FiredJournalists.com

Add a Comment

Comment by Suzanne Yada on July 7, 2008 at 12:29am

I have only just now stumbled upon this discussion. Is this still being organized? Because I'm in.

Comment by Will Seberger on April 15, 2008 at 11:34pm

'Latecomers' is not a pejorative statement at all; simply a statement of fact. You are completely correct, in my opinion anyway, that essentially the entirety of the print-based industry is a latecomer.

Opportunities for change were passed over during better-funded times, and little has progressed electronically since the dawn of the public Internet. But worse than old sites, weak content and poor design is the fact that the operational conveyance of the business model was not reconsidered until meltdown.

I'm not browbeating here. It is important that we understand the mechanisms of failure before we can proceed to invent an entirely new wheel. In other words, our history will shape our future.

Just as you indicate a need for education in the use of new, electronic storytelling tools, we need equally (if not more so) a discussion of how we can use these tools to make money. After all, without revenue no business or entity can survive.

I liken the constant progression in Web-based technology to the progression in the late 1990's away from film-based photography to digital capture. True, it was quite a learning curve. Yes, it took some additional training. We all adapted pretty quickly, though. Because we had no other choice.

An editor and dear friend of mine once responded to my gripes about change with, "Seberger, there are two things you need to know: Change is constant, and there are a hundred resumes in my drawer sent in by people who would be thrilled to have a shot at your job."

A lot of my trepidation and cynicism stems from the apparent existence of a wide-spread sentiment amongst journalists these days of "OMG!11!, teh Internets!" A simple fact is that the Internet has been fairly commonplace since 1996. Now we have to play even more catch-up not only to grasp Web design and use, but also to develop revenue streams on the technology of today and soon-to-be tomorrow.

Any sense of urgency and prodding on my part comes from that element of timeliness.

We must form up to attack these many and diverse problems within the industry quickly.

I would never overlook the merits of a journalist who didn't know pixels from picas. My only expectation is that anyone who wants to continue to play this game accept that having fundamental skills in the use of Web technology is a necessity, and that those skills must be developed quickly. It is even more important that those running the show get up to speed or get out of the way quickly.

But to reiterate, we need to figure out a new model for our operation before we can even really begin to worry about how to use video, holography or anything else to turn coin and tell stories.

My point with something along the lines of FiredJournalists is to get minds together. Once we know what our model is in concrete terms, then we can determine, together, what technologies can be deployed to maximize the effectiveness of our storytelling and our profits.

And while we're at it, we need to keep in mind that under the present model, a publisher can print essentially whatever he wants between the ads and still collect the bills.

Becky (and everyone else), I look forward to many more conversations. My contact information is on my site. Feel free any time.

Comment by Will Seberger on April 15, 2008 at 8:49pm

In the interests of maintaining this as a public discussion, I'll post my response here, Becky, as opposed to in a private message.

Certainly, people need to know how to create and maintain a Web site; including posting text, photos and video. At this point in history, computer literacy doesn't stop at WPM counts and an ability to fire up Word or Excel. The tech burden placed on professionals in every field out there will continue to increase until the end of time. I'm glad to hear that there are workshops out there to help latecomers catch up.

The real problem is that the fundamental business model for information delivery has changed, and the industry has not adapted its operations to accommodate the changing(ed) marketplace.

Newspapers have been successful in newsgathering because journalists can focus on reporting the news, editors can focus on editing the news and ad/sub reps can focus on selling the news. How much can a one-man op do? It's especially difficult to do much when that same one man is responsible for all aspects of the business from finding news to selling ads.

The trick to 'solving' this problem, I think, is going to be found in banding together the people that still have the drive and ability to do the job the best and right way, and to distribute their information to a large audience as a newsroom.

The other trick is finding a way to 'sell' content in a non-monetary transaction. I've written a long essay about that here.

The point for firedjournalists.com is as much to be a sounding board for information about job prospects as it is to gather together the people in the industry who have been let go, want to get out or are willing to get out to find a better way.

Right now, we can all go out and make blog after blog and social network after social network, and really all we will accomplish is reinventing wheels. What we need to do is find ways to come together so that we can make this a viable business again.

I certainly don't have all the answers. But I am certainly more than happy to work with the collective to find them. We need to cover a lot of ground, and damn quickly to make up for lost time.

Comment by Will Seberger on March 15, 2008 at 5:25pm

That's what I was getting at; a job information exchange as well as assessments of what worked (or didn't work) at any given job.

I guess I'm not being very clear.

Comment by Maurreen Skowran on March 15, 2008 at 3:08pm

It probably should have more than resumes. I believe there are more journalists than journalism jobs.

So maybe it could also give the people the opportunity to network with each other and some help with jobs outside journalism or starting their own operation.

Comment by Maurreen Skowran on March 15, 2008 at 2:59pm

I think it would need focus. Will, your two ideas seem divergent.

I do agree on the potential for posting resumes.

But if it wouldn't be restricted to unemployed journalists, then it need some other focus.

Maybe journalist resumes? Journalists looking for work?

All trade-offs.

Comment by Alexandre Gamela on March 15, 2008 at 2:24pm

I don't believe we're on the verge of losing our jobs more than before. But if you want a place to show how many valuable professionals are out there trying hard to make a living, and give them space to present their ideas and abilities, i'm in. It could start as group right here at WJ, and then see where it takes us.
The resume posting would be a great, and it could also work as a platform for collaborations. Keep feeding this.

Comment by Will Seberger on March 15, 2008 at 12:43pm

I would like to see a site that allows those of us that have something to say to band together and get some press, if you will, for our ideas.

It's not to be a slam site, but rather a collection of op-eds on what's right and wrong in the industry from the people that work(ed) in the trenches.

Ideally, I'd like to see people post resumes there as well. Who knows? One of their bright ideas might land them a job in management.

And I wouldn't restrict it to only unemployed journalists. We can safely assume that we're all on the verge of losing our jobs.

Comment by matt king on March 15, 2008 at 7:22am

zach - caliber will be in eye of beholder. but check out voice of san diego.

Comment by Maurreen Skowran on March 15, 2008 at 3:09am

To me, "fired" implies the person dismissed was the cause.

But anyway, once we settle on a name, what should the site be or do?

Maybe it could start as a pointer to a Ning network.

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last