NPR embraces local, data-driven journalism
For my latest Harvard’s Nieman Lab article, I profile StateImpact, NPR’s attempt to take the resources of a national news organization and apply them at a local level, utilizing data-driven tools: Billed as “station-based journalism covering the effect of government actions within every state,” StateImpact essentially takes the extensive resources of a national news organization...
A wedding photographer generated $100k in business through Facebook
In my latest article for Harvard’s Nieman Lab, I interview Craig Finlay, a hobbyist photographer who stumbled into a lucrative wedding photography business through Facebook: The way Finlay described “this Facebook thing,” it seemed like it had occurred mostly on a whim. He and Mysi had been editing photos from Rebecca’s shoot and decided to...
How netroots bloggers are influencing Occupy Wall Street
For my latest article at PBS’ MediaShift, I interviewed activists from Firedoglake and Daily Kos to explore the various ways netroots bloggers are influencing Occupy Wall Street: But though the decentralized structure of OWS has helped its public perception, its sluggish decision-making has made it ill-prepared for one major obstacle: winter. As the protests stretch...
Huffington Post gives the practice of liveblogging a facelift
For my latest Harvard’s Nieman Lab article, I interviewed Nico Pitney, the executive editor of the Huffington Post Media Group, about HuffPo’s liveblogging tool and whether it’s a new evolution in the art of liveblogging: I asked Nico Pitney, the executive editor of the Huffington Post Media Group, whether HuffPo’s liveblogging tool is an attempt...
Using Kickstarter to raise an $11,000 book advance
My most recent article for PBS’ MediaShift details how a midlist science fiction author bypassed traditional publishing completely and raised $11,000 on Kickstarter. Despite the rosy outcome of his experiment, you might be surprised at his outlook on self publishing: In August of this year, Pratt uploaded his project onto Kickstarter with video and text...
Measuring news consumer interest around Occupy Wall Street
My most recent article in Harvard’s Nieman Lab explores why Occupy Wall Street is perfect for web journalism. I interviewed editors from the New York Observer, The Atlantic, and Reason to determine how hungry news consumers are for OWS content. Bob Cohn, the online editor for The Atlantic, told me that 10 percent of the...
How PBS used social media to promote Ken Burns’ Prohibition
I’ve written a new article for Harvard’s Nieman Lab on how PBS used GetGlue and other social platforms to promote Ken Burns’ Prohibition: Two weeks ago I was sitting on a long bus ride between New York City and DC when I noticed several people I follow on Twitter checking into the PBS documentary Prohibition...
How my team at JESS3 drove 200,000 views to one of its videos
Over at JESS3, the creative design agency I work for, I describe how I secured over 100 embeds and thousands of tweets and Facebook shares for a single video: On January 17 we released both a YouTube version and Vimeo version of the video, and JESS3’s PR team immediately went to work promoting the video...
The origin story of the New York Times’ blogs
Inevitably, questions and even tensions arose when the ingrained Times culture rubbed against emerging digital sensibilities. For years, getting a story published on page A1 of The New York Times — the holy grail for most reporters — was a protracted ritual that involved two meetings with a large cast involving increasingly senior editors. The...
Inside the iPad strategy of Golf Digest
For an article on PBS’ MediaShift, I interviewed editorial directors at Conde Nast’s Golf Digest to get an inside look into how the magazine developed its iPad app. Bob Carney, the magazine’s brand editor, is someone who grappled with this question in the months leading up to the subscription’s launch. “For Golf Digest, I think...
Is Larry Page a war-time CEO?
Google isn’t just in a war with Facebook, it’s at war with multiple companies across multiple industries. In fact, Google is fighting a multi-front war with a host of tech giants for control over some of the most valuable pieces of real estate in technology. Whether it’s social, mobile, browsing, local, enterprise, or even search,...
