September 05, 2005
Introductions: Post your bio here
Since this class is being done via conference call, it really helps to provide a few details about ourselves so we can get acquainted. I'll start. Each of you can post a comment providing details about yourself.
I'm general manager for interactive media/newspapers at the E.W. Scripps Company. We own 21 daily papers, and I've been in the newspapers business in some way, shape or form since 1984. You can learn more about me in the following places:
1. My blog and website. I tend to steer clear of work issues here and focus mostly on travel and fun stuff.
2. My resume.
3. My biography.
Now it's your turn. Tell us about yourself ...
Posted by Bob Benz at 11:49 AM | Comments (17)
September 04, 2005
Welcome to J415
Welcome to J415, OU's online journalism practicum. I'm Bob Benz, and I'll be teaching this course with OU’s Dr. Bob Stewart. Our goal is to give you a "real world" view of issues confronting journalism in the 21st century. And there are a lot of them. In fact, the very foundation of the fourth estate is at risk. But times of great crisis also breed opportunities. That’s where we’ll be focusing.
This course is something of an experiment, and its success will depend as much on you as it does on the instructors. We will be using this blog as a primary means of communication. I'd strongly recommend that you check the blog daily and try to post at least a few times a week. We'll also hold a weekly conference call on Tuesdays. The first hour will introduce you to a high-level concept in online journalism, sometimes with the help of a guest speaker. During the second hour, you’ll break into two groups: ATHENSi and Speakeasy. Thursdays will be a lab, during which you will respond to posts on the class blog and work on assignments related to the subject we’re focusing on.
You will be able to respond to posts in this blog. You also can initiate threads of your own using the username and login we provide.
Your grade will be based primarily on a business case that you will present. Details on this, as well as other details about how you will be graded, can be found in the course syllabus.
If you have questions, don't hesitate to let me know. I can be reached via e-mail at bbenz@scrippsweb.com or by phone: (865)971-5920.
If you want to know more about me, my personal website is a good place to start. I've also posted a bio and my resume .
Posted by Bob Benz at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
August 31, 2005
J415 Syllabus
Here is the syllabus for J415 ... either e-mail me or post a note below if you have questions.
J415 -- Online journalism practicum
Fall 2005
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-noon
Instructors:
Bob Stewart, journalism professor, OU
Bob Benz, GM/interactive media, Scripps newspapers
Phone: 865 971-5920 (Benz)
E-mail: bbenz@scrippsweb.com (Benz)
Blog URL: http://www.opposable-thumbs.com/j415/
Course Objective: To get a hands-on understanding of how media websites operate and the types of strategic decisions they face. Students will learn about current issues and strategies and then will use what they’ve learned in laboratory and real-world settings.
Course Work: The goal of this class will be to give you hands-on exercises to illustrate key issues in online journalism. To that end, we’ll spend the first hour of Tuesday classes being introduced to a major trend or issue in online journalism. The second hour will be broken into a more hands-on exploration of the issue, with the class being broken into two groups: one focusing on ATHENSi and the other on Speakeasy. Thursday classes will serve as a lab where students will make relevant blog entries, complete assignments and work on their final project.
The Blog: This will be a focal point of the class. Each student is expected to look at the blog daily and post at least two times per week. We also will be inviting several online news leaders to read and post in the blog.
Text: Gillmor, Dan. We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. O'Reilly Publishing, 2004. This is required. One of your assignments will be to blog a review of it.
Grading: Grades in J415 will be based on a 10-10-20-60 structure, with 10 percent of your grade being for attendance at the Tuesday discussions and Thursday labs, 10 percent for participating in the blog, 20 percent for assignments and 60 percent for the final project. On the final project, your grade will be based half on an in-class presentation and half on the written presentation you hand in. Your presentation should be smooth and convincing. You'll be selling an idea. We also will consider how well you field questions about your proposal.
Schedule
Week 1: Journalism in Crisis: A look at how the Internet has disrupted traditional media and a discussion of several emerging trends.
Week 2: Citizen Journalism: What happens when the model flips and ordinary citizens suddenly are empowered to produce and post news on their own?
Week 3: The Competitive Landscape: A look at strategies traditional and non-traditional news operations are employing to succeed in cyberspace.
Week 4: Tools of the Trade: How are blogging, RSS feeds and multimedia tools changing the way we report the news?
Week 5. Who Are You? The critical need for news sites to understand and target key audience segments.
Week 6. Pimp my Content: You’ve identified your audience and created gnarly content. How do you make enough money to pay the bills?
Week 7. Guerrilla Marketing: Once you’ve built it, how will they know to come?
Week 8. Co-opertition: Sometimes, the people you loathe have what you need to succeed.
Week 9. Final project preparation: A chance to ask questions and discuss progress on you final presentation.
Week 10. Final project presentations.
Final project
Strange bedfellows
The competitive landscape is constantly shifting in the world of online news, and much of your success depends on whom you partner with – and whom you don’t. It’s critical to be able to distinguish friend from foe and to know when it makes sense for foes to work together. During J415, you will be working in two groups: ATHENSi and Speakeasy. For the final project, each group will be expected to assess the prospects of working with the other. Should you be strict competitors, doing everything you can to undercut each other and build your own presence in the Athens, Ohio, online marketplace? Should you strike a partnership and work together in some mutually beneficial way? Or is there a strategy somewhere in the middle that provides the best answer?
For the final project, you will prepare a presentation for your board of directors recommending a strategy moving forward. The board provides financial backing for your enterprises and its primary concern is to increase the value of its investment.
If you are proposing a partnership, you will need to argue persuasively that this alliance is beneficial to your group and that it will bring benefits unattainable if you were working alone. You also need to lay out the specifics of the partnership. How will it function where content, marketing and advertising are concerned? What mutual benefits/interests will bind the two partners and stop the relationship from fading into irrelevance?
If you are proposing a go-it-alone approach, you will need to explain why partnering is a bad strategic decision and how you intend to aggressively grab audience and advertising dollars from the other group.
The dynamics of the class probably will drive the presentations. It’s possible that each student will present his or her own ideas, or that some students will form teams to approach the problem. It’s also possible that the ATHENSi and/or the Speakeasy groups will work as two independent teams to present proposals. You will need to discuss this among yourselves and decide how to proceed. In any sort of team approach, it will be important that we are able to see what each member of the team is contributing to the presentation. Each member should be responsible for a written section of the final and for presenting a segment of the proposal to the board of directors.
Posted by Bob Benz at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)