Journalism and Media: Let’s Discuss Changes at BarCampPortland

April 19, 2009 by 14 Comments

On Friday, Rick Turoczy attended a City Club forum discussing the future of newspapers. There was some resulting discussion on Twitter about newspapers, journalism, and open vs. closed communication. As the news industry faces radical changes and many traditional news operations face financial peril, it is obvious that journalists need to adapt or die. I think the distinction between the work of journalists and the method of delivery needs to be recognized… journalism and newspapers (or TV) are two separate things, and the failure of the delivery mechanism does not mean that journalism itself is a failure.

@turoczy is a centerfold...While there are many folks in the media that “get” the internet, RSS, Twitter, and the like, there are many that still don’t. Fortunately there are a lot of folks in the digital world interested in helping journalists understand the new media.

Rick and I would like to lead a discussion to bring together bloggers and journalists at BarCampPortland to talk about journalism, media, and change. I think that traditional journalists can learn a few things from bloggers, and bloggers have a lot to learn about the practice of journalism. Let’s get some of the bright folks from both groups together and talk.

We need some help: while a lot of bloggers and geeks will be at BarCamp, odds are that many traditional journalists haven’t even heard of it. Any help in spreading the word amongst media folks would be much appredciated; hopefully we can have a great cross-section of folks in the discussion. BarCamp Portland is May 1-2 at CubeSpace (this discussion will be on Saturday).

Update: A few folks have asked about what time the discussion will be held. BarCamp is an unconference, meaning that the schedule and topics are set during the event by the attendees. Rick and I will target the discussion for the morning of the 2nd, between 9-noon. We can’t guarantee an exact time but should be able to narrow it down to that window. That said, if journalists are looking to get an insight into the blogger/geek/new media culture, hanging out for BarCamp (beyond the journalistm/media discussion) would be an excellent way to get a taste of that world.

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  • https://betsywhim.myvidoop.com Betsy Richter

    Count me in on this discussion, of course!

  • http://twitter.com/thesquare Aaron Weiss

    I’m in, I suspect Steph will be too.

    I’ll extend the invitation around the newsroom, and I’m sure Lynn could post something at OMI if you want.

  • Steven Walling

    I think a discussion about the future of journalism that brings in more than the usual tech-savvy crowd is not only interesting. It has to happen. I’ll second Betsy, and you can count me in on trying to spread the word about this.

    Also of interest on this subject is the next WikiWednesday, which coincidentally will be a short presentation and panel on Wikipedia specifically aimed at journalists and bloggers.

  • http://www.danielbachhuber.com/ Daniel

    I’m down. My perspective on the industry, however, is that the time might be better spent talking about what journalism means to the City of Portland and how startups could fill the void when The Oregonian cuts staff to a skeleton crew or goes bankrupt. This discussion really should’ve been happening five years ago; I’m long journalism but short newspapers. Let’s talk about reinventing journalism instead.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindfox Kevin Fox

    This would be an excellent discussion and one I would love to attend. I am not really a blogger or journalist but have been tasked with educating journalists about online media, including blogging. I am sure I would definitely pick up some useful insights…

  • Shawn

    Any idea when on the 2nd this discussion would take place?

    I would definitely attend but I have to…heh…see “Star Trek” that morning.

    (Not that anyone would want to know that — just BRAGGING….)

  • http://mediumrun.blogspot.com Michael Andersen

    I’m still a newspaper reporter, but I agree with Daniel — my exclusive extracurricular career focus is now on startups, not on reinventing legacy newspapers. I’d like to attend this, but I’ll be much more interested in talking about the possibilities for new growth, not old.

  • http://www.danielbachhuber.com/ Daniel

    More thoughts on what I think should be discussed here.

  • http://dougcoleman1@gmail.com Doug Coleman

    This is an excellent idea. I have been discussing this very topic with several “thought leaders” and I think someone should contact Steve Woodward (@OregonianSteve) about this. He is one person who is not only interested in saving journalism, but is actively doing something about it. Maybe you can get him to speak about his new project, or at least pick his brain.

  • Pingback: BarCamp Portland and the Future of News - Daniel Bachhuber

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  • http://michellerafter.wordpress.com Michelle Rafter

    Just wanted you to know that I blogged about this today on WordCount, my blog on writing & online news, where I often discuss what’s happening on the Oregon news scene. I also promo’d the link on Twitter.

    I’d love to be there but have kid-related obligations that might prevent it. If not, I’ll be tuning in on Twitter.

    http://tiny.cc/ZbsaV

    Michelle Rafter

  • http://abrahamhyatt.com Abraham

    Count me in, too. This sounds like it’s going to pretty interesting.

  • https://betsywhim.myvidoop.com Betsy Richter

    FYI, the session is now scheduled for 10 am tomorrow (5/2), followed by this session at 11 am from 3 Columbian employees: You run a daily newspaper. How do you escape the carnage?