Study shows that Journalists want quicker change to digital

Nearly half of all print newspaper journalists think their newsrooms are moving too slowly in the transition into digital news reporting reveals Editor and Publisher.

A study from Northwestern University's Media Management Center (MMC) finds that whilst publishers and sales directors are searching for ways to make digital news pay, newspaper journalists "have no trouble envisioning a career where news is delivered primarily online and to mobile devices instead of in print," according to the study "Life Beyond Print: Newspaper Journalists' Digital Appetite."

Study authors Vickey Williams, Stacy Lynch and Bob LeBailly surveyed almost 3,800 journalists in print, online, or hybrid jobs at 79 U.S. newspapers, asking their attitude towards shifting from print-only to multimedia.

The majority were still working in print, but did not want to continue doing so forever, according to the study. In fact, when dividing participants into six categories, depending on their level of enthusiasm for the transition into digital, just 6% of journalists fell into the category characterized as "Turn Back the Clocks," who wish the digital era would just go away.

"For several years we have heard that it is the journalists' resistance to change that was holding newspapers back," said MMC executive director Michael P. Smith. "What this study shows is that they are ready -- and some are even impatient -- for change."

Fully half of newsroom staffers fell into the category the study called "Moderately More," journalists who would prefer to work as much in digital as they do in print.

Another 12%, dubbed the "Digitals," are already doing most of their work in the digital space, and wish their paper were transitioning quicker from print.

The study also found that it was heavy use of the Internet outside of work and knowledge of online audiences and their preferences that drove digital appetite and it was there were no particular age groups, or levels of experience that distinguished those keen on digital content and those reluctant to change.

Finally, even in the face of job losses and employment uncertainty in the wake of the recession, the survey reports that journalists are surprisingly upbeat.

More than three-quarters, 77%, say they are somewhat or very satisfied with their current jobs, and 67% think it somewhat or very likely they will be in the news business two years from now. Most, 59%, even think they'll be working for their present newspaper.

The full report is available here.

Newsroom Innovation

A multimedia report from the Nieman Journalism Labs offers an inside look at five innovative newsrooms, all experimenting with novel approaches to getting the news out.

* Two are associated with traditional newspapers, one national and one regional: the Daily Telegraph and the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington.

* Two are new media enterprises: Talking Points Memo, a souped-up blog that recently won a prestigious award for investigative reporting, and the edgy, gossipy New York City-based Gawker. Both these newsrooms feature an open layout with reporters working at long tables.

* The last is the brand new Valley Independent Sentinel, a hyperlocal, online-only news startup in Connecticut launched just this month with funds from the Knight Foundation.

Other ideas can be found at the Next Newsroom Project's website, a place for sharing information and ideas about "building the ideal newsroom for the next 50 years."

Top Online Journalism Tools ‘08

Apple’s iPhone again tops the Online Journalism Review’s list of the best gifts for online reporters from 2008.

Topping this year’s chart is the new 3G version of the iPhone, a more affordable option in keeping with the list’s maximum price tag of $200 (£130) per item.



OJR writer Robert Niles explains his choice: “The iPhone comes closer than any other device to date to being the online journalism Holy Grail that many of us have envisioned.

“A single hand-held unit that surfs the entire Web, including audio and video, that allows you to update websites, to shoot photos and send them to the Web, to record and post audio, that supports e-mail and includes a phone, and that offers a GPS with maps and directions to help you find your way to wherever your reporting takes you.”

Niles’s list also includes the iPhone’s iTalk voice recorder, the Flip Ultra video camera (“for decent-quality video at a low price”), and the Voltaic converter backpack with solar panels to power hand-held devices.

And sneaking in among these digital tools is a more traditional gift for the online journalist – a subscription to The New Yorker.

View the full list on the OJR site and take a look at a round-up of last year’s chart here.

Journalism Skills Study Published

The full results from a survey about the skills that journalists need in the 21st century have been released.

Carried out by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), the Journalism Skills Survey asked both employers and course providers about the skills they see as most important for trainees.

The study also reveals the skills that companies believe their new recruits working in print, TV and radio are lacking at present.

Among the traditional reporter skills needing improvement according to employers are the ability to find stories, knowledge of media law and language skills.

Employers were also questioned on new skills and responded that incoming journalists need to improve their video skills, writing for different platforms and knowledge of how to use the Freedom of Information Act.

NCTJ chairman Kim Fletcher writes in the report’s foreword: “What emerged strongly was that these were not areas for compromise.

“There was no question of old or new: employers were clear that they wanted both.”

The full study is available as a pdf file on the NCTJ website and more details can be found on holdthefrontpage.co.uk.

Multimedia Hub Opens In Midlands

Editors and journalists with Trinity Mirror’s Birmingham titles have taken their places in a new multimedia newsroom.

The Birmingham Post, Birmingham Mail and Sunday Mercury are now produced by staffers working alongside each other in the new offices in a former tyre factory.

According to HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk, the new-look newsroom includes a central hub reflecting the diminishment of the divisions between the newspapers and their affiliated websites.

Post editor Mar Reeves said of the relocation: “It’s a fantastic, fresh environment – windows all round, an open-plan, no-secrets environment with a central hub making all editorial decisions in the open.

“Even the editors sit out on the floor along with all the desk heads to ensure that content goes to the correct website or print edition at the right time.”

To get a look inside the new multimedia newsroom, visit guardian.co.uk’s gallery of images or check out the blog of Mail editor Steve Dyson.