What I'm Looking Forward To in June

Hi from Maui, Everyone! Here is what I am looking forward to at this summer's institute:

I want to find out how you all manage your journalism programs. I suspect that at least some of you have a story similar to mine. You are an English teacher who was given the journalism program because you "know about writing." I have had a number of successes and just as many (probably more) failures in my four years of teaching Journalism via trial-and-error. I'm getting a little tired of wondering "how everybody else does it" and can't wait to hear about how all your programs are structured, how you motivate students to get the whole story, how you deal with deadlines, and how you deal with bias/cheerleading.

Next year will be incredibly challenging for me. Not only will I have three sections of senior English, but I will also have two sections of senior seminar, my second year of Yearbook (with only 1 student enrolled!), my first year of Creative Writing (out of which I hope to publish a magazine), and my fifth year of Journalism with the largest class I have ever had (25 or so).

In addition to actually learning something about journalism from real journalists, I am especially looking forward to gathering advice for managing this heavy load and this staff (specifically the twins) so that I can survive a grueling 09-10 school year. So, what is everyone else hoping to get out of our time together?

P. S. That's not my dog. I was at the beach one day, and this guy was so cute on his boogie board I had to snap his picture!

C'mon, jump in

I've encouraged participants to practice contributing to this blog by saying a little about who they are and what they want to learn at the institute, but what's posted so far has improved on that by noting things that you're eager to discuss. That's great.

I think folks out there are eager to find out who is coming and what's on everyone's minds -- I definitely am -- so please practice by letting us know a little about your situation or by sharing journalism- or HSJ journalism-related things of interest to you. Practice leaving comments as well.

This is optional until we get under way at the institute.

Subpoenas for reporters

Texas' governor signed the Free Flow of Information Act earlier this month. Below is an Associated Press story that might be of interest:

Subpoena for reporter quashed with new shield law
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A state judge quashed a subpoena Tuesday (5-26) that sought testimony from a local television reporter, using for what was believed to be the first time a law enacted earlier this month giving journalists limited protection from subpoena.
District Judge Sandra Watts ordered that the Nueces County district attorney could not put KIII reporter Katy Kiser on the stand to authenticate an interview she did with a man now standing trial. Kiser had been scheduled to testify Wednesday in a criminal trial.
"I think it’s the first time the Free Flow of Information Act has been used to quash a subpoena," said Jorge Rangel, Kiser’s attorney. Rangel filed the motion Tuesday morning citing the new law’s provision that a journalist’s testimony is not needed to authenticate a news broadcast.
Kiser’s July 2008 interview with the defendant in the criminal case was already in the district attorney’s possession.
Gov. Rick Perry signed the Free Flow of Information Act on May 13. It gives journalists a qualified protection from subpoena for information gathered as part of their work. Kiser received her subpoena two days later, Rangel said.
Watts went beyond Kiser’s subpoena to order that prosecutors not issue any other subpoenas to her or the television station without first getting permission from the court.

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We should consider ourselves fortunate to live and work in the United States. The link at left under the Editor & Publisher News concerning the murder of a Mexican crime reporter is similar to an incident that place in 2004, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, across from Laredo, Texas. Here's the link: http://madmax.lmtonline.com/textarchives/032004/s2.htm. I remember when that happened; it was very unsettling. As I recall, he was to have taught a class at the A&M campus in Laredo that summer. It was cancelled after his death.

Anyway, in justice that is (probably) unique to Mexico, the accused killer was himself taken care of after his arrest. http://madmax.lmtonline.com/textarchives/051404/s2.htm

Nowadays, the two major papers in Nuevo Laredo that compete for readers and ads are not enthusiastic about covering misdeeds allegedly committed by organized crime gangs.

Mentor instructor for institute

Alan Weintraut, the media adviser at Annandale High School in Annandale, Va., is joining us for the third year as mentor instructor at the ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute. He will take part in the instruction and will be available throughout to counsel participants and to help apply lessons to the classroom. 

Alan is was the 2006 Dow Jones Teacher of the Year, an honor that has him speaking at journalism events around the country. 

In 2008, he won the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Pioneer Award. 

Here is a link to his speech accepting the Dow Jones award. And here is a link to The ABlast Online, Annandale High School's news outlet.

It is still about the content

A funny thing happened this morning. I was reading the local daily paper's Op/Ed section and I found an interesting piece by Garrison Keillor about the politics in (of all places) London. Keillor discusses the recent resignation of Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons and places the "credit" of this action squarely on the shoulders of the local press.

In spite of all the electronic sources of news, the newspaper that has broken the story of corruption in Parliament has seen circulation increase by 10 percent since the story became public. The reality is that people will buy newspapers when they are the source of stories they want to read. As journalists and teachers of future journalists, we must remember that no matter how important the story is to us and no matter how much of our heart we pour into our writing, if it isn't a story that appeals to our readers, then our papers will continue to be viewed as relics of days gone by. We have to encourage our young writers to write in a way that will make readers want to soak in every word--the content drives circulation.

Assessments of the state of newspapers

Following up on Mark's post, here are some articles and opinions that I think do a good job of summing up what's happening to newspapers and the mainstream media as a whole. In my opinion, the biggest challenge facing newspapers is the proliferation of advertising/marketing options, and more targeted and cost-efficient options at that (including business' own Web sites). This drives down profit margins for newspapers and has pushed some into losses. Layoffs and furloughs follow. There are other factors, but this is the most significant. A close second: The newspaper has lost an information monopoly. I don't have to buy the paper the next day to get details on the Arizona Diamondbacks game, for example. One doesn't need a press -- or an FCC license, for that matter -- to be part of the press.

But I digress. Here are the articles:

This blog post by a colleague, former ASNE president Tim McGuire, looks at how the growth of advertising options powered by the Internet has taken away a newspaper's power to be an "advertising tollgate" in its community. He references a 1995 American Journalism Review article that saw this coming and did a good job of explaining a newspaper's advertising power.

In my comment on Mark's post, I noted that ASNE conducts an annual newsroom employment survey that found daily newspapers shed about 5,900 jobs in 2008, 11.3 percent of the total. Here is the Editor & Publisher story: http://bit.ly/cXkIf. And here's the information, including detailed tables, on ASNE's site: http://bit.ly/6MGG.

I found a lot of telling information during the recent court case over closing the print edition of Gannett's Tucson Citizen, the dwindling afternoon partner in a joint operating agreement (I blogged/tweeted on it here). The most damning assessment of newspapers' current business prospects I've seen lately was in a filing by Gannett and its JOA partner. They had advertisers and ad agency executives explain the competitive situation in Tucson. I posted that section of the court document here, and it's very interesting reading. One prominent car dealer says he noticed no dropoff in traffic when he pulled newspaper advertising during a dispute.

This Networked News essay by Josh Young looks at Google's impact as the "great leveler" in terms of the public getting information and provides links to several helpful posts on challenges facing newspapers and the MSM in general. Jeff Jarvis, whose book "What Would Google Do?" provides the context for Young's post, pulls the issue together in this blog post. Jarvis argues that the article will no longer be the fundamental building block of news because it is a convention of print, while the Web creates an information flow that includes blogs, feeds, wikis, comments and links as well as the news narrative. Jarvis sums it up nicely here:

If we invented news today - and we are - this is how it will look, not because Google replaces paper as the medium but because we are not limited to either.

There are other factors at work, of course. Web ads don't provide newspapers nearly what they earn from print ads, readership is splintering with so many choices tailored to communities of interest, lucrative classified advertising is heading to free, Web-based options, the deep recession has put a tough situation on steroids, etc., etc.

This post sums up just some of the articles I've read in the past few days. The thought on this subject is evolving so quickly that I didn't bother to put any articles in your recommended reading. You can get what you need by watching the trades through the links at left.

I take this point to heart from these assessments: It is the business model, not journalism, that's broken. Amid all of the bad news, the market for journalism, if not journalists, is greater than ever. That's why I will argue that the future for aspiring journalists is very exciting. I'm confident that the market for journalists will grow as new models for journalism take root and as traditional news providers develop their digital strategies.

I see signs that journalism will find its way in Politico.com, the nonprofit Voice of San Diego and the Arizona Guardian, a local government-reporting venture established by four laid-off journalists, including one who recently won a Pulitzer for his work with his former employer. Will these three ventures succeed? Probably not all of them, and perhaps not any of them. But these and many other examples show that journalism is searching for new models. I take as a sign this article that says one newspaper is taking steps to prevent employees from ever luring colleagues, even those who are laid off, to local competitors such as Internet startups. And I see signs in the way newspapers are reshaping to become digital centers of infomation, complementing articles with video, interactives, blogs, etc., and often complementing video, interactives, blogs, etc., with articles.

When social media expert Carol Schwalbe talks to us, I'm sure she'll get on me for such a long post. But I wanted to add to Mark's important points as you prepare for your two weeks here.

Newspaper industry woes

I've been reading all the sad tales of newspaper cutbacks at http://asnereynoldsphoenix.blogspot.com/ and elsewhere, and I got to thinking about my own situation at the Laredo Morning Times, where I work part-time. Tonight (Friday) I'm working on The Zapata Times, which LMT creates and sends to Zapata, a town 40-something miles to the southeast of Laredo. I'm also translating a Spanish-language story from El Tiempo de Laredo into English for Saturday's LMT. Phew!

Wednesdays and Thursdays I fill in for the full-time desk guy so he can have his weekend. We normally work by ourselves since there are no longer any more desk people. Newsroom cutbacks have thinned out our ranks in the newsroom. Nobody's been fired that I know of but attrition has taken its toll.

Either the city editor or editor will look over stories before we get them, but it's the desk person's behind if there are problems.

In June and July 2007 I worked six days a week for two months before the paper found the news editor (Basilio) before Patrick, our current news editor. I trained Basilio then it was time for school to begin. I didn't mind as that was before I met my now wife and the money came in handy as I refinanced my home loan and give some to my daughter for college.

After Basilio was considered trained, he and Patrick (then-copy editor) worked together and I'd work Sunday and Monday by myself. Sunday was an "easy" day and then Monday the editor would back me up. The city editor works Tuesday-Saturday, so she and/or the editor were on duty.

During the school year I get to the paper about 5, as school doesn't end until 4:20 and I can't leave until 4:30. So often it's a real scramble for me to make deadline.

We're short handed on reporters so sometimes things don't get covered, unfortunately, and with me taking off in mid-June for the institute I'm not sure how my absence will be covered.

Newsroom cuts are real. Don't think they aren't!

Who are you?

I've posted a draft version of participant bios here. There's also a link at left, along with links to the latest institute agenda and speaker bios.

Now it's your turn. I encourage you to practice using this blog by posting something brief introducing yourself. Jump in with comments. The syllabus I shared by mail and e-mail has guidelines for posts. The main guideline: Posts must relate to the institute and what you'll learn here.

You have to be registered to contribute to this blog (and, for any outsiders hitting this site, you have to be participant in the Reynolds Institute to contribute). The syllabus has instructions for getting registered with Blogger and for creating posts. I've broken those out here.

As for the video, I won't embed "Who Are You" for reasons obvious to those familiar with the lyrics. So enjoy "My Generation" instead.

ASNE president to open Phoenix institute

I'm pleased to announce that Marty Kaiser, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and president of the American Society of News Editors, will join us for the start of the ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute in Phoenix.

Mr. Kaiser is the Editor & Publisher magazine's 2009 Editor of the Year. He will welcome participants on behalf of ASNE and provide the charge for our two weeks together. He'll also provide a rundown on the state of the news industry.

You can follow this link to ASNE's site to view a Mr. Kaiser's video address detailing his priorities as ASNE president.

Video

A couple reasons for this post:

1. I'm sharing some videos with information about Phoenix and Arizona.

The lead video features downtown Phoenix, courtesy of TV station KTVK. Here are some others:

• Phoenix history
• Phoenix outdoors
• Scenic views
• Phoenix weather
• Phoenix sports

2. If you can't already, you need to be able to embed a video on this blog before you leave here.

Follow this link for instructions. It's simple, but you have to get comfortable cutting and pasting code into the "Edit HTML" tab in the Blogger window.

Recommended Equipment

Some of you are asking what equipment you should bring. I'll have that information with the syllabus and other materials in the next two weeks.

Here's a preview: 

If you have a digital camera, please bring it. If your camera needs a cord to offload photos via USB or Firewire connection, please bring that too. We'll have card readers to pass around. You will take photos in sessions and for the institute's online publication. If you don't have a digital camera, it will be no problem for you to borrow one.

I strongly recommend bringing a USB flash drive if you have one. You'll be able to store items on the school's servers, but participants have found flash drives a good way to back up and tote assignments and to share materials.

As for laptops, you might find one useful for working at the hotel. But you'll have access to the school's computers throughout. And we'll have a laptops-off policy during sessions.

For video training, you'll work with school-issued equipment. 

Welcome

On behalf of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, I'm pleased to welcome you to the 2009 ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute.

With your input, we're lining up a terrific program in which we'll explore journalism fundamentals and the exciting and rapidly evolving future of media. Then we'll connect those lessons to the classroom. You'll hear from industry leaders and world-class educators.

You are coming to a state-of-the-art facility that is unparalleled in journalism education. It offers 14 digital newsrooms, two TV studios and the most sophisticated technology anywhere. Even better: It is home to top-flight faculty and is located near The Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper, and major broadcast outlets in the nation's fifth-largest city. Follow this link to see a news video about the building's opening in August 2008 and about ASU's growing campus in downtown Phoenix. And here's a recent New York Times feature about the Cronkite School.

A little more about me: I came to the school in 2006 after 19 years as a reporter, editor, newsroom administrator and business executive with The Associated Press. I serve as a professor of practice and print/digital director of Cronkite News Service. It's my third year directing the ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute at ASU. If you want more information, here's my bio.

This blog is a big part of the curriculum. I encourage you -- and as the institute approaches, I will require you -- to use this as a forum to get to know each other and to share thoughts about what you will learn here.

I have e-mailed each of you information on establishing an account so you can feed this blog. I will moderate posts and comments.