Author Archives: Steve Mays

“There is no news industry”

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“If the public can speak directly to one another in large groups and with high visibility, then the self-definition of a journalist as a privileged translator takes a big hit. If you think of yourself as a member of the only class allowed to find and explain information, you find yourself in a very uncomfortable position.“

“The easiest way to get people in institutions to do interesting new things is for that institution to go bankrupt and for those people to change jobs.”

“Anything in the news business that can be commodified will be commodified. The people who cling to the idea that humans are required to rewrite wire service copy are spending money that no longer needs to be spent.”

From an interview with Clay Shirky by The Europlean Magazine

Hanging out with Dave. And Dave.

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This is the first Google Hangout I’ve actually enjoyed. Previous efforts were about learning the tools (I still need to work on that). This was a chance to shoot the shit with a couple of guys I find interesting and funny. I picked the radio topic just to get us started.

Had no idea it would run 45 minutes but that’s okay because we don’t expect anyone to actually watch this. David Brazeal left a perfectly good job to follow his passion. Dave Morris has been self-employed for years.

The Missouri State Penitentiary

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“The Missouri State Penitentiary, also known as “The Walls”, was a prison in Jefferson City, Missouri that operated from 1836-2004. Prior to closing, it was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River. It served as the State of Missouri’s primary maximum security institution. The current Jefferson City Correctional Center was opened on September 15, 2004, replacing the Missouri State Penitentiary.” — Wikipedia

My first tour of the old prison was prior to 2004 so the inmates were still there. A very different place than the empty cells and halls we toured in 2008 (photos).

Mark Schreiber — our guide in ’08 — was once a corrections office and, at one time, Associate Superintendent at the penitentiary. He’s also and avid historian and the co-author of Somewhere In Time: 170 Years of Missouri Corrections (out of print I’m afraid).

I regret I didn’t record the full tour because it was fascinating. As you will see from the excerpts above.

“Zero TV” households

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tv-staticThat’s what Nielson calls folks who “fall outside the traditional definition of a TV home. There are 5 million of these residences in the U.S., up from 2 million in 2007. […] The number of people signing up for traditional TV service has slowed to a standstill in the U.S.”

And then there are the “cord-nevers.” Young people who move out on their own and never set up a landline phone connection or a TV subscription.