INVITATION: Journalism That Matters comes to Detroit, June 3-6

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 7:15pm
in
06/03/2010 - 12:15 - 06/06/2010 - 12:15

How can we reshape journalism so that it engages and serves all people & communities?


Participate in "Journalism That Matters Detroit -- Create or Die: Forging communities that initiate, incubate and innovate." 

This focused, three-day gathering of results-driven, action-oriented participants will discover, assess, shape and create forward-looking enterprises focused on key elements of community -- diversity, shared values, tolerance, participation and developing youth.

JTM especially invites persons of color -- journalists, entrepreneurs, programmers, technologists, bloggers, videographers, venture capitalists, artists, funders, educators and all who have an interest -- to explore how voices often unheard or misrepresented can reshape the future of journalism.

 We're meeting in St. Andrew's Hall, a National Register-listed former church, with state-of-the-art TV production facilities next door, and dormitory suite or hotel accommodations. Learn about Detroit's changing economy as a metaphor for the journalism change and opportunity. Arrive Thurs., June 3, at mid-day, begin with an afternoon orientation, buffet dinner and an agenda-setting evening program. Share/work Friday and Saturday using circle-round and break-out "unconference" collaboration; wrap up and commit to next steps on Sunday morning.

The evolving relationship between news and technology provide a great opportunity for innovation. We’ll open by connecting journalists and technologists through identifying essential elements of journalism. Then journalists and technologists together conceive projects and form design/development teams to conceive or deploy the best tools to put those values and elements into practice.

You need to be part of the conversation. Don’t let this moment pass without taking action. Whether you are a part of a legacy media organization or an individual ready to create something on your own, this conference will create a space for energy and action.

 

WHAT WE’LL ACHIEVE

  • New and unexpected cross-sector collaborations
  • Broadening a community of practice among people who care about journalism innovation
  • Nurture and develop journalism entrepreneurship especially for underserved communities and people of color
  • Learn from stories of successful projects
  • Discover and engage financial/funding sources to seed new projects

 

For nearly 50 years, American journalism was financed by an historically unprecedented consumer-driven economy. This put pressure on editors, producers and reporters to focus on mainstream audiences attractive to advertisers. Cable television, and now the Internet, have made it economically feasible to profitably market to niche communities. For the first time, poor, ethnic and disadvantaged communities and under-represent constituencies of all economic strata are no longer too marginal to serve. Diverse constituencies must seize the opportunity to innovate with technology and services, legacy media must learn to include these new, niche audiences. Both creators and consumers die -- figuratively, they lose influence or visibility -- unless they understand the need to diversify.

 

Why Detroit?

Nowhere are economic and media changes in America more stark than in Michigan and Detroit. Time Inc. has placed a year-long emphasis on studying how Michigan will reinvent the American dream. Newspapers in Detroit and Ann Arbor are no longer home-delivered daily. With change comes opportunity, and the changes in America's industrial heartland are an object lesson for change now reaching media and journalism. Create or die, community and diversity are the messages of Detroit.

  

Pricing Information -- Stipends available

Early-bird registration is $300 through April 1. Special rates are available for non-profit organizations, students and the unemployed. You can also pay $25 and apply for a full-registration stipend/grant, which will be awarded based on need and the capacity of our sponsors after May 3. 

REGISTER NOW

 

For general information, contact jtm [at] journalismthatmatters [dot] orgjtm [at] journalismthatmatters [dot] org (.)

 

Re-imagining News & Community in the Pacific Northwest - January 7-10

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 09/05/2009 - 12:36pm
in
01/07/2010 - 14:00 - 01/10/2010 - 12:00

 

Haggett Hall, University of Washington, Seattle

January 7-10, 2010

Staying connected after the conference

Conference multimedia

  • jtmpnw.org aggregation page; (and RSS feed)
  • UStream video
  • YouTube video
  • Photos on Flickr (also here) and Picasa
  • Breakout session notes wiki (includes audio)

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    Participant blogs

    Other conference information

    Participant blogs/articles/reports

    More conference information

    <--break->

    Mike Fancher's picture

    What questions do you have?

    Submitted by Mike Fancher on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 11:44am

    The first full day of JTM/PNW was possibility day -- a series of conversations about questions. Here are some of the topics:

    jamesian's picture

    mind stretched open - eyes wide

    Submitted by jamesian on Fri, 01/08/2010 - 6:56pm

    I was the host of a session that I did not want to host.

    (cue music from Twilight Zone) because someone came up to me and asked, "Will you host a session>"

    First surprise.

    His name is Lion, and he has a scientist's education but a philosopher's questions. Why do people fracture into pro and anti-science?

    Because of his leadership, we had about seven people who could not stop talking. My role as facilitator was easy.. they talked and talked and talked.

    Thanks to the JTM group for bringing this new process in and helping us accept that the right people are there at the right time.

    I learned something new.

    Second surprise.

    Mike Fancher's picture

    Look Who's Coming to Journalism That Matters/Pacific Northwest

    Submitted by Mike Fancher on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 11:41am
    in

    More than 200 people are registered to attend Journalism That Matters/Pacific Northwest, which opens today at the University of Washington.

    For fun, I arbitrarily categorized how the participants described themselves in biographies they posted on the JTM site. Nobody fits neatly in any one category, so I picked the description that seemed most central to the person's work.

    Here is a breakdown:

    1. Civic activists / Community representatives 42
    2. Educators 23
    3. Online journalists 21
    4. Students 14
    5. Newspaper 12
    6. Radio 11
    7. Television 10
    8. Technologists 9
    9. Organization representatives 8
    10. Filmmakers 7
    11. Targeted publications 7
    12. Entrepreneurs 6
    13. Freelancers 6
    14. Public and Media Relations 6
    15. Business representatives 5
    16. Photographers/visual 5
    17. Media Reformers 4

    I'm delighted that the largest category is made up of people who don't produce journalism themselves but who care about it enough to attend this gathering. After all, the convening questions for JTM/PNW include:

    Mike Fancher's picture

    The Right Conversation

    Submitted by Mike Fancher on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 10:14am
    in

    Journalism That Matters/Pacific Northwest is the right conversation, in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

    I say that because of work I've done in the past year with the Aspen Institute and the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. The Commission identified three key objectives:

    1. Maximize the availability of relevant credible information to all Americans and their communities.
    2. Strengthen the capacity of individuals to engage with information.
    3. Promote individual engagement with information and the public life of the community.

    It identified these central points that resonate with JTM/PNW:

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