Brainstorm outside the newsroom

Forbes magazine’s E-Gang ’09 gives readers a closer look at the online video world with seven profiles, nine articles and a package of multimedia options.


Editor Kerry Dolan says the project started about four months ago with brainstorming and narrowing the options. “The real challenge was how do you figure out which companies to profile. It’s a matter of picking one that seems most promising and fits into the mix of what we’re trying to produce,” Kerry says.

Today’s Tip: When you’re launching a project, don’t limit your brainstorming to the newsroom. Ask industry insiders for ideas to ensure something isn’t just new to you.

Kerry says she researched the topic to see what had already been written. She also talked to technology industry people to get story ideas to represent the spectrum of different video innovators.

“It was all a matter of having the luxury of time,” says Kerry, who edited the feature for the first time. “Start early.”