Mclellan Blog | Knight Digital Media Center

You've got data -- Now what? School Facts Jax tames the tangle of school data

Community News Leadership 3.0

Thu, December 13, 2012 | 10:18 a.m. PST

What do people really want from your data?

These days, data -- data visualization, data journalism, and data-driven civic apps -- are the new black. There are hackathons, national data challenges, grant programs, and groups putting coders to work on behalf of cities.

New Orleans news site, The Lens, approved for nonprofit status

News for Digital Innovators

Wed, December 12, 2012 | 6:35 p.m. PST

by Michele McLellan

The Lens, a local news organization serving New Orleans, has been granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status by the IRS after a 26-month wait.

Pew on the demographics of mobile news

News for Digital Innovators

Wed, December 12, 2012 | 12:04 p.m. PST

by Amy Gahran

Who's in your local mobile news audience? This week, a major new report offers insight could help you reach your local mobile news consumers.

Partnerships help citizen news sites gain visibility and engage community

Community News Leadership 3.0

Mon, December 10, 2012 | 1:35 a.m. PST

by Michele McLellan

Libraries, colleges and other community institutions play a key role in helping citizen news sites raise their visibility and attract contributors

Did The New York Times 'miss the boat' on Bradley Manning hearing? Not necessarily

Community News Leadership 3.0

Wed, December 5, 2012 | 7:17 p.m. PST

by Michele McLellan

The Times' public editor chastises the newsroom for not staffing an important hearing for the analyst accused of a massive leak of government documents to Wikileaks. Pushback: Does it make sense for news outlets to cover events that many other journalists are covering when there is less and less time available for unique enterprise reporting?

Making it work: Web-based tools that will help you get it done

Community News Leadership 3.0

Thu, November 29, 2012 | 7:08 a.m. PST

by Susan Mernit

What are the tools that Knight Community Information grantees and others working around news and civic engagement find most useful today? Are there universal favorites the rest of us would do well to check out? In the interest of improving workplace skills –especially as we look ahead to 2013—we checked in with some Knight grantees and friends to see what resources they recommended.

NPR identifies story types that drive local engagement

News for Digital Innovators

Tue, November 27, 2012 | 5:25 p.m. PST

by Amy Gahran

Today NPR Digital Services published the results of a study to gauge which kinds of local stories drive online engagement. The results, and the way NPR conducted this research, can be instructive for any community publisher.

Citizen reporting: Sweet spot for local information and engagement?

Community News Leadership 3.0

Mon, November 26, 2012 | 5:35 p.m. PST

by Michele McLellan

Mainstream news organizations have had mixed results with citizen news reporting. A handful of new foundation-supported efforts show promise for engaging local residents in community life.