Yearly Archives: 2007

Kay reviews debate with Ron Livingston (and some other guys)

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ABC NewsKay Henderson was back in the digital Green Room following ABC News’ debate this morning in Des Moines. The “other guys” in the headline were: Actor Ron Livingston; the LA Times’ Mark Barabak; ABC News Political Director David Chalian and ABC News senior political reporter and author of “The Note” Rick Klein.”

Livingston is an Iowa native who gained international stardom with his leading role in the movie “Office Space.”  He was also one of Carrie’s boyfriends in “Sex & the City” plus he did a fine job in “Band of Brothers.”

At no time during the 9 minute video was Kay and Ron in the same frame.

My kind of scavenger hunt

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I’m not a state fair kind of guy. I’m just not. But that just shows you how little imagination and creativity I possess. And why I missed the Hoosier Hunt at this year’s Missouri State Fair.

The Hoosier Hunt is what happens when black humor meets the digital age. You fire up your camera phone and bring back the following images:

  • Mullet
  • Marlboro T-Shirt
  • Woman 2x as big as her man
  • Matching shirts
  • Camel Toe or Melvin
  • Best girl’s ass (not your wife)
  • Best boy’s ass (not your husband)
  • Most tattoos
  • Most in need of having roots done
  • Picture in stranger’s hat
  • In same shot with girl with “D” cups
  • Picture with someone famous
  • In shot with Jeff Gordon fan
  • Woman in bikini top
  • Man/woman in overalls
  • Someone eating a turkey leg
  • Person wearing air-brushed T-Shirt
  • Woman with 80’s hair
  • Woman without a bra
  • Big belt buckle
  • Someone barefoot
  • Wearing two articles of John Deere clothing
  • Ugliest person with Big & Rich T-Shirt
  • Ugliest person with Cowboy Troy T-Shirt
  • Fat woman/man in belly shirt
  • Most facial hair

If you don’t find this amusing, you’re probably in one of the photos above. And, god willing, I will be able to share the winning images with you. I’m told there were three teams competing in this Hoosier Hunt and they’re compiling the winning photos and will share them here.

Transparent journalism

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Sausage
If you’re in the news business, you should read this blog post by Radio Iowa (a Learfield network) News Director O. Kay Henderson. It’s a good example of a reporter allowing her readers/listeners to see how the sausage is made.

The post (and the story to which it refers) is about the network’s coverage of remarks made by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at the Iowa State Fair on Wednesday. Kay appropriately headlines her post "Splitting hairs with the Biden camp." (Read the post)

In the old (pre-blog) days, if the subject of a news story thought it inaccurate or unfair, the reporter could respond, "I stand by my story" and that would be the end of it.

In this instance, Kay has used her blog to add context to the story and I think everyone is better off for it. Here’s what we reported. Here’s what people thought about our report. And here’s some background we didn’t include in the story.

This is why I think every news organization should be blogging. We rely on journalists to cover important news. It’s important that we trust them to do it fairly and accurately. Letting us see how they do the job makes it easier.

Buying blog love

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A co-worker dropped off a copy of a statement he received for some batteries he recently purchased (from Tenergy Corporation/All-Battery.com). At the bottom of the statement:

We pay $30 for your professional reviews and opinions.

Please review the products listed on all-battery.com

  • The review must be more than 400 words and shall be objective and must be posted on any well known forum or website
  • Constructive comments are always welcome
  • Must copy your review to "Product Reviews" section at http://forums.all-battery.com
  • Upon approving your review, we will send a $30 Gift certificat to you thru Email or PM

I’ve been reading about this kind of paid review but this is the first pitch I’ve seen. This raises so many interesting (to me) question:

  • Will they "approve" my review if I say something negative about their product or company?
  • What do they mean by "constructive comments?"
  • Will I get my gift certificate if I write nice things but disclose to my readers that I’m getting paid?
  • How many of their customers have blogs and websites? How many post to forums?

This just doesn’t smell right to me. If I discovered that a blogger was getting paid for reviews, I’d have trouble trusting anything else he/she wrote. If the company’s motives are pure, why not clearly state that the offer applies to any well-intentioned, objective review. And if someone has something critical to say, wouldn’t that be worth a $30 certificate?

There’s a way to do this, of course. If someone in the Casio (digital camera) marketing department noticed that I use/like/blog about their cameras, they could send me a new model and ask me to try it out and blog my impressions. Good or bad. They won’t have to give me the camera, because if it’s good, I’ll probably buy it. AND write nice things about the product.

Surrendering the rule of law

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“A nation consists of its laws. A nation does not consist of its situation at a given time. If an individual’s morals are situational, that individual is without morals. If a nation’s laws are situational, that nation has no laws, and soon isn’t a nation.”

“Are you really so scared of terrorists that you’ll dismantle the structures that made America what it is? If you are, you let the terrorists win. Because that is exactly, specifically, his goal: to frighten you into surrendering the rule of law. That’s why they call him ‘terrorist.’ He uses terrifying threats to induce you to degrade your own society.”

— Spook Country, William Gibson (pg. 136-137)

Nokia Tracfone

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Nokia100
I like paper plates (the good ones, not the cheap ones) and have the decency to feel guilty about using them. I’ve worn a plastic Casio wrist watch for years (less than $20). And tonight bought a year’s worth of minutes for my little Nokia Tracfone.

I paid $19.95 for the unit at Wal-Mart and have been buying additional minutes for the last 18 months. The Tracfone was made for people like me (and Avon Barksdale). No synching with Outlook. No texting. No camera. No nothing.

Yes, I do keep the Casio Exilim and the MacBook by my side, but the Tracfone and the camera fit nicely in the MacBook case. Weight is not an issue, given my limited travel.

I’ll bet I saw 50 iPhones at Gnomedex and everyone else had state-of-the-art hardware. When I pulled out the Tracfone at lunch, the guy across the table asked, "What’s that?"

"North Korean. I’m not supposed to have this out in public. Sorry." …as I jammed it back in my pocket.

So I’ve got all the minutes I need for the next year, for about $11 a month. What is that, 35 cents a day?

Mark Ramsey: “You’re not in the ‘radio’ business anymore

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Reply

Mr. Ramsey says the advertising industry is about to redefine radio’s “category.” According to a report by MediaVest, radio is now “audio”:

“In a new report being circulated to clients, MediaVest has adopted the position that terrestrial broadcast radio should no longer be looked at as a discrete medium in communications plans, but as part of a greater array of audio media–including satellite, online, mobile and a variety of personal media device technologies, such as iPods, other MP3 players, and even television, which increasingly is being used as an audio-only medium.”

“…radio should no longer be looked at as a discrete medium, but as part of a greater array of audio media.”

Ouch.

I agree with Mr. Ramsey that a) this has been coming for a bit and b) it is an important shift that too many “broadcasters” still don’t get. I encourage you to read the full post.

Internet radio to outstrip HD radio

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“Internet radio will generate ad revenues of $19.7 billion in 2020, equal to those of terrestrial radio in 2006, according to a Bridge Ratings press release issued in August 2007. Bridge Ratings made the projections as part of a study comparing Internet radio adoption with HD radio. Bridge Ratings surveyed consumers ages 12 and older in June and July 2007.”

“These aggressive forecasts for Internet radio could be threatened by the ongoing dispute between record companies and Internet broadcasters over performance royalties to labels and artists for music streamed over the Web.”

“Bridge Ratings estimates that Internet radio will have 180 million listeners by 2020. Terrestrial radio will have 250 million listeners. But HD will have less than 10 million.” [eMarketer via RAIN]