New Forms of Journalism Emerge
in New Media Ecosystem

Monday, November 9, 2009

New forms of journalism are being created around the country where online local news sites have launched to report on their communities. The journalism is characterized by a deliberate shift in the definition of objectivity, a drive for community conversation and discussion, and broader definitions of "news" that seek to connect readers to a sense of the place where they live, according to new research released today by American University's J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism.

See the news release. Read the report.

More Workshops

N.Y. Times Wins $10K Knight-Batten Prize

The New York Times swept top honors in the 2009 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism with six striking entries that netted the $10,000 Grand Prize for a dynamic body of work in the past year. Five $1,000 Special Distinction Awards, including one for Nonprofit Journalism, and a $1,000 Citizen Media Award were also announced. Read the news release.

See the full list of winners.

The judges also cited 21 projects as notable entries. Check them out here.

Women Entrepreneur Award Winners Announced!

Three entrepreneurial news ideas each won a $10,000 award to launch their projects. They were selected from a whopping 435 proposals received in the second year of the McCormick New Media Women Entrepreneurs initiative. The number of proposals increased 129 percent from last year's total of 190. The 2009 winners are:
 

• ChickRx - Harvard MBA student Stacey Borden and partner Meghan Muntean will lead a team of women in launching an online health resource uniquely targeted to women, ages 18 to 27.
• Women's Community News Franchise - Former MytopiaCafe.com editor Michelle Ferrier will develop a complete infrastructure, to be franchised, for those who want to launch hyperlocal news sites.
• The Good Food Fight - Media-savvy partners Kristin Hyde, Jen Lamson and Amy Pennington will connect consumers with larger public policy issues related to food safety and sustainability.

Read news release

Playing the News

On Sept. 11, 2008, J-Lab hosted several news gaming pioneers for a workshop with the Online News Association convention. Their work is available in the Games category of Cool Stuff:

More

2008 New Voices Grantees Launch

Several 2008 New Voices grantees have launched Web sites for their projects:

• Grassroots, Blue Sky: Stories that Fly
  Kent State's digital journalism project on general aviation.
• Lives in Focus: Family Life Behind Bars
  A CUNY site to help families of prisoners.
• Appalachian Independent
  A new community news site for Frostburg, Md.

More