Results matching “american blogge”

The fast-moving world of news media demands innovation, and there is little guarantee of success. Yet, as the foundering of the Printed Blog experiment in the US has shown, efforts at something new, whatever their success, emerge to inspire and inform.  Thus, a new project, the Blogpaper is being developed in the UK based on a similar concept to the Printed Blog whereby content generated online is collated into a printed newsheet.

The project is in its beta stages. In theory, the blogpaper will be the collected effort of an online "news community", which will create written and multimedia content, to be ranked by fellow members of the community. If a piece of content receives sufficient support, it will be printed and moved onto the front pages of the site. The project aims to widen participation in publishing decisions, so that rather than a select group exerting control over what content is published and consequently read, the "blogpaper is aiming at putting the majority in charge".

American journalist, Harry Shearer struggled to find the British summer, but he did find the papers. And unlike the weather, these weren't a disappointment. In fact, whilst pondering the cultural landscapes of Britain and America, Shearer points to what he considers to be the most marked distinction in the newspaper industries: "namely, the Brits still have one".  

Shearer describes the gloomy, weakening condition of the American press, moving from the "thinning" down of a number of East Coast publications, to the "near death experiences" of Tribune properties. With regards to weekend editions, the blogger urges "look at any big-city daily on a Saturday, and you'd think the world had run out of news, or the forests of Canada had run out of trees".

The Economist has made the news industry the special focus of its business section for its latest edition. "Established" news is described as "being blown away" but news in general is otherwise considered to be "thriving."

In an opening paragraph which does not bode well for advocates of traditional media, the Economist ponders if "the surest sign that newspapers are doomed is that politicians, so often their targets, are beginning to feel sorry for them," in reference to Barack Obama's pledge to newspapers last weekend at an industry dinner in Washington, as well as Massachusetts senator, John Kerry's commitment to help the "endangered species" and, in particular, his region's beloved Boston Globe.

In anticipation of the Senate Commerce Committee hearings that will be held later today to address the future of the US newspaper industry, NPR's Diane Rehm interviews media and journalism analysts to examine the fate of journalism in the midst of recession and changing media.

In the interview Rehm speaks with Associate Professor of Journalism at American University Jane Hall, former newspaper editor and Reflections of a Newsosaur blogger Alan Mutter, Editor and Senior Vice President of the American Journalism Review Rem Reider, and Editor of the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel and new President of ASNE Martin Keiser. The four journalists agree on essential points that echo what many media analysts have said before: economic recession and decreased circulation and readership are leading to the decline of newspapers; the issue at hand is more about preserving quality journalism than about saving the printed newspaper; the development of a new business model is crucial to the survival of journalism; and government intervention is risky because it might conflict with the media's role as watchdog.

The Wall Street Journal monthly columnist, Mark Penn, has today written a startling article analysing the growing trend of the professional blogger.

Together with his co-author from book Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes - E. Kinney Zalesne - Penn reports that there are almost as many people in the United States earning a living as a blogger as there are lawyers. What's more, Penn and Zalesne claim that the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has identified 452,000 Americans working as full-time bloggers, suggesting there are more bloggers than there are bartenders, computer programmers, CEOs or firefighters (although a scan of the data unveiled no such magical figure when we checked).

The second day of the Logan Symposium at UC Berkeley had a panel devoted to the future of investigative journalism, considering "recently it has not been a high priority for editors and publishers," due to the time, money and energy that goes into it.

The discussions involved different leaders in the field such as Robert Rosenthal of the Center for Investigative Reporting, and Buzz Woolley, chairman of the board and primary funder of Voice of San Diego. The air was relatively optimistic as the speakers focused on collaboration as the key to the future of investigative journalism.

Bill Keller of the New York Times commented, "I don't think investigative journalism will go away, and there is emerging media that will be partly profit, partly non-profit, partly collaborative, partly competitive, mainly online". Robert Rosenthal was hopeful: "Last year I said the business model for newspapers was toast. Now I believe that collaboration is going to be very important for profit and nonprofit journalism". Esther Kaplan, of The Nation Institute Investigative Fund says that partnerships in the field "are in their infancy" and they take a lot of work to happen. "We should consider a lot more, like joint investigation sites, shared technology for micro-financing," she added.

In response to Hearst Corporation's threats to sell the San Francisco Chronicle, House Speaker and San Francisco representative Nancy Pelosi urged the U.S. Justice Department to consider changing media ownership and anti-trust rules to save the newspaper. She has also arranged a hearing for the House Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy on the survival of newspapers.

Since Hearst announced its intention in February to sell the Chronicle unless it could make cost reductions, the company has been negotiating cutbacks with unions. The California Media Workers Guild, the Chronicle's largest union, has already made concessions, including laying off 150 employees, and Hearst continues negotiations with labor union the Teamsters. Hearst has not yet reached a decision to sell, but under present antitrust definitions, it will be difficult for Hearst to sell the paper to its prospective buyer MediaNews, which owns almost every daily newspaper in the Bay Area.

It was billed as the moment the world changed - but for some Barack Obama's inauguration as President was also the moment that the media changed.  Social networking sites and live internet streaming of the day looked likely to lead to a US internet traffic record yesterday, apparently surpassing even the frenzy surrounding Election Day.  Many Americans sitting in their offices bypassed the television coverage and chose live streaming direct to their desks.

Obama has been such an advocate of social media throughout his campaign that it has been reported that he has 'invented an alternative media model' - from his fireside speeches being streamed to youTube to his personal Facebook, mySpace and Twitter accounts.  As a result, bloggers, Tweeters and Facebookers alike were out in force for the big event, and they captured the new Mr President every step of the way.

Forecasts for 2009 are, unsurprisingly, relatively pessimistic for traditional media and more positive for new media developments. But not all commentators were as determined as Jeff Nolan that "if 2008 was bad for newspapers, 2009 will be devastating," and many saw hope in the possibility of changes in content and format.  

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging is the new book describing how "the two worlds" of new media and traditional media are joining together and "bringing out the best in each other" by Arianna Huffington.

The two realms are mixing, Huffington said in an interview with Reuters, with traditional journalists blogging, and bloggers gaining "credibility and stature" in traditional media.

Mark S. Luckie has graphed an interactive map detailing American newspapers using YouTube and linking to each webpage.

Newspapers with YouTube pages range from Hawaii's Honolulu Advertiser to Illinois' Chicago Tribune to the Washington Post, and include papers in 41 states.

The pages include news videos and other online features for subscribers and vistors.

Blogger Andy Dickinson has uploaded a similar map of newspapers in the United Kingdom.

Source: 10,000 Words via IFRA

The media stands accused of failing to foresee the global financial crisis, of a lack of understanding of the issues, and even of having a hand in the problems we now face. The Editors Weblog has been following the debate, beginning with an interview with the Managing Editor of the Financial Times, Daniel Bogler, who highlighted the problem of the media "fanning the flames" of the crisis. Is the media responsible, or are these accusations merely a knee-jerk reaction?

Danny Schechter is a respected investigative journalist and the author of Plunder, a searing indictment of the modern banking system, the role of government in finance, and the greed-is-good mentality. Schechter's book was published one week before the collapse of Lehman Brothers on the 1st of September, and it examines the very problems that were about to unfold. The Editors Weblog spoke to Schechter about the media's failure, the ethics of advertising, responsible journalism, and the cult of the CEO.

Two key failures

Schechter believes that there were two key areas where the media failed. He says that there was little or no examination into the new breed of exotic financial products that caused many of the problems, such as CDO's, and that the media ignored the warnings from community housing organisations of the predatory lending practises in some of America's poorest communities. "This was a big media failure, we were not warned about it" says Schechter. If Schechter's assertion is correct, why did the media fail to fulfil its role? Newspapers, and the media in general, are supposed to be the fourth estate, a watchdog for citizens. Is it a lack of knowledge on the workings of high finance or has the media lost its way and become part of the problem?

Why did the media fail in its early warning role?

Schechter believes that the media failed in its role because of vested interests. He points out that one of the key sources of revenue for newspapers is real estate advertising in weekend supplements and classifieds, as well as advertisements for credit card and refinancing companies. As a result, he argues there is a connection between the real estate and newspaper industry, their future and success are intertwined. Schechter says, "The newspaper industry is the marketing arm of the real estate industry. In some cities you actually had newspapers getting a piece of the action of sales through the ads that they generated. So they were actually part of the corruption of this whole relationship. So of course there was little real scrutiny about what was actually happening in the neighbourhoods where houses were flipping, where people who couldn't afford to buy houses were buying them with bogus mortgages. Newspapers were making money on the sales of these homes."

Schechter argues that after the dot.com bubble burst back in 2000, all the advertisements from these new emerging businesses stopped, so the $3 billion in lost advertising revenue for the media industry had to be found somewhere. Schechter puts forth that credit card companies and refinancing firms stepped into the gap. He points out that the majority of people do not automatically spend money that they don't have, but it was marketed to them through the media in advertising and life-style supplements. Most of the money that the media makes in advertising is in the last quarter in the run up to Christmas, newspapers run articles on the best presents to buy, and so forth, all of it driving a concept of "buy and shop" which "stimulates consumption." Schechter says, "for me, on the consumer front newspaper's are a marketing instrument and on the investment front it's a confidence building instrument. The media was part of this whole sales machine, and it happened at the same time that newspapers were cutting back on investigative reporting, and ironically expanding business news targeted at the business world; not at the general public, not on the economy and how it affects you and me."

Has financial journalism lost its teeth?

Another criticism levelled at business reporters is that they are too close to Wall Street and the City, and have too much respect for the institutions they are supposed to be examining. John Friedman of MarketWatch was at the press conference announcing the Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch and wrote, "the media were so polite and deferential to the two CEOs; they behaved as if the press conference were a victory lap for the financial services industry." Schechter believes that "business men are seen as heroes" and it's all part of the "cult of masters of the universe"; he cites the endless sycophantic articles about Bill Gates of MicroSoft and Richard Branson of Virgin. He argues that there is a kind of "cultural embedding, as financial journalists cover business, they become part of the scene, they identify with the players, go to the parties, they are increasingly in a world of fewer and fewer people that is cut off from the mainstream of American life." He believes that many financial journalists want to be like these Masters of the Universe that they write about every day.

Schechter also says that there is no real pressure at the top of media organisations to thoroughly investigate these companies. Thee reason being that they would be investigating their advertisers. As a result, there is no impetus behind financial reporting, no push for the truth and the heart of the story, not enough cynicism.

Furthermore, with the advent of multi-platform publishing and shrinking newsrooms, journalists are frequently, "fireman, going from one fire to the next. When you are doing that, there is very little time for reflective analytical reporting."

Where is the counter-narrative?

During an interview recently on the Editors Weblog, the FT's Managing Editor Daniel Bogler said, "It's unfortunate that the financial literacy and understanding of how things work in the City and of basic accounting and so on, is actually very thin in financial journalism." Schechter agrees with Bogler's point saying, "You have people who are not really very well educated covering these issues. Hence they go to a briefing and a company gives them a story, and they don't really have a counter-narrative."

Reviewing his argument, Schechter's assessment of the media is damning indeed; but it is not unilateral. Schechter points out that many newspapers and bloggers are asking the right questions and searching for the truth in this financial crisis. He cites the UK's Telegraph and Guardian newspapers, saying they "have been way ahead. I find the coverage of the British media better, and increasingly much more critical of what is happening."
 
Omission and Commission

Looking back over the rapid collapse of the world's financial markets, and the uncertainty ahead, Schechter says it is, "a financial system failure, a regulatory failure and a media failure. Everyone is willing to talk about the first two, but they are not willing to discuss the last one. We are all in this. It's a media failure of omission and commission."
 

The New York Times (NYT) Moscow bureau has created a Russian-language blog whose title reads "Tell the Americans and the entire world about Russia", reported Marketing Media Review.

The viewpoints featured on the blogs are translated into English and will be published on the newspaper's official site, even if the tone of the content is negative. The issues discussed in the blogs are suggested by NYT journalists and include translated NYT news stories about Russia.

 Russian bloggers had the chance to pose questions to one of Barack Obama's advisor, who answered the inquiries and studied the nearly 500 comments left on the blog.

Source: Marketing Media Review

In his Digital Deliverance blog, Vin Crosbie outlines his arguments, predicting that numerous US newspapers would go out of business in the future because print is dying, with regional papers folding in first, and that the industry will go through a "gray age."

Advertisers aren't the "primary customers" of papers. Readers are the "root of the business", because readers appeal to advertisers who will in turn bring profits to newspapers.

Crosbie mentions that the declining newspaper industry isn't cyclical. The situation might not necessarily get better in the future, The Guardian blogger Roy Greenslade points out.

Britain's newspaper industry may reach the same tumultuous state as in the US, according to Greenslade.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Jody Rosen's recently Slate piece, Dude, You Stole My Article, has sparked renewed the debate in the blogosphere about plagiarism, fair use and the link economy.

Rosen recently chronicled the discovery that one of her articles had been plagiarized (four paragraphs nearly verbatim) in a small alt-weekly, The Bulletin, published outside of Houston, Texas. It turns out Rosen's Jimmy Buffet article was just the beginning - as Rosen dug through the Bulletin's archives, she quickly realized most, if not all of the articles, were mosaics of stolen prose, lifted from Slate, USA Today, The Dallas Observer, Rolling Stone, the Boston Globe, and more.  

Although the Bulletin seems a clear cut case - "the greatest plagiarism scandal in the annals of American journalism" writes Rosen - more often, bloggers and journalists are at odds when "Fair Use" borders on abuse.

Tammi Marcoullier of Publishing 2.0, recently wrote about having quotes lifted from her article without attribution, during her tenure as a Washington Post blogger. Nick Carr has been widely criticized for not including links in a recent Atlantic article, by critics who argue that mentioning an author or source (without a URL) isn't sufficient when a hyperlink is so easy. And it seems the AP controversy over Fair Use, which had the self-righteous of the blogosphere so enraged, has only just subsided.

So how can journalists and bloggers play "fair"?

ePluribus Media recommends the following:

-Summarize the article and attribute it to its original source, including title, date, publication, author and URL

-If you need to quote from an article and you're unsure if your use constitutes as Fair Use, contact the copyright owner and simply ask permission. For example, for the AP:

    E-mail: apdigital@ap.org
    Fax: +1-212-621-5488.

-If you are unable to find contact information for the copywright holder, post a disclaimer, citing "fair use" under Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 with your contact information

-Last, if a copyright holder asks you to remove material, do so in a considerate and timely manner. If you don't? The copyright holder may contact the ISP the offending material is hosted by and the entire site can be disabled.

Sources: Publishing 2.0, Slate, ePluribus Media

The New York Times has launched a new blog, The New Old Age, to discuss a growing crisis for Americans - caring for elderly parents who are living longer than ever before, in a healthcare system that has never before dealt with this level of demand.

"Adults over age 80 are the fastest growing segment of the population, and most will spend years dependent on others for the most basic needs," explains blogger Jane Gross. "That burden falls to their baby boomer children... who are flummoxed by the technicalities of eldercare, turned upside down by the changed architecture of their families, struggling to balance work and caregiving, and depleting their own retirement savings in the process."

Boomers - some 77 million strong - are responding. One of Gross' early posts already has 673 comments.

The New Old Age adds to 59 currently updated NYT blogs.

Source: The New York Times

"Papers facing worst year for ad revenue" screamed the New York Times yesterday, a headline topping an article about a "double-digit drop in advertising revenue" at American newspapers. But apart from the information detailed after the obvious headline, two observations can be taken from the article.

1. The general public is catching on
The headline enticed enough people to click through to the story that it was driven up to #7 on the most read stories list of nytimes.com and #3 on the 10 most blogged stories. Although media bloggers have been enthusiastically documenting the ups and downs of American newspapers for several years, the fact that the article reached both of these lists shows that the general public, or at least the audience of nytimes.com, is more aware and interested in the plight of the industry. Perhaps newspaper readers, recognizing the seemingly dire short-term financial  futures of US papers, are becoming genuinely concerned about their favorite papers, the journalism they produce and the democracies which they keep in check. As the industry struggles through tough economic times, will their readers come to the rescue by buying more subscriptions or even contributing money to help keep the newshole deep?

2. Dailies vs. weeklies
What was also interesting about the NYT article was what preceded it; a full-browser window advertisement for the analytical UK-based weekly, The Economist. Whereas the print circulation of the New York Times has remained relatively stable over the past decade (while the circs of its brothers in many American markets have decreased substantially), the circulation and revenues of the Economist have doubled.

Although the Economist is recognized as one of the smartest newspapers in the world and has undergone an ambitious global marketing scheme over the past few years, some analysts attribute its recent circ and revenue success to changes in the habits of readers. A growing number of newshounds scan the headlines on the Internet or mobile devices constantly throughout the day and thus have little need to purchase the daily paper which is often a rehash of news they already know. But weeklies such as the Economist have more time to reflect upon current events and get to the "What does it mean" aspect of news, something that is very difficult to accomplish on a daily basis. This aspect seems to be a near perfect fit in the busy daily lives of people. Where they once may have taken a couple of hours to read the newspaper front to back, now, news reading habits seem to more like this:
1. scan the headlines and first paragraph almost immediately after something happens
2. skip the details in the rest of the article
3. wait a few days for a comprehensive story that tells readers what incidents mean for the world and themselves.

In this sense, it has been suggested that newspapers scale back the frequency of their print editions to 3 or 4 days a week to adhere to readers' busy lifestyles. Even US weeklies seem to be decreasing their publishing frequency to bi-weekly in order to allow more time for reflection.

Back to the Economist advertisement. It would be curious to see what kind of success rate the Economist receives from advertising in NYT and if they'll receive converts from the NYT print daily to the Economist print weekly. On the other hand, any defectors will more than likely continue reading nytimes.com for their daily headlines. The problem seems to be that brief headline-reading visits to daily websites like nytimes.com aren't encouraging for advertisers, and in turn will not help any revenue losses from downturns in print advertising.  

Figures released on April 28 by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show a 3.6% drop in U.S. newspaper circulation over a six-month period from October 2007 to March 2008, reports Reuters.

Reflecting the readers' move to online news, most of the top 25 American papers experienced circulation reduction, although Gannett Co. and the Wall Street Journal reported gains of less than one percent. 

According to blogger Alan Mutter, the figure represents sales of around 50 million, the lowest level since 1949 when newspapers moved 50.9 million copies. The latest report also shows that Sunday papers, which have thus far been fairly resistant to circulation drops, were more affected than weekday papers, experiencing a decline of 4.5%. 

Why the circulation fall? In addition to online migration, the lower figure is also partially the fault of newspapers, who have tried to cut costs by no longer shipping to far away locations.

Mutter also brings up PR-related issue: "Will the tailspin in circulation and ad sales be accelerated by the growing accumulation of bad press about the press?" It is a legitimate concern given the publication of doom and gloom stories like Advertising Age's latest cover story, "The Newspaper Death Watch."

Sources: Reuters, Reflections of a Newsosaur

As to be expected the blogosphere has exploded with commentary following the New York Times' "death by blogging" article. The article has spawned everything from accusations of sensationalism (blogger Howard Owens) to tips on keeping healthy as a blogger.   

The New York Times suggests that the ceaseless work required to stay afloat led, at least partly, to the recent death of two "prolific" bloggers. This, however, leads to the larger question: does the value of a non-stop internet economy outweigh its risks?  

We can all agree that blogs have become an integral part of how we consume news. The lines between blogs and journalism are blurring, and arguments are being thrown around that blogs may be more influential than the New York Times. There's even calls for a sort of blogger's union.

As illustrated in Nieman fellow Josh Benton's Curve of Journalistic Interestingness, the quick response time of bloggers adds a fresh, interesting dimension to news before a story has a chance to be repackaged into wire copy. Moreover, blogging's viral nature, as well as the chance to engage without a major-up front investment, has enabled the "little guy" in a way never before possible.

Take the recent success of a covert video by an animal rights activist who posed as a slaughterhouse worker for six weeks. The undercover vegan citizen journalist released the video, which went viral within hours on the blogosphere, reports the New York Times.

Consequently the slaughterhouse was closed, the United States Congress held hearings, and the Agriculture Department recalled 65 million kilograms of meat, the largest recall in American history.

It is a powerful example of the virtually instantaneous ability of blogs to spread information, which elicited a change in policy faster than would be possible drumming up support through print alone.

And now to the dark side. Yes, the Times was reaching a bit in tying the death of two bloggers to the strain of their profession. The paper itself acknowledges that "to be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging." But they do hit on a nasty side effect of the ceaselessness that has made bloggers a success; the around-the-clock demands of the internet forces bloggers work extreme hours in order to keep up.

 The same concerns of excessive overtime hours are weighing on newspaper journalists, who are being encouraged to blog on top of producing articles. It also stands to detract from quality journalism; if journalists have to compete in the same "pay-per-click economy" in which bloggers exist, quality inevitably slides. With these two opposing pulls on journalists' time, it is hardly surprising that newspaper blogs are not yet perfectly oiled machines, as detailed in a study by Ball State University.

So does blogging need regulation? Healthwise, perhaps the answer is yes. But that would go against the essence of blogging, which owes its popularity and its relevance to its 24/7 engagement.

Even the stress-level issue is up for grabs. In the words of TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington,"This is not sustainable."

But then there's Larry Dignan, who was interviewed for the New York Times story and not quoted,  according to Romenesko.

"Yes, blogging is stressful. Yes, it can be insane," Dignan said. "But is it any worse than being a corporate lawyer? How many of those folks dropped in the last six months? How about mortgage brokers? Hedge fund traders?"

It will fall to bloggers to first determine the dangers and then draw the new rules of the game.

Sources: Romenesko through Howard Owens, New York Times

China is the latest country to confront the erosion of print in favor of the web.

Internet users in China are traditionally a strong print and broadcast audience as well. However, although net-users currently outnumber non-net users in traditional media use, a November 2007 report from The Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that the situation is likely to change in the next two years, reports Poynter blogger Fons Tuinstra.

According to the report, the number of newspaper readers and TV watchers has dropped about 10% since 2005, while the penetration rate of the internet has jumped to 66.1%.

China's print sector is not yet suffering major losses, but as Tuinstra explains, "the shrinking support of traditional media from Chinese net users is causing traditional media organizations there to lose ground fast."

Source: E-Media Tidbits  

The rise of citizen journalism and pro-am coverage is undeniably affecting overall media coverage, and traditional media can’t do without a share of ‘new media’ anymore. Last Saturday’s debates were jointly hosted by the ABC network and Facebook.

Instead of speaking to traditional White House reporters, American President George Bush held a round-table interview with 10 bloggers who specialize in military issues. As bloggers increase their credentials, these press conferences will also give rise to ethical concerns.

When it comes to new media, the BBC is recognized as one of the most forward thinking traditional media organizations. Over the past few years, its implementation of user-generated content and citizen journalism has been especially respected. Director of Global News, Richard Sambrook, spoke with the Editors Weblog about the Beeb’s initiatives, previewing his upcoming speech at the 14th World Editors Forum being held in Cape Town, South Africa, June 3-6.

Over the past two years, arguably the most rapidly evolving trend on the Internet is social media. The Texas-based Pluck, which describes itself as a social media tools and services provider, has been one of the main companies driving innovations in this field while simultaneously attempting to help newspapers adapt to the digital media universe. Pluck co-founder and CEO Dave Panos chatted with the Editors Weblog to preview his upcoming presentation in Cape Town at the 14th World Editors Forum taking place June 3-6.