Amy Gahran discussed how journalism is a conversation at the Knight New Media Center Election 08 seminar.
Her notes are available in two detailed blog posts, one looking at how to foster community and another one of the tools of engagement.
But in her talk she unveiled what she described as the secret weapons of conversational media. And what are these secret weapons? All journalists have them. We all have them.
These ‘weapons’ are your head, your ear and your feet. It is about thinking about what you are doing, listening to people and getting out of the office and into the community.
This is a remarkably simple insight, but it addresses pressing issues in journalism. One is that journalists are increasing spending all day in the office, working the phones, rather than pounding the streets. The other is that journalists need to do less talking and more listening. The key point is to think abou what you are doing and why. As Gahran put it, use your head.
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