News consumption habits, linking drive future of journalism

In early October, I wrote about The Washington Post’s launch of its Political Browser. In attempt to capture the attention of political junkies and the growing number of Americans regularly consuming news online, the Post created a site rich with content from rival media outlets. In the heat of the election cycle, it drew on its stellar reputation for political reporting to bring readers “what’s good on the web.”

Where politics live

Politics land on front porches each morning. They are blasted through car audio systems and iPod earbuds and sent to inboxes via RSS feeders. They play out in the background endlessly and relentlessly on the small screens of our homes.

Politicians make decisions on Capitol Hill but politics arrive, thrive and die in the media. As Manuel Castells points out, newspapers, radio, podcasts, blogs and television are the privileged space of politics in America.

This presidential election season is more of a testament to this than ever before. But politics dwelling in the media isn’t a novelty, as Castells points out in “The Crisis of Democracy.”

Help NPR fact check tonight’s VP debate on Twitter

Got Twitter?

National Public Radio is calling on you to help fact check tonight’s vice presidential debate.

Use #factcheck in your Twitter feeds if you find any questionable claims from either candidate.

It’ll be hard to beat this debate, but I think this experiment might steal at least some of my attention away from the debate tonight.

Follow nprpolitics during the debate for updates as well.

Washington Post can set new standard for online journalism

Washingtonpost.com’s recent launch of its Political Browser is not just an attempt to get in on the game of link journalism and news aggregation but an insightful way at wooing 36 percent of the American public that now regularly consumes news online. Perhaps more importantly, their nontraditional approach will be important in the future in capturing the attention of the young and currently disengaged to whom technology is second nature.

That the public is turning away from traditional media in lieu of online news isn’t news. But as the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reported last month, a third of the public has reached a crossroads in which online news consumption blends with traditional media outlets. Many newspapers haven’t taken well to the trend, and The Post is in a position to lead the way.