Journalism talk - Optimists - Spring 2013

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Journalism and the Burbank Community Bryan Mahoney February 2013

description

In the daily news our papers compete in 140 characters or less. We are working on the level with the people we serve - neighbors can now Tweet out news of a house fire in less time than it takes our journalists to log on to our phones. That’s a fundamental shift in the way we approach news. We are not the only means of distributing the message. What do I do? I try to make a connection. I connect the people that are the afflicted, the humble, the unknown or unsung, and I put their stories into the marketplace so that what they do might catch on. The Burbank Leader, like all community newspapers of 2013, still promotes and maintains that marketplace. This is what makes language so important – our communities are predicated on capturing that conversation, shaping it, using language to build it into something meaningful, rather than a random mishmash of words. Perhaps now more than ever, though, it needs the input and contributions of its readership – that inherent association Tocqueville talks about – to serve its mission of community engagement.

Transcript of Journalism talk - Optimists - Spring 2013

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Journalism and the Burbank Community

Bryan MahoneyFebruary 2013

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About Bryan

• Writes the Burb’s Eye View column each Wednesday• Moved to California in 2010• Holds several awards from the New York and New England Press Associations for investigative and community engagement work

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But first … a Mad Lib

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WHY?

Words influence LANGUAGE,

LANGUAGE influences thought.

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THIS GUY KNEW HIS STUFF.

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Gutenberg.

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Gutenberg.

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The printing press.Even Snooki wrote a book. Think about it.

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Alexis de TocquevilleWrote ‘Democracy in America’

• Originally titled, ‘Hey America! You Rock at Democracy’

• French historian and Keanu Reeves lookalike

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The only authors whom I acknowledge as American are the journalists. They indeed are not great writers, but they speak

the language of their countrymen, and make themselves heard by them.

-From “Democracy in America”1835/1840

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James Joyce

Wrote ‘Finnegan’s Wake’

• Big surprise: An Irish book about whisky

• English wasn’t good enough, so he made up words

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Finnegan’s Wake, Page OneIs this English, or an eye chart?

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Narrative Journalism

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The ‘new’ news

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The New York Times• One of the first newspapers to go online

• Had a chance to charge for content but didn’t. Reversed its policy 10+ years later.

• Represented unlimited real estate; difficult to sell ads online when space is unlimited

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How to be a Journalist

1. Grow a beard.2. Learn how to ask questions

that can’t be answered with “Yes” or “No.”

3. Be an active listener.

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Woodward.

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Woodward.

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Woodward.

“The central dilemma in journalism is that you don't know what you don't know.”

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‘A Broader Look at an Imperfect System’With enough time on your hands, you too can pore through hundreds of property records on a Sunday afternoon.

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The Osorio FamilyAt the end of the day, a journalist gets to meet great people.

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Information overload.

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Traditional Service

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Service online

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A newspaper can only subsist on the condition of publishing

sentiments or principles common to a large number of

men. … The fact that the newspaper keeps alive, is a

proof that at least the germ of such an association exists in the

minds of its readers.

-From “Democracy in America”1835/1840

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Anatomy of a Newspaper

Advertising

Editorial

News Opinion

Letters OpEd Editorials

Money Money

Money Money Money

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A final Mad Lib

Journalism today is a(n) evolving profession, one that

requires more involvement from its audience in order

to work. Newsgathering and news sharing are

participatory activities and though the medium has

changed the message has not. Community journalism

still has its place in delivering stories to its readers –

it must cement its role in uncovering the unseen if it is

to remain relevant.

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Thank you.

I will now accept _____________

and also ______________.

PLURAL NOUN

PLURAL NOUN

questions

pancakes