E-Media Tidbits

Ellie, via Flickr (CC license) So far, some parts of the news biz are considerably more entrepreneurial than others.

PBS Mediashift blogger Mark Glaser recently talked to a variety of journalism expertsto gauge the overall importance of entrepreneurial journalism education. Universally, the experts believe that business intelligence is a vital skill for all journalists -- even those working at mainstream media outlets.

Glaser's piece is an excellent overview, but it's only the beginning of a much bigger -- and tougher -- conversation. "Entrepreneurial journalism" is a fancy phrase for "building a content business." Anyone who's ever struck out on their own knows that fancy phrases and theories don't pay the bills.

That's why I find Chris Anderson's ongoing discussion about media business models so useful. Anderson catalogs many of the revenue trails that have already been blazed by content creators. Along the same lines, Online Journalism Review has an extensive collection of business-oriented articles and interviews. This is the practical information entrepreneurial journalists need to create self-sustaining businesses and careers.

Personally, I'd love to learn more about the lessons and realities entrepreneurial journalists have faced. How do they balance editorial and advertising pressures? How do they fund their businesses during the lean early days? How do they handle administrative needs like health insurance and office space?