(Steve Duke)

I've had a peek behind the curtain concealing the future of journalism, only caught a sliver of what that might look like, and don't pretend that what I've seen represents more than a tiny portion of where we're going. But what I've seen is exciting, exhilarating - and contains a cautionary note for current newspaper executives.

I'd like you to meet the journalists who got me so excited: Sarahmaria Gomez and Alex Fledderjohn. Sarahmaria received her bachelor's degree from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism in 2004. Alex earned a B.A. in anthropology at the State University of New York in Binghamton, then got his master's in photojournalism from Ohio University in 2004.

Sarahmaria and Alex met when they were interns at the Chicago Tribune in the summer of 2003. With this foot in the door, these talented young journalists were poised to launch careers on a traditional path that would invigorate the news organizations that employed them.

But they hesitated. Both felt they couldn't do their best work under the limitations and restraints of a traditional newsroom. They decided to throw their lot together to do independent journalism, and launched their own company, [tu]multimedia.

Together they tell moving, enlightening multimedia stories that inform and engage the viewer. They have produced work for National Public Radio and a variety of non-profit organizations, created a documentary on Guatemala, and Alex has completed a book, Antigua.

Alex and Sarahmaria are old-fashioned storytellers using cutting edge technology to spin their tales. They do what the best journalists do: they don't just provide information, they grab their audience's emotions. They've never read the Readership Institute's work on the importance of delivering experiences. They didn't have to. It's in their bones.

Here's an example: their tale about a community organization's efforts to create a safety zone in which kids can be kids. How do I know this piece delivers experience as well as informs? When I showed this audio slide show to my wife, she teared up. Powerful. Or try this one about an inventive program to get kids off the street, learn a skill and gain some life lessons.

This pair brings all the traditional values to their journalism - "We are journalists by trade, and our journalism ethics and standards are extremely important to us," Sarahmaria said - and enough passion to fill a dozen newsrooms.

This is exciting, gripping storytelling using new forms. So where's the cautionary tale?

"I felt like I didn't really fit with (mainstream) print or broadcast or Internet (companies)," Sarahmaria said. "If you find your niche, you don't have to go down the typical track."

The barriers to entry in the media world have dropped to the point where a couple of near-broke youngsters can set themselves up as multimedia journalists. The outlets for good storytelling have proliferated. Nonprofits, foundations, corporations, politicians and others are finding ways to bypass traditional media to get their stories told. Independent journalists have avenues for their work and opportunities for income never before available.

Newspaper hiring managers can recruit clones of themselves - and there are a lot of young journalists eager to emulate the traditional formulas - or they can hire and nurture newcomers with fresh approaches and new skills. If traditional media outlets can't give passionate young journalists like Sarahmaria and Alex the room to breathe, the freedom to flex their creative muscles and pursue moving stories in innovative ways, more will find alternative paths as this pair has. That's a loss we can't afford.


Brittany Risher, a Medill senior in my Urban Affairs reporting class, contributed to this post.

By Steve Duke (s-duke@northwestern.edu)
Steve Duke is managing director for training at the Media Management Center and Readership Institute, and lecturer at Medill.