For almost two years now, the Sentinel has been sponsoring a non-profit spin-off project called Portland Media Lab. In the last 6 months or so, the project has gained some momentum. The project has done a needs assessment survey of what it feels the Portland Media Market requires in order to sustain a 'fourth estate' that can act as a check against political power, and monied interests, as part of a functioning democracy.  One of the activists who has been involved in PML discussions is Daniel Bachhuber. Bachhuber is a blogger, 'journalism hacker' and founder of a company called Co-Press which builds open sources web platforms for student newspapers. The following is his guest blog from the PML site.  Bachhuber is sponsoring a conference or 'BarCamp' in Eugene Ore this weekend. The gathering will focus on how journalism schools should be evolving to meet the needs of today's new digital media journalist.

FROM PORTLAND MEDIA LAB

"On Sunday, October 25th, the day after the SPJ Regional Conference, the University of Oregon is hosting the first ever BarCamp Redefining J School.

The idea is simple: to host a solid conversation about how J schools across the country can be catalysts for innovation, experimentation, and positive change in the news industry. Not that they haven’t been in the past; rather, the conversation will be about how they can be at the forefront of the future of news. We’ll cover the latest in digital tools, strategies for finding work, and ideas for how J schools can better prepare students to launch their own projects.

For those who have never attended a BarCamp, there is a method to the madness. A BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. Another term for it is “unconference.” With a traditional conference, the sessions are planned well in advance and panels selected by the conference organizer. BarCamps give the attendees a bit different of an experience. The sessions are brainstormed in advance, but the schedule isn’t set until the morning of the event and is determined in “open-grid” fashion. If an attendee feels qualified to lead a given session, they’ll write it on an index card and post those on the grid schedule."
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