I’m a journalist who is particularly interested in working to make journalism a vital, profitable business through innovation and relevance by finding new opportunities and making personal connections.

Though the industry is a pretty scary place to work these days, I’m excited about the future of news.

Earlier this year, I organized NewsInnovation-Portland, one of the regional sessions of a nationwide effort to get tech-savvy people together to embrace the chaos of modern media and hash out some ideas for moving forward.

Read more about our efforts and follow up on the Google group. Or, connect with forward-thinking folks in the northwest on our NewsInnovation Northwest group on Wired Journalists.

There’s a whole lot more that I’m working on. Check it out and let’s talk about the cool stuff that’s happening in journalism.

Education

M.S. Journalism and Mass Communication, 2007
Greenlee School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
B.A. Mass Communication/Journalism, 2002
Boise State University, Boise, Idaho

Publications and presentations:

Thesis: Acting globally, thinking locally: how five Iowa newspapers developed news content and business strategies for online delivery.

A comparative case study to investigate the online strategies of five Iowa newspapers, including Web content, policy, and how the company evaluates success.

I found that the newspapers investigated were only beginning to integrate the online product into company policy and newsroom practices all within a context of organizational and technological change.

Paper presented to the Media Management and Economics Division, AEJMC 2007 midwinter conference, Reno, Nev.

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication: Online Journalism and the War in Cyberspace: A Comparison Between U.S. and International Newspapers – Daniela V. Dimitrova and Matt Neznanski

This study explored how the Internet disseminated news about the Iraq war in 2003 by comparing 26 international newspaper sites and their use of Web-specific features such as hyperlinks, animations, multimedia content, and interactive elements.

By proposing a three-stage model of online journalism and applying it to the online war coverage, the analysis suggests that online journalism has not yet reached the state of convergence.

Paper presented to the Communication Technology Division, AEJMC 2006 Convention, San Francisco, Calif.

Awards and leadership:

• Awarded top graduate student scholarship for contribution to theory and humanitarian concern.
• President, Greenlee Graduate Student Association. Served in ISU Graduate and Professional Student Senate.
• Kappa Tau Alpha journalism honor society Top Scholar Award
• Twice presented research at leading journalism academic conferences.