Every month I take part in the Carnival of Journalism. It’s a fun little event where a selection of invited bloggers bash their collective heads and write about journalism. It’s been especially good in recent times, as there has been a set question to answer for all of the bloggers.
Think of it as an enclosed meme on your favourite subject.
Anyway: I had an idea. After reading the wonderful tale about Jessica DaSilva, and having been a long-time reader of MerandaWrites, I thought it would be a stellar idea to start a blog ring — just like the Carnival — but specifically for young journalists.
Only a handful, mind you. The ring will be invitation-only: The bloggers will have already made a bit of a name for themselves. I think, collectively, the group could hold some power. We are, after all, the future of the industry. Wouldn’t you be interested in what we’re up to?
After posing the idea on Twitter, John at Journalism.co.uk got in touch to say they’d be interested in hosting it. So, in the spirit of all things bloggery, I’m now putting the idea to everyone:
Who should be in it?
What should we be writing about?
Would you read it?
Should the ‘age’ be based on life age, or years of experience?
I look forward to seeing what you all think.
I’d love to read it. I’d say perhaps an under-30 crowd talking about the future of journalism, what they expected from the job vs. what they got… you know, the usual suspects!
I’d also love to be a part, but my blog is a relative newcomer, so I’d understand if I were to sit out and observe.
I think this is a great idea.
Young journalists writing about their experiences in the media, what projects they’re working on, what they wish would change, proposals for changes, ideas for “saving” journalism!
I would totally read that.
I think it’s a great idea, but I’d remove the part in wich you have to make a name for yourself before you get in. I’d set a core of 5, and build upon those. By invitation or by request, but all the additions should be voted by the people that are already in.
That way you can have more well known bloggers and some others that aren’t so well known but have meaningful things to say.
Meranda’s idea looks good to me too. (http://twitter.com/meranduh/statuses/859235614)
I think it should all be under 30, but with a mix of experience — that way, everyone can get a sense of the newbie’s journalistic process, from journalism major to beginning reporter.
Great idea. I think you’d have an audience, and it could be a great teaching tool for college students. So many people at my university don’t really get what journalism today is about. They’re still stuck in the era of Woodward and Bernstein.
As I said in the tweet Carlos picked up, I think the best approach would be having a core group of people who respond but inviting others to respond as well. Picking people who’ve already established their voice, so to speak, will help keep it active and vibrant. They’ll also mostly be people who aren’t afraid to make a statement and understand blogging and new ideas will bring critics and cynics as often as praise.
But as Daniel Victor noted on Twitter earlier, I’d be careful to exclude anyone. You included Jessica DaSilva, but until this month, I didn’t know who she was. Who will be the next young journo plucked from Internet obscurity by a valuable teachable moment? Shouldn’t he or she also have a platform to share it?
That’s really what I think we new journalists can get and give: teachable moments.
I’ve chronicled my college graduation, job hunt and the first 18 months as a newspaper reporter on my blog, as well as posted my feelings and thoughts on this industry. The posts that have been the most insightful and useful to readers probably aren’t the ones where I pontificate my views about the industry. Instead, they’re the ones where I can share what it’s like to be in my shoes, a new journalist trying to figure out journalism at the same time that journalism is trying to figure itself out. If that makes any sense.
I think this is a good idea. Collecting the “wisdom” of the crowd of young journalists will help us all by exposing us to the realities and innovations beyond our universities and our newsrooms. Count me in.
I’m involved in an project that might be useful. I’m building an open-source memetracker that can be used to track conversations in groups such as you’re proposing to build. You can check out the public demo (warning, the code is in the early stages so things are rough) at http://memes.educon20.org
It is a good idea,Dave.Anything that gives young journalists another platform is good and collectively even better.Be careful of the exclusivity though.
Very excited about the prospect of this now – great idea Dave. Looking forward to working on it with all of the above and more. As a young journalist myself reporting on an industry I’m fairly new to, having this kind of network will be fascinating and supportive.
Agree with the comments here about exclusivity. I’ve got a couple of journalists who may not be blogging names yet but would contribute a lot to this. And a range of experiential views, particularly when things change so quickly, would probably contribute a great deal to your headbashing
At nearly 50-years old, I have no doubt that I won’t be invited. And as tough as it is on my ego to admit that I’m no longer a “young” journalist, I want to applaud this idea.
I, for one, would love to see this.
So allow me to suggest a few additional folks. Certainly Meranda and Megan (both of whom commented above) are a must. As are Ryan Sholin and Pat Thornton. But everyone already follows them. How about student journalists like Sean Blanda and Greg Linch. I’d love to see you include some of the other young journalists out there that remain below the blogging radar — how about two recent grads who have joined the Gannett training program: Whitney Rhodes (creator of Connect2mason) and Glenna DeRoy (named to the UWire 100.) I assume Jessica DeSilva has earned the right to join. She may still be an intern, but she’s certainly learned to fight for the future.
Good luck with this project!
I’d definitely read a blog ring about issues facing younger journalists speaking as a student and young journalist myself. Keeping in the spirit of web innovation I would also express an interest in a core group of bloggers with a potential for guests or adding more as individuals step out of web obscurity, the entire idea of a closed group wouldn’t sit well with the notion of idea exchange on the web.
I mean who are we, a bunch of curmudgeons?
I should be in it.
Just been appointed Editor of the University of Sunderland’s Students’ Union magazine Degrees North. I’m 20, and just going into the third year of my Journalism degree at Sunderland.
This sounds fascinating and I’d love to be asked to blog. I have done a university module on blogging and achieved a pretty good mark for it so I’ve done it before.
Just to add to my message above – if you want to get in touch, get me on dnmagazine@sunderland.ac.uk.
Cheers.
Darn. I was hoping the site would feature literal bashing together of young, empty journalism heads.
“We are, after all, the future of the industry.” At least until your incompetence is discovered.
The best thing this group could do is assemble for remedial training.
Young journos — they’re so entertaining when they try to sound smart!