Sduros Blog | Knight Digital Media Center

Seven reasons why hashtags are good, especially for community media

Community News Leadership 3.0

Tue, March 26, 2013 | 3:02 p.m. PDT

Hashtags in social media are, unquestionably, #ugly. But is that really a problem for news and engagement, especially at the community level? In a recent controversial article, a New York Times social media editor argued against hashtags -- a perspective that probably makes sense for a national/global news organization. But from the community perspective, hashtags can be very helpful indeed.

Moderation thwarts comment free-for-all

Community News Leadership 3.0

Mon, March 25, 2013 | 10:00 p.m. PDT

by Sally Duros

When news sites invest in staff to vanquish the trolls whose offensive comments chase away thoughtful readers, it pays off in cleaner comment threads and stronger community. And that can pay off in a stronger Web presence.

“Some editors take the view that this whole comment thing is just a time suck. It can be,” said Jack Lail, Director of Digital for the Knoxville (TN.) News Sentinel. “But our editor does not take that view.”

Building a new J-school? Build the newsroom first

Community News Leadership 3.0

Wed, March 20, 2013 | 10:00 p.m. PDT

by Lisa Williams

What would you do if you could build a brand-new journalism school from scratch? Monclair State in New Jersey is doing just that.

Journalism education reform: Knight's call to action

News for Digital Innovators

Wed, March 20, 2013 | 1:36 p.m. PDT

by Amy Gahran

Journalism schools offer ample potential to revitalize the profession and practice of journalism while engaging communities. But many of them aren't stepping up to this challenge. This week on the Knight Blog, Eric Newton (senior advisor to the Knight Foundation president) offered a pointed example of how one journalism school's efforts at reform may be falling short

Pew State of the News Media hints at community news opportunities, advantages

Community News Leadership 3.0

Tue, March 19, 2013 | 4:20 p.m. PDT

by Amy Gahran

This week Pew published its big State of the News Media 2013 report, with lots of insight into the fortunes of and prospects for mainstream media outlets, as well as some types of niche and alternative media. The report has little to say directly about startup community news and engagement projects -- but reading between the lines, it hints at some growing opportunities in the community media landscape. Here are four possible opportunities and advantages for community news/info projects that I gathered from reading the report's key findings.

Four women-led digital news projects win startup grants

News for Digital Innovators

Wed, March 13, 2013 | 1:20 p.m. PDT

by Amy Gahran

Today J-Lab announced that four innovating women-led news projects have won grants to develop their ideas. This year's winners include projects to cover the cultural narrative of food, build online platforms for long-form women writers, expand Latino coverage in New England, and spotlight emerging women musicians.

Open government bonanza: Sunshine Week, Knight News Challenge

News for Digital Innovators

Wed, March 13, 2013 | 12:44 p.m. PDT

by Amy Gahran

If you're a fan of government transparency and helping people interact more effectively with government, then this is your week! Through Friday, March, 16, it's Sunshine Week -- a annual celebration of the people's right to know. Also, next Monday is the deadline to enter the first Knight News Challenge of 2013, which focuses on open government.

Mobile microsites: Tools, strategies for community engagement

Community News Leadership 3.0

Thu, March 7, 2013 | 10:42 a.m. PST

by Amy Gahran

Having a mobile-friendly web presence is a great way to inform and engage your community -- it's more universally accessible because people can link to it. But it doesn't have to be just one website. Small, special-purpose, mobile-friendly microsites also can be a powerful and effective way to drive engagement. Here's how and why you might want to try this approach.