The republic of Local

While most U.K. media went gaga over Prince George, the @dailypostwales stuck to its digital mission. My latest post: http://t.co/STIzYEyrAm
— Jake Batsell (@jbatsell) August 27, 2013

We had a distinguished (and transatlantic) visitor at Daily Post towers recently - SMU professor and the Knight Foundation's Texas Tribune Fellow Jake Batsell, who dropped by for a couple of days to talk about audience engagement.

Over the course of his time with us he chatted to several team members including Executive Editor (digital) Dan Owen and Head of Audience Engagement, Helen Harper, about the hows and - more interestingly, I guess - the whys of our approach to content and audience. Jake's currently in the throes of penning a book on the subject, and from what I learnt of his research so far it should be a must-read for any news media executive who wants to know about the opportunities already being explored, and future business models.

Jake's blog post on the visit to North Wales (he also brought the start of the heatwave with him, so the region's tourist board owes him Big Time) is here  - on the new-ish NewsBiz blog, and you can indeed see from his Post screengrab that while George's arrival was documented on our site, we were more interested in stick-in-the-muds and ponies. 

There is a popular view that Content is King and Collaboration is Queen - both these terms are good to keep in mind, as a reporter, but where does Local fit in the hierarchy?
Without Local - and local is scale-able - there's no kingdom for the two Cs to rule, after all. 
So maybe Local is a republic. Personally, I like the sound of that.  

Related articles

• Monday Q&A: Jake Batsell wants to build a guide on how to build a successful news nonprofit " Nieman Journalism Lab
• TNR asks the big journalism question
• How new focus is driving digital revenue at Johnston Press

My 'interesting reads' roundup (weekly)

• Real-life David Brent Terry Dunn signs off email about council redundancies with holiday plans | Mail Online

  As much as companies spend HOURS training people how to use social media, and most journalists have a code of conduct, the same level of 'Consider before you publish' just doesn't seem to apply to email. Consequently, numpties like this end up in the Daily Mail... 'We are now consulting on the final stage of our restructure and you may or may not be directly impacted... If you are involved I can fully appreciate the concerns you will have and just ask for your patience...On the home front; off to a punk rock festival in Blackpool this Friday. The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers and the Buzzcocks are amongst the acts playing so those old enough may remember them. I am really looking forward to it as it forms a big part of my past.'  " Deary, dear me.

  tags: email socialmedia

• Does this study on print vs digital consumption really say what is being reported?

  A good consideration of a report that told the industry what it most wanted to hear - print is doing Just Fine. The point I most agree with is that the data is old, in technology and disruption terms. 2011 - it's another country.

  tags: finance future+of+newspapers

• 20 search tips and tools for journalists | Journalism.co.uk

  Curated by Sarah Marshall, this is a really useful reference round up of different ways you can improve online search.

  tags: tools search how-to

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My 'interesting reads' roundup (weekly)

• Why Unmemorable Title is Now a Guest Post Free Zone

  ZING! "No more guest posts. It’s over. You’ve ruined it. I will no longer be accepting unsolicited guest posts from people I’ve never met, heard of or spoken to, that want to put a spammy article on my blog just for the backlinks. That door is closed. And if you’re a blogger with any sort of reputation to uphold, I suggest you do the same."

  tags: blogging community

• Editor & Publisher ®

  Five traditional and non-traditional revenue strategies that are working for publishers are outlined in this article: Becoming an agency; producing events; building audience; embracing digital; valuing print. 

  tags: brand+journalism content commercial

• New York Times And Future Of Journalism - Business Insider

  "Why does that mean we never have to worry about the future of journalism again?" asks Blodget, in an article littered with exclamation marks. " Because a $400 million digital business is a healthy business, one that will support a large, talented newsroom. Even if the New York Times' print paper, which still generates most of the company's overall revenue of about $2 billion a year, were to shut down tomorrow, the company would still be able to fund an excellent newsroom"   Because a $400 million digital business is a healthy business, one that will support a large, talented newsroom. Even if the New York Times' print paper, which still generates most of the company's overall revenue of about $2 billion a year, were to shut down tomorrow, the company would still be able to fund an excellent newsroom  

  tags: new york times journalism business

• Journalism and disruption: Change is easy and hard | Strange Attractor

  Disruption is so often used as an excuse for the failings of the mainstream media. Change is easy and hard, as Kevin says in this post that is that most over-used of phrases: A must-read. For me, the real disruption is the people working within the structures and organisations that exist; we're the ones struggling to adapt. As is so often the case, the real challenge at the heart of our disrupted industry is how we cope with change.

  tags: journalism disruption change

• Canterbury thief Charlie Cooper gets told off by mum after claiming his human rights were breached

  The joy that is Open Social Media Discourse, captured brilliantly here by KentOnline as a mum berates her thieving, and unrepentant, son on Facebook.

  tags: Facebook

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Storytelling readers lives through pictures

The Daily Post's head of audience engagement (or Helen as she's more commonly known) this week introduced a lovely initiative for reader involvement. 
Called 'My Week in Pictures' it's a friendly challenge to readers to sum up their week through the several photos that best capture it. 
First up was a local farmer who is probably best known for his social media chronicling of the tragedies his farm suffered during the snow earlier this year. 
So it was really great to show another side to his life - I especially like the goat and the terrier having a scrap. 
We have regular Flickr photo features, and a Flickr photo of the day on the letters page, but I like this because it's so informal, and with the right guidance, curation and design it makes a really striking piece.