Ana Marie Cox in the WaPo on the Washington Press briefing room as the place "where news goes to die."
Jack Shafer on Slate re Steve Brill's plan to charge for news content -- and why it won't work.
Something interesting in Seattle: Just as the Seattle PI went all-digital (at 12 percent capacity) several of the former staffers came online with the Seattle PostGlobe, with many of the former PI staffers volunteering their time and expertise in collaboration with both a local TV station and an alt-weekly . What I find cool is not only the entrepreneurial spirit, but also the drive to keep news from the riverbanks alive and well.
Here's a note from one of the writers. I'd post the link, but damn. I can' find it anymore.
By Kery Murakami
PostGlobe
The last you saw of us, we had the stunned look of many people in this economy -- suddenly jobless, our futures and our careers uncertain.
Many of us were in tears.
We became the subject of news ourselves, on TV, in the papers, in the blogosphere, as the pages of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer died.
It's been almost a month. But we haven't left.
Today, we -- former P-I journalists -- are embarking on a new stage in our careers, hoping to fulfill our life's mission in a different way. We want to keep letting you know what's really going on in this city.
At first, we're doing this as volunteers. But what you'll find on this Web site is a story much larger than ours.
As in Denver, where the journalists of the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News also are starting their own news site, we're forging on because we believe newspaper-quality journalism needs to continue even as newspapers close.
We're relying on you -- the community -- to keep us going.
The possibilities are exciting, because we're resurfacing with new friends: KCTS public television and the Seattle Weekly.We'll begin by bringing the work of former P-I journalists to our site. We're planning next to work with public television, and possibly public radio journalists, on stories and special projects, combining the best of our approaches.
Ultimately, we're exploring creating a combined news organization based on the idea that distributing information should be not just for profit.
Our venture with the Weekly means we'll be able to bring to you the longer-form journalism and daily posts from its site. From a business standpoint, the Weekly's national ad staff will be selling advertising for this site.
And of course, we'll offer some of the best journalists of the old P-I you miss.
Kathy Mulady will be going back to patrolling the corridors of City Hall. Mike Lewis will return to the city's streets to tell you the stories only he can. Art Thiel will write for this site as well as others. Joe Copeland, who wrote for the P-I editorial board, and Larry Johnson, a veteran P-I foreign correspondent, will bring you commentary on Seattle and the world. And our site will have the professional photojournalism of former P-I photographers Grant Haller, Mike Kane and others.
Please bear with us because this is just the beginning. Coming soon will be a way to comment on our stories. Hopefully, as our colleagues pick themselves up, more of them will be back with us doing their jobs.
Yes, the P-I we knew is gone. But we're still here with our notebooks and computers.
Now it's up to you.
We'd especially like to thank KCTS President and CEO Moss Bresnahan for his support, and Rennie Sawade, of WashTech, and former P-I designer Elana Winsberg for putting in countless hours to develop our Web site.
Kery Murakami can be reached at kerymurakami@gmail.com . To support his work and allow stories like these to continue, please go to our donation page
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2 comments:
Here is such a strong commitment to journalism which is refreshing. It seems as though these journalist could use a blueprint for the future of journalism as they try and work without their jobs.
Where is the funding coming from?
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