First words on their last day and other links

I pulled out the laptop today, cleaning up my list of "must read" sites. At the end of the day, I see that changes in journalism still attract me. You?

Perhaps, I always will. You can catch up on Jim Smith's ideas of who will announce by the Dec. 29 deadline in Flint on Free From Editors. He expects half of the newsroom to go.

The cake is from the first big buyout bash - one of the folks going in the second big buyout posted a bunch of photos today on Facebook. Still waiting to hear when the bash is, but at least I found some "helpful phrases" to use.

What are Twitter friends for?

Jim MacMillan: Blogging, News, Information and Opinion from Philadelphia, like many of us knows of folks who are leaving the news business. He remembered his last day - you want to be remembered, but it's not really a day to celebrate.

Another round of layoffs and buyouts were coming up and he didn't know what to say. So he used Twitter to solicit advice on what do you say to journalists on their last day ... or the day that they find out that they are done.

Suggestions included send a message to them reminding them about some good work; buy a beer; take them out for fun; make sure they are on Linkedin and recommend them .... and more

• Quest for Expertise « Disparate

Tracking down the "rule of thumb" that it takes 10 years to be an expert; blogger includes primary sources, more links to follow

• Top 10 tips for journalists who blog « Save the Media

Gina Chen's new blog is Save the media. The post with 10 tips could be squished into fewer. Her 10: Start with intro; be accurate, use attribution; know audience, get a personality; talk, write, give something new, give an opinion; interact. My take: Be a journalist to look up to by writing accurately for a group of folks who care about something, but more importantly be an opinionated human being who follows the golden rules of giving credit where due, gives more then takes, and doesn't bore people to death. You know, someone you wouldn't mind sitting next to at another chicken-dinner fundraiser.

• What the Ann Arbor News should do
A former employee gave up waiting for the newspaper to explain what's going on with the buyouts and changes coming to this Booth newspaper so she explains what she knows and what she thinks should be done

• Exploitation of the Voiceless
More proof that you don't have to buy expensive equipment - more on the Flip.

An editor looks at what was

A weekly newspaper gives a former editor, Tom Honig, a place to write about what changed at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. It's about one newspaper, but could be about many.

First, Tom tells us how depressing it can be to pick up a skinny newspaper, especially when it once was larger.

He talks about credibility. Plus, he shares the story of a newspaper going from a family-owned newspaper to one owned by a chain and then another chain.

Take a gander: News & Culture in Santa Cruz, CA | 12.03.08

A bonus is the printing of a Phil Meyer piece on "the elite newspaper of the future." Yes, it's a repeat, but it is important advice for all who are deciding how to ensure the success of newspapers