"This is probably the best time in history to be a journalist. I know there's a lot of fear in the industry with all the layoffs and it's hard to look beyond 2009, but the reality is that the craft of journalism and the need for it is the highest than any time in history..."
Those words and the 10-minute video are from SAJAer Rafat Ali, one of the sharpest minds in the world of online journalism. He is the founder of PaidContent.org and ContentNext. He was at Columbia Journalism School today, sharing his thoughts on the state of the media and his mission of evangelizing about the need for more journalists to become entrepreneurs. He also talked about how he went from an independent blogger to an authoritative voice on all things digital and in the process sold his
company to The Guardian for $30 million (he says he cannot confirm nor deny that number)
Here's an interview (and video) by WSJ's Kara Swisher when the Guardian deal was first announced.
From ContentNext: Founded in 2002, "the company's news sites chroniclethe economic evolution of digital content that is shaping the futureof the media, information and entertainment industries. Our belief isthat in the near future, all media will be digital media, and we are helping define sustainable business models and innovation within this sector."
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