Future of Journalism Final Projects: Case Studies & Predictions for the Future
My very able George Washington University honors seminar, which included about two-thirds non majors, was tasked with doing an in-depth analysis of the news outlet or outlets of their choice. Imagined as a comparison similar legacy and non-legacy outlets, some took the opportunity to write memos about a single news outlet. Others provided enough detail on just one outlet to provide a primer and even a way forward for the news outlet.
I’m sharing (some) of these projects below, though there are different intended audiences imagined by the students. Generally, I’d say you can learn something about how college students think about journalism in these papers — and it turns out, local news really does matter to them on a deep, emotional level that has to do with community identity and belonging. This was not imagined as a local journalism assignment, but in many cases turned out to be just that. In addition, the finely-honed bullshit detection capacity of a college student pokes holes in news innovations often touted by top executives and influencers as “the future of journalism.”
Their smart work is also a product of the collective DC journalism community. Hats off to Tom Rosenstiel (API), Molly Ball (Time), Frank Sesno (GW), Margaret Sullivan (WaPo), Geoffrey Ingersoll (Daily Caller), Paul Young (WaPo), David Alpert (Greater Greater Washington), Sandi Moynihan (USO) and Selina MacLaren (RCFP) for raising the level of conversation and your kind guest visits.
Putting News Back on Your Side: A case study of a Bay Area television consumer unit as a model for engagement in journalism — Victoria Leoni
A look at local TV in San Francisco and its old-school, naturally conceived engaged journalism, ABC7’s 7 On Your Side with Michael Finney. “The viewer is at the start and end of the 7 On Your Side story life cycle,” as Leoni notes, incorporating the ideas of engagement used by Democracy Fund into her analysis. She observes, “engagement for the appearance of engagement is no engagement at all.”
The Athletic: Reinventing the Wheel or Coopting it? — Madeline Rundlett
Maddie argues that The Athletic is just a startup in name that works in some markets and not others, with little innovation beyond stealing great journalists from other news outlets. She expresses an important concern about the staff diversity ratios at The Athletic, which is over 90% male, and suggests that good pay may not be enough to sustain a publication for very specific niche type of sports fan.
An Analysis of The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider — Isabella Jaeger
Isabella takes a hard look at The WSJ and BI, giving great insight into the huge advantage the WSJ has in the personalization of its metered paywall, and BI’s possible over-niche-ness into “Insider.” She ultimately argues that The WSJ, while hampered perhaps by publisher’s/ownership’s meddling, nonetheless remains advantaged in terms of innovation, audience, and scale.
Legacy v. Digital First: A Case Study Comparison of The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Vox -Delaney McMath
Delaney compares her hometown newspaper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, to another news outlet she reads most often for big news, Vox. Her paper provides an overview of The AJC’s sense of mission and insight into some of its vertical strategy, then takes a look at the crazy tools that Vox has incorporated into its workflow, such as Hymnal, which is extreme A/B testing for ads, and Creative Intelligence. Some great things you didn’t know in here, especially about The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The Future of Local News in The Twin Cities — Hannah Price
Another non-journalism major but child of journalism obsessives, Hannah compares of The Star Tribune and MinnPost, with an eye toward what makes Minnesota a unique state for news. The analysis is provided with the passion of a news-reading native. Features an interview with MinnPost founder Leon Lynch.
The Salisbury Post vs. The Charlotte Observer — Addison Fry
Addison, a biology major, takes a close look at his hometown local newspaper, the Salisbury Post, circ 19,000. It is in many ways a dinosaur, practicing old-school news engagement, with Addison mentioning the close connection between journalists who show up to high school sports events and the community knowledge of these journalists, as well as the strong sense of trust and shared values. He then considers The Charlotte Observer, arguing that as the major destination for regional news cross-Carolinas, it has a special value proposition, and is not actually doing that badly. Features an interview with the editor of the Salisbury Post, Elizabeth Cook.
The Baltimore City Paper: Past, Present, and Future — Brianna Abraham
An earnest love letter to City Paper, which passed before many locals knew what had happened. Brianna, a non-major, writes about her city pride and the important service that City Paper offered — in her mind, City Paper covered the city and The Baltimore Sun, the surrounding counties.
New Jersey News Deserts: The Changing Media Landscape and Its Effects on Local Journalism — Joe Brecht
A synthesis of literature on news deserts in NJ and case study of Brecht’s hometown newspaper, the Union News Daily, which thanks to consolidation, provides little to no coverage of his small town despite issues ripe for good journalism. Free Press’ success in spurring government action also gets a good look. Brecht asks the tough question, “Why would a publisher spend time and money serving a community where 30 percent of its readers live in poverty?”
The Future of 60 Minutes — Paige Childs
Paige asks, “The show has entered its fiftieth season this year, making it the longest-running prime-time broadcast in television history. With the average show lasting just over two years, the question of how becomes prevalent: How is the show still running, and how is it still consistently ranked among the most-watched prime-time broadcasts?” Her answer: No newscast does the same type of documentary-style segments as 60 Minutes, and if they attempt to do so — like Dateline and 20/20, for example — the quality of 60 Minutes’ product is unmatched. 60 Minutes, and more broadly CBS, also has historically had the greatest depth in talent, resulting in the greatest journalism has to offer joining the 60 Minutes teams as contributors and correspondents.
Legacy Magazines — Mona Ziaei
Written by a non-major (who lacks our Pulitzer obsession), Mona takes a hard look at The New Yorker and The New Republic, bringing together excellent details and cogent analysis about the strengths and weaknesses of each. She highlights The New Yorker’s innovations such as its newsletter and video expansion, but notes that it subscriptions are…ridiculous. The New Republic’s main strength going forward is that it has a younger audience, but it faces some serious challenges, particularly diversity and gender inequity.
