Opinion piece

Opinion pieces like Thomas Gagen's "Did Tsarnaev manhunt unnecessarily endanger the public's safety?" are important sources of drawing readers to journalism. Often times, it is hard for journalists to publically question authorities and those in power. This is especially true when discussing the Boston Marathon bombing, an instance where many people in the are were either at the site or knew at least one person in the general area of the finish line. With such a traumatic situation, it takes a lot of guts for Gagen to turn the attention away from the victims and onto the heroes that endangered their lives to capture Tsarnaev and kill his brother. As seen in many comments on his piece, many people support the clearly articulated piece of writing. When discussing such controversial topics, it is important to be well informed and choose words wisely. 

On writing a business plan

While writing my first business plan, I realized how much thought goes into every aspect. As the editor in chief of See The News, I am the one that has to answer every question and find every solution. If business fails, you and your employees are out of a job. Other people’s livelihood depends on your ability to be creative and problem solve. Before even worrying about that, you have to use the written word to portray to someone else that your business is worth their capital. When looking for an investment, I figured that it was best to address any potential concerns right off the bat. If an investor sees that you’ve thought of everything and have a solution for it already then they’re probably more likely to believe in your company. The main problem I ran into while writing my business plan was how to emphasize that there is money to be made in a strictly photojournalistic platform. While my original plan was to use just a website, I decided to add a smartphone app and an end of the year print publication to the plan as well. With people always on the move, the app seemed appropriate. The end of the year print edition would be a classic news overview of the year. It would also be a source of pride for the photojournalists who worked full time all year to make See The News what it is.

Realizing the importance of a business plan

I've come to realize that the importance of crafting a near perfect business plan is not just to explain to potential investors what your business is about. Being able to write clearly and articulate plans is crucial in the world in business. A business plan is a representation of your skills and abilities as a business owner. Sitting down and writing a business plan is much more than just that. It must be tackled in steps and takes time and careful consideration. The writer of the plan must be knowledgeable in all aspects of business. When presenting the business plan, they must also be ready to take on any additional questions that were not represented or fully explained thoroughly in the written description. All in all, there is a lot that goes into making a plan. I'm realizing this for the first time as I am asked to write my own. It's more than just thinking about your company, but what companies already exist, what they're doing, and how you stand a chance.

John Christie guest lecture

I learned a lot about the trials and tribulations of starting a nonprofit journalism endeavor. I can really appreciate a lot about not only the business model, but also the ethics of the publication. I remain slightly confused about where the money comes from in order to pay the few employees and take care of other financial obligations that any business has, though. Donations don’t seem like enough in my eyes as I attempt to think it through, but that is what John Christie touched upon in his presentation. Also emphasized heavily was the commitment to journalism. Journalism, at its very core, is meant to serve society with information that they do not have the access to attain on their own. It is the job of those trained and with credentials to accurately portray what’s happening in a variety of settings. Christie’s nonprofit focuses on government dealings in Maine. You can tell in his interactions with our class that he is passionate and dedicated to staying truthful, honest, and away from all sponsored content. He is likely one of the few that values and is not willing to stray from the fundamental purpose of journalism. 

Competition analysis

There is no site that uses only photography like See the News does. However, there are plenty of photojournalistic sites out there that combine photography and the written word to deliver news. The New York Times uses their site “Lens” to digitally portray events. National Press Photographers is another site that claims to be “the voice of visual journalists.” Much of society has turned their attention towards iPhones and other smart phone technology. The layout of news has become very visual so I consider myself having much competition. A site like See the News could be extremely successful because it will use dramatic images to captivate viewers. Large, clear images on the screen with prove to be both powerful and informative. When it comes to newsgathering and staying in touch with the rest of the world, the best way to stay in the loop is through having a smartphone. According to Poynter Institute, half of Americans get their news online. My platform of See the News could be successful on both a laptop screen as well as a smartphone. The crisp, clean design will be a breath of fresh air to customers who are used to being bombarded with sponsored content, distracting ads and long text stories that they probably don’t have time to read. See the News would run mostly off of subscriptions so there wouldn’t be much, if any, advertising on the site. Other revenue would come from the yearly print publication. No other site that I can find comes out with a yearly print edition.

Beginning market research

Some reasons why society needs See the News:

-According to CBS news, half of the population has smart phones.

-According to Poynter Institute half of the population gets their news from said smartphone or online source.

-Photography is a $10 billion industry according to ibis World

-Sites like the New York Times and the Guardian have seen much success in recent years with the addition of a photojournalistic extension of the publication.

-There is a need for experienced photojournalists. With the rise of Twitter and such social media sites in recent years, anyone can “be a journalist.” Anyone with an account has the power to post a picture that may be misleading or fabricated and have it reach millions of people. The production of a site that features professional journalism that does not mislead the reader is necessary.

This is just the beginning stage of market research for See the News, but I've had some trouble finding more valuable information. If anyone sees anything that could be of use to my proposal, please let me know!

Share the news

Today, mostly every news story found online has a “Share” button somewhere around it. How many people are actually sending their stories to their Facebook or Twitter pages though? I think that there should be an incentive for sharing news. If you’re scrolling through Facebook and more news is scattered in your newsfeed, you’re more likely to read it. Helping to get others more involved in news consumption should be rewarded. I haven’t worked out exactly what should happen when someone shares a certain amount of stories, but maybe a slight reduction in subscription costs would be fair. After all, you are helping to bring more eyes to a news site’s page. People may say they’re not interested in going out of their way to get news and that word of mouth is effective enough, but new concepts and sites are everywhere, it just takes some exploring and sharing to find them.