Yearly Archives: 2005
And that’s the way it is
Reply
Yahoo Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig on traditional media: “We don’t know who your editors are. All our lives we read stuff written by people we don’t know that’s edited by people we don’t know, who might have an agenda.” [News.com article by Charles Cooper]
Why do we readers need to know anything about the people that write and edit the news? Can’t we just take it as a matter of faith (there’s that religion theme again) that they are professional journalists and we can trust what they say and write?
I am not a journalist, and whatever it is I am doing here, it is not journalism. But if you’ve been reading smays.com for a while, you know that. In fact, you know a hell of a lot about me. If I’ve held anything back, it’s been unconscious. Does that make anything I write any more believable? I can’t answer for you but from my perspective the answer is clearly yes. I’ve been reading Dave Winer’s Scripting News for four or five years and the guy has some strong opinions. Anyone who reads that blog knows exactly what they are. It makes it easier for me to evaluate what he writes and reports.
But some would insist I trust and believe what Jason Blair was reporting in the New York Times just because it was the NYT. Oops.
Newsroom transubstantiation
Some interesting posts on the Mothboard about the state of radio. Dale Forbis concluded his with a finger-wag at bloggers:
“Somebody truly needs to tell bloggers, the minute you express an opinion, you are no longer committing journalism. Journalism’s not better, or more valuable — but it also doesn’t include opinion expressed by the journalist. Or, it’s not supposed to. Not good, responsible journalism.”
Most bloggers I know and read don’t think of what they do as journalism. And I’m sure Dale’s scolding tone is unintentional. But I’ve been in many of the same newsrooms he has and I’ve heard reporters take strong, heated stands on controversial issues. Conservatives vs. Liberals. Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice. Gun control. All the biggies. And then sit down and write a story on the same issue they were debating only moments before.
Are we to believe some sort of Miraculous Purge takes place and the reporters’ mind and heart are cleansed and the story he or she writes is untainted by the views expressed only moments before? A newsroom transubstantiation?
I don’t doubt that many reporters believe in this miracle, but it’s a faith not shared by their listeners/viewers/readers. Could it be that blogs are growing in popularity precisely because there is no pretense of objectivity? If we have an opinion, we flop it out there on the table.
I, for one, have no desire to commit journalism. And I hope there’s always someone around willing to do it. And if they can keep their political views and opinions out of their reporting, I’ll light a candle.
Update: When you’re wrong, you’re wrong. Dale took me to task on this post and upon reflection I confess to having too much tar on my brush and smearing it indiscriminately. I know and work with a lot of good reporters who work hard at –and, as far as I know, succeed in– keeping their personal views out of their reporting. To suggest otherwise was wrong.
Who will own the podcasting rights?
From an article by Dan Migala in the Sports Business Journal (subscription required):
“The NHL’s Blackhawks have launched Hawk-Cast, which is the first podcast created by an NHL team. A new edition of Hawk- Cast, which is a 10- or 15-minute show, is available two to three times a week. The show is hosted and produced by Blackhawks Web producer Adam Kempenaar using only a computer with audio recording capability and Internet access. The HawkCast features updates from practices and interviews with players, coaches and team management. Postgame news conferences and player interviews are also available as podcasts at www.chicagoblackhawks.com.”
As an employee of a company that pays millions of dollars every year for the media rights to some of the top college teams in the country, this next little item caught my attention:
“Another plus for the Blackhawks is that, because the content is original and produced in-house, there are no conflicts with radio rights holders. The team is free to sell advertising and sponsorships for each podcast or program segment. Kempenaar said the club has not sold advertising yet, but plans to do so.”
I remember the first time we saw a reference to streaming rights in a college bid spec. You can bet we’ll be seeing references to podcasting rights in future rights deals.
Robert Tanenbaum’s ghost writer
I’ve walked out on more than a few movies but I almost never fail to finish a novel. I try to get through even the dullest of books. But I just can’t finish Robert Tanenbaum’s latest Butch Karp novel, Fury. I loved this series and was puzzled and disappointed as I slogged through the first hundred pages of the latest in the series. I couldn’t believe the words were written by Robert Tanenbaum. Then I came across a mini-review (of a previous Karp novel that I somehow missed) on Amazon:
“Unlike the previous books in Tanenbaum’s oeuvre, this one lacks the skill and verve of Michael Gruber (Tropic of Night), the uncredited writer largely responsible for making the series come alive on the page. Whoever took over needs to learn the difference between telling and showing before he or she tackles the next in Tanenbaum’s series.”
Pardon me? What the fuck is an “uncredited writer?” Just how much of Tanenbaum’s novels were written by Mr. Gruber? This probably happens in the publishing world all the time and I’m too far out the sticks to know about it, but it sucks. I’ve read my last Butch Karp novel and will let you know how I enjoy Mr. Gruber’s work.
In the meantime, I’m cleansing myself with John D. MacDonald’s Nightmare In Pink.
James Keown’s blog roll
I arrived home this evening to find a message on our answering machine from a reporter for the Boston Herald. He said he was doing a story on James Keown who was arrested this morning (here in Jefferson City) for allegedly poisoning his wife with antifreeze in 2004. The reporter called me because smays.com was on James’ blog roll.
I met James eight or nine years ago when he was the assistant program director at KMBZ in Kansas City. I was still doing affiliate relations back then. James seemed like a bright, personable young man. I knew that he was back in Jefferson City but had had no contact with him in recent years. I was linked on his blog because he knew bloggers who knew me.
Once the story broke, it didn’t take reporters long to Google James and discover his blog. Others found it too and quickly began posting (anonymously) comments and some of were…harsh. The comments have been turned off but the blog is still up. The BostonHerald.com story included a link.
Most of today’s 600+ page views at smays.com have come from James’ blog. I suspect it will be a while before we see any new posts. If the charge against Mr. Keown is dismissed or he is tried and acquitted, will he blog his experiences?
Once again I am reminded of how connected we have become.
Ford squeezes office into truck
Ford Motor unveiled a mobile office designed for the new F-Series truck that includes a touch-screen computer, printer, wireless broadband access and Global Positioning System. Ford, which introduced its mobile office at last week’s Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas, is targeting general contractors but the first thing I thought of was farmers and ranchers. [C|net]
When we first started repurposing content from our farm network for the web, everyone said, “Farmers don’t have access to the Internet.” When we started streaming our audio reports, they pointed out, “Farmers are on very slow dial-ups and can’t access rich media.”
I’m no visionary. I just pull my head out of my ass a couple of times a day and take a look around. If your pick-up is your office, this is gonna make sense to a lot of farmers.
George Carlin: Why American education sucks
George Carlin’s latest comedy special on HBO (Life Is Worth Losing) had some really strong moments and others where I thought he was reaching. The open was Carlin at his best. A pissed-off poet for the 21st century. The all-suicide cable channel didn’t work for me, but he was at his rage-fueled best explaining why our education system will never get any better (3 min video). Recorded live at the Beacon Theater in New York City, this is why you want to have HBO.
Quoted by Jeff Jarvis
Back in March I posted –somewhat giddily– about being added to Halley Suitt’s blog roll (I’m still there). Ms. Suitt was kind enough to say she stopped by smays.com from time to time. I suspect she was being kind, but still a thrill.
While he’s far less sexy than Ms. Suitt, Jeff Jarvis orbits in that same blogosphere firmament. His BuzzMachine is #49 on Technorati’s Top 100 Blogs (if you go in for such rankings, and Mr. Jarvis is not the sort to do so).
Today, while reading his latest post, I came across a quote that sounded strangely familiar. Mr. Jarvis attributed the quote to “A media exec even older than I…”
Good news: Jeff Jarvis read something I wrote and thought it worth pointing to (or someone sent him a link). Bad news: I’m older than Jeff Jarvis.
As I emailed Jeff (He’s just a kid, I can call him Jeff), this is like being in the audience at a Bruce Springsteen concert and hearing the Boss shout out, “Steve Mays is somewhere in the house tonight!”