Comments on: All good things must come to end

By: Chris O'Brien

Chris O'Brien — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:26:26 +0000

Just came across this. Sorry to hear it’s coming to an end, but hope it does carry on in some form. You’ve done a great job with it, and the posts have been quite valuable.

And I hope you find something that lets you do all you mentioned and more.

PS: Knight News Challenge deadline only a few months away.

By: Shilpika Das

Shilpika Das — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:25:37 +0000

Patrick,

I am so disappointed to learn that BeatBlogging may have to go. I sincerely feel that this is the future of journalism, which is why it’s even more disheartening to lose such a valuable resource. I wish you all the best in your future projects.

Your posts have been so thought-provoking, a welcome change amidst all the talk about the death of journalism. You’re right: We need good journalism now more than ever and we must adapt to fit new mediums, new paradigms and new ways of consumption.

I have learned so much from this site, your ideas and opinions. Please let us know if we can help in anyway to save this site. Here’s wishing you and your team the very best in the future.

By: pat

pat — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:28:40 +0000

@Everyone,

Thanks for the kind words. We’re still looking at what to do with BeatBlogging.Org come Sept. 1.

Perhaps the ideal situation would be for a journalism institution or university to bring in BeatBlogging.Org. I doubt that will happen. Money is tight at non-profits right now.

More likely, is that BeatBlogging.Org will become a volunteer project. That would require a rethinking of what content we do, how we produce content and who works on the site.

By: BeatBlogging.org funding ends September 1 | DAILYMAIL

BeatBlogging.org funding ends September 1 | DAILYMAIL — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:48:24 +0000

[...] Full post at this link… [...]

By: Dan Thornton

Dan Thornton — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:28:23 +0000

If it fades away, then you’ve done something worthwhile in starting to change things – but if you can implement a worthwhile business out of this, I’d be happy to help if I can.
I’ve spent almost 10 years in print and broadcast media, and would be happy to help in whatever way time allows – there is too much of a continued need for ‘context’, even if many publishers feel they can save their hide saving costs in content alone.
Pleasure to share a surname!

By: Ryan Sholin

Ryan Sholin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:38:59 +0000

I’ll be incredibly sorry to see the steady string of useful posts stop flowing out of beatblogging.org, and I hope it lives on in one form another. Thanks for all your hard work, Pat.

By: MichaelJ

MichaelJ — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:07:00 +0000

I apologize for two in a row, but to get on your radar.. I’m setting up a 501(c3) whose purpose is to find, fund and mentor proof of concept of projects demonstrating that Print can measurably improve graduation rates in bottom of the pyramid high schools. Even if I’m totally wrong, it would open beat blogging to funding sources in education and public health.

By: MichaelJ

MichaelJ — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:59:13 +0000

Damn.

In my not so humble opinion it’s exactly the right approach. If you’re interested please feel free to get in touch. I think there is a business model that could work. I know it probably sounds nuts. In fact it may be nuts as I don’t know anyone who has tried it. But I’ve spent 30 years in print and 8 years teaching. Plus I co founded a educational start up that was bought by McGraw.

The business model: Get paid by K -12 schools with their textbook budget.

Use the reporting generated by beat reporters to be the content for versioned newspapers that could be delivered to high schools to get a better result in bottom of the pyramid high schools.

If you are interested in talking about this please feel free to email me. I have a very long story about why it should work. It may be all bullshit, but I’ve seen crazier things allow lots of people to make decent livings.

To be clear, I’m just a retired printer and now a blogger who wants to fix high school. I already made whatever money I’m going to make.

By: jeffkart

jeffkart — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:38:09 +0000

Keep up the good work, if you can.
Any grant opportunities, I hope?

By: Paul Balcerak

Paul Balcerak — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:14:57 +0000

I can’t count how many times I’ve linked to BeatBlogging.org or forwarded a post to my coworkers. Sad to see lack of funding cloud its future—I’d be happy to toss a couple bucks your way if you’re gonna start a pledge drive or something.

Keep up the great work!

By: Stephanie De Pasquale

Stephanie De Pasquale — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:10:07 +0000

Thanks for all the work and great ideas you’ve passed along. Hopefully your new media skills combined with the networking this site brought you will give you a leg up in the job market

By: Matt Neznanski

Matt Neznanski — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:38:54 +0000

This has been a great source of both validation and ideas for doing better journalism. Thanks for your work and for carrying the torch for beatblogging. Looking forward to the next iteration.

By: Angela Connor

Angela Connor — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:26:27 +0000

Sorry to see you go. It was always nice to leave suggestions in the comments and come back to see that you sometimes used them in subsequent posts. You’ve highlighted some good people here. I too, care a great deal about journalism and this endeavor was awesome. Best to you Patrick. Keep me posted on your next move.
Angela Connor | @communitygirl
Author, “18 Rules of Community Engagement” (Happy About, May 2009)

By: Bryan Murley

Bryan Murley — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:19:01 +0000

Sad that beatblogging funding is going away. Hope you land well. Stay safe. Peace.