I follow most of my online content via RSS feeds. I subscribe to over 500 sites and searches using their RSS feeds. Below, I provide a list of 71 journalism related sites I follow. I share them following my talk at the Queen’s Media and Journalism Conference in Kingston.
Following blogs with RSS
Please suggest any sites you think I should follow. I’ll update my bundle with them.
The Queen’s Media and Journalism Conference
I enjoyed the opportunity Saturday to attend the Queen’s University Media and Journalism Conference in Kingston.
I spoke as part of a panel discussing journalism trends and direction. It was a wide-ranging and enjoyable conversation with fellow panels Allison Cross (Postmedia), Nick Taylor-Vaisey (OpenFile), Jordan Press (Postmedia), and Matt Hartley (Postmedia). Tony Orr (K-Rock 105.7 and faculty member at Loyalist College) joined in the discussion from the audience and was a defacto member of the panel.
I greatly enjoyed the discussion and, being the outlying freelancer, I took decisively different positions from my fellow panelists. Sadly, 90 minutes does not give enough time to show how nuanced our viewpoints were and that we’re not as far apart on how to respond to the fundamental challenges facing our trade.
All five of us arrived in the morning to teach workshops and spend time speaking with students outside of the lecture theatres, answering questions, exchanging “war stories”, and offering tips of the trade to aspiring students who plan to pursue journalism – otherwise known as our soon-to-be competition.
The determination I saw in the Queen’s students at the conference impressed me. All showed a clear understanding they’ll have to work to make it in journalism and there is no entitlement in this trade.
The much too quick pitch for blogging with WordPress
My workshop was a very brief introduction to WordPress and blogging. I started blogging with no intention of entering journalism and it was my blog that brought me to the attention of Maclean’s, resulting in my eventual recruitment and journalism career.
My advice to the students – blog often, blog about now, blog about ideas, blog about moments, blog about what you’re thinking, blog anything you would discuss at a dining hall table with your professor present.
(I took my own advice and blogged Saturday night about creating an urban oasis in Hamilton)
I also told them to experiment and don’t be afraid to blow things up. I blew up my blog the weekend before the conference and am still putting it back together. Don’t ever be afraid to renovate a blog and have a messy floor while you do it.
Following blogs with RSS
I promised to share my RSS feeds of all the journalism related websites I follow in Google Reader.
(Not using Google Reader or sure what RSS is? Start here)
71 Journalism and Journalism Related Blogs to Follow
But first…
Read QMJC attendee Claire Owens’ blog post about the event: a QMJC scare for the future.
Below is a list of 71 journalism and journalism blogs I follow in my RSS reader. I provide my own brief description of each blog. For visibility, I’ve bolded those sites that I feel you should absolutely read and subscribe to RSS feeds for.
You can import my collection of 71 feeds into your Reader **[by following this link](http://www.google.com/reader/bundle/user%2F00014068750334380362%2Fbundle%2FQMJC).**
Here’s my list
- [10,000 Words](http://www.mediabistro.com/10000words "10,000 Words") – Mediabistro’s site about how technology is changing journalism. Great summaries of trends and developments for working journalists.
- [A List Apart](http://www.alistapart.com/articles/ "A List Apart") – site for web designers who wish to focus on standards and best practices.
- [Adam Westbrook](http://adamwestbrook.wordpress.com "Adam Westbrook") – an online video journalist who provides how-to and tips on the trade.
- [Advancing the Story](http://www.advancingthestory.com "Advancing the Story") – companion book to *Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World* by Deb Halpern Wenger and Deborah Potter. Updated weekly, good posts about using tech to advance your stories.
- [AndyDickinson.net](http://www.andydickinson.net "AndyDickinson.net") – WordPress plugin developer, teaches digital and online journalism at the University of Central Lancashire.
- **[Azavea Atlas](http://www.azavea.com/blogs/atlas "Azavea Atlas") – Philly-based GIS development company at the cutting edge of open data and open GIS development, journalism and civic engagement.**
- **[Azavea Labs](http://www.azavea.com/blogs/labs "Azavea Labs") – Philly-based GIS development company at the cutting edge of open data and open GIS development, journalism and civic engagement.**
- **[Azavea News Room](http://www.azavea.com/index.php/tools/blocks/blog_archive/rss.php?cID=79 "Azavea News Room") – Philly-based GIS development company at the cutting edge of open data and open GIS development, journalism and civic engagement.**
- [Beat the Press Audio Podcast](http://www.beatthepress.org "Beat the Press Audio Podcast") – WGBH’s (NPR Boston) weekly media affairs show. Sometimes tackles larger journalism issues with insightful commentary.
- [Breaking News](http://www.billdunphy.ca "Breaking News") – The blog of Hamilton Spectator web editor Bill Dunphy. An unique take from a non-managerial position within a daily newspaper.
- [BuzzMachine](http://www.buzzmachine.com "BuzzMachine") – associate professor the City University of New York’s graduate school of journalism. Well known commentator on digital journalism.
- [Center for Journalism Ethics » Media Morals](http://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu "Center for Journalism Ethics » Media Morals") – Look for [their channel on iTunesU](http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/center-for-journalism-ethics/id430412868), subscribe to their videos, and don’t miss a lecture.
- **[CJR](http://www.cjr.org/ "CJR") – The Columbia Journalism Review. A media criticism must read. Shows both the best and worst of journalism.**
- [Connecticut Newsroom](http://connecticutnewsroom.wordpress.com "Connecticut Newsroom") – Blog by Matt DeRienzo, group editor of Journal Register Company’s publications in Connecticut. Insights into newspaper management, content and decision making.
- [Copyblogger](http://www.copyblogger.com "Copyblogger") – WordPress tips for copywriters and bloggers.
- [Data Journalism Blog](http://www.datajournalismblog.com "Data Journalism Blog") – blog focused on data journalism development and tools
- [dataist](http://dataist.wordpress.com "dataist") – **Jens Finnäs, a freelance journalist from Finland, currently living in Stockholm, Sweden. Great blog for how-tos in data journalism and visualization.**
- [DDJ – News & Analysis](http://datadrivenjournalism.net/news_and_analysis "DDJ - News & Analysis") – Site with regular updates on trends in data journalism. Created by the European Journalism Centre (EJC) with partial funding from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
- [Development Seed – We build tools to help teams communicate](http://developmentseed.org/blog "Development Seed - We build tools to help teams communicate") – **The developers of Tilemill, Mapbox, and other mapping tools. A major firm based in D.C. that is quickly establishing itself as the flag bearer for journalism mapping using OpenStreetMap – if you haven’t heard of them, you soon will be using their software, so start following their blog now.**
- [Digital First](http://jxpaton.wordpress.com "Digital First") – John Paton is the CEO of Digital First Media. Known for rapidly moving the Journal-Register group of companies into the digital age, he is one of the leading digital upper managers in journalism today.
- [Erik Wemple](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple "Erik Wemple") – T**he Washington Post’s media critic. One of the most formidable critics writing today. Great dissection of journalism fallacies on a near daily basis. His morning round-up is not to be missed.**
- [Explainer.Net](http://explainer.net "Explainer.Net") – Project was launched in November 2010 by NYU professor Jay Rosen’s graduate journalism class to showcase the best in explanatory journalism. Not updated since May 2011, I keep in my bookmarks in case the blog is revived.
- [Glenn Greenwald](http://explainer.net "Glenn Greenwald") – **Salon’s leading essay writer, his long blog posts with numerous outbound links are a unique blogging style best described as “The Greenwald.” When he writes media criticism, you don’t wish to be the target. Well written, well argued.**
- [Google News Blog](http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/ "Google News Blog") – The official blog of Google News, #1 driver of traffic to many news sites and a standards setter for online news publication.
- [Information Is Beautiful](http://www.informationisbeautiful.net "Information Is Beautiful") – highlighting the best in data visualization and infographics. Interested in this growing field? Follow this blog and considering buying their book.
- [Ink Think](http://inkthink.org/ "Ink Think") – A promising blog by a young journalist in the U.K.
- [J-Lab RSS Feed](http://www.j-lab.org "J-Lab RSS Feed") – J-Lab is a center of the school of communication at American University in Washington D.C. The blog focuses on what’s next for journalism.
- [J-Source – Articles](http://j-source.ca/articles/feed "J-Source - Articles") – Canada’s online hub for discussion among established and aspiring mainstream journalists. The data blog post about Kings U professor Fred Vallance-Jones are must reads.
- [JIMROMENESKO.COM](http://jimromenesko.com "JIMROMENESKO.COM") – **The profilic “semi-retired” media blogger who formerly blogged for the Poynter Institute. If it’s happening in American media, he’s blogging about it.**
- [johnkeefe.net](http://johnkeefe.net "johnkeefe.net") – **WYNC’s (NPR New York City) data/web development wizard. He shows his work and you can learn from it.**
- [Journalism 2.0 | Mark Briggs | A conversation about…](http://www.journalism20.com/blog "Journalism 2.0 | Mark Briggs | A conversation about journalism and technology") – Mark Briggs, a Ford fellow of entrepreneurial journalism at the Poynter Institute.
- **[Journalism Accelerator | Site Wide Activity](http://www.journalismaccelerator.com/ "Journalism Accelerator | Site Wide Activity") – Project is spearheaded by Mike Fancher, Peggy Holman and others working in the Seattle Journalism Commons community. A great exchange of ideas among online journalists. Their RSS feed updates whenever a new post or comment is added to the site.**
- [Magazines Online](http://magazinesonline.wordpress.com "Magazines Online") – Kat Tancock is a writer, editor and digital consultant based in Toronto and teaches the course creating website editorial in the magazine and web publishing program at Ryerson University. One of the those media blogs to note Pinterest.
- [Media Decoder](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/ "Media Decoder") – **The New York Times blog on all things media and media-related. If it’s happening within the gravitational influence of the industry, they have it covered.**
- [Media: Mind your language | guardian.co.uk](http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mind-your-language "Media: Mind your language | guardian.co.uk") – The Guardian’s blog on journalism style and grammar. Learn from their mistakes and don’t repeat them.
- [MediaShift](http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/ "MediaShift") – **Where is journalism going? If anyone is leading in the search for that answer, it’s PBS MediaShift and their must read blog.**
- [MediaShift Idea Lab](http://www.pbs.org/idealab/ "MediaShift Idea Lab") – **MediaShift’s blog on the technology and development behind the future of news.**
- [Melanie Sill](http://www.melaniesill.com "Melanie Sill") – career journalist and editor who now studies journalism in academia. Not an insightful infrequent blogger.
- [News Apps Blog](http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com "News Apps Blog") – **One of journalism’s top centres of online news innovation and development, The Chicago Tribune. This blog includes details explanations and source code for numerous projects. If you wish to be working as a journalist in five years, start reading this blog yesterday.**
- [News from Journalism.co.uk](http://www.journalism.co.uk "News from Journalism.co.uk") – The hub for all information related to UK journalism.
- [News Stash](http://josephstashko.com "News Stash") – The blog of Joseph Stashko – a young aspiring U.K. journalist
- [News Videographer](http://newsvideographer.com "News Videographer") – Focused on discussing online video journalism trends.
- [News: Datablog | guardian.co.uk](http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog "News: Datablog | guardian.co.uk") – **the most famous data journalism blog in the World. Want to see all the possibilities in data journalism and visualization? Read this blog daily.**
- [Newsonomics](http://newsonomics.com "Newsonomics") – A blog focused on the financial viability of the news industry. Interested in paywalls, this is the site to read.
- [Nieman Journalism Lab](http://www.niemanlab.org "Nieman Journalism Lab") – **Harvard’s journalism think-tank. A blog about what’s next in journalism. Visit their Fuego site to see what articles leading news thinkers are tweeting about today: [http://www.niemanlab.org/fuego/](http://www.niemanlab.org/fuego/)**
- [NPR’s On the Media](http://www.onthemedia.org/ "NPR's On the Media") – **NPR’s flagship radio show about all things media. Great for Friday listening during the bus or train ride back home. Not to be missed… ever. **
- [OJR](http://www.ojr.org/ojr "OJR") – **Blog managed by Knight Digital Media Center. It aspires to education journalists about the tools for success in the 21st century.**
- [Old Media, New Tricks](http://www.oldmedianewtricks.com "Old Media, New Tricks") – The title says it all – how old media is learning new tricks to thrive online.
- [Online Journalism Blog](http://onlinejournalismblog.com "Online Journalism Blog") – A group blog of the U.K.’s most influential online journalists. Many how-tos and discussion of trends.
- [Open (NYT)](http://open.blogs.nytimes.com/ "Open (NYT)") – The New York Time’s experiment in “open”.
- [OUseful.Info, the blog…](http://blog.ouseful.info "OUseful.Info, the blog...") – *****MUST READ*** Tony Hirst of the Open University’s blog on data journalism, development and social networks. The most extensive journalism web development how-tos on the web. Never miss a post and always experiment with lessons from this blog.**
- [paulconley](http://paulconley.blogspot.com/ "paulconley") – a blog about working in trade journalism – the B2B market that employs many journalists.
- [Poynter.](http://www.poynter.org "Poynter.") – the RSS feed for all content on the website of the professional development institute dedicated to journalism
- [Recent Bookmarks from josephstash on bitly](http://bitly.com/u/josephstash.rss "Recent Bookmarks from josephstash on bitly") – Stashko uses Bit.ly to highlight web links of interest to him related to journalism.
- [Recent Projects – Data Desk – Los Angeles Times](http://projects.latimes.com/index/ "Recent Projects - Data Desk - Los Angeles Times") – Data-driven journalism projects from the L.A. Times data desk.
- [Reporters’ Lab](http://www.reporterslab.org "Reporters' Lab") – **Reporter’s Lab is a project of Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy. Headed by Sarah Cohen, the Lab is both an information exchange and the creator of tools for online journalism.**
- [RJI Experiments blog – ](http://rjionline.org/experiments "Reynolds Journalism Institute | Experiments")Missouri’s journalism school’s experiments blog. Mobile J and open data ideas.
- [Scott Rosenberg’s Wordyard](http://www.wordyard.com "Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard") – Scott Rosenberg’s blog. He’s one of the pioneer’s of online journalism, a co-founder of Salon.com, and founder of [MediaBugs.org](http://mediabugs.org/) – which I use to power my error tracking and corrections.
- [ScraperWiki Data Blog](http://blog.scraperwiki.com "ScraperWiki Data Blog") – data scraping – getting data on the web into usuable formats for data journalism is a big thread. There is no bigger site for this trend than ScraperWiki.
- [Straight Statistics Blog RSS Feed](http://www.straightstatistics.org/blog "Straight Statistics Blog RSS Feed") – UK blog that describes itself as a “pressure group whose aim is to detect and expose the distortion and misuse of statistical information, and identify those responsible.”
- [Strange Attractor](http://charman-anderson.com "Strange Attractor") – The group blog of one of the UK’s power journalism couples. It provides interesting discussion of new journalism trends and their personal projects.
- [Sunlight’s GoViz Blog](http://sunfoundation.tumblr.com/ "Sunlight's GoViz Blog") – The Sunshine Foundation’s tumblr blog curating the best of visualization on the web.
- [Teaching Online Journalism](http://mindymcadams.com/tojou "Teaching Online Journalism") – A blog about teaching journalism. Recently focused on social media tools.
- [The Ben Franklin Project](http://jrcbenfranklinproject.wordpress.com "The Ben Franklin Project") – The blog is now dead, but don’t let that stop you. This is the repository of lessons learned in the Journal-Register’s experiment with flipping journalism upside down. Open source, open newsrooms, open journalism.
- [The Digital Media Test Kitchen](http://testkitchen.colorado.edu "The Digital Media Test Kitchen") – The University of Colorado’s journalism school blog. Focuses on innovation research, best practices, and finding what’s next. One of the projects: civility in online comments.
- [The Scoop](http://blog.thescoop.org/ "The Scoop") – “Computer Assisted Reporting” by Derek Willis of NYT
- [Things I’ve Learned](http://thingsivelearned.posterous.com "Things I've Learned") – John Keefe’s Posterous blog about open data journalism hacking. Not updated for nearly a year, but plenty of good content to review. (With Twitter’s purchase of Posterous, I don’t expect this blog will be updated)
- [Top sites for journalists | Scoop.it](http://www.scoop.it/t/top-sites-for-journalists "Top sites for journalists | Scoop.it") – A curation of links to site about journalism, especially tools for the online journalist.
- [Writing Tools](http://www.poynter.org "Writing Tools") – Poynter’s blog on writing, style, and grammar.