Christine Schmidt, Nieman Lab

Christine Schmidt

Nieman Lab

Cambridge, MA, United States

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • Nieman Lab
  • IJNet

Past articles by Christine:

Text-for-housing-data service Outlier Media and MuckRock combine to close more information gaps around the country » Nieman Journalism Lab

The two companies are now one, and they'll soon launch a service similar to Outlier's Detroit project in Milwaukee. → Read More

Here is a step-by-step guide for news outlets to share power with underserved communities » Nieman Journalism Lab

How can a news outlet share power with its audience? That kind of question may make more traditional journalism thinkers quake, but it's an inquiry that more and more news organizations are — slowly — undertaking. "We need citizens to be equipped to navigate the world around us. Be… → Read More

This is how Report for America ended up funding a community Wikipedia editor (!) at a library (!!) » Nieman Journalism Lab

When Report for America announced last week that it was placing 250 journalists into 164 local newsrooms, the list of beats they’d be covering didn’t seem too out of the ordinary. It served as a sort of non-comprehensive to-cover list for local news: climate change’s impacts on a community, rural healthcare, housing struggles, immigrant issues, the effects of population loss, “political… → Read More

Berkeleyside is launching a sister site in Oakland to help fill the void left by pillaged newspapers » Nieman Journalism Lab

"As we build out that newsroom, how do we prioritize people who have experience serving info needs in communities across disciplines?" → Read More

As it settles into Vox, Recode is starting a new project to help people feel power over algorithms » Nieman Journalism Lab

"It's about cutting through the apathy that a lot of people have about tech because it feels mysterious, letting people know there are decisions and changes you can make to your behavior that will feel empowering to people." → Read More

Drawing on ten years of expertise, the Texas Tribune wants to coach you on its money-making lessons » Nieman Journalism Lab

"People just want to learn a playbook. At the high level, it's motivational, but at the grassroots level, it's answering what do your proposals look like, what does your budget look like, how are you talking to donors and members." → Read More

Looking for the future of data journalism awards? Here are a few communities coming together after GEN’s closure » Nieman Journalism Lab

If you're seeking a community around data journalism, fear not: Several are bubbling up in the wake of the Global Editors Network's closure, which was announced a month ago. GEN had maintained the Data Journalism Awards ceremony and Slack for the past several years. This year, the DJAs brought i… → Read More

Baltimore Beat is rebuilding its community ties as an alt-weekly after corporate cut-downs » Nieman Journalism Lab

"Baltimore is a majority black city. When we first started out in 2017, I wanted it to have that point of view, to have a newspaper that serves a black population." → Read More

“Our national discussions…need to also consider whether we’re using the right business model to build the contemporary internet” » Nieman Journalism Lab

Remember when news cycles didn't refresh every hour? Or when digital ads weren't tracking your every move online? Or when nation-states weren't weaponizing the unregulated flow of information? Ethan Zuckerman of the MIT Center for Civic Media retraces those days, when the radio emerged as a publicl… → Read More

Can alt-weeklies prosper on the nonprofit news transition train? The Chicago Reader will try » Nieman Journalism Lab

"The Reader hasn’t turned a profit in ages, although revenue is said to be up almost 50 percent this year." → Read More

Paywalls can be a big lift for smaller publishers. Here’s how the Shawnee Mission Post is thriving two years in » Nieman Journalism Lab

"Things that were on the fires-and-car-accident side of things would get a lot of pageviews, but didn’t seem to have lasting impact on the way that people live their lives around here." → Read More

Facebook’s intentions may not be pure, but its money is real: How publishers made the most of its membership accelerator » Nieman Journalism Lab

"For some , this program will be a way to get a check. Some of them are going to pick up some ideas and tips and that’s the end of it. For some of them, it’s truly transformational in how they operate." → Read More

Amid corporate uncertainty, McClatchy is digging into community-funded reporting labs » Nieman Journalism Lab

McClatchy — now the country's second-largest local newspaper company, after the merger of Gannett and GateHouse closed last week — is trying to diversify its revenue with a focus on investing in its journalism as it teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. Ken Doctor's piece here last week reviewi… → Read More

The Washington Post’s union finds that women and people of color in the newsroom make less than white men » Nieman Journalism Lab

The guild of the Washington Post — not the news outlet itself, it's important to note — shared its findings from a study of pay at the Post. The results, like most of the journalism industry, were not great, especially on the newsroom side. IN THE NEWSROOM: — Women as a group are paid les… → Read More

Meet The Salt Lake Tribune, 501(c)(3): The IRS has granted nonprofit status to a daily newspaper for the first time » Nieman Journalism Lab

It's a big step for Salt Lake City — but also a major opening for other newspapers who might find nonprofit status a more appealing alternative than selling or closing down. → Read More

How The Texas Tribune is revamping its sponsored content (and folding its five-year-old op-ed site) » Nieman Journalism Lab

"It was a good sandbox to see if there’s a market for these sponsored content pieces, to see how we’d treat them in a design and workflow way, to see if there’s an appetite for people who would pay for it. Now, several years later, we realize we answered all those affirmatively." → Read More

Here are the four most common questions readers have after consuming a news article (and how to answer them) » Nieman Journalism Lab

Twenty-six Texans walk into a room... ... and discuss news articles. As part of five focus groups with the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, researchers Tamar Wilner, Dominique A. Montiel Valle, and Gina Masullo Chen went straight to a (pretty diverse mix) of non-… → Read More

People might not trust local news that much after all — and the way to improve it increases the risk » Nieman Journalism Lab

"A small reservoir of goodwill exists toward local news organizations because they are local, but this could quickly dry up if Americans perceive more political bias in coverage." → Read More

Membership at a local TV station? Here’s how San Antonio’s KSAT is plotting a potential revenue stream » Nieman Journalism Lab

"We have to continually work with our audience to make sure they love us later as much as they love us now." → Read More

Why the San Francisco Chronicle gave users the option to “support free map access” with LaterPay during the power outage » Nieman Journalism Lab

"We knew the content had value. What we’re trying to emphasize with our customers is that the content has value — that it’s either subscribe-able or worth paying for." → Read More