By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Sept. 30, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail. Originally published on 3toread.co

1. The revolution will be immersive: An interesting piece about where journalism is headed. A couple of thought leaders at the AP, Francesco Marconi, a strategy manager, and Taylor Nakagawa, an emerging media fellow, say the future of journalism is 3D and AR, writes Sophia Fox-Sowell for Storybench. They’ve published a guide for newsrooms: “The age of dynamic storytelling: a guide for journalists to immersive 3-D content.” It’s a tectonic shift for consumers. Instead of passively looking at photos or reading text, consumers are now challenged to “explore and create their own narratives.” Interesting stuff.

2. What newsrooms can learn about engagement from churches & book clubs: In an era of disruption, newsrooms are struggling to understand the new rules of engagement and how to build community. Ruth Tupe for The Membership Puzzle Project argues that news needs to look and learn from different organizations that vary as widely as coworking space and art museums. After all, many types of organizations have been asking themselves the same questions for years, while newsrooms are only getting started. Cool tips and anecdotes about what has worked.

3. Before Facebook was Facebook, society columns provided news — and community: Newspapers tended to shrug off the society columns as filler for somewhere in the back pages. But Sam Ford for CJR writes a wonderful ode to what is a disappearing piece of newspaper’s past. But those columns, write Ford, were important in ways maybe the page one editors never understood — they provided place and community for so many readers. (Sam should know. He took over his grandmother’s column at the ripe old age of 12.)

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Matt Carroll teaches journalism at Northeastern University.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Sept. 24, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail. Originally published on 3toread.co

1. The future of news is humans talking to machines: “Pivot to video”? Screw that. The future of newsrooms all about getting news from Alexa, Siri, and Google. Or that’s the fascinating argument made by Nieman Fellow Trushar Barot for Poynter, who thinks voice interaction could have a bigger impact than the iPhone. That’s the interesting news. The bad news is that newsrooms are about to miss out, just like they missed the Internet, if they don’t catch up quick. Provocative stuff.

2. The state of data reporting: Improving quickly: As a long-time data geek myself (and now teaching data reporting), this report is heartening. Half of all newsrooms — and 60% of digital only — have a dedicated data nerd. The report by Google News Lab, which surveyed more than 900 reporters and editors, has some interesting nuggets. For instance data is often used in quick-hit stories — about half of the respondents took a day or less to do a data story, while about 10% took several weeks.

3. What Vox learned building groups & communities on Facebook: Interesting insights from Vox about how a newsroom can use Facebook to create engaged groups. For instance, Vox created special interest groups, such as one around Obamacare, which made it easier for them to find sources for stories. And surprisingly (well, to me anyways), members of groups were good about moderating other members. The tone of discussion also deepened over time as members got to know one another. Good stuff for newsrooms wishing to dive deeper in Facebook Groups.

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Matt Carroll teaches journalism at Northeastern University.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Sept. 11, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail.

Originally published on 3toread.co

1. How to break the grip of misinformation among the fact-resistant: It’s infuriating arguing with people who refuse to acknowledge facts (yes, I am referring to you, certain members of my family). Or, as it’s put succinctly here: “Why is bullshit so hard to debunk?” Here’s an article to help journalists win over at least some of the people, some of the time. Tips: Attack the beliefs, not the people, and target people who are unsure about where they stand. Interesting ideas by Jane Elizabeth of the American Press Institute. (The video is excellent, too.)

2. How critical mistakes shook CNN’s belief in its elite team: In January, CNN crowed about its elite team of investigators, including Pulitzer Prize winners, it had poached from other news organizations. Yet within months it had unraveled into an embarrassing mess for the network. Mistakes in stories related to Russia and Trump officials led to resignations from the team and a curtailment of what it covered. A nice tick-tock and its impact on CNN by Sydney Ember and Michael M. Grynbaum of the New York Times.

3. How a free canvas tote became a stand against fake news (and a bigger status symbol than a $10,000 Hermès bag): Time for a little fun. Who would’ve thought that a tote bag from the New Yorker would have more cachet than some Hermes rag? How a simple piece of illustrated canvas has come to be seen as taking a stand against those who troll real media companies by shouting “Fake news!” Interesting read by Leslie Albrecht of MarketWatch.

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Matt Carroll is a journalism professor at Northeastern University.

Logo by Leigh Carroll <Instagram @Leighzaah>