links for 2009-07-17

At a time when the very survival of newspapers, whether in print or online, is in some doubt, the last thing we need is a supposed advocate for readers whose real agenda, it would seem, is allegiance to a way of newsroom life that was out of date five years ago.

J-school deans, you should slash your enrollments. How much? Simple: Assess the degree to which the profession has shrunk, and then reduce your class size accordingly. How else can you assure the media world that you’re not just flooding the market with new blood, eager to do the job of laid-off workers at lower pay?

Chi-town Daily News, a hyperlocal community news site in Chicago that launched in 2005 and is also a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, began posting a box at the end of each story stating how much it has spent on reporting, writing and editing and asking people to donate. Editor Geoff Dougherty said the cost is calculated based on the site’s expenditures for the fiscal year that closed June 30, divided by the number of words they published during the year to get the cost per word (67 cents). The cost per word is multiplied by the number of words in each story.

We (journalists?) make shitty news. We know our news sucks. But we’ve published it. Next time we’ll do better, but even then it will be shitty. The only news that’s perfect is the news you’re dreaming about.