Journalists and technologists will rub elbows from April 30 through May 3 in Sunnyvale, California, at a conference called “NewsTools 2008” — a gathering that promises to bring together people who really need to know each other better. Pro journalists don’t use the available technology smartly enough — though they’re improving at this — and tech folks have too little understanding of why journalism matters and why they should be helping create the next version of the craft.
I’ll be bringing some students from Arizona State University to the conference, which so far has a lot more journalists than techies signed up. If you’re in the latter group, please give some thought to participating. This is a great opportunity to help create a future we all know we need.