Media Re:Public 2

Some other observations from the day:

Paul Steiger, former Managing Editor at the Wall St Journal, has launched ProRepublica - an online investigative journalism site.

Lisa Williams from PlaceBlogger had uploaded her slides to Flickr and played them off the site. Some great observations:
"Problems are distorted and global; Media is consolidated and local"
"News organisations take things that are free and add value; Web organsiations take things that cost and make them free"
"Community is shared, lived experience; News is a tiny fraction of that lived experience"
And "Don't wait for Google to invade your newsroom - launch a counter-invasion. Join Google!"

Solana Larsen predicted there would be no Foreign Correspondents by 2013 - international events reported by those who live there. I agree the model of Foreign Correspondent is becoming rapidly outdated and needs re-inventing, not least to have authenticity with the subject which is lacking from many blow-dried parachute journalists.

Jonathan Krim of the Washington Post called for an end to "He Said, She Said" journalism in favour of declarative journalism where reporters say what they really know rather than ascribe it to others. I suggested that as long as journalism was evidence-led and transparent, reporters could already say anything they wanted. It's called objectivity (based on evidence or fact) as distinct from impartiality (absence of bias).

A great demonstration of Helium from Mark Ranalli - very interesting CitJo site. Peer based rating leads to true meritocracy in articles offered. They have 100,000 writers, and amassed a million articles in 15 months. Effectively they outsource the editorial process and allow peer review to ensure quality rises to the top.
They are also working with the Pulitzer Centre on supporting a number of projects designed to engage those who are currently un-engaged in issues. The most impressive seemed to be a multimedia project: Hope (living and loving with HIV in Jamaica)

Doc Searls also walked us through his VRM project and the RelButton which could redefine our relationship with vendors....