Starting It Up: Inside + Outside Your Newsroom

The Unconference is a chance for conference attendees to propose conversations on topics we may not have covered elsewhere. Topics were pitched and voting was held at the confernece.

What does it take to launch a startup as a journalist? Three veterans of CNN, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and The New York Times, share tactical advice and expertise on how, ranging from newsroom projects and news brand extensions to a completely new technology platform.

Alicia, Aparna, and Burt will also offer a clear sense of how three of journalism’s most competitive fellowships—Harvard’s Nieman, Columbia’s Knight Bagehot + Knight Stanford—helped shape their ability to pitch, launch, and execute innovation projects and startups. A can’t miss with clear examples and tip for anyone who’s considered jumping into startup world…or just toeing the water in your current newsroom role.

Burt Herman is cofounder and CEO of Storify. He is also the founder of Hacks/Hackers, a worldwide organization bringing together journalists and technologists. Previously, he worked a dozen years as a journalist with The Associated Press. He was a 2008-9 Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.

Aparna Mukherjee is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and the New Yorker’s Currency, and serves as the Growth & Strategy Director for EconMonitor. She’s worked for CNBC, Bloomberg News, the Associated Press, and The New York Times, where she launched the paper’s online education platform. She was a 2004-05 Knight Bagehot Fellow in Economics at Columbia University.

Alicia Stewart is a storyteller who shares true stories about identity, culture and spirit: who we are, what we do and why. A former editor at CNN.com, she has served as Senior Producer of the cable network’s “In America” series. A one-time ONA conference chair, Alicia is completing her year at Harvard University as a 2014-15 Nieman Fellow.