Tag Archives: NJ News Commons
Journalism in the Service of Comedy
September 24, 2014I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Some of the best journalism in the United States is being done by comedians. Most recently it was Brit John Oliver who last week brought forth the wit and — get … Continue reading
Are Journalists the Unhappiest People on Earth?
July 2, 2014In just the last few days, the bodies of the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers were found in the West Bank, a teenager from Livingston was gunned down in West Orange and another teenager leaving a party in Maplewood was shot … Continue reading
Open Data NJ Summit: Running With the Nerds
June 2, 2014Around 4:30 pm on May 15, as we were nearing the end of our Open Data NJ Summit at Montclair State, I was leading an animated “town hall” discussion about how to focus the considerable energy in the room, when … Continue reading
Q&A with Molly de Aguiar
May 19, 2014This is the third installment of our new series featuring Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation staff here on the Dodge Blog. We’re going to check in with what they’re learning and thinking about as they visit with nonprofits around the state, … Continue reading
How to Rebuild the Business of Local News
April 30, 2014Marc Andreesen, an Internet pioneer and venture capitalist, tweeted in early February that he’s bullish on the growth of the news business in the next 20 years. “Will grow 10x-100x,” he wrote. However, when it comes to local news, Andreesen … Continue reading
Bringing Data Into the Sunshine
March 26, 2014Imagine, says Waldo Jaquith, director of the U.S. Open Data Institute, that weather data was treated like much other government data. Say you had to file a Freedom of Information Request to get it, and when you did get it — … Continue reading
Seeding the News Ecosystem
February 26, 2014Ten years ago, I attended a gathering in South Orange that would change my life. NJ.com was holding a meetup to recruit bloggers. I was writing a story about the New Jersey blogosphere for the New York Times. During the … Continue reading
Seeking Sustainability for Local Journalism
February 18, 2014Dodge Announces $2 million grant from the Knight Foundation The news coming out of New Jersey for the past month is not the kind of news we, as a state, want to be known for. Yet it does underscore for … Continue reading
Journalism by Subpoena
January 21, 2014The possibility that lane closures on the George Washington Bridge were political retribution surfaced as early as Sept. 13, when the Record’s John Cichowski first broke the story. Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich suggested it at the time: “I’m beginning … Continue reading
Sharing to Survive
November 26, 2013I know how hard it is to share. I’m a first child. I am hard-wired to want to be the first in everything: the best, the brightest, the most loved. Not only that, but I was born and bred to … Continue reading
Taking Stock of Anniversaries
October 28, 2013For all the talk of journalism’s noble past and uncertain future, the truth is that journalism’s day-to-day is a lot like slinging hash. Everyday journalism is produced quickly, in massive quantities, in front of a live audience. Think Rt. 22 … Continue reading
Repainting Journalism
October 1, 2013Last week, I attended a panel discussion about the Nieman Journalism Lab’s ambitious oral history, “Riptide,” at the Paley Center for Media in New York. “Riptide,” which chronicles legacy news media’s failure to adapt to the internet, covers 35 years … Continue reading
The Immigration Project
April 29, 2013Years ago, I created a radio documentary about my grandparents coming to America. For months, I sat at kitchen tables holding microphones in front of elderly relatives, and asked them to tell me their stories. Later, back in Chapel Hill, … Continue reading
Pew: News Industry in Crisis
March 27, 2013The state of the news business is lousy. A week after the much-revered Boston Phoenix threw in the towel that’s hardly surprising news, but a new report from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism is packed with statistics showing … Continue reading
A Giant Leap for New Jersey News
March 21, 2013Yesterday, Montclair State University announced the launch of its Center for Cooperative Media, a remarkable leap of progress for strengthening and expanding the news here in New Jersey. The Center is a hub for journalists and media organizations throughout the … Continue reading