(The Future of) Journalism in Portugal conference | (O Futuro do) Jornalismo em Portugal

A couple of weeks ago i was invited to participate in a conference about Journalism in Portugal, organized by a teenager. Unfortunately i had to decline, but looking at the program i’m sorry i won’t be attending. Find out why here.

Há umas semanas atrás fui convidado para participar numa conferência dedicada ao Jornalismo em Portugal, organizada por um adolescente. Infelizmente tive que declinar o convite mas olhando para o programa tenho mesmo pena de não ir. Descubram porquê aqui.

i: A newspaper is born – the website | Nasceu um Jornal – o website

Today is the beginning a new era in the portuguese news industry. i is out on the stands and the web, and it already has defined a unique personality, becoming a true game changer right from the start. This is a first glance review to their website and their online features.

Hoje é o início de uma nova era na indústria informativa portuguesa. O i está nas bancas e na web, e já tem definida uma personalidade única, assumindo-se desde início como uma verdadeira mudança. Esta é uma análise à primeira vista ao seu website e trabalho no online.

Home & Article | Início & Artigo

What is immediately striking when you open i‘s website is its cleanliness: three content columns under a  header, dominating the top of the page with a slideshow  for the major news stories ; there is no clutter, no text beyond tiles (finally somebody got it), video right in the middle of the page, that doesn’t get to fill the whole width of the screen. The left yellow sidebar shows the main website features, middle column is for content and on the right the usual “most read/commmented” boards, special assignments, and live sport results. At the bottom, three content columns: Country, World, Sports. Can’t get any simpler than that. The newsroom and the newspaper are divided into four sections: Zoom, Radar, More and Sports. The website reflects this oranization. Each article seems to have at least one picture whenever possible and it has the usual vote, send and print features. It also has a social bookmarking tool that allows you to send the story to Google Bookmarks, Technorati, and (the schock!) Facebook, MySpace, Flickr(!?) and almighty Twitter. Social networking seems to be quite a deal for the project since they designated a few reporters to handle Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts. In a Twitter conversation i had with the man in charge for social networking he put the concept in one word: they want to build an “icommunity”. Users are invited to participate in the life of the newsroom, sharing their news in a feature called iReporter. You send content using your user profile, and share it under “news story” or film, restaurant, music (etc) reviews, up to 1500 char. You can also post pictures and video right away. All articles must comply to i’s editorial rules. The website also has a few blogs, i really didn’t explore them, but they all seem to be invited by the editors. Another thing that i’m curious about is how they will interact with the rest of the companies of the group. They own a few regional newspapers and radios, and i wonder how national and local will work together (if ever). The website has a page for them, but for now, it’s just the logos. Video seems to be an important bet for i. They look technically great, though the TV like narrative is still present (not a surprise, the presentation video was made by a TV journalist), but it looks good. Shareable, embeddable (except for wordpress.com, a platform problem), easy to load, what  else could you ask? I’ll be waiting for more video work. Overall, the i website is one step into the future, in design -it looks gourgeous-, philosophy, organization. It is not made for shovelware, and it would be a real shame if they fell into that. There are other details i have to explore in time, like linking, comment moderation, social networks interaction, etc. But they’re off to a good start online.

O que imediatamente salta à vista quando entramos no site do i é a limpeza: três colunas de conteúdos sob um cabeçalho a dominar o topo da página com um slideshow para as notícias mais importantes; não está tudo atravancado, nenhum texto para além dos títulos (até que enfim que alguém percebeu isso), video mesmo no centro da página, que nem chega a ocupar toda a largura do monitor. A barra amarela de lado tem as rubricas principais do site, a coluna do meio é para o conteúdo informativo, e à direita os normais quadros de “mais lidos/comentados”, temas especiais, e resultados desportivos ao vivo. Ao fundo, três colunas de conteúdo: Portugal, Mundo,Desporto. Mais simples não há. A redacção e o jornal estão divididos em quatro secções: Zoom, Radar, Mais e Desporto, e isso nota-se no site. Cada artigo parece ter pelo menos uma foto sempre que possível e tem as ferramentas normais de votação, enviar e imprimir. Existe também uma ferramenta de bookmarking social que permite enviar a notícia para os Google Bookmarks, Technorati, e (o choque!) Facebook, MySpace, Flickr(!?) e o todo-poderoso Twitter. As redes sociais parecem ser um ponto muito importante para o projecto, já que designaram alguns jornalistas para gerir as contas do Twitter, Facebook e Youtube. Numa conversa via Twitter com o homem responsável pelas redes sociais, ele pôs o conceito numa palavra: eles querem construir uma “icomunidade”. Os utilizadores estão convidados a participar na vida da redacção, partilhando as suas notícias numa rubrica chamada iRepórter. Podem enviar conteúdos através do seu perfil de utilizador, e partilhá-lo como notícia, ou crítica a filmes, restaurantes, música etc, até 1500 caracteres. Podem também colocar fotos e video na hora. Todos os artigos têm que cumprir com as regras editoriais do i. Vamos ver como funciona. O site também tem alguns blogs, ainda não os explorei, mas parecem ser todos convidados pela editoria. Outra coisa que me deixou curioso é a forma como vão interagir com as outras empresas do grupo. Eles têm alguns rádios e jornais regionais, e gostava de saber como o nacional e o local irão trabalhar juntos (se é que vão). O site tem uma página para eles, mas para já, são apenas os logos. O video parce ser uma parte importante para o i. Eles tecnicamente parecem ser muito bons, apesar da narrativa TV estar ainda presente (não é surpresa se virmos que o video de apresentação é feito por umn jornalista de TV), mas parece bem. Partilhável, “embutível” (excepto no wordpress.com, mas isso é problema da plataforma), fácil de carregar, que mais podemos pedir? Vou ficar à espera de mais trabalhos video. No geral, o site do i é um passo para o futuro, no design – é bonito- , filosofia, organização, Não está talhado para despejar conteúdo do papel e espero que não caiam nisso. Há outros detalhes que é preciso explorar com tempo, como a economia de links, moderação de comentários, a interacção com as redes sociais, etc. Mas o início online parece promissor.

iTV

The Future | O Futuro

…as seen by Microsoft | …como a Microsoft o vê

Click image to watch video | Clique na imagem para ver o video

Fast forward me to 2019, please.

via Buzzófias

Top5: Most annoying discussions | Discussões mais irritantes

The Death of Newspapers | A morte dos Jornais

pic by Provide Design

Mondays make me grumpy. I think most of you feel the same. So i’m taking this grumpiness and make it work in my favour and start here a long planned series of five posts about some discussions that despite being meaningful and needed in many ways are starting to get on my nerves. And  to take the bull by the horns, i’ll be starting with the biggest one. The death of Newspapers The real issue: old media vs new media. Like in many other debates, sometimes the real issue is hidden under a pile of arguments that aren’t the ones that really matter. So, it bothers me when some confuse the package with what’s inside. The Death of the Newspapers should not be  about format. The printed paper is the package, and the news are the gift. The problem is that the whole business was supported by the wrapping paper, and with the internet, all that was left was the contents, that became more appealing, and easier, faster, cheaper to get. The debate still revolves too much  around the format, and there is a bulk of reasoning based on the superiority of the paper. The advantage of that format is that it made money. Well, some money. And because of the webgeist, it is more difficult to generate revenue teaching the old tricks to a new dog, and when those tricks failed they blamed it on Craigslist. This is ridiculous, because there are countries where Craigslist has no relevance whatsoever and the newspapers face the same problem. The secret was not on the classified ads. What other reasons are to it then? Management failed miserably in some fundamental points: concentrated only in one activity, but performed badly, being lazy shovelling press releases and wire as news, creating a detached reality from the readers’. They succumbed to outside influence, and when independent bloggers caught media  in their biased views and dirty little secrets, the audience turned to what they felt it was more reliable. They scorned the intelligence of their readers, and underestimated the importance of the new medium. Newspapers were arrogant. So the fault is part theirs. Unlike any other medium, newspapers are the purest players: most of TV and Radio rely heavily on entertainment. So this granted them the keys to their own Ivory Tower. Unfortunately to some, they only opened the door from the outside. There is a crisis out there, which is economical, social, educational, cultural. Let me rephrase that, and substitute “crisis” for “revolution“. Like in any other revolution the ones who adapt faster to the new order survive. Newspapers  and their professionals are having a hard time to adjust, because they are still trying to save paper. That should not be a subject to be harping on, because paper will live a long time, in different models, frequency, looks, content, but there will always be an audience for paper. Don’t mix  up a combustible material with fuel for the mind. News is the most important part of “newspaper”. Fortunately there has been some effort : “Management structures and sales practices are also changing, with the emphasis on fewer executives and more soldiers in the trenches.” This issue also hides a fear: can journalism die? Which sometimes means “can i lose my status”? This question was posed by some journalists, in their long, sleepless nights. Unfortunately, the question became to “will i keep my job?“. Journalism won’t die even if all the journalists disappeared from the face of the earth overnight, so we are dispensable, no matter how bad some might take this. Yes, journalists are mere mortals. Like Charlie Beckett put it, “Journalism likes to think it is a superhero when it is really Clark Kent.” A professional is someone who makes a living using a specific set of skills and knowledge. This both includes journalists and lumberjacks. What worries me is that this debate is kept between journalists, users/readers, academics, but seldom we have a newspaper manager participating, they’re the ones who can really do something (well, not really). My only doubt is if that is a symptom or a cause. Now that i blew off some steam about it, i just want to say that there are a lot of well meaning professionals trying to deliver and evolve while riding the wild juggernaut that is the news industry. The survival of the business is not in question, but some doors will close, it’s up to the companies to reinvent themselves as they stick to the original plan: to inform their communities, whether in analog or digital, because that is their role.

Estou sempre irritado às Segundas. Acho que a maioria sabe do que falo. Por isso vou usar esta irritação e pô-la a trabalhar em meu favor, e começar hoje uma série de posts há muito planeada sobre algumas discussões que, apesar de profundas e necessárias, já me começam a chatear. E para pegar o bicho de caras, vou começar pela maior. A Morte dos Jornais A verdadeira discussão: media tradicionais versus novos media.  Como em qualquer outra discussão, por vezes o verdadeiro tema está escondido debaixo de uma pilha de argumentos, que nem são os mais importantes. Por isso incomoda-me quando alguns confundem o embrulho com o que está lá dentro. A Morte dos Jornais não devia ser sobre o formato. O papel impresso é o embrulho e as notícias o presente. O problema é que o negócio inteiro era financiado pelo papel de embrulho, e, com a internet, só sobrou o conteúdo, agora mais apelativo, mais barato, rápido e fácil de obter. O debate ainda anda muito à volta do formato, e existe uma quantidade enorme de raciocínio que se apoia numa superioridade do papel. A vantagem desse formato era que fazia dinheiro. Bem, algum. E por causa do webgeist, é difícil criar receita ensinando os velhos truques a um cão novo, e quando esses truques falharam culparam a Craigslist. Isto é ridículo, porque há países onde a Craigslist não tem expressão nenhuma, e os jornais têm os mesmos problemas. O segredo não estava nos classificados. Então que outras razões temos? A gestão falhou redondamente em alguns pontos fundamentais: concentraram-se apenas numa actividade, mas mal, ao serem preguiçosos  a despejar press releases e takes de agências, e criando uma realidade longe da dos leitores. Sucumbiram a influências externas e quando bloggers independentes apanharam os media nas suas visões parciais e segredinhos sujos, o público virou-se para o que lhes pareceu mais fiável. Desprezaram a inteligência dos seus leitores e menosprezaram a importância dos novos meios. Os jornais foram arrogantes. Parte da culpa é deles. Ao contrário de qualquer outro meio, os jornais são jogadores puros: a maior parte da TV e da Rádio baseia-se em entretenimento. Isto deu-lhes as chaves para a sua própria Torre de Marfim. Infelizmente para alguns, apenas abriam a porta do lado de fora. Há uma crise lá fora, que é económica, social, educacional, cultural. Deixem-me reformular, e substituir “crise” por “revolução“. Como em qualquer revolução, os que se adaptam à nova ordem sobrevivem. Os jornais e os  seus profissionais estão a ter dificuldades em ajustar-se, porque ainda estão a tentar salvar o papel. Não devia ser esse o seu cavalo de batalha, porque o papel vai durar ainda muito tempo, em modelos diferentes, frequência, aspecto, conteúdo, mas há-de sempre haver um público para o papel. Não confundam o material que arde com o que nos alimenta as ideias. As notícias são a parte mais importante de um jornal. Felizmente há quem se esforce: “As estruturas de gestão e práticas de venda também estão a mudar, com ênfase em menos executivos e mais soldados nas trincheiras” Este assunto também esconde um medo: pode o jornalismo morrer? O que por vezes significa”posso perder o meu estatuto”? Esta pergunta era colocada às vezes por alguns jornalistas em noites de insónia. Infelizmente, tornou-se em “será que vou manter o emprego”? O jornalismo não morria nem que todos os jornalistas desaparecessem da face da terra de um dia para o outro, por isso somos dispensáveis, por mais que alguns de vocês levem isto a mal. Sim, os jornalistas são meros mortais. Como disse o Charlie Beckett,  “o jornalismo gosta de pensar que é um super-herói quando na realidade é o Clark Kent”. Um profissional é quem ganha a vida recorrendo a um conjunto específico de aptidões e conhecimentos. Isto inclui jornalistas e madeireiros. O me preocupa é que este debate é mantido entre jornalistas, utilizadores/leitores, académicos, mas raramente temos alguém da direcção de um jornal como interlocutor, eles é que podem realmente fazer alguma coisa (bem, nem por isso). A minha única dúvida é se isto é um sintoma ou uma causa. Agora que já desabafei um bocado, gostaria de dizer que há um monte de profissionais bem intencionados que procuram cumprir e evoluir enquanto vão em cima do rolo compressor que é a indústria de informação. A sobrevivência do negócio não está em causa, mas algumas portas irão fechar, cabe às empresas reinventarem-se e ao mesmo tempo manter-se fiéis ao plano inicial: informar as suas comunidades, seja de forma analógica ou digital, porque esse é o seu verdadeiro papel.

Here’s some advice | Alguns conselhos

READ ALSO ABOUT THE OTHERS | LEIAM TAMBÉM SOBRE AS OUTRAS

Bloggers vs Journalists | Bloggers vs Jornalistas

Citizen Journalism | Jornalismo do Cidadão

Death of the blogosphere | Morte da Blogosfera

Local mistakes revisited | Erros no local revisitados

New layout, old mistakes | Novo aspecto, erros antigos

Last April i wrote a post about the policy of one of the biggest regional newspapers in my residence area, and how it was plain online suicide. Back then i also said it was a great opportunity for the competition. Well, it was not well taken. Diário de Coimbra’s website got a facelift, but let me count the ways it was just a skin deep operation. 1-The announcement of the makeover is made on a post dated from January 2nd. Two weeks later, the transition still continues, with lots of features not working yet. Poor planning or a taste for improvising? 2-The change in the layout is poor,and it has the image-reflected-equals-2.0 vibe. Useless, and ugly. 3- In the new visible features we have a Sapo news scroller (which i believe to be a part of an arrangement between the portal and news outlets) and a audio player to listen to a local radio. That’s as far multimedia goes. And a weather thingy. 4-Readers can sign in,though i really don’t know what they get by doing it. The interaction resumes to comments, polls, and a brand new (inactive) forum. 5-They’re using Joomla, a CMS i know rather well, and use all the time in my part time occupation as a website builder. With the proper planning i’d build this website in three days, with a better looking template, and it would cost them around 500€.  It would be up and running after one week. Devising a strategy for the online would cost about as much,if i was the one doing it (my fees are low for now). I wonder how did it cost this new look. 6-Diário de Coimbra belongs to a larger group that includes local radios, as we’ve seen before, and three other newspapers: Diário de Aveiro, Diário de Leiria, Diário de Viseu. Click through to see which one is getting a makeover too. Instead of using one website, that would use cookies to define which local version would appear to each user, they have four different , separate versions for each one of them. This is not a cost effective solution, and it is not taking advantage of the editorial possibilities since these newspapers  cover close realities and markets, but the news can only be found in the respective websites, instead of crossing over into the others. 7-Good things: a RSS icon (though i bet they didn’t know what’s the use for it) , and the will to renew their web presence. It’s a pity that this will is mislead. Fine feathers make fine birds, but nothing is fine here. There’s nothing new, there’s no strategy, just the inability to understand how media is evolving. About the other newspaper that made me write the first post, well, nothing has changed really. But i believe i’ll be doing some posting about it soon…

Em Abril passado, escrevi um post sobre a política de um dos maiores regionais da minha área de residência, e como era simplesmente suicídio. Nessa altura também disse que era uma grande oportunidade para a concorrência. Pelos vistos, mal aproveitada. O site do Diário de Coimbra foi renovado, mas deixem-me vos explicar como continua tudo na mesma. 1- O anúncio da renovação vem num post datado de 2 de Janeiro. Duas semanas mais tarde, a transição ainda continua, com muitas aplicações ainda sem funcionar. Falta de planeamento  ou feito em cima do joelho? 2- A mudança gráfica é pobre, e usa o conceito da imagem-reflectida-para-parecer-2.0. Inútil e feio. 3- Nas novas aplicações visíveis temos um scroller de notícias da Sapo (creio eu que ao abrigo de um acordo entre o portal e o jornais regionais) e um leitor áudio para ouvir uma rádio local. É o multimédia que há. E uma coisa para o tempo. 4-Os leitores podem fazer inscrever-se no site, mas não sei o que ganham com isso. A interacção resume-se aos comentários, sondagens, e um novíssimo (e inactivo) fórum. 5- Eles estão a usar o Joomla, um CMS que conheço bastante bem e que uso na mior parte das vezes no meu parte-time como trolha de websites. Com a devida planificação, fazia este site em três dias, com um template mais catita, por 500€. Ficava pronto a funcionar ao fim de uma semana. Definir uma estratégia para o online custava-lhes outro tanto, se fosse eu a fazê-la (ainda levo barato). Nem imagino quanto custou este novo look. 6-O Diário de Coimbra pertence a um grupo que inclui uma rádio local, como já vimos e três outros jornais: Diário de Aveiro, Diário de Leiria, Diário de Viseu. Cliquem nos links para ver quem é que está também a ser renovado. Em vez de usarem um só website, que usaria cookies para definir qual das versões locais apareceria para cada utilizador, eles têm quatro versões diferentes e separadas para cada um. Esta não é uma solução financeiramente eficaz, já que estes jornais cobrem realidades e mercados relativamente próximos, mas as notícias só se encontram nos respectivos websites, em vez de transitar e aparecer nos outros. 7-Coisas boas: um icon de RSS (embora aposte que não saibam para que serve), e a vontade de renovar a sua presença na web. É pena é que essa vontade seja mal orientada. O hábito faz o monge,mas aqui não faz um bom site. Não há nada de novo, não há uma estratégia, só a  incapacidade de compreender como os media estão a evoluir. Quanto ao outro jornal que provocou o primeiro post, bem, nada mudou entretanto. Mas acredito que irei escrever um post sobre eles em breve…

Links for today | Links para hoje

• Are you putting the user first?, Journalism2.0
  

If you’re editing a news site, are you publishing what users want or what you have?

Assuming you have what users want, are you organizing it the way your users would want it organized? Or is it organized based on some legacy notion like print sections? Or worse, is it displayed based on the org chart?

Startup news sites are fighting an uphill battle against established media brands. But one advantage they have is the ability to put the user first in their content and layout decisions, without the burden of prior procedures.

• Print organisations will need to open source their systems: New year convictions, Andy Dickinson

I only need to look at the increase of twitter followers, new blogs and fresh faces that have appeared since christmas to know that journalists are really fired up about online. They love twitter and blogging and RSS. Once they get excited by slideshows or video or maps they want to try them.  The avalaunche of new apps that appear on the web news of which spread through their newly followed feeds appear as a tweet are the biggest most exciting toy box imaginable. They have stories they want to tell.

Then they go in the office and it grinds to a halt.

That great stuff they tried on their blog the night before needs a form signed in triplicate, a request to central support and good dollop of patience. By then the stories dead and a little bit of the excitment has died with them.

• Paying for it: Which news?, Notes from a Teacher

Things were simpler a decade and a half ago, when the three daily newspapers that landed on my doorstep (all paid for) were what I needed.

Not any more. For any given story, other than perhaps the truly local, there are dozens of sources and there’s no single source that covers it best day in and day out. When I’m following a story, I’ll go through as many as a dozen websites and, for different stories, they are not always the same ones.

I’m hardly unique. Increasingly, it’s the way people inform themselves. And that’s where part of the idea of paying for the news breaks down substantially. How many subscriptions should have to I buy to cover the part-time creation of value?

• Could an iTunes model for news content be the solution?, Editor’s Weblog

As newspapers struggle to sell their content, which in most cases can be found online for free, David Carr of The New York Times asks why the news industry as not followed Apple’s model for iTunes.

The iTunes online music store sold more than 2.4 billion tracks last year, according to the NYT.  The most important thing to retain from this number, according to Carr, is that “Apple has been able to charge for content in the first place,” even though music can be downloaded for free online (illegally, of course).

Their success is a combination of an easy user interface, cooperation within the music industry and a solid business model.  The question is can the model be transplanted?

• The web as a CMS, Derivadow.com
  

If you run a website you’re going to want to manage your content. You might use an Enterprise CMS, an open source CMS, a blogging platform or a bespoke app, and as you might expect at the BBC the same rules apply. Except some of us have been trying out something a bit different — using the web as a content management system.

• Ten things every journalist should know in 2009, Journalism.co.uk

3. That there is a difference between link journalism and ‘cut and paste’ journalism (aka plagiarism).

4. That your readers are smarter than you think. In fact, many are smarter than you – they know more than you do.

5. That churnalism is much easier to spot online. If you do this regularly, your readers are already on to you – merely re-writing press releases without bringing anything to the table no longer cuts it.

• The moral purpose of journalism, Ethical Martini

Before you read any further, you need to know that I am a strong supporter of the Palestinians who thinks the state of Israel is an imperialist construct and an outpost of American projected military power in the Middle East. I’ve come to the conclusion that journalists have a moral responsibility to say as much and to predicate all their reporting of the current Gaza conflict, as well as coverage of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and the associated “terror frame” of news analysis on this controversial starting point.

In other words, I believe in what Martin Bell calls the “journalism of attachment”, rather than feeble attempts at objectivity, which is, in and of itself, a form of inbuilt and largely unconscious bias.

Links for today | Links para hoje

• WTSP-TV Uses Skype to Broadcast Live Shot, Poynter Online
  

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Monday morning, WTSP-TV anchor/reporter Janie Porter was on TV, reporting live from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on the run-up to this week’s national college football championship game. She didn’t have a big live truck accompanying her, or an engineer tuning in a shot or a photojournalist standing behind the camera and setting up lights.

Porter set up her own camera, opened her laptop, connected the camera to her computer, slipped a wireless connection card into her laptop, called up Skype and used her Blackberry to establish IFB (the device TV folks wear in their ears to hear the off-air signal). It all looked just great on air.

• Who will pay for serious journalism? Well, newspapers can , Mark Hamilton

At some point, newspaper execs who believe in serious, quality journalism — not Google, not government, not some outside agency — are going to have to make the decision to support it with as much as possible of the remaining resources that they have. It is newspapers — even now, because they are still making money — that are going to have make the commitment to make serious journalism their prime, and perhaps only, reason for being, even if it means letting the lighter stuff (which makes up a substantial amount of the weekly page count) go.

• Clay Shirky X 2

The shape of things to come, The Guardian

The great misfortune of newspapers in this era is that they were such a good idea for such a long time that people felt the newspaper business model was part of a deep truth about the world, rather than just the way things happened to be. It’s like the fall of communism, where a lot of the eastern European satellite states had an easier time because there were still people alive who remembered life before the Soviet Union – nobody in Russia remembered it. Newspaper people are like Russians, in a way.

Interview with Clay Shirky, Part I | Interview with Clay Shirky, Part II, CJR

One of the things that I’ve noticed with criticisms of the Internet is that very often they’re displaced criticisms of television. That there are a lot of people, Nick Carr especially is a recent addition to the canon, wringing their hands over the end of literary reading. And they’re laying that at the foot of the Internet. It seems to me, in fact, from the historical record, that the idea of literary reading as a sort of broad and normal activity was done in by television, and it was done in forty years ago.

• Mad to start freelancing in the recession? Thou shalt make overly-ambitious new year resolutions, Journalism.co.uk

2. Thou shalt aim high. I must remember that my experience, expertise and capability are precious – and will not be tempted to sell myself  short or write for free. Because thou is worth it, right?

3. Thou shalt be more persistent. I will make sure I’m being proactive about pitching and will not be afraid to bang on doors – everyone else is doing it, after all.

• 2009: the year hyperlocal becomes sustainable, Journalism2.0
  

Much of the information that most people want doesn’t readily exist in a publicly available database. It’s in the conversations and community interactions between real people. (This is the key to Twitter’s amazing growth.) And I believe that people want to know what’s happening in their neighborhood.

• O futuro do jornalismo, träsel/blog

Uma solução para o financiamento da atividade jornalística pode estar em oferecer material mais atraente ao leitor e cobrar por ele. Os jornais digitais poderiam deixar a informação que pode ser encontrada em outros lugares (abundante) disponível a todos e investir maior esforço de reportagem em pautas inusitadas e exclusivas. Isto é, produzir informação escassa. E escassez, como qualquer estudante de primeiro semestre de Economia sabe, é uma das bases do valor de qualquer produto. Enfim, é preciso primeiro aumentar a qualidade das notícias, para depois querer cobrar por elas.

• Raid Gaza! Editorial Games and Timeliness, NewsGames

The game argues against the justification of Israeli attacks on Gaza, representing them as unprovoked and characterizing Israel’s response as overt aggression. The game’s goal is to kill as many Palestinians as possible in a three minute session. The game begins with a quote from Ehud Olmert on “minimizing the number of Palestinans” in Gaza. The game connects the dots in the statement, suggesting that minimization implies killing. As shown above, special rewards are offered for occasional attacks on civilian targets. A creepy muzak-like instrumental version of the Carpenter’s “Close to You” plays throughout.

The vehicle, the road or the voyage | O veículo, a estrada ou a viagem

Hybrid model | Modelo híbrido - by rodrigo silveira

I believe newspaper companies are making a huge mistake when defining their business. This is not a new idea, but it is still happening.They’re trying to save the vehicle when they haven’t still understood how the vehicle has evolved: it is no longer a horse cart, but a  well designed Formula 1, powered by a state of the art last generation environment friendly engine.You can tell i don’t know much about cars but you get the idea. Ok, but they want to keep the horse (fondly named Paper – even though they’re wanting to keep him out of the name). No harm about that, but its place is not in front of the car, doing all the hard work, but in a horse box pulled by the brand new car, as the luxury item it has become, well fed and properly treated. And the new machine needs new professionals with new technological expertises to keep it running. Other mistake newspaper companies make is they decide which way to go. Come on people, that’s why buses aren’t the only way to go from A to B! People got their own cars to go wherever they like, whenever they like, alone or with their friends. No timetables, no fixed route. If there’s a shortcut (link?) we can take it because we want to and not go all the way around. But they stick to that same old dusty road they know so well, losing passengers more interested in choosing their own ways and destinations. I fear newspapers have forgot what the car and the road are all about: travelling. It’s the experience, not the vehicle or the destination. TV and Radio know they are more sensorial experiences than ink on paper – a more brainy thing – and they do not seem to be asking for help like newspaper companies are. It’s the path, the way we choose to go left or right, and how we share our views – because travelling alone is not as fun as with others. And when we finish the route as it is now with the newspapers, we find ourselves in the same place, when what people want is to end up in a whole new surrounding, with more knowledge than they first started.  A horse and  buggy can do, but we also long for the thrill of speed. So their definition must take into account this: it’s all about the ride. Give us the options to enjoy it.

Acho que os jornais e as companhias que os detém estão a cometer um erro crasso na definição do seu negócio. Esta ideia não é nova,mas ainda acontece. Eles ainda estão a tentar salvar o veículo quando ainda não perceberam como é que ele evoluiu: já não é uma carroça, mas um Fórmula 1 bem desenhado,com um motor amigo do ambiente de última geração. Dá para ver que não percebo muito de carros mas estão a ver a ideia. Tudo bem, eles ainda querem manter o cavalo (carinhosamente chamado de Papel- se bem que o queiram tirar do nome). Não tem mal nenhum, mas o seu lugar já não é a puxar o carro mas numa box a reboque, tratado como o bem de luxo que se tornou, bem alimentado e mimado. E o bólide precisa de novos profissionais especializados na nova tecnologia para o manter a funcionar. Outro erro que as empresas dos jornais fazem é decidirem o trajecto. Então pessoal, é por isso que os autocarros deixaram de ser o transporte eleito de ir de A a B! As pessoas têm os seus próprios carros para irem onde quiserem quando quiserem,sozinhos ou com os amigos. Sem horários ou rota definida. Se houver um atalho (link?)podemos tomá-lo porque não queremos ir à volta. Mas os jornais teimam em seguir naquela estrada velha que tão bem conhecem, e perdem passageiros mais interessados em escolher o seu próprio caminho e destino. Temo que os jornais se tenham esquecido do que para que o carro e a estrada servem: viajar. É a experiência, não o meio ou a chegada. A Tv e a Rádio sabem que são experiências mais sensoriais do que tinta no papel – uma coisa mais cerebral – e não as ouço a pedir por ajuda. É o caminho, a possibilidade de podermos ir pela esquerda ou pela direita, e como partilhamos os nossos pontos de vista – porque viajar acompanhado é sempre mais divertido. E quando acabamos o percurso assim como está feito pelos jornais, acabamos sempre no mesmo sítio, quando o que as pessoas querem é terminar num local completamente diferente, com mais conhecimento do que quando acabaram. Uma carroça também serve mas também queremos o gozo da velocidade. A definição passa por isto: é a viagem que interessa. Dêem-nos as opções para a podermos apreciar.

Responsibility | Responsabilidade

Paulo Querido, in ExpressoOnline

Alexandre Gamela is a journalist with an impressive curriculum with a wide knowledge about online journalism and social networks like-i dare to say it- very few others have in Portugal. His absorption capacity seems to be endless.

I follow Alexandre the most i can: I subscribe his blog O Lago | The Lake, that has the peculiarity of being bilingual (Alexandre has an unusual working ability) and accompany him in social networks. The day I start a newspaper, i’ll hire him. Until then, I read him and absorb, while no Newsroom grabs him – which is one of those wastes of talent only possible in an industry adrift.

Paulo Querido, ExpressoOnline

December has been overwhelming. I took a few days off to think some things through. I’ve been highly praised by people i respect and my blog was chosen to rank among other high quality bloggers at Journalism.co.uk. This is a reward for all the hard work i’ve been developing especially in this last year. But this reward also carries the weight of responsibility. I have to do more and better. We – the new media pros and visionaries –  all do. Next year will be a hard year, but as we can learn from History, it is in hardship that people overcome their obstacles. And we shall overcome. To all of those who have been following and linking back to The Lake, to all of those brilliant,generous minds with whom i learned so much, my deepest thank you. Without you i’d be nothing. Happy 2009 to everyone.

Dezembro foi um mês avassalador.Tirei uns dias de descanso para pensar em algumas coisas. Fui altamente elogiado por pessoas que respeito e o meu blog foi escolhido para figurar entre outros de grande qualidade no Journalism.co.uk. É a recompensa por todo o trabalho árduo que desenvolvi este ano. Mas esta recompensa traz também o peso da responsabilidade. Tenho que fazer mais e melhor. Nós- os profissionais e os visionários dos novos média- todos temos.O próximo ano vai ser difícil,mas como a História ensina,é na dificuldade que as pessoas se transcendem.E nós vamos fazê-lo. Para todos aqueles que têm seguido e linkado para O Lago, para todas as mentes brilhantes e generosas com quem tenho aprendido tanto, os meus profundos agradecimentos.Sem vocês eu não sou nada. Feliz 2009 para todos.

Confiança e integridade | Trust and integrity

Chris Cramer

Numa recente apresentação na Nottingham Trent University, Chris Cramer, consultor na Reuters depois de uma carreira de 11 anos na CNN, abordou dois conceitos chave na produção jornalística: confiança e integridade. Mas o seu discurso vai muito mais longe do que as questões éticas e enquadra-as nas perspectivas global e tecnológica actuais. Uma intervenção para ler e reflectir. A transcrição da apresentação pode ser lida aqui.

In a recent presentation at the Nottingham Trent University, Chris Cramer, consultant at Reuters after as 11 year career at CNN, talked about two key issues in journalistic production: trust and integrity. But his speech goes way beyond than just ethic questions but he frames them in the current global and technological perspectives.His intervention is a great source for reflection. The full transcript of the presentation can be read here.

So I’d like to talk today about what role the media can play in a changing world and what its responsibilities should be.

Is it a passive window on the world, an inanimate mirror which reflects simply what is happening or does the media have a true social responsibility beyond getting ratings and readership and making profit? Can the media and journalists make the world a better place? Or are they just lazy tools of a fickle society?

Have readers and viewers and consumers lost trust in the mainstream media and do they now prefer to gather their own information via the internet and blog sites?

‘Trust and integrity in the modern media’ – Chris Cramer’s speech to Nottingham Trent University