Delicious Today: link journalism, audience, $$

#1: Networked link journalism: A revolution quietly begins in Washington state
"Four journalists spontaneously launched one of the first experiments in collaborative (or networked) link journalism to cover a major local story. But it gets better. Those four journalists weren’t in the same newsroom. In fact, they all work for different media companies. And here’s the best part: Some of them have never even met in person. ... The Washington link projects should serve as models for the entire news industry. They show that collaborative linking draws readers, is easy, and costs nothing more than time (and not even much of that)."

This is the best example of collaborative journalism among competing media organizations that I have ever seen. I got really excited reading it because it can be a good model for hundreds of public broadcasting stations around the country: local expertise + easy collaborative tools = excellent journalism and collective brand recognition.

#2: Publish2
This is an easy and effective online tool for collaborative journalism. Combining it with Twitter and other tools can make collaboration of journalists across organizations and locations fast and easy. It is used by many media organizations including New York Times and Washington Post. Free account is available to journalists.

#3: The Web Is Flat: Why Time Spent Online Is Leveling Off
Recent Forrester survey shows that "web surfing leveled off at 12 hours a week after growing from less than six hours a week in 2004." The main reason is because web use is no longer a novel thing to do but a stable part of people's daily life routine.

For public broadcasters, this means two things: (1) online content consumption is becoming more habitual than experimental; and (2) with unlimited program choices but fixed time budget, audience will be more picky about program content. One-hit wonder won't gain their loyalty. Only a program that consistently catches their hearts and minds will turn them into a loyal and habitual audience.

#4: PAID CONTENT: Newspaper Economic Action Plan
In this May 2009 report, the American Press Institute "provides models and recommendations for the migration of online content from free to paid. They are intended for the development of consensus, protocols and technology. As such, they provide a link to the future."

This is a nice try of finding the next business model for newspapers. A lot of thinking in it can stimulate discussions and experiments among public broadcasters.