers that have one. They're flailing about trying to see what will stick. And currently, the changes being made aren't exactly the right ones.

My ideas aren't earth shattering. The "online desk" needs to be integrated into the newsroom, though keeping programmers on staff is a good idea. Beat reporters need to weave in social networks. Reporters need to focus on investigative journalism and quality over quantity. Ad departments need to use Google's targeted advertising infrastructure to make online ads profitable and to partner with sites like Craigslist.

Now, these are not new and are very simplified. If you're reading this blog, you probably think I'm an idiot. And they didn't knock the socks off the editorial board, either. Instead, they were most impressed that I am not scared of the current climate and changes.

"If your generation can get in some of these leadership positions, maybe we can keep this truck on the road," Gailey said to me.

I've met a lot of talented and intelligent young journalists on Twitter and through blogs. I know we can right this ship.
..........................

Special thanks to people at the Times I haven't yet mentioned. Thanks to Sydney Freedberg for friendship, support, an autographed book and showing me some cool public records tricks. To Dolly Brosan for Pop-Tarts and positive thoughts. To metro editors Tom Scherberger, Graham Brink, Sandra Gadsden and Pat Farnhan for putting up with me. To Matt Waite for getting on my feet in programming.

And of course, to Jake, Jackie, Darla, Dagny, Mariana, Eddie, Sara, Dominick, Tom, Michael, Corinne, Nomaan and Lauren for being awesome friends.

Johnny Cash and journalism

I put on my Cash playlist as I was packing up my apartment today, and one song of his struck me as a decent vision for journalism. It's his famous one, "Man in Black."

Here are some excerpts:

"I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.
...
I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white."
........................................

Sure, it's idealistic. But it's not a bad mindset for journalism. It's a long-standing axiom that newspapers should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. This song ain't bad for inspiration.

But of course, newsrooms today feel like another Johnny Cash song. It's not quite so inspirational.

"Well they're building a gallows outside my cell
I've got 25 minutes to go
And the whole town's waitin' just to hear me yell
I've got 24 minutes to go
Well they gave me some beans for my last meal
I've got 23 minutes to go
But nobody asked me how I feel
I've got 22 minutes to go
Well I sent for the governor and the whole dern bunch
with 21 minutes to go
And I sent for the mayor but he's out to lunch
I've got 20 more minutes to go
Then the sheriff said boy I gonna watch you die
got 19 minutes to go
....
With my feet on the trap and my head on the noose
got 5 more minutes to go
Won't somebody come and cut me loose
with 4 more minutes to go
I can see the mountains I can see the skies
with 3 more minutes to go
And it's to dern pretty for a man that don't wanna die
2 more minutes to go
I can see the buzzards I can hear the crows
1 more minute to go
And now I'm swingin' and here I go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!"