Filed under: Ways To "Save" Journalism? | Tags: computer, customize, Germany, Internet, Kindle, laptop, newspaper, Niiu, NYT, online, personalize, print, website
Two German entrepreneurs decided to combine the best of the Internet and print.
The fruit of their labors is a customizable newspaper–Niiu readers will simply go online to select from German and international papers and websites. Then, excerpts from categories of their choice will be printed on paper to be delivered.
The founders of Niiu geared their product toward college-age students who seem to enjoy reading their news online, and don’t have enough time to get through the entire standard newspaper.
This new innovation will launch in November, the Spiegel Online International and Forum4Editors report.
At first, I wasn’t “wowed” by this concept. The concept of personalization isn’t new to me by any means (I’m part of the Internet generation, after all). I thought since I get a good variety of news in my (print copy!) of the NYT every day, there isn’t much I would change.
But the ability to get news from international sources piqued my interest–German, Australian, Chinese, Iranian presses and so many others could sit with me and my coffee every morning! That’s a main selling point of the Internet–Instant variety. It takes mere seconds to hop from New York to Tokyo news sites, but you’re quite stuck in the New York state of mind with the Metro edition of the Times.
I feel very strongly about being able to hold my news in hand. I tend to read the paper with a breakfast dish placed on top and with coffee mug in hand. Errant drops of coffee and toast crumbs inevitably get all over–Not something I want to happen with my $300 Kindle or even more expensive laptop. And the librarians won’t allow me to sip and sit in the computer lab.
I’m certainly hoping that Niiu’s launch in Germany is a success and that the concept catches on in the U.S. sometime soon.
In Conclusion: This could prove very useful for those of us who are dragging our heels to “modernize” and read our newspapers online. The Internet seems a bit less neccessary.
Filed under: Ways To "Save" Journalism? | Tags: doom-and-gloom, New Jersey, New York Observer, New York Times, newspapers, NJ, NYT, print, Star-Ledger
An article in the New York Observer described the turmoil in the newsrooms of the once-great New Jersey Star-Ledger. Aptly titled, “In New Jersey, Papers Bleed but Survive,” the story is full of the usual doom-and-gloom of staff cuts, closed bureaus and poor coverage.
There’s a sort of mutualism between young whippersnappers trying to break into the field and flailing newspapers. Newspapers have a diminished budget, so they can only afford to hire less-experienced journalists who are willing to work for less than the seasoned veteran. Good for the new kids on the block looking for a job, good for the publishers who don’t have to turn the lights off just yet.
But not so great for the newspaper.
A lot of the senior people who understood the issues and who had long histories are gone,” he said. “They’ve replaced them with these younger people, and when I talk to them about environmental issues or technical issues, you see that their eyes are rolling and they just don’t understand. They’ve already got two stories to do, and then they turn a complex story into a he-said, she-said with a couple quickie quotes.”
–Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club
It’s apparent that multimedia skills are more important than ever, but it may not have occurred to journalism students to take a biology class or two in addition to the broadcast one. Having a concentration in politics or business in addition to the journalism major will prove useful if one eventually lands a job at National Geographic or the Wall Street Journal. But what if you’ve got to work at a fashion magazine?
In conclusion: You’ve got to be a jack-of-all-trades in order to “make it” and be of the greatest service to journalism.
