Neiman Journalism Lab has a great post this a.m. in reaction to a new Google Lab release: a Google News timeline view,:

which gives users the ability to see and scroll through headlines, photos and news excerpts by day/week/month/year. The sources of this data can also be customized to include not just traditional news sources but also Wikipedia, sports scores, blogs, etc. It’s a fascinating way of interpreting the news — not something that is likely going to replace a regular old Google News headline view, but an additional way of looking at things.

One question kept nagging at me as I was looking at this latest Google effort at delivering the news, and that was: Why couldn’t a news organization have done this? (I’m not the only one to wonder this). Why not a newspaper, or even a collective like Associated Press (which seems to prefer threats to creativity)? Isn’t delivering the news in creative and interesting ways that appeal to readers what we are supposed to be doing?”

I had the EXACT SAME REACTION when I saw the Google Timeline yesterday. Progressive media peeps–it’s time to put the creativity hat on. So I have a proposal, something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

I think we should do a multimedia timeline of our collective economic coverage over the past 8 years–maybe focused on a single issue or two (i.e. predatory lending, Wall Street regulation) and input coverage from video, text, audio, blogs, reports, etc. from key progressive media sources. I think this effort could do a couple things:
a) Everyone keeps asking where the financial press was during this economic crisis. Well, the progressive media has been reporting furiously on the economic meltdown for years. Let’s show it. Let’s prove that what the “lefty” press was reporting and predicting came true.
b) We’re wondering how to tell this very complex and sprawling story to our audiences in a way that makes sense of the past and sets the stage for future reporting. A visual, searchable component that connects the reporting together into a larger narrative and makes it comprehensive for our audiences is a critical informative tool.
c) The opportunity factors: There’s an opportunity to start playing/integrating new storytelling and journalism formats. (We need to start figuring it out soon). This is an opportunity to leverage and utilize individual content into a collective, larger story and the opportunity to reach a potentially larger audience. And this could be an opportunity to have our audience be part of the creative process. Can our audience crowdsource to research, identify the reporting to go in the timeline?

What do you think of this idea? What would you add or argue with?

Once again my delicious integration with this site has gone all wonky (where is the tech goddess when I need her?). So I thought I’d do a quick round up of some of my favorite links over the last couple days. You can also always look at the right hand side bar as they do appear there–just without my pithy comments or pulling out the most juicy parts of the post. What’s been some of your favorite media-related articles of the last couple days?

Aug. 12 Salon Launches Blogger Tipping System – CNET
“Tipping” a paid journalist for their online content hasn’t even caught on quite yet, but Salon.com is taking it a step further. Audience members can now “tip” each other for good content and drive that story to Salon’s front page. It’s putting the publishing power in the audience’s hands, from editorial control to actually paying for good content. (I wonder if this is a not-so-subtle lesson for audience members about the pains of not having enough money to pay your really great writers???)

Highlight: “Salon’s micropayments are handled through technology from Revolution MoneyExchange, a member of the Revolution corporation founded by former AOL czar Steve Case. Each Open Salon member who registers for Revolution MoneyExchange is given a complimentary $10 with which to start rewarding other bloggers for their stories, images, and videos uploaded to the site. But those would-be recipients can only accept the compensation if they’ve registered for MoneyExchange accounts themselves. “Open Salon eliminates the gatekeepers,” editor-in-chief Joan Walsh said in a statement. “It makes our smart, creative audience full partners in Salon’s publishing future.”

Don’t Forget The Audience – News Leadership 3.0
Highlight: “Building on the idea of product differentiation, I want to underscore a second critical factor—how people use media. A lot of news organizations are still thinking about content and presentation in terms of medium and technology (or worse, in terms of tradition and comfort level) when they should be thinking about content and presentation in terms of audiences—in which I include people who read of print newspapers and people who read their news online or go there for more interactive experiences. For an example of this, look no farther than your spiffy new iPhone and then check out what content your organization is providing to users there or on other mobile devices. The news industry’s capacity to deliver news, information and interactivity to mobile seriously lags audience adoption and use.”

The Media Equation-All of Us, The Arbiters of News - NY Times
Highlight: “How much more powerful is that networked intelligence than a reporter with a phone, a Rolodex and the space between his or her ears? As the former newspaperman and Web evangelist Jeff Jarvis (who has also consulted for The New York Times) has been saying since before broadband, the Web is not just a way to shout, it is a way to listen, one that can lead to deeper, more effective journalism. (His response to the Philly injunction against early Web publishing was predictably measured and careful: “It is suicide. It is murder. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”) For the last few years, the locus of control has been shifting and consumers not only expect to customize their media experience, they demand it as a condition of engagement. The horizon line for when a newspaper on the street is serving as a kind of brochure of a rich online product does not seem far off.”

How Newsrooms Throw Away Value By Not Linking to Sources on the Web-Publishing 2.0
Highlight: “The problem is that the editorial workflow for most newsrooms doesn’t include a process whereby journalists can collect source links as part of their research process and provide them as work product to be published on the web along with the article. As Jay Rosen explains in this video, understanding the value of links, and how they connect content, ideas, and people, is fundamental to understanding the value of the web. And understanding the value of the web is the key to unlocking the new business models that journalism needs to survive and thrive in the digital age:” [CLICK IN TO WATCH VIDEO.]

I’m happy to announce that the amazing Laura Flanders debuted her new DAILY show yesterday, Grit TV. You can find it on Free Speech TV (DISH Network ch. 9415) AND watch clips with their new online partner FireDogLake.

I’m super pleased that this show:
a) has a great, progressive host who is an extremely smart journalist (not a blow hard pundit)
b) has a smart, journalist host who is a woman…
c) … a woman dedicated to not only “progressive, mainstream, political” news but is also committed to feminism and racial justice, which is reflected in her story choices and the kind of guests she will showcase. This doesn’t happen all the time in progressive media (Shaking finger…)
d) is taking advantage of multiple platforms-traditional tv, online communities and new distribution channels at Blip TV.

(Full Disclosure: Laura is working on a project with The Media Consortium called Live From Main Street. More to come on that one.)

And to get really meta on you, here are a couple clips from the first show–a round table of media professionals, discussing what else? The Media. Watch Laura talk with Phil Donahue, Jane Hamsher and Katrina vanden Heuvel talk about the news of the week, the news the progressive media is pushing, and the evolution of the media landscape.

PART 1: The News (or what shouldn’t have been news, but was anointed as news by the MSM) of The Week

PART II: The first half of this one talks about the rising stories int the blogosphere (impact to come!) and how the media ecosystem is changing.

Part III: Really zone in around 5 min. 45 seconds.Katrina starts discussing how the prog. media, working together can around an the issue of media consolidation (6:20). A couple years ago the notion of working in tandem with each other was scoffed at, dismissed and generally feared.  Now–the power of coordination (not lock-step coordination, let me be clear) has new energy and potential People also see it as a lifeline to impact and their survival.

They started with the Iowa primary and have been going strong since. Brave New Films and The Young Turks are teaming up to bring us their unique brand of election coverage. I caught a bit of their show during the Iowa primary and was impressed not only with the cool technology (streaming video, community blogging) but that these two have created a new partnership that continues to leverages the resources that each media outlet offers and comes up with an interesting model for election coverage. And they are funny.

You should check it out. And not just cause I think Cenk rocks.

Here’s the note from BNF.
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