Social media in smaller markets

Before 2008, we were still mired in the outdated philosophy of pushing the newspaper’s content online around midnight, with few exceptions for major breaking news. There was a lot of concern about providing up-to-date information because of its potential effect on print subscriptions. Today, we are a digital-first publication, and the print edition serves as a sort of best-of compilation from the past 24 hours.

We are already used to wearing multiple hats in our newsroom — reporters who also have copy desk shifts or take the photos for their stories, for instance. No matter what the role is, I think the most important asset is to be a good journalist. That isn’t meant to diminish the value of social media skills. But a good journalist with bad skills is more valuable than a gadfly without reporting experience.

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The Breaking News Network thinks it can fix hyperlocal journalism with lots and lots of Twitter feeds

Unlike a traditional news organization with a front page news site, BNN aggregates relevant local news from blogs and city officials and curates them through individual Twitter feeds with accompanying Rebelmouse pages for over 350 cities – metropolises and small towns included.

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Nonprofit news sites are growing, but the search for a reliable business model continues

A new study from Pew finds that digital nonprofit news organizations are finding ways to diversify their funding, but most still rely on grants from foundations to survive.

Even as the number of nonprofit news outlets continues to grow, many organizations are still struggling to find a model for long-term success.

A new study from the Pew Research Center found that tending to the business of running a news nonprofit is among the chief concerns from journalists inside those organizations. More than half of the nonprofits surveyed by Pew said business activities like advertising, fundraising, and marketing represented their greatest staffing need.

Read more at Nieman Labs