Comments on: Breaking news from the source, not the newspaper http://steveouting.com/2009/01/21/breaking-news-from-the-source-not-the-newspaper/ Journalist, consultant, entrepreneur ... Musings on digital media, Web 2.0/3.0, & news in the Internet era Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:43:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Steve Outing http://steveouting.com/2009/01/21/breaking-news-from-the-source-not-the-newspaper/comment-page-1/#comment-15860 Steve Outing Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:54:57 +0000 http://steveouting.com/?p=647#comment-15860 John: I hear you on the schools' practices. My wife works in the local school district (teacher/librarian), and when my youngest was in elementary school I dealt with the absurd policies and backwardness of the district's IT department as volunteer school co-webmaster. So a challenge, yes. But I'm also thinking that more and more institutions are opening up and we can get access to their records. Look at what Adrian Holovaty is doing with his Knight-funded Everyblock.com -- data as news. So my point (and wish) is that local news organizations get at as much public data and news streams as possible, AND that they figure out how to get pertinent stuff to those who care (as in my example above of wanting information when a threat happens at my kids' school). John: I hear you on the schools’ practices. My wife works in the local school district (teacher/librarian), and when my youngest was in elementary school I dealt with the absurd policies and backwardness of the district’s IT department as volunteer school co-webmaster. So a challenge, yes.

But I’m also thinking that more and more institutions are opening up and we can get access to their records. Look at what Adrian Holovaty is doing with his Knight-funded Everyblock.com — data as news.

So my point (and wish) is that local news organizations get at as much public data and news streams as possible, AND that they figure out how to get pertinent stuff to those who care (as in my example above of wanting information when a threat happens at my kids’ school).

]]> By: John Newsom http://steveouting.com/2009/01/21/breaking-news-from-the-source-not-the-newspaper/comment-page-1/#comment-15853 John Newsom Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:52:44 +0000 http://steveouting.com/?p=647#comment-15853 Our K-12 reporter here recently asked to be put on the e-mail alert list of the local school district. The school district PR staff, in a nutshell, refused. It's not a matter of newspapers not wanting to be in the loop on this stuff. It's a matter of dealing with a school bureaucracy that routinely refuses to release timely (or in some cases, any) information under the large blanket of student privacy, whatever that is. Plus K-12 schools are even more gimped in terms of technology than newspapers are. Ever seen a principal with a Twitter feed? How many school Web sites are updated after the first week of school? And where's the RSS feed for district news on the local school system's Web site? When we post school lockdown stuff here, it's because we first pulled it off the police scanner, then followed up with the cops and the school district. It's hardly fancy, but it's the best thing we've been able to figure out. And, no, an episode like this doesn't usually make print. Sadly, a school lockdown is more routine than it should be. Our K-12 reporter here recently asked to be put on the e-mail alert list of the local school district. The school district PR staff, in a nutshell, refused.

It’s not a matter of newspapers not wanting to be in the loop on this stuff. It’s a matter of dealing with a school bureaucracy that routinely refuses to release timely (or in some cases, any) information under the large blanket of student privacy, whatever that is.

Plus K-12 schools are even more gimped in terms of technology than newspapers are. Ever seen a principal with a Twitter feed? How many school Web sites are updated after the first week of school? And where’s the RSS feed for district news on the local school system’s Web site?

When we post school lockdown stuff here, it’s because we first pulled it off the police scanner, then followed up with the cops and the school district. It’s hardly fancy, but it’s the best thing we’ve been able to figure out.

And, no, an episode like this doesn’t usually make print. Sadly, a school lockdown is more routine than it should be.

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