What wonderful and rewarding eight days exchanging ideas with journalists from Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
It’s winter in these parts, but not too aggressive. Nothing like New York or Hamburg in January! The temperature is even higher in newsrooms of newspapers here, where the issue of transformation, change, digital priorities, the role of print and, of course, paywalls and subscriptions dominates the thinking of publishers, editors and journalists generally.
I have had an opportunity to conduct a workshop for Digital House in Argentina, attended also by journalists from Chile, for the Facebook Journalism Project. It is a new program aimed at creating awareness among journalists for how to display their stories on Facebook, especially via video.
I emphasized the importance of multi-platform storytelling, including this example from The Washington Post, which includes the various platforms, including the equipment to enjoy VR stories.
One thing that I hear quite often among journalists in South America during this visit, sometimes as a question, not so much as an affirmation is: Should we in newspapers be allies of Facebook? Or, as some do already, consider Facebook a competitor for readers?
My answer is unequivocally: it’s better to be an ally of Facebook, to benefit from the high traffic generated by the social media giant, and to work through those issues which continue to create tension. There is no question in my mind that Facebook, such an important part in the lives of many citizens, can be a formidable ally to present our content.
Flew to Brazil and started my time in this always welcoming country with a two day visit to Rede Gazeta, in scenic Vitoria, Espiritu Santo. Offered a workshop for the entire newsroom team, with heavy discussions of the role of local news as part of the digital offerings. Not surprising, editors kept telling me that more readers are consuming their news on their mobile devices, so the Rede Gazeta team was happy to learn new strategies for mobile storytelling. And, to my surprise, one day after the workshop, already one story had been created especially for consumption on the phone. Bravo.
Read their first linear story here (in Portuguese):
In Sao Paulo, I was honored to be invited to offer a talk to editors, journalists, advertising and marketing team members of one of Brazil’s national newspapers, O Estado de S. Paulo. It was good to share time with the top editors, and with the very young digital team, all of whom are eager to experiment more with new ways of telling stories. Here is a view from the top of the Estado building:
Now time to return home to New York, but with the satisfaction of having met some enthusiastic journalists eager to make change possible in their newsrooms. Also take with me the colorful sights of the cities visited, such as this splendid sunset over Buenos Aires, or the image of Eva Peron (Evita) appearing suddenly on the wall of a building at a busy intersection in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. I suddenly found myself carrying the Don’t Cry for Me Argentina signature song from the musical.
And, while I was not in Sao Paulo to apply color to any specific newspaper, I let my eyes enjoy the colorful display on the side of this building and thought that this could be quite inspiring if creating a color palette for a publication in this vibrant, busy city where traffic moves slower than turtles.
Mario’s Speaking Engagements
October 6, 20, 27–King’s College, New York City
The Basics of Visual Journalism seminars
October 25, Eidos Media Keynote, New York City
Garcia Media: Over 25 years at your service
