It’s in wiki format, and I’m asking your help in writing it.
Read about it in more detail over there, but briefly it’s in response to Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt’s public fretting about the state of newspapers and investigative journalism, and his suggestion that Google has a “moral imperative” to help figure out a new advertising model that will support important watchdog and investigative journalism.
If Google is willing to help, then the newspaper industry should take Schmidt up on that.
Here’s a video from AdAge.com of Schmidt sounding the alarm bell:
There’s been plenty of fretting in journalism circles this week about comment threads on news stories. My position: Don’t publish without them, but figure out ways to keep the conversation civil and ban the trolls.
The website of my local newspaper, the Boulder Daily Camera, has pretty active comment threads, and, predictably, the more bizarre the story, the longer the list of commenters. A story today generated a ton of comments: about a woman athlete cycling with her young son in a child seat who had another cyclist come up to her and grab one of her breasts. She chased the guy down while calling 911 on her cell phone, and police caught the weirdo. Yeah, you know that one is going to generate a lot of discussion.
Skimming through the dozens of comments, I was intrigued to see that the victim joined in the discussion, thanking other commenters for their support. (Many called her brave; a few said she was foolish to put her son at risk by giving chase.) Her participation in the after-publication public commenting added nicely to the story. Sure, some of the other comments were dumb, as always. But this was an example of user comments adding value to the coverage.
Dan Pacheco and the Bakersfield Californian have an intriguing project (funded by the Knight Foundation) called Printcasting. It’s a niche publication initiative that works in both print and online, and addresses “long tail” content and advertising. (OK, that description sounds a bit dull, but it’s a cool concept.)
For my ReinventingClassifieds.com site, I’ve written up a little piece about the implications for classifieds that Printcasting represents. If you’re a media geek like me, you may find it interesting:
Interesting story on NPR’s All Things Considered this evening: “Libraries Shine In Tough Economic Times.” It’s about how in these economic tough times — with families and individuals struggling with high energy prices and resulting high everything-else prices — people are cutting back on non-essentials like buying books and subscribing to newspapers and magazines. They’re going to the library instead to read the paper and check out books, instead of buying.
Yes, it’s the perfect storm for the newspaper industry. They’d be hurting from the structural change going on in media consumption even with a good economy. Add the sucky economy and this likely puts some newspapers at the brink.
My wife, by the way, is back in school to become a (school) librarian. At least I know she’s going into a field that’s in demand!
My daughter Lauren (age 10) took a web cartooning class this week, and this is her final project. So here’s a little levity to add to this usually serious blog.
With all the journalists getting laid off in the newspaper industry bloodletting, have you noticed them looking younger?
I ask because I had my hair cut this morning, and I had a conversation with my stylist about gray hair. He’s in his 30s, but DYES his hair gray because he likes how it looks. (Huh?! Most of us with real gray hair would prefer to go the other direction.) Anyway, he told me that with the bad economy and lots of people getting laid off, his shop is seeing a big wave of guys in their 40s and 50s come in to get their hair dyed darker. It’s because they think looking younger will help them find new jobs, of course.
Have you noticed this among your journalist friends who’ve been laid off recently? Have you done it yourself?
Me? I’m sticking with what nature and time have done with my hair. Can’t say I like the gray, but I can live with it.
One of Jon Stewart’s staples of humor on The Daily Show is showing how politicians contradict themselves by airing side-by-side video clips — what the politician just said today, vs. what he/she said a few months ago that completely contradicts the current stance. I’ve admired this technique, and long wondered why traditional news organizations shied away from this. (In the Youtube era, bloggers and others do this stuff often, so I have a hard time fathoming the logic of holding back.)
So I was pleased to see a NYTimes.com video report that used Stewart’s technique so effectively: “The McCain/Romney Rapprochement.” The reporter showed clips of GOP candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney criticizing each other’s issue positions during the GOP primary campaign, and today sending conflicting messages as McCain considers Romney for his VP pick.
Perhaps The Daily Show (and The Colbert Report) are beginning to have an impact on traditional media.
