Newsletter for News Publishers
Spot.Us is about to start writing our first email newsletter just for community members. Below is our first newsletter just for publishers and previously we published our newsletter for reporters. Interested in subscribing?
Dear News Producers, Editors and Media Entrepreneurs,
Welcome to the very first newsletter written just for you, our friends and fellow partners in media! This letter, and letters to come, will initiate a regular correspondence to provide you with updates about Spot.Us, ideas on how we can better collaborate, journalism news, events and industry trends. Since this is our first newsletter for media partners, we’d love to hear your feedback about whether or not this information is useful and what you’d like to see in future letters.
Inside this issue:
1. What’s Been Happening with Spot.Us?
2. Content and Tools for News Publishers.
3. Media Events and Trends.
What’s New with Spot.Us?
* Larger publications: SF Magazine and Spot.Us publish an info graphic to “follow the trash.” It was a straight forward collaboration. In print and online San Francisco magazine published the finished work and Spot.Us helped spread the word to our community and beyond [http://bit.ly/156j3K]
* Radio publishers: In Los Angeles Making Contact (part of the National Radio Project) has teamed with Spot.Us to cover the American Apparel layoffs [http://bit.ly/swaQF]. We hope to work with Public Radio Exchange soon too.
* Smaller publishers: Spot.Us has partnered with Oakland Local, funding a story released during their first week [http://bit.ly/WwaJJ] (congrats on the launch!). We are already working to fund their second Spot.Us pitch right now! You can help make it happen [http://bit.ly/3JGhD2]
* Take our Survey! So we can better serve you. [http://bit.ly/2GKOqi]
* News publishers can now create their own pitches on Spot.Us!! You’ll still need to find a freelancer (unless you’re a nonprofit) but if you have an idea, Spot.Us will help with promotion, fundraising, collaboration and finding a reporter. Let the games begin!
Content and Tools for News Publishers
1. Content you can use!
The following investigation into racial/ethnic health disparties comes to us from a former San Jose Mercury News turned database geek journalist. It takes place in East Palo Alto – home to one of the most densely-populated immigrant communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
‘Greens and Means’ is the first in a series of six enterprise reports. [http://collectiveroots.org/greens_and_means]
The streets of East Palo Alto have seen everything from brick factories to poultry farms to gang shootings, but they haven’t before met anything quite like Rev. Bob Hartley, a known and respected longtime EPA resident. He’s a man with a plan to help the youth in the community give up their weapons – in favor of plants.
“It’s going to take a different approach to community organizing than I’m used to,” Hartley said. “I want to get into that mindset and start talking not about sons and guns specifically, but about greens and means. And how you can bring back some respect for each other.”
To find out more contact Spot.Us who will put you in touch with the author who has more information on this content which is licensed under Creative Commons.
2. Legal advice on the way.
David Ardia, of the Berkman Center at Harvard is developing a network of law firms, law school clinics and individual lawyers to provide free legal assistance to online journalism ventures http://www.omln.org/
2. A little humor
“Your idea to save journalism won’t work because… [http://www.dvafoto.com/2009/10/your-idea-to-save-journalism-will-not-work-because/]
Media Events and Trends
* The Columbia School of Journalism just released a report “The Reconstruction of American Journalism” which proposes new steps for maintaining a vibrant press, stressing local “accountability” coverage. Alan Mutter and others gave it less than glittering reviews.
* In case you missed the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, here is a video clip of the heated discussion between the new CEO of the Huffington Post Eric Hippeau, Marissa Mayer from Google, Robert Thompson of the Washington Post and Martin Nisenholtz from New York Times Company about the future of journalism.
* Free Press is looking for news organizations to sign their petition on Net Neutrality
* The U.S. District Court in San Francisco is putting on a half-day conference Nov. 4 titled “How Blogs, Twitter and Social Media are Changing Legal Reporting.” The conference includes two panel discussions with U.S. District Court judges, lawyers, academics, civil liberties advocates, reporters and bloggers: http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/committees/pico/program.html
* The Federal Trade Commission is hosting a two-day workshop on the current journalism transformation. The event “From Town Crier to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive in the Internet Age?” will occur Dec. 1-2 in Washington D.C. http://www.mediagiraffe.org/node/900
* News from the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter:
o SPJ Excellence in Journalism Award dinner will take place Nov. 10. Mark your calendars!
o The chapter’s Freedom of Information Committee will soon call for nominations for its annual James Madison Awards honoring champions of FOI and the First Amendment. If you know of a worthy individual or news organization, contact SPJ Norcal.
If there’s any information you’d like to share with your fellow media professionals, send it our way and we’ll include it in the next newsletter. We’d also love to work with you on an investigation, so if you have an idea, “Start A Story” on the Spot.Us homepage. We look forward to your feedback!
Sincerely,
The Spot.Us Team
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