by Joey Butler
John Blake (photo by George Conklin)
John Blake, who writes about race and religion for CNN, is an old-school print journalist who “remembers what it’s like to cover a boring city council meeting.”
In his workshop, Blake identified three major changes that transitioning to digital media has brought to his role as a journalist.
First is all the “bells and whistles” he now has at his disposal. Instead of the traditional treatment of a print story with a photo or two, Blake can tell his story with video, sound bytes and links to supplemental material. While he considers himself lucky to work for a large organization where each of those elements might be overseen by a different staffer, Blake cautioned those in a “one-man band” situation not to focus too much on the tech toys at the expense of the story.