True story of my Knight News Challenge Grant.
The reason I applied for the Knight News Challenge was because of a blog post I wrote in response to one of the first years’ winners that gave scholarships to to teach techies journalism.
I wrote: “Where’s the money to teach journalists how to code?”
The post ended up on Romenesko and Gary Kebbel sent me a quick email encouraging me to apply next year.
A few emails (and weeks) later I asked him about the cut-off dates for the “young creators” category. He responded promptly and as I started to feel more comfortable, I let him know… he rocked. I wrote…
Gary
You rock!!
(said the 25-year-old hopeful entrepreneur).I was born 1982. I am exactly 25 and will remain so until mid-2008.
Gary got a kick out of this and to this day lets me know that “I rock” too. When I had the chance to meet Alberto Ibargüen I passed along a similar kudos. And while I am bias, everyone I have met from Knight so far has…. rocked.
So what’s the lesson here?
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what I mean when I tell people “they rock.” I tend to have various catch-phrases with work colleagues. If I think somebody is doing well – I let them know they are rocking. If I feel we are making progress, I end emails with “Onward” – something I picked up from Steve Fox (The Silver Fox!).
At the micro-level: Don’t be afraid to be informal in a tasteful way. It can help your words standout.
Walking along the Berlin Wall during this brief vacation I was overcome with the human emotions that was poured into the cement that separated the East and West. Combine background music and my brain was gushing (when you are listening to an iPod you can’t help but feel like you are in an Apple commercial…or is that just me?)
At the macro level: I fear news organizations are holding back. They refuse to “rock out.” With individuals what I mean is fairly clear. Somebody is doing a good job at something, showing their passion and making it contagious. But what does it mean for a “news organization” to rock out?
Let go of your brands!
My best constructive criticism for traditional news organizations was pointing out that:”Editors and Publishers are in a Battle Against Inertia.” It takes them too long to try innovative things online. What can be executed in two weeks takes six months or longer.
The inertia is a result of bureaucracy.
The bureaucracy is there for quality control. And I do believe that good journalism, specifically long-form journalism, will require basic editorial structures to ensure quality (even a single editor increases the final output), but much of a news organizations bureaucracy is in place to control its branding, its coveted relationship with readers. What it will and won’t engage, collaborate or participate with for fear of tarnishing its brand.
This goes against everything the internet is teaching people about marketing: The more control you give up defining your brand, the more positive feedback you will receive.
The extreme analogy: If a reader creates a Facebook group about your newspaper one should embrace it – not send them a cease and desist letter.
In short: News organizations need to…. rock out. Throw some of their branding to the wind.
What do you think? Am I going down the wrong road? It is hard to know – as I’m somewhat jet-lagged (back in SF!!) and trying to bring together various ideas that came through my head while traveling.
Also see: “It’s not personal branding, it’s just living your life online.”
People make things happen. People make things rocking. 🙂
You just inspired someone, who is maybe like you. Writing quite often in third person, mostly Greek but as time goes by more and more English. 🙂 And yes, as far as I can read in this post above “You rock!”.
Thanks, David.
From Knight HQ, keep rockin’–
p.s. We should make a playlist for this 🙂
Totally on point with this – the quasi-paralysis that results from editorial groups reflexively protecting their brand is strangling progress all over old media. It’s like learning to swim – editors need to realize that they can trust the water, that they will float if the don’t fight.
Dave, I like your brainstorm here, but I guess when I hear “rock out” or “you rock,” I hear a recognition in one person of the art another person creates with her enthusiasm and skill. And if “rocking” is really art, I don’t think institutions or organizations can do it. I’d never ask an institution to create art. Institutions are organisms of a sort, but they’re not yet highly-evolved enough to have the kind of consciousness required to make art, or, therefore, to “rock out.” Institutions are for preserving and perpetuating stuff; hopefully most of the time they preserve and perpetuate things we’ve deemed to be of value. But in any case, the need to preserve and perpetuate will always be in slight or total opposition to the forces of change and innovation. Organizations and institutions that learn to weather or adapt to the forces of change and innovation survive; those that don’t perish; but in any case, I don’t think that institutions will survive by dint of “rocking out.” Though I’d be happy to be proven wrong!
On a separate note: as someone who was not given coding skills as part of your training and who has later come to realize the value of putting coder’s tools into non-coder hands, you might be interested in the Art and Code conference. Check out the conference’s “Motivation” statement:
http://artandcode.ning.com/page/motivation-1
This much I know for sure – Maudie Shah rocks!!!
Seriously – you are becoming a hero of mine.
I suppose you are right that it is silly to think institutions can “rock out” in the truest sense of artistic creation. I just want them to loosen up a bit and try new things.
One could argue that building websites is an act of artistic creation – and in that sense, they need to… rock it a bit harder.
Best!!!!