STFriday: journalism in the digital age

What to look for on Smart Talk Friday:

It’s been more than a year since The Patriot-News of Harrisburg scaled back its production and began printing newspapers only three days a week. The company reports its digital focus has been paying dividends in the form of substantially increased web traffic over the past 12 months.

One of the leaders at PA Media Group, which includes The Patriot-News and PennLive.com, recently wrote that journalism at the company has never been stronger. Coming up on Smart Talk Friday, witf‘s Mary Wilson speaks with Cate Barron, PA Media Group Vice President of Content, about the changing media landscape and the course it’s charting.

But writers at Columbia Journalism Review are skeptical of the digital strategy being laid out in Advance Publications newsrooms around the country, including Cleveland, New Orleans and Harrisburg. We’ll also hear from Ryan Chittum, deputy editor of CJR’s business section The Audit.

Later we’ll talk with Bill Heltzel, a senior investigative reporter for PublicSource, who recently published an articlethat shows 1.5 million Pennsylvanians live near potentially dangerous stockpiles of ammonia. The toxic chemical has a variety of industrial uses and Heltzel finds that 122 facilities across the state are storing at least five tons of it at a time.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates has also penned a new book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. Gettysburg College Professor of Political Science Shirley Anne Warshaw says cabinet officials usually wait until after an administration is over to write about them. But that’s not what Gates chose to do. We’ll hear from Warshaw has to say about his new book.

We’ll also take a sneak peak at Chambersburg’s 12th Annual IceFest. IceFest Steering Committee Chair Penny Shaul says some 26 tons of ice will be on display January 30th through February 2nd. She’ll join us to explain why all that ice will is expected to draw 15,000 visitors to downtown Chambersburg next week.

Listen to the program:

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