What I'm Trying To Do

Journalism is in trouble. Everyone who cares about journalism knows it. So do those who don't care, or who hope to undermine it. Big newspapers are folding, or shrinking. Classifieds have fled to Craigslist and other online sites. Display ads are disappearing too, due to the recession but also because newspapers are clearly no longer cool, and may no longer be a compelling way to reach consumers' pocketbooks. Magazines and traditional broadcast news are also under pressure.

And the people who create the "content" -- reporters, editors, photographers -- are in trouble too. Jobs are disappearing, pay shrinking, options narrowing. But most important of all, their calling is in jeopardy. The career, the profession, the craft they signed up for appears to be falling apart.

This blog is an attempt to find some solutions. Obviously, new ones are needed, especially on the business side of journalism, but on the editorial side as well. Consumers don't grow weary of your product if it's meeting their needs. Technology changes. Expectations change. We, as journalists, need to change too.

So, let's put our heads together and find some, with help from anyone who's willing to pitch in.

What we need now are crowds of innovations and innovators. Flocks of Gutenbergs. Let's give it a go.