Director's Notes: Changing News

• Best of the Lot. J-Lab Executive Director Jan Schaffer says that most successful citizen journalism projects "have developed a reputation for being not just good community news outlets, but also good community stewards." Schaffer, who manages the McCormick Foundation New Media Women Entrepreneurs awards competition, was in Los Angeles recently to address the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. "As I look at how the media ecosystem is evolving in communities large and small across the United States, I am more optimistic than pessimistic that citizens will get their information needs met. I also think that traditional journalists will play a smaller---albeit still important---role as the gatherers and disseminators of news." Schaffer lauded "the growing appetite" by philanthropic foundations for supporting community information needs. "Foundations once worried about funding projects that might compete with fragile news organizations. In the last two years, however, they have become so alarmed at the diminishing news coming from downsized local news outlets that they are seeking ways to intervene."
• New Newsroom. AOL is building a newsroom of the future, according to Business Week. The AOL software model determines audience interest in particular stories and then gives journalists detailed data on the level of readership traffic and advertising revenue the articles generate. More than 500 full-time journalists now work for AOL. Business Week says 150 of them were added last year.
• Blog folds. Connecticut Local Politics, a well regarded citizen blog site, has folded its tent. The New York Times speculates that the the political news and views publication died because "it became too much for the creator to handle and because it got sued twice---something a corporation can battle but few individuals can."
• Quote of the Week. "I fear three newspapers more than a hundred thousand bayonets." -Napolean