I’ve said little so far about what this project is, so let me take a step back for a moment. We are two journalists — a reporter and a copy editor — in southwestern Ontario who are at once concerned about and excited by the future of journalism. Accelerating changes in the industry delineate tremendous possibilities — possibilities that few mainstream publications appear to be grabbing onto.
We are most interested in alternative business cases for papers. While it seems to be a truism that people will always be interested in and seek out news, the guaranteed windfall that used to come to newspaper owners at year-end is drying up.
So, we’re thinking it’s time for someone to explore alternatives, from not-for-profits to crowd funding. When we think about this project, we think big: we’re aiming to write a book, something neither of us has ever done. But we’re hoping to build that from smaller pieces, producing articles and perhaps radio docs along the way.
And this blog is something between a reference and a book-writing diary. We’ll note here the things we’re working on, vague ideas, suggestions and fleeting thoughts.
Please, feel free to share your thoughts on ours.