Norgs Make News

PhillyIMC

"I say this is the day that the war ends. This isn’t journalism against bloggers anymore. It never was, really. This is journalists and bloggers together in favor of news." Jeff Jarvis, buzzmachine

The Unconference. An unconventional meeting of people and minds at Penn's Annenberg School of Communications. The subject: the future of news ... and journalism.

I should have been there. My profession. I wanted to be there. My alma mater. I wish I'd been there. My chance to meet cyber pals, peers and personal heroes face to face.

Professional bloggers Dan Rubin of the Inquirer's Blinq and Will Bunch of the Daily News' Attytood, plus the pros at Philly.com. Killer "amateur" (ha!) bloggers Susie Madrak of Suburban Guerilla, Duncan Black of Eschaton and some of the folks behind the Philly Future blog co-op.

The Unconference included media students, journalists and pros from Philly and beyond. Check out the short list from Albert Yee at Dragonballyee. Top minds and talents all, gathered to take a first pass at redefining journalism and the news.

I couldn't make it. But here's the beauty part, irony and all: I was there in spirit by the grace of many who showed up in person. How? Via their blogs.

You can be there too.

Read what they discussed and debated and collaborated on. Watch the Norg Unconference video. Take advantage of their collective wisdom, experience and vision.

And add your own. On your blog and at norgs.org.

Norg (Will Bunch's clever contraction of news organization) isn't an exercise in blog bloviation. It's a serious effort by smart, committed writers, journalists and media professionals to make an impact on the direction of news dissemination in the 21st century. Too grandiose? Not even close.

Norg is about the future of journalism. And we either help shape it, or be consigned to live with it.

Unless the next Unconference is held on the weekend of May 12--my son's college graduation--I'll be there.

You should come too.

Here's a review of Next Steps. I'm going to read, absorb and think, then add my 2 cents.

You should do that too.