24 Lessons From A Weekend Of Saving Journalism

Saving journalism one pitch at a time. Students and faculty from journalism schools across the nation gathered at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication to solve media challenges for the first annual Journalism School Hackathon. Local news organizations proposed problems, and teams spent 36 hours brainstorming and researching solutions. The event was hosted by the Reese News Lab and PBS Media Shift.

1. College students WILL wake up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday

Mark Glaser @mediatwit

Producing our first #JschoolHackathon at UNC with @reesenewslab!

Sat May 31 16:04:24 UTC+0000 2014

2. But it requires a lot of coffee

Reese News Lab @reesenewslab

Attention #JschoolHackathon-ers! Round one of coffee has arrived in the Freedom Forum!

Sun Jun 01 11:34:14 UTC+0000 2014

3. Plastic figurines determine team identity

Nayana Davis @nayana_davis

Getting ready to kick off the #jschoolhackathon @UNCJschool I'm a red ninja, obviously.

Sat May 31 12:18:02 UTC+0000 2014

4. Rivaling schools will come together

Angele @AngeleOutWest

Students from 10 universities are here at the @pbsmediashift @reesenewslab #jschoolhackathon making the future now

Sun Jun 01 12:23:34 UTC+0000 2014

5. Human-centered design is critical

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Photo by Sara Peach

Robyn Tomlin of Thunderdome emphasized listening to users.

6. Brainstorming gets you to a good idea

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Photo by Sara Peach

A hackathon team works in the UNC J-school Innovation Lab.

7. The startup process is a roller coaster

Reese News Lab @reesenewslab

Where are you in your process? #troughofsorrow #JschoolHackathon

03:51 PM - 31 May 2014

8. Post-it notes give ideas flexibility

Via Flickr: 28649096@N07

Photo by Sara Peach

Students Josie Hollingsworth and Hetali Lodaya brainstorm ideas.

9. Play-Doh makes for great prototyping

Samantha Harrington @SamantHarrin

I think @steven_king w/ Play-Doh lips sums up where we're at. @reesenewslab #JschoolHackathon #redninjas

04:07 PM - 31 May 2014

10. Professional journalists will be supportive

Via Twitter: @mtdukes

"When I think about students at #JschoolHackathon giving up a beautiful Saturday to make cool stuff for journalists," Tyler Dukes, WRAL.

11. New technology brings out the kid in everyone

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Photo by Sara Peach

Dan Pacheco of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University brought his Oculus Rift headset to the hackathon.

12. Venture capitalism makes for great dinner conversation

Photo by Sara Peach

Jimmy Goodmon of Capitol Broadcasting Company and David Jones of Bull City Venture Partners talk about investing in startups.

13. Sales skills are valuable in any job

Meredith Clark @meredithclark

The takeaway from this session? Learn how to sell, kids. #JschoolHackathon

11:06 PM - 31 May 2014

14. Strangers become teammates and friends

Kelci Christine @kelci_hight

Successful first day for the team #JschoolHackathon @Zhainatyun @ashirony @asduner

Sun Jun 01 01:23:04 UTC+0000 2014

15. Teammates with coding skills come in handy

instagram.com

"Love that my team has built a data scraper with Python at #jschoolhackathon." -Steve Johnson, University of Florida

16. Unlike at some hackathons, people will actually sleep

Meredith Clark @meredithclark

So obvs, we're not tech folks. We went to sleep during #JschoolHackathon.

12:45 PM - 01 Jun 2014

17. You need to get comfortable pitching

buzzfeed.com

Sean Branagan, Director of the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University, teaches students how to get comfortable on stage.

18. The final hours of competition will be fierce

Alex Duner @asduner

You better watch your back at the #JschoolHackathon #SOSChallenge

Sun Jun 01 14:10:24 UTC+0000 2014

19. Excitement will build

John Clark @johnclark

Holy crap I'm so excited about our #JschoolHackathon pitches!

04:05 PM - 01 Jun 2014

20. It's hard to eat lunch when you're nervous

NU Knight Lab @knightlab

Great stuff from the #jschoolhackathon. Congrats to the stellar student teams!

Sun Jun 01 17:47:39 UTC+0000 2014

21. Pitches can make or break you

youtube.com

22. Judging will get intense

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Photo by Sara Peach

23. Someone will win

Steven King @steven_king

WE WON #JSCHOOLHACKATHON. @nayana_davis @mattsheehan @SamantHarrin @steven_king @tom_sharkey @UNCJschool

07:04 PM - 01 Jun 2014

24. And the most important lesson of all: The future of journalism is bright

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Photo by Sara Peach

For more coverage and student perspectives:

• UF attends first Journalism School Hackathon at UNC
• PBS Media Shift: Finding Gold: Inside the J-school Hackathon
• PBS Media Shift: J-school Hackathon at UNC emphasizes collaboration, entrepreneurial spirit
• PBS Media Shift: Finding friends among the competition at the J-school Hackathon