http://www.cjr.org/ Columbia Journalism Review: The future of media is here en Copyright 2013 Thu, 16 May 2013 06:49:00 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss By Ann Friedman Last week, my declaration that this is the best moment to be working in journalism was met with some side-eye after outlets from the Daily News to, cough, the Columbia Journalism Review announced layoffs. "BREAKING: No it's not," tweeted Dallas Observer editor Joe Tone. "Not sure the folks getting pink slips today at the #DailyNews would... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/what_to_do_when_you_get_fired.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/what_to_do_when_you_get_fired.php #Realtalk Thu, 16 May 2013 06:49:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman I've spent the past two months on the conference circuit. I spoke to groups of journalists in San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Alaska. And I'll confess something to you: Even though I love working in media and mostly love the other people who do, too, it got to be really depressing. Question after question focused on limitations, ranging from... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/this_is_the_best_moment_to_be.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/this_is_the_best_moment_to_be.php #Realtalk Thu, 09 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman Jessica Bennett worked for seven years at journalistic stalwarts like The Boston Globe, the Village Voice, and Newsweek. But after years of sleeping on couches when she went on reporting assignments and watching her friends take buyouts, she was ready for a change. So she accepted a job as executive editor of Storyboard, an independent journalistic publication housed within... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/rise_of_branded_but_independen.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/rise_of_branded_but_independen.php #Realtalk Thu, 02 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman This week, Politico published a largely anonymously-sourced hit piece on New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson, charging that she is blunt, demoralizing, condescending, and is "on the verge of losing the support of the newsroom." Critics, myself included, asked whether this piece would have been written and edited in this particular way if its subject were... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/jill_abramson_leadership.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/jill_abramson_leadership.php #Realtalk Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:28:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman I don't have cable, so I experienced Monday's events the way I've experienced every violent American tragedy since 9/11: through social media. As a journalist observing such incidents in the past, I explained my morbid rubbernecking as just part of my news-junkie sensibility. While I've rarely chimed in--I've never been a local reporter in an area where tragedy has struck--I... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/the_other_side_of_reporting_a.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/the_other_side_of_reporting_a.php #Realtalk Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:50:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman Last weekend I spoke at the BU Power of Narrative conference, where a lot of accomplished longform feature writers asked me about how they could get good at that ultimate shortform journalistic platform, Twitter. Many of them were under the impression that, for journalists, there are more potential pitfalls than benefits to issuing 140-character missives. Somehow,... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/what_am_i_supposed_to_tweet_ab.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/what_am_i_supposed_to_tweet_ab.php #Realtalk Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:50:01 -0500 By Ann Friedman At most news outlets, travel budgets have disappeared. This is a bummer if you're a reporter who likes to get outside your comfort zone and see things firsthand, so this makes the junket more appealing than ever. A friend of mine, who's a regular contributor to a national magazine but not on staff, was recently offered a trip to... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/what_you_gonna_do_with_all_tha.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/what_you_gonna_do_with_all_tha.php #Realtalk Thu, 04 Apr 2013 06:50:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman Let's face it: The conversation about diversity in journalism is mostly boring hand-wringing. With each new byline count, it's easy to despair that gender and ethnic diversity is mostly a pipe dream--a goal that applies more to HR handbooks than actual newsroom practices. But earlier this month, after MSNBC announced it was giving Chris Hayes... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/chris_hayes.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/chris_hayes.php #Realtalk Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman Recently, fiction writer David Cameron decided to try a little experiment: I grabbed a New Yorker story off the web (no, it wasn't by Alice Munro or William Trevor), copied it into a Word document, changed only the title, created a fictitious author identity, and submitted it to a slew of literary journals, all of whom regularly grace the... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/the_slush_pile.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/the_slush_pile.php #Realtalk Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:50:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman Any journalist working in the media-saturated cities of New York and DC has probably at least toyed with the idea of dating a fellow reporter, editor, or producer. Ours is an industry of long hours and open offices--conditions conducive to flirtations and flings. Of course, dating within your industry isn't specific to journalism. The workplace remains one of the... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/mixing_business_with_pleasure.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/mixing_business_with_pleasure.php #Realtalk Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman I used to be an editor with a tiny budget who was constantly apologizing for our rates. Now I'm a freelancer who pays my rent exclusively through writing. And sometimes, I allow my work to be published for nothing, or next-to-nothing. Cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the deterioration of journalism! It seems like... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/freelancing_for_free_or_for_mo_1.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/freelancing_for_free_or_for_mo_1.php #Realtalk Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman "Can I be your Clark Kent?" "If you got shrapnel in your ass, I'd be happy to take it out." "Now that I don't have to worry about you quoting me, I can hit on you." This is just a sampling from Said to Lady Journos, a new site that catalogs the sexism and harassment that, for many female... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/dealing_with_harassment_and_se.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/dealing_with_harassment_and_se.php #Realtalk Thu, 28 Feb 2013 06:50:01 -0500 By Ann Friedman "How can we get institutions and organizations to stop holding conferences titled 'The Death of Print'? I have no time for this," a friend recently complained to me. Indeed, the most recent Magazine Publishers of America conference began with a discussion of how dead-tree editions are, well, dying. Hey, print's not dead! Have you been to an airport lately?... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/dead_tree_edition.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/dead_tree_edition.php #Realtalk Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:00:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman If you're a freelance writer or a PR professional, you probably know that pitching is a delicate art that sometimes yields great results and sometimes ends in heartbreak. When it doesn't go your way, sometimes there's a clear reason for rejection--the time hook has expired, or there's already a piece on that topic in the works. But often it's... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/when_were_just_not_that_into_y.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/when_were_just_not_that_into_y.php #Realtalk Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:00:00 -0500 By Ann Friedman The line between "blogger" and "reporter" has been blurry for a long time. Those of us who went to journalism school and graduated to staff jobs at publications spend a lot of time insisting that our professionalism is worth something--our skills aren't something that just anyone can pick up. But is that really true? A blogger friend recently wrote... http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/reporting_for_rookies.php http://www.cjr.org/realtalk/reporting_for_rookies.php #Realtalk Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:00:00 -0500