JTM News, Miscellaneous

JTM Services

Supporting healthy journalism

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In the past, JTM’s primary service has been providing the opportunities for journalists and community members across the nation to meet and discover interconnected needs and potentials, supporting creative actions/projects that flow from those interactions.

However, JTM is experimental, network oriented, and fluid, responding to what shows up.

In the Pacific Northwest, JTM has formed the PNW Collaboratory – a collaboration/laboratory that is 1) developing a business plan, 2) actively seeking funding for its initiatives, 3) exploring microfinancing and entrepreneurial educational models to offer JTM members, and 4) creating new website with hosting capabilities that will convene a large cross-section of journalism and media oriented individuals, supplying freemium sites and custom web hosting services.

An exciting model for effecting positive transformational change in the media landscape anywhere in the nation, we hope the Collaboratory inspires people to jump in and use it as a template for getting something started wherever they might be.

Current Services of the JTM PNW Collaboratory

  • Hosting news and information community forums, both face to face and online
    • With a nationally recognized expertise in face-to-face engagement, the Collaboratory will serve its constituency with monthly opportunities to meet and discuss topics of interest.
    • Convene existing journalism and community association leadership to grow opportunities for cross-organizational collaborations
    • Convene initiative leaders quarterly to sustain momentum and find synergies among the efforts
    • Host an online space for learning
    • Provide journalism network website hosting for local projects and blogs
  • Incubate initiatives that improve the PNW news and information ecosystem
    • We begin with the ten initiatives already identified
    • By attending to the needs of the community, nurture new ideas as they arise
  • Be an information conduit for PNW news and information pioneers
    • Through the revamped JTM website
    • With support from the outreach coordinator

Anticipated services of the JTM Collaboratory

  • Articulate a body of knowledge about the emerging news and information ecosystem
  • Through its nine years of engaging the pioneers who are shaping the emerging news and information, JTM has gathered a treasure trove of information.  We shall articulate the patterns contained in that work.
  • Provide microfinance and other funding support for PNW news and information ventures
    • With support from Washington CASH, we shall create a program for supporting PNW news and information
    • We shall maintain a calendar of funding opportunities
  • Provide communication technology consulting services for PNW-based news and information ventures
    • Using the revamped JTM website as a base, use the power of open source tools, including WordPress and BuddyPress to serve emerging needs
    • Utilize nationally recognized expertise in face-to-face engagement and group facilitation to serve emerging needs
  • Support mentoring for news and information pioneers
    • Provide a mechanism to assist self-organizing of those with needs and those with experiences to share
  • Host workshops for news and information pioneers
    • Partner with Poynter Institute, Reynolds Journalism Institute, the University of Washington or others to develop workshops based on the needs articulated by clients
      • E.g., The Art of Engagement for Journalists
  • Provide journalism network website hosting for regional and national media projects and blogs
    • Fremium services for server and hosting
    • Premium services for custom sites
Home Page, JTM News, Member News, Miscellaneous

Newswire21.org plans DC bureau, as JTM alum ramps up

Submitted by Tom Murphy on Wed, 06/16/2010 – 1:06pm

Newswire21.org, a new nonprofit startup that aims to reinvent the wire service from the ground up, is looking for writers and editors in the DC area to help start our Washington bureau. If you’ve ever wanted to help start a cool, new news service, this is your chance. Those who volunteer to help get N21 started will earn preference in hiring when we receive funds to offer jobs.

We’re looking for experienced journalists who recognize the media world is changing and want to swim with the tide instead of against it. Newswire21’s mission is to blend the passion of community-based citizen reporting with the best practices of traditional journalism, creating a complete local, national and world report that can be offered to web sites at minimal cost. Think of it as a wikipedia of news that is run as a cooperative led by experienced journalists. Your participation could be full-time or as little as one day a week.

We’re currently seeking seed grants that would allow us to offer salaries, and we hope to be financing our own growth after just two years. Newswire21 was a finalist for the Knight News Challenge competition, but has not yet received funding. Even so, we’ve already conducted a promising pilot project in the San Francisco Bay Area in collaboration with the San Francisco State Journalism Department, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism, the SF Neighborhood Empowerment Network, Spot.Us and others.

Based on that success, we plan to expand nationally by fall, blending a professional news report — world, national and local — tailored to the 21st century needs of new media (hence our name – Newswire21).  Existing wire services employ a 19th century business model designed to help newspapers reduce staffing costs. That model makes little sense today and leaves thousands of web sites with few affordable options to bring world and national news to their readers.

Founder/EIC Tom Murphy will be in DC to interview participants on Jun 21-22.  Murphy has more than 30 years experience at news companies like The AP, Bloomberg, RedHerring.com and MarketWatch, where he was the founding managing editor. If you’d like to set up a meeting, or just want more info, please contact Murphy atInfo@Newswire21.org.