Project Summary: Media Innovation & Entrepreneurship

BASIC INFORMATION
Title: Media Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Lead Editors: Dr. Michelle Ferrier (Ohio University, University of Missouri, CUNY) / @michelleferrier , Liz Mays (Arizona State University, Rebus) / @lizmays
Rebus Project Manager: Zoe Wake Hyde / @zoe
License: CC BY
Target audience: Students in media entrepreneurship courses or other journalism/mass comm/media courses in which media entrepreneurship is taught
Subject: Journalism, Mass Communications, Media Studies
Target Release Date: Beta Fall 2017, V.1 January 2018

BOOK DESCRIPTION
This open textbook that includes activities, ancillary materials and faculty resources on media innovation is designed to be a valuable resource for use in media entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial journalism courses across the globe.

Each “chapter” will be a module that can accompany a week’s lesson in a 15-week course. The work could be used as a whole, or modules could stand alone. New modules could be added by the community in the future.

HELP NEEDED
Our most pressing needs are:

  • Faculty to beta-test the 1.0 version in their classrooms in fall 2017
    *Faculty to participate in open review
    *Help with final refinements
    *Ancillary and instructor materials

Learn more about the fall 2017 beta and what’s included in this pitch deck for the book.

Sign up to join the beta and/or the community of practice around this book at: http://bit.ly/jentrepreneurshipOTbeta

Get involved by joining the discussion below!

For summer 2018, we’ll also be compiling a companion instructor’s manual that helps you in building capacity in your institution. If you’re interested in contributing to that piece, please reply with your interest below and we will reach back when further details are available.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
If you’re excited by this project, but still not sure where you’d like to get involved, just sign up to the forum, and post below for project updates. Give us an idea of your background, particular area of expertise, and interests. We’ll follow up with you for suitable ways to contribute.

RECOGNITION FOR CONTRIBUTORS
This project couldn’t happen without your participation. All contributing authors will be credited prominently in their chapter, the book, the metadata and promotional materials. All editors, reviewers and other contributors will also be credited.

OUTLINE
Chapters include:

  1. Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset (sidebar on teaching resiliency)
  2. Ideation
  3. Customer Discover/Content
  4. Team Management: Intrapreneurship/Entrepreneurship
  5. Project Management Skills and Technologies
  6. Business Models for Content and Technology Plays
  7. Non-profit Model Development
  8. Freelancing and Consulting as Business Models
  9. Marketing
  10. Pitching Ideas
  11. Funding your Startup (sidebars on contest funding, foundation funding, family funding and crowdfunding)
  12. Entrepreneurship Abroad

For a more extensive outline, see here.

RELEVANT RESOURCES
Here’s a list of useful documents:

TWEET THIS PROJECT

Want to help with an Open Textbook on media entrepreneurship? Find out how to contribute here: http://bit.ly/jmcOT

CURRENT PROJECT TEAM
@michelleferrier (lead editor), @lizmays (lead editor), @zoe (rebus project mananger), @egsmith3, @BettyTsakarestou, @markpoepsel, @poetabook ….and you?

@lizmays if you’re still looking for team members, I’m interested.

Hi @krysta-mcnutt, Yes we are still looking to get a few topics covered. Can you tell us more about your expertise areas?

Great! I am new at publishing open textbooks. I’ve just finished managing Alberta’s 3-yr OER grant program, but hadn’t had my hands in the content myself so I hope I can contribute in a way that’s productive for you.

I have 10+ yrs experience in project management and change management in the post-secondary and public sector, mainly in technology and teaching services. I also do work as a coach for staff development, etc. The three chapters I could likely contribute to are:

Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset (sidebar on teaching resiliency)
Project Management Skills and Technologies
Freelancing and Consulting as Business Models

How can I help?

Hi @krysta-mcnutt, This is wonderful! There were two chapters we had to bump to a later edition as we had not found appropriate authors yet.

These were Project Management Skills and Technologies and a chapter dealing with Intrapreneurship (what is it) and Team Leadership (leading startup teams or skunkworks teams inside a larger organization).

With your experience in change management I wonder if the Intrapreneurship / Team Leadership piece would be a good fit? If so, that has been the hardest to fill. But we would be equally grateful if you would be interested in contributing to the Project Management chapter. Let us know which interests you more!

@lizmays Sounds like a great fit. I’m up for tackling the Intrapreneurship / Team Leadership section and contribute to the PM chapter as needed. What is your timeline? Is the first edition of the text available for me to align my approach with the existing content?

Hi @krysta-mcnutt This is amazing! We are in the process of editing some drafts, with all the initial drafts of core chapters expected to come in by next week. Once that happens (and we standardize a format for a chapter), I will share that with you. We’re hoping to release a beta version of the book for testing in classrooms in fall, then release a revised edition for spring 2018. So we are basically on a rolling deadline at this point for additional content–anytime by October would be fine.

Great! I’ll start pulling together my content and look forward to seeing the drafts for guidance. Exciting!

There are lots of journalism fellowships available – are you interested in those for the spreadsheet National grants and competitions for journalism ventures–crowdsourced list?

Hi @ccuillier Great question! And I guess the answer is, it depends. We would certainly want to include the type of fellowship in which someone would be able to develop their own media venture or project as part of the fellowship. But we would probably leave out reporting fellowships; fellowships designed primarily for fellows to help innovate within the newsrooms they’re assigned to; fellowships focused on reforming the industry; or working with policymakers, academics, or the like. Does that make sense? So the criteria would be, “Can they devote the time they’re in the fellowship to advancing this media business or project they’re hatching?” Hope that makes sense!

@lizmays - yes, thanks, that makes sense. I’ll delete some of the ones I’d added as placeholders that don’t meet that criteria.

Thanks @ccuillier Also, I should add that some of these “media ventures” or media projects might be solo ventures, so if they allow a person to report on a certain subject (criminal justice for instance) on their own website for a year, that would essentially allow them to create a media outlet out of their writing, so those kinds of things are fine. If they are doing all the reporting for an established news outlet that is different.

@ccuillier Actually, I took a quick glance–most of these look OK at first glance. Our editors can review them and take out any that stray too far. There are only a few that I would really remove at this point.

@lizmays - have you seen the E-Learning Resources (self-directed courses) from the American Press Institute (several on digital media)? https://pressinstitute.newsu.org/api-home. Access is a bit unclear, but it says, “This course is free for American Press Institute E-learning users.”

Hi @ccuillier Thanks for pointing these out! These would make a good resource for the marketing chapter. I will add.

Hello! I got referred here by our librarian OER coordinator. Please count me on wanting to be involved. I’m an Assistant Professor in the OU Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. I have a professional background in print and web freelance and economic development as well as interest in innovation and education technology (M.A. in the Learning Technologies). If you would like to learn more, please visit adamcroom.com. Please let me know how I can be helpful.

Hi @oucroom So nice to meet you. Thanks for joining us! We are currently in search of beta testers for the 1.0 version of the book due out for fall 2017, ancillary materials to add to the 2.0 release in spring 2018 (which includes instructor materials) and peer reviewers for the following chapters:

Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Business Models for Content and Tech Plays
Nonprofit Model Development
Freelancing and Consulting
Content Marketing
Pitching
Entrepreneurship Abroad

We could also use help with a final proofread.

If any of these tasks meet your interest and expertise, please let us know!

@lizmays Great. I’d be happy to peer review any/all of the following: Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Freelancing and Consulting, or Pitching. I could also help with the final proofread.

Hi @oucroom This would be fantastic! A few of these chapters are in final revisions but expected to be ready later this week. I will be in touch soon to coordinate!

@lizmays I’m currently working on my MEd at Vancouver Island University. I could volunteer as a peer reviewer.