CCJ Books

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

Completely updated and revised
"The most important book on the relationship of journalism and democracy published in the last fifty years." – Roy Peter Clark, The Poynter Institute
We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too

Just Released
A landmark study on what people watch and why. The most exhaustive study ever of local TV news -- what helps ratings, what drives viewers away, and what editorial approaches and story-telling techniques most influence viewership.

Unrealized Dreams at Tribune Co.

Rachel Smolkin, Managing Editor - American Journalism Review, January 7, 2007

In the December 2006/January 2007 edition of the American Journalism Review, AJR Managing Editor Rachel Smolkin writes:Howard Schneider resigned as Newsday's editor two years ago, but he hasn't lost his zest for a story. Forty minutes into an expansive interview about the Tribune Co. and its "synergy" strategy, he gets excited. "To me that's the lead," he tells me, "that Tribune did have the answer, I can't say The Answer, but certainly directionally had the answer and had the assets and a vision of sorts, but for all the reasons we've discussed – a flawed business plan, lack of execution, a failure to invest, lack of will and lack of staying power – they didn't see this out." Tribune's 2000 purchase of Times Mirror, including Newsday, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant and the Baltimore Sun, gave it both newspapers and television stations in the top three markets of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Tribune executives touted the tantalizing possibilities of synergy, the notion that cooperation between TV and newspapers in these markets and others would reap editorial, promotional and advertising windfalls. Tribune's leaders envisioned these regional media powerhouses forming a cross-country chain that would compete for lucrative national advertisers as well. ...But Tribune's exhilerating hopes have gone largely unfulfilled...Click here for Smolkin's full article on the AJR website.