The perfect newsroom
Why is it that I seem to get more accomplished sitting in a coffee shop with my laptop than I do sitting at my desk in the newsroom? I don’t know how many people feel the same, but I have a hunch there are a few.
If you haven’t yet heard of The Next Newsroom Project be sure to check it out. It’s a group that began with the question: If you could build the ideal newsroom from scratch, what would it look like?
If you could build the ideal newsroom from scratch, what would it look like? We’re trying to help The Chronicle, the Duke University student newspaper, find an answer. Join our conversation. And visit “Newsrooms” to create a page for your newsroom.
The group recently released five qualities that the Next Newsroom should have, and I think they are right on. Among the buzzwords: innovative, flexible, adaptable, integrated, embracing the public and transparent.
I agree that the right kind of people are more important than the environment, but you also have to have a surrounding that fosters innovation, collaboration and spurs the free flow of information and ideas.
I kid some people where I work saying that the newsroom here looks just like the one in the movie “All the President’s Men” sans the typewriters. But it is true. And I have to stop writing now. I need a cup of coffee.
I think technology is a huge factor (tool and barrier) for this kind of office freedom.
I was talking with a friend this weekend and it occurred to me that part of the problem is the proprietary software, CMS and desktop publishing tools we’re locked into in corporate newsrooms.
Just a thought: open source newsrooms. Customizable, flexible, cheap.
A lot of what we hear about investment into technology, especially software-driven stuff, is the start-up cost problem. Screw it; find an open source plug-in (or tweak an existing one) and save.
This could be a cottage industry for universities as well: take open source module projects, farm them out to teams of grad students and get training and prestige at the same time.
Journo foundations could kick in some cash to help pay for this while supporting democratic software development. Win-win.
[...] 11, 2008 by wemediaguru A little while ago I wrote a post about the perfect newsroom. Here is more on that topic. I came across a video of one college and how they build their [...]