Invisible Inkling

Ryan Sholin on the future of newspapers, online news and journalism education.

All About blogs

Dealing with the elephant: Incremental change

August 11, 2008 – 1:00 pm

This is the second post in a short series I’m going to write about the business model for online news before I go back to my usual divisive blathering about how to avoid bureaucracy and feed trolls.  The starting point, the givens in the equation, are listed here.  Suggest what I should tackle next using [...]

You can be a journalist without a job at a mainstream news organization

July 21, 2008 – 2:33 pm

That headline seems obvious, no?
Then why is it that when journalists see layoffs, buyouts, and newspaper companies in trouble, they sigh and say “Should I stop wasting my time and start applying to advertising agencies?”
Really?
Here are a few ways you be a journalist without a full-time job at a mainstream news organization:

Become a placeblogger.  Report [...]

Howard Owens will give you $100 to get with the program

December 27, 2007 – 4:56 pm

That’s right, if you’re an ink-stained, hard-nosed reporter who thinks all this New Media stuff is bunk, Boss Owens has a hundred Amazon bucks with your name on ‘em.
If you perform a few small tasks, of course.
Like, start reading blogs, get a blog, start writing, shoot some stills and video, upload them, join a social [...]

Watch out for secondary characters with more interesting stories than your protagonist

December 22, 2007 – 9:45 pm

That’s good advice up there in the title of this post. I got it from a screenwriting teacher, and it’s been a running joke around our house for the last week based on a couple movies we’ve watched lately.
And it’s also good advice for narrative journalists.
But that’s not what this post is about.
This post [...]

Twitter take-up Tuesday brought me Clarence

December 11, 2007 – 8:27 pm

I’m not going to go into much detail or analysis of what happened to Twitter today, other to point out that this blog post by Jeremiah Owyang started it and became a hub for at least 300 people to connect to each other, and thus to each other’s networks.
“Quite simply, my whole hustle is that,
‘I [...]