- How many comic journalists are there?
- How many people buy comics?
- How many people consume news on a yearly basis?
- How many people watch television news?
- How many people buy newspapers? How many people read the funnies in the news paper?
- What's the most popular comic book company?
- What ages consume news? Is it all ages?
- How much money do people spend on news?
- How much time do people dedicate to news?
- When people consume news, what do they look for?
Monday, November 18, 2013
Market Research: Starting with questions
For my News in Comics company, I will have to cater to the people who will actually buy my product. There will be a number of people in the world who will never be interested in my type of news production. There will be some people who are. My job is to find those people and cater to them. It may be a product that I'm developing, but it's theirs. It belongs to the news-consumers as long as they have a need for it. To market to my costumers, I've developed some starting questions that I will attempt to answer in my next post.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Journalism: Is this it?
As a frustrated, busy, out-of-time, write-to-deadline journalism student, I must wonder, is it really me? Is it for me? And better yet, am I for it?
To report takes courage of a kind I didn't know I possessed. It requires making appointments with strangers. It requires not always getting faces to put with the words you might receive over email. It means fumbling words, awkward laughter, sweaty palms, and time constraints. It means weird hours, anxiety, a job never done, and a job sometimes done well. Other times, not so much.
It requires you put your life aside so you can ask others' about theirs. And if you can't listen, you can't be a reporter. If you can't write, you can't report. If you can't read, you can't ask good questions.
Journalism means stepping out of a comfort zone I loved all too much. It means embracing the awkwardness, being forced to get out of your element, and put yourself in a world you've never known before. And do it all over the next week. The next day. The next email. The next text.
Sometimes I wonder if this is really what I want. Is this really who I want to be? Do I really want to be reporting all the time? I'm very introverted. I get nervous around new people. And while I'm not so sure that I want to do this for the rest of my life, while I may or may not consider changing my major or taking other classes, while I may or may not ever come to a conclusion about this journalism dilemma, I do know one thing: Journalism is a good thing to experience. I have confidence emailing anyone I need to email. I've been forced to step outside of my bubble, and I haven't tried to go back. So I don't know what I want to do. I don't know how I want to grab a paycheck. At least journalism gave me one of the best character building experiences of my entire life.
To report takes courage of a kind I didn't know I possessed. It requires making appointments with strangers. It requires not always getting faces to put with the words you might receive over email. It means fumbling words, awkward laughter, sweaty palms, and time constraints. It means weird hours, anxiety, a job never done, and a job sometimes done well. Other times, not so much.
It requires you put your life aside so you can ask others' about theirs. And if you can't listen, you can't be a reporter. If you can't write, you can't report. If you can't read, you can't ask good questions.
Journalism means stepping out of a comfort zone I loved all too much. It means embracing the awkwardness, being forced to get out of your element, and put yourself in a world you've never known before. And do it all over the next week. The next day. The next email. The next text.
Sometimes I wonder if this is really what I want. Is this really who I want to be? Do I really want to be reporting all the time? I'm very introverted. I get nervous around new people. And while I'm not so sure that I want to do this for the rest of my life, while I may or may not consider changing my major or taking other classes, while I may or may not ever come to a conclusion about this journalism dilemma, I do know one thing: Journalism is a good thing to experience. I have confidence emailing anyone I need to email. I've been forced to step outside of my bubble, and I haven't tried to go back. So I don't know what I want to do. I don't know how I want to grab a paycheck. At least journalism gave me one of the best character building experiences of my entire life.
John Lepage and the reporter
John Christie wrote about John LePage. And for what seems to be a fairly small online publication of news, he did a great job. The photography is excellent. The writing is great. I also love that it is broken up stylistically into chapters.
Because of Christie's work and his senior reporter status, I have a few easy questions for him:
Because of Christie's work and his senior reporter status, I have a few easy questions for him:
- Mr. Christie, what gave you the idea to do a long profile of LePage?
- Why did you break it up into chapters?
- Were you ever frustrated, working with a bunch of opinionated people?
- Do you live in Maine?
- Was it difficult to keep your own opinion out of it?
- Also, why does it seem like you and Naomi write all the stories on the site?
- Is it hard to keep it going?
- Are you always busy?
- Why did you become a reporter?
- Why are you still a reporter?
Fulfilling the mission
The mission of the Pine Tree Watchdog:
Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.
Then the question is, does it fulfill the mission?
The stories on the website include stories about Wind Power and the way residents feel about it; Pharmacist drug abuse; and even Lepage-Cain financial disclosure.
As far as I can see, Watchdog does its job. Every story I scroll through is about Maine's citizens and their government or issues within the state. There are stories about local people that are doing crimes throughout the state, but there are also stories where the citizens get an active chance to voice their opinions. Does it fulfill its mission? I think so. The stories seem to be well-thought out and in-depth. Though I don't know where the first part to the pharmaceutical story went. I would like to read Part 1.
Then the question is, does it fulfill the mission?
The stories on the website include stories about Wind Power and the way residents feel about it; Pharmacist drug abuse; and even Lepage-Cain financial disclosure.
As far as I can see, Watchdog does its job. Every story I scroll through is about Maine's citizens and their government or issues within the state. There are stories about local people that are doing crimes throughout the state, but there are also stories where the citizens get an active chance to voice their opinions. Does it fulfill its mission? I think so. The stories seem to be well-thought out and in-depth. Though I don't know where the first part to the pharmaceutical story went. I would like to read Part 1.
About Us - my company's statements
My professor recommended that we each practice with mission statements and visions for our companies. This blog is practice for that.
At the Pine Tree Watchdog, the About Us page has some helpful information. It all starts with Vision.
Vision: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American democracy by looking beneath the surface of Maine government and writing clearly and without fear or favor about what it discovers.
News in Comics, Vision: The Morning Glory Company will fulfill the responsibility of connecting the American society with a form of comic-book journalism by reporting local, national, and international stories with dialogue, captions, and illustrated, painted, or photographed images to tell the news in a new way.
Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.
News in Comics, Mission: The Morning Glory Company will keep citizens informed about their societies and big happenings around the world through high-quality, collaborative reporting between artists, reporters, and editors that is published online and is printed at different news outlets throughout the United States.
At the Pine Tree Watchdog, the About Us page has some helpful information. It all starts with Vision.
Vision: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American democracy by looking beneath the surface of Maine government and writing clearly and without fear or favor about what it discovers.
News in Comics, Vision: The Morning Glory Company will fulfill the responsibility of connecting the American society with a form of comic-book journalism by reporting local, national, and international stories with dialogue, captions, and illustrated, painted, or photographed images to tell the news in a new way.
Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.
News in Comics, Mission: The Morning Glory Company will keep citizens informed about their societies and big happenings around the world through high-quality, collaborative reporting between artists, reporters, and editors that is published online and is printed at different news outlets throughout the United States.
Monday, November 4, 2013
News in Comics - My reviews about everyone's reviews
My PowerPoint pitch, which we all know by now, is News in Comics.
People had really helpful feedback for me.
The font was too small. It seemed kind of busy. There was no clear definition of how I would make money. Slide 9 was kinda wacky. Slide 6 wouldn't show up for someone.
All very valid points. I did my best to fix them and be more transparent.
I also liked the feedback on individual slides. I think that made it easier to go back and quickly edit, though I ended up spending more time on each slide, anyway. You know when you finish a project, and you get that sensation of relief because you're all done? And then you realize you want to add something else, so you go back and you tinker. The next thing you know, another hour is gone, and you just can't believe how much better your project is and how much time you spent on it all at once!?
That's pretty much how every project goes for me. Even this blog post. What I'm typing right now is actually an insert that was not part of the original. Shh...
If you would so enjoy seeing me silly presentation, here it is!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uunga0nytjynqqh/Hall_NewsinComics.pptx
People had really helpful feedback for me.
The font was too small. It seemed kind of busy. There was no clear definition of how I would make money. Slide 9 was kinda wacky. Slide 6 wouldn't show up for someone.
All very valid points. I did my best to fix them and be more transparent.
I also liked the feedback on individual slides. I think that made it easier to go back and quickly edit, though I ended up spending more time on each slide, anyway. You know when you finish a project, and you get that sensation of relief because you're all done? And then you realize you want to add something else, so you go back and you tinker. The next thing you know, another hour is gone, and you just can't believe how much better your project is and how much time you spent on it all at once!?
That's pretty much how every project goes for me. Even this blog post. What I'm typing right now is actually an insert that was not part of the original. Shh...
If you would so enjoy seeing me silly presentation, here it is!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uunga0nytjynqqh/Hall_NewsinComics.pptx
PowerPoint Pitch reviews part 4
See the News:
Pros:
Pros:
- I like the black and white theme. It reminds me of dark rooms and old photographs. Very appropriate for the topic.
- How many pictures were you thinking of having for each story?
- Good concept.
Cons:
- I almost think you jumped in a little too early into the problems. I would've enjoyed a larger scope before you put me into that position. I also would've liked to know more about the product. Print/online/mobile…Will you ever sell the original photographs for extra revenue?
- How does it save news gatherers time? I definitely see how it saves everyone else time.
- What are you asking me to invest, and how much of a return do I get on it?
Good job overall!
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