LIVE STREAM HERE

“From Gatekeeper to Information Valet: A Workplan for Sustaining Journalism,” is a one-day symposium and idea-generation session . . . a chance to share ideas. It’s convened by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, (RJI) at the Missouri School of Journalism, in collaboration with The George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs and the Committee of Concerned Journalists. It’s the next step in a process which began Dec. 3-5, 2008, at “Blueprinting the Information Valet Economy.”

In one, fast-paced day, the intent is  to share and exchange the latest news on efforts to conceive and deploy tools, systems and services which morph and sustain the values, principles and purposes of independent journalism. Including:

• Exchanging with participants the latest developments and ideas for sustaining journalism, including the Information Valet Project and other independent initiatives.

• Confirming, considering, or challenging, the roles of payments, privacy, advertising and

• Providing details on the new Journalism Trust Innovation Engine at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.

MORE INFORMATION HERE

The Poynter Institute is partnering with Journalism That Matters (JTM) for a three-day conversation and work session designed to define the new jobs, skills and relationships that will sustain a 21st-century news gathering organization.

Space is limited to the first 150 registrants. Registration is $350 if you apply before Feb. 1, 2009. After Feb. 1, 2009 registration is $450.

WHO WILL BENEFIT:

• New media people
• Journalists re-inventing their careers
• Journalists interested in the future of journalism
• Editors managing change, Journalism educators
• Those who want to know how they can benefit from the changing news ecology

POYNTER’S ROLE: The Poynter Institute recognizes the urgency to retrain and re-orient journalists when it comes to navigating the paths to a new news ecology.

From March 1-4, 2009, Poynter is partnering with Journalism That Matters (JTM) for a three-day conversation and work session designed to define the new jobs, skills and relationships that will sustain a 21st-century news gathering organization.

HOW THESE SESSIONS ARE DIFFERENT: The Poynter-JTM sessions utilize the wisdom in the room using Open Space Technology (OST) — a process that lets diverse groups self-organize and address complex and important issues. JTM has used OST around the country to stimulate fresh thinking and new ideas that spring from the passions and inspiration of participants who are committed to keeping journalism alive and relevant in the ever-changing journalism industry.

Founded in 2001, JTM has hosted conceptual “mash-ups” — unlikely mixes of diverse people — for more than 700 journalists nationwide. From the Yahoo! headquarters in Silicon Valley to George Washington University in D.C., the JTM model brings together forward-thinkers from traditional journalism with the best and the brightest of new media world. Together, they begin new conversations, define the evolving news ecosystem and work at the leading edge of the new story of journalism.

YOU’RE INVITED: That’s where you come in. Poynter and JTM want you to help create, define and populate the next digital newsroom wherever it takes root. Come help us:

• Give names and shape to new jobs — community dialogue manager, multimedia storyteller, database investigate reporter, mobile content designer and more.
• Understand how to master the new tools of the trade — beat blogs, widgets, search engine optimization and social networks.
• Define and refine the changing relationships among those who need the news, contribute to the news and rate the news.
• Navigate the changing culture and language of news organizations with their increasing mix of digital natives and those with insitutional memory.
• Appreciate the ripple effects of the changing news ecology on other sectors and what that means for getting news to those who need it.

This is the moment when journalism shifts. Be part of the shift — with Poynter and JTM.

JTM Faculty: Howard Finberg, Ellyn Angelotti, Chris Peck, Bill Densmore, Peggy Holman and Stephen Silha

Register for this seminar. (You do not need a seminar application to register for this event. Simply click the register link.)
Reserve a hotel for this seminar.
See who is coming.

Inside this issue:

I. News Council Upholds Complaints Against KBJR-TV, KSTP-TV

II. “Journalism that Matters” comes to the Twin Cities

III. Featured Article: “The Minnesota News Council: The Story Behind the Creation” by Dr. Louise Williams Hermanson

IV. “From the Development Office”

V. News Council Welcomes Two Summer Assistants

By Kate Myers

The Minnesota News Council was a co-sponsor of the “New Reporters/New Pamphleteers” conference held at the University of Minnesota June 4-5. News Council Executive Director Sarah Bauer and Summer Assistant Kate Myers participated in the conference, and observed a diverse group of placebloggers and citizen journalists — the 21st century’s “new journalists” — as they discussed the integration of “journalism, democracy, place and blogs.”

Headed by The Media Giraffe Project out of Amherst, Mass. and supported by the Journalism That Matters collaborative and the Minnesota Journalism Center, the event emphasized blogging and citizen journalism as a means of building community.

From building readership and reporting community news to building credibility and designing Web sites, many discussions were centered around filling the void left from untold local stories by mainstream media.

Many of the placebloggers felt they could help unify the community they are covering by providing hyperlocal and specialized information to their readers. With that idea in mind, several conference-goers brought issues to the table regarding ethics and standards as they relate to citizen journalists and blogs.

Bauer joined Melissa Cornick-Horyn, a former producer for 60 Minutes and 20/20, in a group that asked, “How can we get at and expose ‘the truth’ and still be ethical?”

“The truth is an important part of ethics, but there is no one truth,” said Cornick-Horyn. “In journalism, the truth comes from many different people speaking from their heart; in blogging, you don’t necessarily do that. You are speaking from yourself.”

Following the statement, an interesting debate ensued as to the biased nature of placeblogging and how citizen journalists often felt they don’t have the same First Amendment protection as other journalists in traditional media outlets.

Throughout the convention, Bauer and Myers observed and spoke with many individuals of influence within the placeblogging community. Joining a discussion group on democracy and accountability, they met an experienced source: Josh Wolf, a blogger and freelance journalist who served 226 days in jail for refusing to hand over material he collected during a demonstration turned violent in San Francisco, Calif.

“People behave differently when there is accountability,” Wolf said. “In certain situations, people need to take responsibility for what they are saying.”

For the Council staff, the conference was a learning experience and a window into the future of online citizen journalism and placeblogging. Additionally, the conference provided an opportunity for Bauer and Myers to better realize the News Council’s greater role in educating citizens to adapt to and filter new forms of “news.”

Conference attendees were inspired to return home and put their many ideas into motion. Many left the conference with hopes to build and implement new Web site features, ideas for new sources of funding and design tips from the pros to make their sites more user-friendly.

“Everyone in the room is central to figuring this out and making ‘this’ work,” said John Nichols of Capital Times as he addressed the group.

Read more about the Minneapolis gathering here.

View photos from the event here.

View video from the conference sessions here.