EC = MC. Every Company = a Media Company. Some are even getting involved in politics. Find out what Ben Frumin, Editor-In-Chief of TheWeek.com, says about covering politics for a digital audience from the perspective of journalists and brand storytellers.
In this podcast, Ben will explore the challenges of covering politics in the current hyper-partisan media landscape, and how The Week presents the news clearly and fairly, covering politics in a way that’s accessible and serves readers of all ideologies.
He will also discuss the challenge media brands face in delivering information to a digital audience that craves quick content, how to serve bite-sized news that wont leave readers hungry, and how to increase reader engagement online when audiences are so politically divided.
Ben Frumin is editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. He was hired as deputy editor of TheWeek.com in February 2011, and was promoted to editor-in-chief in October 2012. Before TheWeek.com, he was a senior editor at Talking Points Memo. His writing has been published in several newspapers, magazines and websites, including the San Francisco Chronicle, CNNMoney.com,
Reuters.com, Columbia Journalism Review, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the New York Post and The Forward. He earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a masters in journalism from Columbia University. He later worked for two years as an adjunct professor at Columbia, where he taught a workshop in which grad students produced a magazine on digital media. In 2007-2008, Ben lived in New Delhi, where he helped launch the magazine The Caravan. He is married to the journalist Aliyah Frumin. They live in New Jersey with their beloved dog, Monster.
Icebreaker
I bought a one-way plane ticket to India and then in 2007-2008, I lived in New Delhi, where I helped launch the magazine The Caravan.
Live abroad.
Think Like A Journalist Quote
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Success Quote or Tip
Success is knowing that I’ve helped someone or changed someone’s life for the better. Never forget that these are real people with real situations and stories and our readers.
Career Highlight
Becoming Editor at TheWeek.com is his career highlight. TheWeek.com was suffering in its digital space. Ben took a week and created a vision for the digital part of TheWeek and now it’s thriving.
When It Didn’t Work
Ben says when he was working at Reuters. He couldn’t see the path ahead for his career in 2007 while digital disruption was negatively impacting legacy media publications. He instead he thought about going to law school because he was unhappy. Instead he persevered
Top Tips Covering Politics for a Digital Audience: The Importance of Concision in Journalism
- Never forget you’re covering real people.
- Audiences contain multitudes. Understand that readerships are not monolithic.
- Engage with the real opponent.
- Open your mind to all viewpoints.
- These days everyone is a publisher.
- Never make fun of or caricature a particular side.
- Brands should not try too hard to get into a movement.
What is one piece of technology, video or multimedia equipment, or app that you just can’t live without?
charpbeat traffic monitoring tool.
One book, documentary, blog, podcast, or Internet Channel to watch?
The Power Broker, Robert Carrow sp?
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Contact
Twitter @BenFrumin; @TheWeek
Mentioned In This Episode And You Might Also Like
TBJA 343 How To Pitch Your business To The Media: A Magazine Editor Tells All, Jason Feifer
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