March 10, 2009
Posted by Jen Reeves
Agile talk
I have a mind that is full of agile development… and skills that take weeks if not months to launch.
So as I struggle to find ways to bring traditional newsrooms to work together… I struggle with what content management system to use or some kind of way to bring content together in an agile way.
SO… How should we do this? Drupal, WordPress, Django, Joomla, something that doesn’t exist yet?
Here’s the other big question. What is our priority as traditional journalism stalls out? Is our priority to become famous for figuring it all out… or is our priority to work together so we actually figure out doable solutions? I honestly want to find doable solutions for the good of our industry. Is anyone else out there who wants to join with me? We may not have our names printed all over the universe, but good journalism will survive.
I’m okay with that. Is anyone else game?
4 Comments
March 11, 2009
The CMS is not the point, IMO. You can always redesign a CMS, or hack around it to produce the desired results.
The second question is the bigger one — we need to work together to figure out doable solutions.
March 11, 2009
Rob – I totally agree. I guess I see CMS as a way to help us build and deliver solutions. I don’t have CMS skills – I have management skills and wouldn’t it be amazing if the developers and the managers could come together and find solutions without all of the drama?
So if CMS isn’t the point, but working together is the point… How can we all work together? What is the item or project we can work on together to offer solutions for the continuation of good journalism?
March 11, 2009
I was just thinking about that this morning, hearing a story on the radio about a theater fan who ended up creating a support system for actors.
What about a non-profit group that provides training, infrastructure, even group insurance to entrepreneurial journalists working on their own (and even those working alone in big organizations).
Professional associations just aren’t stepping up to this and I forsee a fight for access and day-to-day essentials as the industry shifts mightily.
March 11, 2009
Matt – you have a really good point here. I’ve wondered why individual newsrooms are behind the curve and you may have hit the nail on the head. You have Knight, Reynolds, Pew, Poynter, ect. helping fund efforts… But what about the organizations. I think the Online News Association may have a couple of opportunities, but I haven’t investigated recently. I wonder if those of us who pay dues should speak up and ask for more help.
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