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17 Aug 2009 10:20

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Tech: Are you a journalist/hacker? Y Combinator wants you

  • What would a content site look like if you started from how to make money—as print media once did—instead of taking a particular form of journalism as a given and treating how to make money from it as an afterthought?
  • Y Combinator • Making a request for startups related to journalism. The site makes the argument that the reason that newspapers and magazines are unsuccessful in this economy is that their business model “is too far from their current model for them to reach it in time.” The opportunity sounds like just the kind of thing for just-out-of-college types. If they pick you, you get a limited amount of money, with the idea being the the best ideas come from freedom, and less money means more freedom. If you’re fresh out of college and have a couple of smart buddies, why even try for newspapers right now? Go for this. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

07 Aug 2009 17:29

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Biz, Tech: Reuters exec: Please link to us and let us steal AP’s thunder!

  • I believe in the link economy. Please feel free to link to our stories — it adds value to all producers of content. I believe you should play fair and encourage your readers to read-around to what others are producing if you use it and find it interesting.
  • Thomson Reuters President of Media Chris Ahearn • Providing a breath of fresh air in the whole journalism-linking debate, which AP stoked the fires of over the last few weeks and Rupert Murdoch may continue to light up down the road. Ahern’s attitude towards the situation is a total breath of fresh air and makes us optimistic that some wire services totally get this new media thing. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

07 Aug 2009 16:37

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Biz, Tech: Are you an out-of-work journalist? Come a-knockin’ on AOL’s door

  • 1,500 journos hired by AOL in the last year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Aug 2009 11:10

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Biz: Rupert Murdoch is talking about charging for content, too

  • He has slightly more sense about it than AP, though. Murdoch, smarting from huge declines in News Corp. this quarter, wants to start charging for all of his news products within the next year. But rather than simply a blanket “let’s screw everyone” approach (though he’s saying that, too, suggesting “furious litigation”), he wants to do it by differentiating the content of his products from what you can get for free. He should have an easy time with that, as his products tend to break a lot of big stories, especially when it comes to celebrity news. Still, though … don’t just close the doors, man. Figure out ways to let the outside world in. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Aug 2009 11:55

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Biz, Tech: TechCrunch’s thoughts on new journalism make lots of sense

  • The point is that the days of the profitable generalist news-gatherer are dying, but the days of solid reporting and a strong, trusted editorial voice must never be allowed to perish.
  • TechCrunch’s Paul Carr • Regarding the future of journalism. Carr suggests this sort of bold, crazy idea: Shut down the New York Times, lay everyone off, hire 30 editors and have them come up with a site aggregated by people who know quality content, who can take the essence of the Internet and come up with something really good. Or you can read ShortFormBlog, which is kind of doing most of this already with one guy and an intern. (Or if you want to go a little bigger, the Christian Science Monitor basically does this already, and well.) Your choice.  • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jul 2009 23:25

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Biz: From thousands to $30: iStockPhoto and the cover of Time

istockphoto0729
  • A great find from our friend Charles Apple (who wrote a great write-up on the site just as it was launching). This image was on the cover of Time, one of nation’s highest-circulation magazines, yet Robert Lam got paid just $30 for it. If a commissioned photographer took it, they would’ve gotten paid much more. It’s not the first time something like this has happened, but it’s becoming more prevalent due to the fact that some stock photo (and editorial content) sites tend to thin the value of content. Read the blog. It makes great points.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jul 2009 10:12

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Politics: Was journalism icon Walter Cronkite really worthy of our trust?

  • If the nostalgia for Cronkitian news values were genuine, you’d expect PBS’s soporific News Hour would be drawing huge and growing numbers of viewers. … Alas, the NewsHour’s Cronkite-lite approach has failed to attract much of an audience.
  • Slate columnist Jack Shafer • Discussing why the legacy of someone like Walter Cronkite – the trustworthy face of journalism for a generation – was bad for news consumers. Shafer suggests that today’s era of multiple opinions all over the place is a much better market – and that trust, especially of a information source like Cronkite is a bad yardstick to follow. He ends his piece by saying: “Be skeptical, news consumers, especially of the journalists you trust most. It will make you smarter and keep them honest.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Jul 2009 11:31

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Culture: Bob Schieffer on Cronkite: “Nothing got in front of the news”

  • And he had this great sense of news, and Walter delighted in just tearing the whole broadcast apart at about 6:20 and putting in a new lead story, and if it was your lead story, your story … you liked it even more!
  • CBS News correspondent (and Face the Nation host) Bob Schieffer • Describing his former boss’ demeanor and willingness to change the formula for a quality story. Schieffer says Cronkite was unafraid of taking a reporter’s story and running with it: “He would take your call and you’d say, ‘Walter, we need to get this story on the air and here’s why.'” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

18 Jul 2009 11:24

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Culture: There’s a reason Walter Cronkite was so easy to listen to

  • 124 words per minute – the speed at which Cronkite spoke source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2009 23:07

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Biz, Tech: New York Times to workers: Your texting is costing us money. Stop it.

  • Yeah, that sounds extreme. The Times is trying to cut back where it can, according to the New York Observer. And the place they felt most necessary? Cell phone bills. Texting costs money both as an unlimited charge and on a per-text basis, so they’re recommending their employees use other means, such as Twitter and IM, instead. Also on the chopping block? MMS and 411 calls, which cost $1.49 a piece. Next on the list? Pulling “scroll lock” keys off the staff keyboards and melting them into silverware for the newsroom cafeteria. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink
 
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