News entrepreneur advises, ‘Don’t think about it – do it’

Olga Lucia Lozano, creative editorof  La Silla Vacia Versión en español aquí. The cofounder of one of the most important investigative journalism sites in Colombia, La Silla Vacia (The Empty Chair), has some advice for those who are thinking about creating their own website, app or whatever: “Don’t think about it, do it. Doing things […]

Read More »

Why investigative journalism is good business

Versión en español aquí.I may have misled people for the last few years by saying that investigative journalism is not a business but a public service.Other people — namely Felix Salmon, Jeff Bezos and four journalists cited by Journalism.co.uk — are reminding me that investigative journalism does, in fact, have commercial value.First, Felix Salmon, the […]

Read More »

What journalism schools can and can’t teach students

Versión en español aquí. A master’s degree in English literature might not seem an ideal preparation for a career as a business journalist. Actually it served me well, for all the reasons given by advocates of a liberal arts education.  But my own experience seems to have little to do with what the journalism job […]

Read More »

My MOOC experience and what it means

Versión en español aquí. If you want to study journalism, you have more choices today, at lower cost, and of higher quality than ever. Sometimes you will get that at a university and sometimes not. That represents a challenge for universities. In a lecture at a journalism conference in Puebla, Mexico, I described a personal […]

Read More »

Bezos purchase of Post has parallels in China

Versión en español aquí. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos isn’t the only e-commerce billionaire making news with acquisitions. Jack Ma, chairman of China’s e-commerce leader, Alibaba, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a Twitter-like microblogging service and a mapping service. Both of these giants have been bolting on companies that can help them gain synergies […]

Read More »

5 dirty words journalists have to learn to say without blushing

Versión en español aquí.Journalism is the best job in the world, and working with journalists is fun. They’re funny, irreverent, intelligent and excellent storytellers. Still, as a group we tend to be arrogant, self-righteous and holier-than-thou (I include myself in this criticism). We tend to view ourselves as high priests of an exclusive profession and […]

Read More »