By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Feb. 3, 2018: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail. Originally published on 3toread.co

1. How do you support your local news site when its crappy owners are destroying it?: This is such a great question and I am so conflicted. I live in a neighborhood of Boston with a bad paper owned by a out-of-town, crappy news company. But I pay for the weekly because I feel I should help support some journalist’s career. On the other hand, there’s also a freebie paper owned locally, which does a very nice job covering my neighborhood. Let’s hope more of these local, quality news sites can arise and knock out the junk. Thanks to Matt DeRienzo, the executive director of LION Publishers, a group of independent online news sites, for raising the issue.

2. How using a pop-up newsroom can increase engagement with readers: I know Chris Faraone, of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, and he’s an original thinker. I love this idea of using pop-up newsrooms to interact with readers. I’m not so sure how scaleable it is, but it’s a great effort, especially if it can be paired with other original ideas. Who else out there is doing creative work to engage with readers? Drop me a line.

3. Don’t like Facebook?: Maybe it’s time to create a better Facebook: My old boss Ethan Zuckerman isn’t someone who sits around whining when there’s a problem to solve. Yes, Facebook sucks in so many ways. So let’s fix it this problem by creating new, better platforms that beat Facebook at its own game. Maybe if enough people work to create new platforms, Facebook will actually respond to people. This is a call for action. Who’ll put skin in the game?

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• Logo by Leigh Carroll <Instagram @leighzaaah>

Matt Carroll teaches journalism at Northeastern University. Twitter: @MattCData. Instagram: mattcarroll54.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Jan. 27, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail. Originally published on 3toread.co

1. ‘Darth’ D’Vorkin: LA journalism’s ‘Prince of Darkness’: If you think things are bad at the LA Times now, get ready — they could get a whole lot worse. The new editor in chief, Lewis D’Vorkin comes across as a someone willing to sell his ethical standards for a few million clicks, give a take a hundred thousand. Just what the Times needs, what with reports of their new publisher’s history of harassment. Hang in there, Times newsroom. Story for CJR by Lyz Lenz.

2. Is Ben Shapiro a conservative liberals can count on?: Despite the obviously partisan take, this is a great read about a fast-rising conservative writer and podcaster who is not a mindless follower of Trump. Shapiro comes across as a brilliant intellectual with points to make, and if he ticks off fellow conservatives, well, that’s just too bad. Nice story by Seth Stevenson for Slate.

3. What the heck is an ‘engagement reporter’?: Newsrooms have dived deep into the “engagement” pool. The problem is that no one quite agrees what the heck that means. A survey of those with the label finds that those reporters are still working to define their exact roles. Interesting story on an evolving idea, by Taylor Blatchford for MediaShift.

Bonus read: How an undercover female reporter exposed sexual misconduct at a London charity bash: Men behaving badly is not exactly a breaking news story these days. But Madison Marriage, working for the Financial Times, covered a top-shelf charity event — for men only — and discovered a level of abuse and boorishness towards young women hostesses that boggles the mind. Marriage reported that men of all ages were pawing at the young hostesses, many college students. It’s a remarkable story that has rocked England. Great read by William Booth and Fred Barbash in the WaPo.

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Matt Carroll teaches journalism at Northeastern University. Twitter: @MattCData. Instagram: mattcarroll54.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Jan. 20, 2018: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail. Originally published on 3toread.co

1. Inside the secretive world of Julian Assange & WikiLeaks: Wikileaks impact on journalism has been immense, from releasing hacked Democratic emails to US documents tied to Afghanistan. Yet surprisingly little is know about the world that has been created by its founder, Julian Assange. Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima talks and tags along with a quirky, paranoid German hacker, one of Assange’s few friends, gaining some insight into a dark and secretive corner of the world. Interesting take.

2. Figuring out if a membership plan is your newsroom’s best path forward (or not): Newsrooms increasingly are looking with envy at those sites that have blossoming membership plans. But Emily Goligoski of the Membership Puzzle Project throws cold water on newsrooms that are not willing or able to work intensely with their audiences. Creating a successful membership model is a serious, time-intensive commitment. Good stuff.

3. ‘The End of the Awl and the Vanishing of Freedom and Fun from the Internet’: OK, I grant you: The hedline (not mine) is an overstatement. But it’s still a wonderful read by Jia Tolentino for The New Yorker on how special quirky places for writers are getting squashed flat by the mega-corporate platforms. Read it and lament the loss of The Awl, even if you were not a reader.

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Matt Carroll teaches journalism at Northeastern University. Twitter: @MattCData. Instagram: mattcarroll54.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

Jan. 13, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail. Originally published on 3toread.co

1. The ‘Shitty Media Men’ list creator outs herself: The anonymous, crowdsourced list was supposed to be a simple Google spreadsheet, shared privately, of men in media who had (supposedly) sexually harassed or assaulted women. The privacy didn’t last long — within a few hours the list had exploded, both in reach and in the number of names added. Then, of course, the search for the author started. But before anyone published her name, Moira Donegan outed herself. Here’s the inside story of what the list was supposed to be, what it became, and the pushback she encountered.

2. What Facebook’s changes to its news feed mean (& how to adapt). Here’s two quick takes: WGBH breaks down what the changes mean for your newsroom, and has specific suggestions on what to do. And Simon Galperin on Medium suggests finding alternative channels, emphasizing social sharing, and cultivating Facebook groups. Good tips here.

3. Reporter’s nightmare: When the subject of an investigation kills himself: Reporters love to do kickass investigations. But what happens if the subject of the investigations kills himself? It can be shocking and emotionally devastating, for the reporter and newsroom. This is how KyCIR handled that very situation. It’s a fascinating read on how to confront a horrible issue head-on, with sensitivity and professionalism. Great read by Meg Dalton for CJR.

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Matt Carroll teaches journalism at Northeastern University. Twitter: @MattCData. Instagram: mattcarroll54.