A story on a Thailand zoo that shows "panda porn" to get males in the mood for mating will be distributed all over the Web.
That's one of the types of stories that Reuters, the London media institution known for finance information and breaking news, counts on for their new lifestyle news service.
Reuters Life! (yes, with an exclamation mark) has put out about 60 stories per day since it launched in June 2006 -- not long after the launch of similar ventures such as ASAP, The Associated Press service targeting readers in their 20s; ForbesLife, a Forbes brand for "good life" content; or The Wall Street Journal's opening of a fashion bureau.
The lifestyle desk counts on a dedicated staff of six reporters on the entertainment beat, four on health and one on workplace, as well as three editors – not to mention feeds from the company's 2,300 staffers worldwide.
Belinda Smith, an Australian who started as a correspondent in Papua New Guinea 14 years ago and most recently headed the company's financial desk in the United States, was tapped to run the New York-based desk.
The service aims for snappy, thoughtful stories with Reuters standards, Smith says.
"We might hear 'Oh you do lifestyle? That's quite jazzy for Reuters,'" Smith says. "But we do those sorts of stories. This is something that reflects how and when people are spending their time and money."
By Jorge Valencia / ASNE Reporter
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
More free stuff: What to read on the plane ride home
If you're not already completely saturated by all of the information swirling around the ASNE conferences, meetings and luncheons, head down to the ballroom level.
The long tables at the far end of the floor are stacked high with literature and reports for you to mull over on your plane rides back to real life.
Here is a guide to some of the more interesting highlights:
1. Check out the folders of comic strips by Terri Libenson and John Hambrock. Maybe you'll find Boondocks or Calvin & Hobbes.
2. Grab one of the Stateline.org folders. The Web site is an invaluable resource for following state political writing nationwide.
3. The Project for Excellence in Journalism's "The State of the News Media: An Annual Report on American Journalism" is full of intriguing media-related tidbits. And, amazingly enough, the information in the packet isn't all bad news. For instance, did you know that "66% of those who follow political news prefer newspapers"? That's good news for all you ink-stained editors out there.
4. Check out Harvard University's "Nieman Reports" and "American Journalism Review," which is based out of the University of Maryland. These are essential reading for any serious journalists who want to stay on the up-and-up about industry goings-on.
5. Need somewhere to stash all of your loot? Get a free "Diversity is News"-emblazoned Maynard Institute bag.
-By CONNOR ADAMS SHEETS / ASNE Reporter
The long tables at the far end of the floor are stacked high with literature and reports for you to mull over on your plane rides back to real life.
Here is a guide to some of the more interesting highlights:
1. Check out the folders of comic strips by Terri Libenson and John Hambrock. Maybe you'll find Boondocks or Calvin & Hobbes.
2. Grab one of the Stateline.org folders. The Web site is an invaluable resource for following state political writing nationwide.
3. The Project for Excellence in Journalism's "The State of the News Media: An Annual Report on American Journalism" is full of intriguing media-related tidbits. And, amazingly enough, the information in the packet isn't all bad news. For instance, did you know that "66% of those who follow political news prefer newspapers"? That's good news for all you ink-stained editors out there.
4. Check out Harvard University's "Nieman Reports" and "American Journalism Review," which is based out of the University of Maryland. These are essential reading for any serious journalists who want to stay on the up-and-up about industry goings-on.
5. Need somewhere to stash all of your loot? Get a free "Diversity is News"-emblazoned Maynard Institute bag.
-By CONNOR ADAMS SHEETS / ASNE Reporter
For ethics gaffes, most editors are scolding staff
A majority of editors are scolding their employees and shuffling jobs to address ethical faux pas, according to an ongoing survey of ASNE members by the Missouri School of Journalism.
Nearly 72 percent of those who completed the online poll said they had reprimanded reporters and editors in the past year. And 63 percent reported making personnel changes as well.
Those staffers are not able or willing to question their assumptions, one editor wrote in the anonymous survey.
"It's a nightmare because it's not an event, but rather a state of being," the editor wrote.
But the respondents said they weren't leaving readers in the dark. Of the respondents, 87 percent said they had explained an ethics-related decision in the past year. And a fifth said they had to do so more than six times in the same period.
The survey, run by school’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, can still be completed here.
The institute is hosting a reception tomorrow from 5 to 6:30 in the Russell/Hart Rooms.
-By APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Nearly 72 percent of those who completed the online poll said they had reprimanded reporters and editors in the past year. And 63 percent reported making personnel changes as well.
Those staffers are not able or willing to question their assumptions, one editor wrote in the anonymous survey.
"It's a nightmare because it's not an event, but rather a state of being," the editor wrote.
But the respondents said they weren't leaving readers in the dark. Of the respondents, 87 percent said they had explained an ethics-related decision in the past year. And a fifth said they had to do so more than six times in the same period.
The survey, run by school’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, can still be completed here.
The institute is hosting a reception tomorrow from 5 to 6:30 in the Russell/Hart Rooms.
-By APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Roy Peter Clark sings "My Humps"
Poynter guru Dr. Roy Peter Clark popped into the ASNE News Lab today. Little did we know that he would blow us away with an a capella rendition of the Black Eyed Peas hit "My Humps."
Audio: Click here to listen to Clark's performance
"What you gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside your trunk?" Clark sang. He then pointed at a staffer. "That person right there is about to die."
The vice president of the Poynter Institute -- dressed today in a navy blue suit and conservative tie -- didn't exactly boast the bodacious curves of the pop band's singer, Fergie.
But, Clark insisted, even a song like that could help him teach writing.
"That song is a story," Clark said. "There's character development, there's sort of a narrative line, there's dialogue. It's here in all music."
Bob Giles, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, has seen Clark perform more than once.
"It's all done in the spirit of good humor," Giles said. "It's a useful way for him to break the ice with his audience."
Clark definitely broke the ice with an audience of 80 on Monday at the National Press Club. While promoting his 2006 book, " Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer," he banged out Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire."
Music is nothing new to him. At age 15, Clark began playing keyboard in what he calls an "electric surfer music" band. In a nod from one writer to another, the band went by the name T.S. and the Eliots.
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Student newspapers hit by increased censorship
Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said his center usually deals with between 2,000 and 3,000 cases a year regarding censorship in colleges and high schools across the country.
American colleges fail to educate administrators about press freedom, and some of the administrators see censorship as a proud thing to do, Goodman said.
Facing censorship, these student journalists can lose faith in what they can do as media professionals. “If we loose the heart and mind of young journalists, we lose the group as a whole,” Goodman said.
The Hampton Script, a student newspaper at Hampton University, was confiscated three years ago. Our co-ASNE reporter, Marvin Anderson, was a staff writer. As much as I pressed him, he did not want to talk further.
Read more: Teens on shaky ground with First Amendment
By HUONG LE / ASNE Reporter
American colleges fail to educate administrators about press freedom, and some of the administrators see censorship as a proud thing to do, Goodman said.
Facing censorship, these student journalists can lose faith in what they can do as media professionals. “If we loose the heart and mind of young journalists, we lose the group as a whole,” Goodman said.
The Hampton Script, a student newspaper at Hampton University, was confiscated three years ago. Our co-ASNE reporter, Marvin Anderson, was a staff writer. As much as I pressed him, he did not want to talk further.
Read more: Teens on shaky ground with First Amendment
By HUONG LE / ASNE Reporter
Are you Superman (or woman)?
Kenneth Paulson, editor of USA Today and usatoday.com, started the panel discussion, “From Superman to Subpoenas: Defending a Free Press,” by showing comics of the famous superhero.
Paulson knew that he couldn't be Superman, so he chose heroism through journalism. Paulson asked some editors to stand up and complete this sentence: “I got into the newspaper business because…”
Glenn Proctor, executive editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, said he chose journalism because, at that time, no one looked like him. Another editor said she wanted to shed light into some dark corners of the world.
At a time when reporters are being threatened with jail time and public trust of the media is eroding, Paulson said we need to remind ourselves why we chose to be here in the first place.
So why are you here? Add a comment below.
Paulson knew that he couldn't be Superman, so he chose heroism through journalism. Paulson asked some editors to stand up and complete this sentence: “I got into the newspaper business because…”
Glenn Proctor, executive editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, said he chose journalism because, at that time, no one looked like him. Another editor said she wanted to shed light into some dark corners of the world.
At a time when reporters are being threatened with jail time and public trust of the media is eroding, Paulson said we need to remind ourselves why we chose to be here in the first place.
So why are you here? Add a comment below.
Overheard on the ASNE floor
The elites stick together here. This morning we spotted Los Angeles Times Assistant Managing Editor Simon K.C. Li, New York Times Publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., and Boston Globe Editor Marty Baron chatting on the ASNE convention floor.
Were they enjoying the conference?
"This is ASNE," Sulzberger deadpanned.
Life can be hard at the top. Asked about the trio's next destination, Sulzberger looked to Baron for a cue.
"There's 'Managing Change: Overcoming the Fear Factor," Sulzberger said.
Baron laughed. "I've already overcome the fear factor."
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Were they enjoying the conference?
"This is ASNE," Sulzberger deadpanned.
Life can be hard at the top. Asked about the trio's next destination, Sulzberger looked to Baron for a cue.
"There's 'Managing Change: Overcoming the Fear Factor," Sulzberger said.
Baron laughed. "I've already overcome the fear factor."
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
A newspaper with a Web site or a Web site with a newspaper?
SND changed its name from the Society of Newspaper Design to the Society of News Design. ASNE has also considered changing its name, but maintaining its acronym. So the question plaguing editors is: Am I the editor of a newspaper with a Web site, or a Web site with a newspaper?
Many editors see the two going hand-in-hand, assuming responsibility for and accepting the benefits of each medium.
“They’re one in the same,” said Carolina Garcia, executive editor of The Herald in Monterey County, Calif. “It’s intertwined; you can’t separate the two.”
The Seattle Times’ executive editor David Boardman considers himself the editor of both a newspaper and a Web site.
“Our philosophy is to try to take advantage of both,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is having a Web site that focuses on immediacy and interaction and having a newspaper focused on in-depth reporting.” He added that the newspaper is trying to “integrate our resources and segregate out products.”
Although editors are stressing the importance of their online content, others are still maintaining their premier newspaper status.
“You can’t overlook the 150-year history of McClatchy putting out newspapers,” said Fred Povey, McClatchy-Tribune’s director of news services. But he acknowledges the growing interest in Web sites, saying, “They’re no longer just an add-on.”
USA Today, which continues to have the largest newspaper circulation in the country, is focused on determining where content should go.
“I see myself as the editor of a news organization,” said Ken Paulson, editor and senior vice president of USA Today and USAToday.com. “There’s content that works better on the Web and content that works better in print.” He emphasized that the site is not solely newspaper articles posted online.
-By STEPHANIE WOODROW / ASNE Reporter
Many editors see the two going hand-in-hand, assuming responsibility for and accepting the benefits of each medium.
“They’re one in the same,” said Carolina Garcia, executive editor of The Herald in Monterey County, Calif. “It’s intertwined; you can’t separate the two.”
The Seattle Times’ executive editor David Boardman considers himself the editor of both a newspaper and a Web site.
“Our philosophy is to try to take advantage of both,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is having a Web site that focuses on immediacy and interaction and having a newspaper focused on in-depth reporting.” He added that the newspaper is trying to “integrate our resources and segregate out products.”
Although editors are stressing the importance of their online content, others are still maintaining their premier newspaper status.
“You can’t overlook the 150-year history of McClatchy putting out newspapers,” said Fred Povey, McClatchy-Tribune’s director of news services. But he acknowledges the growing interest in Web sites, saying, “They’re no longer just an add-on.”
USA Today, which continues to have the largest newspaper circulation in the country, is focused on determining where content should go.
“I see myself as the editor of a news organization,” said Ken Paulson, editor and senior vice president of USA Today and USAToday.com. “There’s content that works better on the Web and content that works better in print.” He emphasized that the site is not solely newspaper articles posted online.
-By STEPHANIE WOODROW / ASNE Reporter
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