10 things you’ll hear at every journalism conference
The 2011 conference season is almost over, with just a few events left to go.
After a busy 2010 attending these things I promised myself to go to less of them in 2011. That is a resolution I have profoundly failed to do. Oh well.
You have been spared the sight of me presenting at many though, so far at least. I am looking forward to talking about storytelling and journalism at the next News:Rewired conference in London on the 6th October. There’s an excellent line-up so far, so if you’re in London, make sure you get a ticket. Also in London, the Wannabe Hacks folks are organising an interesting alternative conference for younger hacks too.
10 things you hear at every journalism conference
1. Twitter/Facebook/Live-blogging is “just a platform”
2. We need to remember what journalism is “all about”
3. “…but where’s the money?”
4. “Is anyone else having trouble with the wifi?”
5. “…we’re all about ‘engaging with users'”
6. A reference to Andy Carvin or Neal Mann
7. News is “fragmenting” (whatever that means)
8. Journalism students must blog/tweet/do video or they won’t get a job
9. An obvious statement about what journalism is (i.e: ‘a journalist’s role is to sift through mass of info to find out ‘what is important’ & ‘what is true”)
10. And, usually from someone afterwards “there’s too much talking and not enough doing*”, followed by “so are you going to the next conference?**”
*This is usually me.
** So is this
There are many more, of course – add your own suggestions in the comments below! :)
Everybody is a journalist these days.
Love this critique Adam, certainly has brightened my Monday morning! You forgot the ‘print is dead’ line, a scathing criticism of local papers and ‘journalism is changing all the time, technology has driven the…yadda yadda yadda’.
At industry professional association conferences, of which I am a sometimes bitter veteran, the saying for years was the loathsome “love your readers and they will love you”.
Around the same time “google is stealing our business” was a popular trope. “Apple is stealing our business” is the 2011 equivalent.
Generally, there usually isn’t enough discussion of what successful media companies do to make money – much of what doesn’t usually involve journalism as we might understand it.
Number 6 should continue “…and their different approaches to using twitter”
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