We Don’t Need No Stinking MSM

We Don’t Need No Stinking MSM

HouseSit-InThe forces of democracy have managed to harness social media’s new live video tools to televise their own 70’s style sit-in for gun control legislation in the House.

In the late 1960’s and early ’70s, the Videofreex, TVTV, Global Village and other local groups with portapacks tried to present “the peoples TV”. Unfortunately they were stymied by underwhelming Public Access channels and no good way of presenting their work live. As someone who accompanied “Ray Notredos” to many protest rallies in New York and Washington so they could be presented on his New York City Public Access show Relevance, the dreams of all us long-haired media freaks have now come true.

And CSPAN is carrying the feed live…

Cronkite Replaced by Zuckerberg ?

Cronkite Replaced by Zuckerberg ?

Walter CronkiteJust a mere 10 years ago Yahoo was the number one source of news on the net. (Even though at the time it gathered no news of its own.) Today (as you probably are aware) Facebook is the nets’ undisputed leader.

Just two generations ago CBS News Anchor and Managing Editor Walter Cronkite (pic) was known as “the most trusted man in America.” And as Cronkite said himself: “Certainly no words go out that I haven’t seen, and most of which I’ve written.”

I bring all this up because of this week’s controversy about Facebook’s news feed (and whether or not some conservative views were “blacklisted” from the “TRENDING” news module.) So why are editors important and why can’t we just have an algorithm do the choosing? As CNNMoney’s Brian Stelter reports: “Editors weed out spam, scams, hoaxes, and duplicative stories. But this week’s controversy reinforces the uncomfortable feeling that Facebook is a “black box.” But those of us who grew up thinking that journalists had a commitment to fairness and balance only have to look back to the days of Hearst and Pulitzer and their fight for click-thoroughs er, circulation.

So surfer beware as you waste your time on Facebook – don’t unquestionably believe any news you see there. Perhaps your time would be better served by streaming “The Social Network.”

(“A black box is a device, object, or system whose inner workings are unknown…” – Wikipedia)

Line Between News and Entertainment

Line Between News and Entertainment

George StephanopoulosFirst Brian Williams and now George Stephanopoulos. Credibility, or in this case, incredibility, is the Dutch elm disease of network anchors — once it spreads, it’s ferociously damaging and hard to stop“, says The New York Times‘ Alessandra Stanley.

One former ABC News anchor went as far as to suggest that George be suspended…

(New York Times photo by Karsten Moran)

Newswatch

Newswatch

ABC Edit RoomIf news has become “popular,” then it ought to stay that way… No one’s journalism “stripes” will diminish by writing a less convoluted script; by combining pictures well with narration; by using new electronic technology to explain complex issues and to reinforce spoken words. When all that happens, television news — broadcast journalism — is at it’s very best. – Av Westin in “Newswatch

I recently rediscovered Av’s book on a shelf in my den. I know Av was not suggesting dumbing-down the the news; he just wished to make the complicated issues of the day (late 1970’s – early 1980’s) a bit easier to understand (in one minute and twenty seconds.)

Miley Cyrus and Day Care?

Miley Cyrus and Day Care?

I know that we all have to do more with less people and that we sometimes need to resort to algorithms to publish “related content” on our websites. But what algorithm relates day care and playgrounds to twerking and high school dances? (Click on picture for a full-size version of the Newsday iPad article. Note the “More on Newsday” content.)

And no, I did not make this up…

Who Needs Satellites? We’ve Got YouTube!

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Categories: State of the News

Who Needs Satellites? We’ve Got YouTube!

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Went to my NY Times app on my iPad when I got home from work today to get the latest on the deposing of Egypt’s elected president – and there it was, in the upper right had corner of the page: Live Via YouTube.

 

 

Who Needs Fact Checkers?

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Categories: State of the News

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Who Needs Fact Checkers?

New Day on CNNCertainly not Ad Age: “All the cable news numbers pale is comparison, moreover, to the roughly 5 million viewers who tune in for ABC’s “Today” and NBC’s “Good Morning America.” Doesn’t Jeanine Poggi watch any of the stuff she writes about?

I know, Fact Checkers have been a dying breed ever since the late 1980’s. But you can look up “Today” in Wikipedia and you’ll find out it’s on that dinosaur NBC. (And shouldn’t it be “pale in comparison”? Isn’t spell check great?)

Parkervision Lives at ABC News

Parkervision Lives at ABC News

It looks like this morning’s America This Morning was the first “broadcast” network news show to be aired using an “automated control room”, in this case a Ross OverDrive system. More details as they become available.

UPDATE: World News Tonight officially began using the ACR on Wednesday, July 20th. Former ABC News Senior Broadcast Producer Stu Schwartz said “From my experience, the humans are usually better than the machines…but we’ll see. Too bad technology has trumped the human factor.”

I can’t wait to see what happens 15 years down the road. Will there be anyone left that could direct, switch or mix a major live breaking news special report? Maybe ABC will have to hire Joel Almeida !

Online Blows Past Papers in Ad $$

Online Blows Past Papers in Ad $$

According to the the eighth annual State of the News Media report, more money was spent on online advertising than on newspaper advertising in 2010. This correlates with the fact [from the same report] that more people (46%) now get their news online at least three times a week, versus newspapers (40 percent) for the first time. “Only local TV news is a more popular platform in America now (50%),” says the Pew Study.

Another key finding in this year’s report was that “nearly half of all Americans (47%) now get some form of local news on a mobile device.”

Japan Quake – NHK World Feed

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Categories: State of the News

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Japan Quake – NHK World Feed

If you’re a news junkie like me, you’re not watching a US broadcast or cable net, you’re watching the NHK World TV feed; either on the net [in English] or on cable/satellite [in Japanese].

  • Cablevision Channel 265*
  • Fios Metro DC Chan 456
  • Comcast Metro DC Chan 272
  • Cox Virginia Chan 471
  • RCN Metro DC Chan 35
  • Comcast Minneapolis Chan 78

* On Cablevision, there is often English on the SAP (Secondary Audio Program) channel. On your cable remote hit the Settings button, scroll up to “Choose SAP Language” item, use the right selection arrow to change “Japanese” to “Spanish” and hit “SEL”.

UPDATE: The Washington Post comments on NHK’s coverage.