Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Is your name really Michael Bolton?

This little gem, thanks to Wired News:

According to internal documents provided to Wired News and interviews with key executives, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will begin crowdsourcing many of its newsgathering functions. Starting Friday, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened "information centers," and instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like "data," "digital" and "community conversation."


Nothing like nonsensical corporate jargon to save newspapers. But the story does go on to say the company has four goals:

Prioritize local news over national news; publish more user-generated content; become 24-7 news operations, in which the newspapers do less and the websites do much more; and finally, use crowdsourcing methods to put readers to work as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and researchers in large, investigative features.


If anyone in a newsroom - ahem, information center - ever asks me if I have a case of the Mondays, I'm quitting journalism and going out for defensive linebacker for the Pats.

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