The past, present and future of news

Sue Jepsen, Kevin Murphy and myself

No, this isn't a post about the history of journalism or a deep inside look at where we are going in the industry. Rather, it's a rather vanilla headline on a recent gathering of former and current employees of The Oregonian, prompted by a slick demonstration of a very cool idea designed to help readers and news organizations alike deal with the fire hose of information on the internet.

The past? By my rough estimate, the majority of some 50 or 60 people who gathered in Portland's Old Town last Sunday were people who recently have retired, taken buyouts or, in some cases, been laid off from the newspaper. It was a pleasure to see so many former colleagues, some of whom I see in my neighborhood or on the bus and others who I hadn't seen in months and even years. By and large, folks seem to be in a pretty good space -- and I was especially happy to learn that one of the very nicest, most talented people I'd worked with had gotten a new job utilizing her considerable design talents.

The present? Well, obviously, there were plenty of current staffers at the event, too, and it was nice to engage in non-work conversations away from the office. Not everything has to be journalism 24/7.

The future? The Oregonian Reunion Party was organized by three former staffers who are among the founders of a new-media venture called Nozzl Media. Their company builds custom, real-time, and local news streams that, they hope, will appeal to local and national media organizations that are seeking ways to organize, streamline and deliver a wide variety of content to their online audience.

As the Nozzl web site explains: "Our streams combine real-time news with public records data and social Web conversations to create a robust, easily filtered, and thoroughly mobile flow of information." Thus the fire hose reference above. It's about taking everything that's going in a different community and filtering it in such a way that it's like funneling it into a nozzle for easier consumption.

The Nozzl guys, Steve Woodward, John Hamlin and Brian Hendrickson, showed a few slides, provided light refreshments, and made a softsell about investing in their company. Knowing most journalists aren't loaded with money, they suggested that if we really liked their concept and wanted to support it, we could always put them in touch with a rich relative. All three of the guys are incredibly talented and dedicated to this venture. I truly wish them the best -- perhaps in collaboration with The Oregonian (?) but more likely with other companies -- and thank them for bringing us all together on a Sunday afternoon.

Photograph by Alan Borrud