This document discusses the changing landscape of journalism in the digital age. It notes that traditional fortress-style journalism is crumbling as audiences engage with stories online through a variety of digital media. Journalists now need to embrace new skills like using social media, telling stories in alternative formats, and serving niche audiences in order to remain relevant. The future of journalism lies in innovating online, building communities, and recognizing that journalists must work with business models instead of apart from them.

1. Online, convergence and
the many futures of
journalism
Introduction to MCT 507

5. The future is already
here: it’s just not very
evenly distributed
William Gibson, father of cyberpunk

6. The digital revolution
allows us to find more
stories and tell them
better with a variety of
digital media

11. 43.8 million followers

12. Daily Mail online
4.4 million unique browsers of site each day
Circulation: 2.1m (4.7m readers claimed)
55+, Female, live in London

13. Global travel

14. We don’t do
print

15. • The Levenson Inquiry - live
• News Rewired
• Trends Clegg vs Cameron vs Jobs

16. "This isn't just a kind of fad from someone
who's an enthusiast of technology.
I'm afraid you're not doing your job if you
can't do those things.
It's not discretionary"

17. Peter Horrocks
• Most journalists have grown up with a fortress
mindset. They have lived and worked in proud
institutions with thick walls. Their daily knightly task
has been simple: to battle journalists from other
fortresses.
• But the fortresses are crumbling and courtly jousts
with fellow journalists are no longer impressing the
crowds. The end of fortress journalism is deeply
unsettling for us and requires a profound change in the
mindset and culture of journalism.

18. Journalists are owed a living by nobody
If you’re serving a niche you have got to serve
your audience in its totality… whether it’s a
hobby, business or area.
People say ‘I’m a journalist, I don’t sell
advertising’. Well tough. We tried it the other
way and [the model] broke.
Journalists need to grow up and realise they
are part of the business.

22. My grandmother made a small fortune on the stock market by
looking, not at the figures in the company’s annual report, but
by studying photographs of members of the board of
directors.
She looked at the photos and asked herself “Can I trust this
person?”
When I look into the eyes of Pope John Paul II, in every
photograph/video over every stage of the long years of his
papacy I see eyes showing warmth. genuine compassion,
love of humanity, humility and grace.
But when I look into the eyes of Pope Benedict XVI, I see the
cunning eyes of a politician who would betray his
grandmother if the price was right and swear blind that black
was white. His every expression is less than saint-like
Am I the only one who feels this way?

23. Don’t
panic

24. Such is the power of this network that it has
become the key resource for older media trying
to stay ahead of events.
A journalist who does not use Twitter is now like
one who abjures the mobile phone.
Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC

25. Dive in and start talking to people via social
media and blogs. One of the best things
about the internet is how easy it makes it to
share ideas and learn from other people.
Many corners of the web have a very
collaborative culture if you start listening.
Learn as much as you can from editors and
senior journalists but also look all over the
internet for interesting new ways to apply
your skills.
Kate Day, communities editor, The Telegraph

26. Online journalism shouldn't be a chore, it
should be exciting, different, interesting, and
fun. If you're working as a multimedia
journalist you have the opportunity to be a
real pioneer in the art of online storytelling,
audience engagement, and new ways of
sourcing, sharing and developing information.
That has to be worth being a part of.
Alison Gow,
editor Wales Online and Wales on Sunday

27. Key concepts
Writing for online
Alternative story telling
Media consumption and platforms
Social Media
Innovation
Community
Search
Hyperlocal & niche journalism

33. Assessment
• Online feature
700-800 word webzine article
Original journalism
Multimedia
• Community site
Community and content strategy
Implementation in niche blog

34. mct507.cf.ac.uk
mottersheadgg@cardiff.ac.uk
@egrommet