“Web search leader Google Inc. is hiring scores of radio sales people and is spending heavily in a bid to expand its position in the $20 billion radio industry. Google spokesman Michael Mayzel said this week that the company will begin a public test of Google Audio Ads by the end of the year. Advertisers will be able to go online and sign up for targeted radio ads using the same AdWords system they use to buy Web search ads.” — Reuters
Thirty years of election coverage
The first election covered by The Missourinet (a network owned by the company I work for) was in 1976. News Director Bob Priddy orchestrated that first election night and every one since. Prior to The Missourinet, radio stations throughout the state focused on local races and relied on the wire services for news and numbers from throughout the state.
The Missourinet brought the sounds of election night from the state capitol and campaign headquarters throughout Missouri to the hometown audiences of our affiliates.
The technology has changed… and is changing… but insight and understanding Missourinet reporters bring to their election night coverage remains the focus of their reporting. Bob reflects on the past 30 years in this 10 minute video.
RSS: ‘Ready for Some Stories’
Kevin O’Keefe (LexBlog) points to a really good explanation of RSS:
“RSS is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place. How cool is that?
Suppose you have 50 sites and blogs that you like to visit regularly. Going to visit each website and blog everyday could take you hours. With RSS, you can ‘subscribe’ to a website or blog, and get ‘fed’ all the new headlines from all of these 50 sites and blogs in one list, and see what’s going on in minutes instead of hours. What a time saver!
That one place where your RSS list is created is called an RSS Reader, and it gathers all the headlines from all the websites and blogs you have subscribed to.”
I’m told IE7 does a nice job with RSS but I suspect I’ll stick with Google Reader.
Decision time
Radio Iowa News Director O. Kay Henderson has some excellent advice for those who haven’t seen a debate, haven’t met one of the candidates, and haven’t a clue about how you’re going to vote:
“Go to an “opinion leader” in your life, in your neighborhood, in your community. This could be a person you see tomorrow in church. It could be the person you’re sitting beside at the high school play-off football game on Monday night. It could be a co-worker, or a life-long friend or the owner of the hardware store. Pick somebody whose opinion you respect (and who you suspect has been following the race) and ask them how they’re going to vote and why.
I confess I am one of the clueless to whom Kay refers. I might presume to modify her advice just a tad. Instead of “opinion leader,” I might seek out the smartest, best-informed, good person I can find, and ask him or her.
Take a moment to read Kay’s post. It’s a nice story.
Will November 8 be a GOP “sick day?”
Reply
Looks like there are only a few likely outcomes to Tuesday’s mid-term elections. A) The Republicans hang on keep a slim majority in one or both of the houses. B) The Democrats take a narrow lead in one or both. Or, C) The Democrats win big in both. Scary (if you’re a Republican) big.
I won’t hazard a guess. What intrigues me is how the hard-core conservatives will respond to any or all of the possible outcomes. What’s your line on Wednesday morning when you come into the office?
I assume there is some super-secret email list that will provide… what should we call them… talking points? Perhaps a website like this one, or this one, or they could borrow this list of excuses for John Kerry losing.
After the last couple of elections we heard, “The people have spoken!” If a whole bunch of those same people tell us something different this time, how do we respond?
I was going to offer some possible morning-after responses but I think I’ll wait and take notes during the days following the election. I’ll post some or all here.
Gannett “Information Centers”
The Des Moines Register is not a newspaper anymore, it’s an “information center.” Excerpts from a Gannett memo:
“What is it? The Information Center is a way to gather and disseminate news and information across all platforms, 24/7. The Information Center will let us gather the very local news and information that customers want, then distribute it when, where and how our customers seek it.
“The Information Center, frankly, is the newsroom of the future. It will fulfill today’s needs for a more flexible, broader-based approach to the information gathering process. And it will be platform agnostic: News and information will be delivered to the right media — be it newspapers, online, mobile, video or ones not yet invented — at the right time. Our customers will decide which they prefer.”
This caught my attention because one of our networks (Radio Iowa) is headquartered in Des Moines and I’ve had some dealings (nothing recent) over the years with the paper. The Register is a big deal in Iowa.
If I learn anything about how this new concept is playing in the newsroom… er, the “information center,” I’ll let you know.
Anyone have thoughts on what the radio “newsroom of the future” should look like? [E-Media Tidbits]
Why the asterisk is “The Most Obscene Letter”
“Naked naughty words can destroy your brain and also society as a whole. However – and one would think this is obvious – It’s completely safe to THINK naughty words. And it’s safe to cause other people to think naughty words. But if you spell those naughty words without the asterisk loin cloth to protect your victims, you’re a danger to society. I know this to be true because I heard it from lots of people who have sh*t-for-brains.”
— Scott Adams explains why the asterisk is “The Most Obscene Letter”
When I write “WTF”… the little voice in your head says “What the fuck?” If I type “*ss hole,” you hear “ass hole.” But they’re just words. They can’t really hurt you. If you don’t believe me, read Adam’s post.
Mike Neely: 1948-2006
Mike Neely died last week. I’m not sure about the date or just how he died. I’m told his health had not been good in recent years. I spoke with his mother, Myra, tonight and she said Mike and his family had visited in September. His death was “not real” to her yet.
Mike lived next door and we were best buds all through grade school. His family moved to California about the time we were starting high school. I think he did a couple of years of junior college before enlisting in the air force and serving in Thailand. After his discharge he moved back to Kennett and attended college at Arkansas State where he got an accounting degree. He went to work for some big accounting firm (Frost?) and they sent him to St. Thomas, VI. He and Jeanine have been there ever since.
Many of my best childhood memories include Mike. He was something of a golden boy. Great at all sports. Popular. He was a good kid. (He’s on the left in the photo above)
Mike and I could always make each other laugh. I’m talking about hysterical, gasping, tears-streaming-down-your-cheeks, can’t-get-your-breath laughter that literally leaves you rolling on the floor.
We didn’t keep in touch in recent years, as is often the case with childhood friends. I regret that. I might never laugh that hard again.
Mike and his wife, Jeanine, have two sons, Luke and Jake.
Do you have your cover story ready?
“The Rev. Ted Haggard, who has resigned as one of the nation’s top evangelical leaders, admitted Friday he had contacted a male prostitute for a massage and bought methamphetamine.
“I was buying it for me, but I never used it,” said Haggard, 50, sitting in the driver’s seat of a car with his wife, Gayle, at his side during an impromptu interview with CNN Denver affiliate KUSA-TV.
“I never kept it very long because it was wrong. I was tempted. I bought it. But I never used it.” Haggard also acknowledged contacting Mike Jones but has denied Jones’ accusation that the two men regularly had sex over three years.” — CNN
I bought the meth but didn’t use it. I knew the gay prostitute but we never had sex. He just gave me a massage.
As all naughty children know, before you do something you shouldn’t, get your “what-if-I-get-caught” story ready. You might want to try in on a friend to see how it flies.
Britons: Bush threat to world peace
“British voters see US President Bush as a greater threat to world peace than either the North Korean leader or the Iranian president, according to a poll.” (Guardian)