TheGrio’s 100: Mark Luckie, reinventing journalism for the digital age
TheGrio's 100 - Mark Luckie spearheads interactive media strategy for The Washington Post's national section, forging new ways for readers to interact...
Mark Luckie spearheads interactive media strategy for The Washington Post’s national section, forging new ways for readers to interact with the Post online and streamlining the site’s digital production. The 20-something, web-savvy journalist became The Washington Post’s second national innovations editor in August by leveraging the success of “10,000 Words,” his blog about digital journalism.
Mark Luckie is making history … by integrating interactive media into The Washington Post’s website to engage readers in new ways. He represents a growing number of digital gurus who understand how to create a personal brand and engage with web communities, a skill that news publications and corporate brands are eager to adopt.
Though Luckie has almost a decade of experience building websites, he credits UC Berkeley, where he earned his masters in journalism, for introducing him to multimedia journalism. From there, he honed his digital journalism skills as an online producer for four news sites, and generated his own web following by building “10,000 Words.” Luckie is quick to share insider’s secrets, which he compiled in his 2009 print publication, “The Digital Journalist’s Handbook.”
What’s next for Mark?
Mark Luckie is experimenting with digital tools for The Washington Post website, figuring out how the Post will crowd source news and fostering online reader engagement. He still writes regularly for http://www.mediabistro.com/10000words/”>10,000 Words, though Luckie sold the blog in October to Mediabistro.com, a big-time blog network for media professionals.
What inspires Mark?
“I am inspired by contemporary artists like Keith Haring and Marc Jacobs who revolutionized their respective fields from the inside out,” Luckie told theGrio. “I try to do that with the journalism industry and continue to be inspired by sources not commonly associated with the field like architecture, behavioral psychology, and mixed media art.”
In his own words …
“They say there’s nothing new under the sun, but I work every day to find unfilled needs, to do things have never been done before, or to approach ideas in new and different ways,” Luckie told theGrio. “Whether that’s writing a unique book about journalism or just thinking about a new way to shovel snow, I try to set a precedent that others can later follow.”
On black history …
“My personal aim is to alter common misconceptions of what a young, black man is and what we are capable of doing,” Luckie told theGrio. “Great black men and women didn’t die out after the civil rights era, and we can all pay tribute to our ancestors by acknowledging them and following in their footsteps.”
A little-known fact …
In September, 34 percent of American adults got the previous day’s news online, compared with 31 percent that read the news print, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
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