Notes for a speech: USC copy editing class

Some (very rough) notes for a talk with a copy editing class at USC:

Changes in the media landscape. Rapid change in the business.

Print dominated How it used to be.

Here's all the important events that happened in your community, or depending on the ambition of the newspaper you were reading, world.

Once a day. Used to be enough to publish once, or a few times a day. Or even special extra editions. Descrete deadlines.  

Now 24 hour newsroom. 

Not enough to sit back, must distribute news in many channels. 

Not when they are spending more and more time on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. Nielsen reported last summer that 22% of all time spent online is on social networks.

Who saw the James Rainey piece about Neon Tommy? 

Our social history at the Times.

Can't sit back and assume people will continue to type latimes.com into their browsers or even from search engines.

Woof: New social networks created all the time. Never know what is going to resonate with masses next. W

We bet heavily on Twitter and Facebook. 

Trying other avenues as they arise. Tumblr for instance 

Bottom line: not really an different from what jounalists and other story tellers have been doing for centuries.

Study what does well on Social Networks. 

So what can an aspiring journalist do to break into the business? 

Proliferation of good information, never a better time to be studying journalism. Graduate level discussions happening everyday online.

Harvard's Neiman Lab and Poynter.org are a great places to start

Also use Twitter, follow people who are tweeting about topics that interest you.

Questions?

Extras:

--Ultimate news tip service, California staff has gotten social media tips that have produced at least a dozen front page stories in the last year

--michelle obama  Someone tweeted after seeing her at Pink's. We called the hot dog stand -- and yes, she had been there. (eating a mild polish sausage w/ grilled onions and jalapenos). 

--From one of our columnists: I find Twitter more useful and informative than email. Email is jammed w spam and 98 percent I toss but Twitter following the right people I get lots of tips, info and impt links.

--From one of our business reporters: I'm followed by many industry sources and executives and my tweets and their tweets (geez, I hate that word), has led to stories and better relationships. Even just tweeting about sporting events I'm watching has brought me closer to some sources who have the same interests.find out more quickly when scooped

--personal engagement most effective. Just like in real life, building trusting relationships with sources. Mark Horvath example

--great success with our Festival of Books twitter account. Really became a phenom last year, started using the hashtag #LATfob and carried over.

We are also trying to improve reader engagement on our own site.

A couple quick examples:

--Neighborhood pages, give people in LA County the opportunity to explore our maps and share information about the places they live

--More live chats on our Readers Representative Journal blog.