This is one of those conditions we just didn’t hear about when I was young. Oh, sure, people snored but it was more humor than affliction (assuming you didn’t have to listen to it). Somewhere along the way it moved over to the “real medical problem” column and an entire industry blossomed. Recorded May 27, 2006.
Ad agencies dropping “radio” for “audio”
Something called the Streaming Media East conference was held earlier this week in New York. One of the discussion panels was “The Changing Face of Internet Radio” and –according to a couple of the panelists– some of the major national ad agencies are dropping the term “radio” in favor of a more accurate lable: “audio.” One panelist went so far as to point out that “audio” is a cooler word than “radio.” (Gulp)
Two of our networks (Radio Iowa and Wisconsin Radio Network) have the word “radio” in their names. Hmm. “Audio Iowa?” That’s a lot of vowels. “Wisconsin Audio Network.” I don’t know.
You can watch the panel discussion here. [via RAIN]
Intentional, but not deliberate
The Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday (5/25/06) in the case of State of Missouri vs. Johnny A. Johnson (SC86689). Johnson is appealing a first-degre murder conviction and death sentence. From the court’s docket summary:
After Johnny Johnson stayed with friends one night in July 2002 at their home in Valley Park, the friends’ six-year-old daughter disappeared. A witness saw Johnson walking that morning, carrying a little girl on his back. Although Johnson initially told the girl’s mother that he did not know where the child was, he later surrendered himself to police and agreed to go to the police station. Later in the day, Johnson told police he had killed the girl by accident, that her body was in an old glass factory, and where she could be found. After police recovered the girl’s body, they told Johnson it did not look like an accident. He then told them that he had exposed himself to her, and when she refused his advances, he hit her in the head with a brick and threw a boulder onto her, killing her. He told police he then covered her body with rocks and debris. The state charged Johnson with one count each of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, kidnapping and attempted forcible rape. While he was in jail awaiting trial, doctors treated Johnson for anxiety, depression and symptoms of psychosis. Following trial, the jury found Johnson guilty of each count and recommended the death penalty. The court sentenced him to consecutive sentences of death for the murder conviction and life in prison for the remaining convictions. Johnson appeals.
We (Missourinet.com) stream the arguments live (to subscribers) so I wind up listening to a lot of these arguments. Arguments before the state supreme court are nothing like the arguments we see in the movies and on TV. Pretty dry stuff. But this question (AUDIO) (of Johnson’s attorney) by one of the judges caught my attention (Warning: His description of the murder is graphic).
In the interest of fairness, you can download and listen to the full argument (runs almost an hour) but it sounds like Johnson’s attorney is trying to explain how the murder could be “intentional” but not “deliberate.”
Ten Tips for New Bloggers
There is no shortage of tips, guidelines and suggestions for how to blog and I am under no illusion that I can add anything fresh or original… but I am advising clients and co-workers on this subject so I thought I should take a stab at coming up with a few tips for new bloggers. Certainly not comprehensive, just the ones that popped into my head 15 minutes ago.
1. Headlines: Descriptive vs. clever – When I try to write a clever headline it just comes across as cryptic. A reader is much more likely to read your post if they have some idea what it’s about. Don’t delude yourself that they’ll be so intrigued by our clever headline that they’ll read what you’ve written. An example from smays.com: “More news after this.” vs. “30 years of broadcasting.”
2. Do not delete posts – There will come a time when you post something to your blog and later wish you hadn’t. It’s tempting to just delete the post. Don’t. The fact is you did write it and you did post it. Deleting it doesn’t change that and it’s almost surely cached somewhere. Pulling it is dishonest or unethical. A better approach is to do a follow-up post and say that you were wrong…or hasty…or misinformed. Or you just changed your mind about what you wrote. All okay. Deleting posts is considered very bad form and you’ll catch a lot of grief for doing it.
3. Editing posts – Sometimes you get something so wrong that you don’t want to leave it “out there,” uncorrected. The generally accepted way to handle this is to use a strike-through.
Example: “The senator owed $500,000 $200,000 in back taxes.”
You’ve corrected something that was inaccurate but you did so openly, letting readers see what you changed in your post.
4. Attribution – It’s common practice among bloggers to grab text from another blog or website and include it a post on their blog. Better bloggers take the time to rewrite. And there’s no reason not to put the original material in quotation marks or italics. At the very least, you should link back to the original story or blog post and attribute your source. And if you see an interesting post on someone’s blog and write about it on your blog… it’s considered good form to acknowledge this in your post…frequently at the end [via smays.com]
5. Use category tags – Tagging your posts with one or more categories makes it easy for a reader to see all of your posts on a particular subject. But don’t get carried away.
6. Link freely – Unless you’re a brilliant and original writer, much of the value in your blog posts will be links to other blogs and websites. Most blogging applications feature “permalinks,” which make it easy to permanently link to a specific blog post (as opposed to linking to the “home page” of the blog).
7. Photos – Given that a blog is just another type of web page, the same guidelines for photos apply. Only use an image when it adds something to the post. Keep it relevant. And, whenever possisble, be consistent with the size and placement of your images.
8. Comments – Most serious bloggers will argue that a blog without comments is not really the “conversation” that bloggers are always writing and talking about. But you’ll find many blogs where comments have been turned off. You can also set your comments so that you’re emailed when a reader has posted a comment so you can approve (or delete). “Comment spam” has become a real headache for many bloggers but the software is getting better at dealing with this issue. The best blogs get lots of comments and they add much to the overall experience.
9. Stay focused – Decide what your blog is about (if it’s about anything) and try to focus your posts in that direction. If you really don’t care who reads your blog or what they think about what you’ve written, then post about anything. But a blog that’s about everything is really about nothing. Try to find a subject that you know and/or care about and write about that. It can be anything (technology, your cat, recipes, politics) but find your niche.
10. Post frequently – The best, most dedicated bloggers post several times a day. Having something fresh every day goes a long way toward bringing people back to your blog. At the very least, try to post a few times a week. If you can’t find the time or the will to do that…ask yourself if you really want to mess with blogging at all.
TiVo Guru Guide
The guys at TiVo have rounded up a bunch of critics, editors and experts to pick as many as 10 of the best programs in their interest areas for each week and update their lists at least once a month. They’re calling it the TiVo Guru Guide. TiVo users who share their interests can elect to have the shows recorded and have a selection ready whenever they sit down. Program pickers will come from Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, H2O (Hip-Hop on Demand),CNet.com and Automobile Magazine. The Guru Guide will be available on the roughly 1.5 million TiVo units owned by direct subscribers to TiVo service. It won’t be available to the 2.9 million who get TiVo via DirecTV. So it’s a cool idea I can’t take advantage of.
I might actually use this (if I could) because I like/trust TiVo. I’d like it even more if I could rate the pickers. For example, they could offer movie picks from 5 different “experts.” Over time, based on their picks, I might narrow that down to just one or two whose opinions most closely match my own. [via Buzz Machine]
“Everybody is a network”
“Networks are about sharing now; they used to be about control. Networks are two-way; they used to be one-way. Networks are about aggregation more than distribution; they are about finding and being found. Networks are now open while, by their very definition, they used to be closed. You join networks and leave them them at will; you can join any number of networks at once and content can be found via any number of networks, there is no practical limit. Networks used to be static. Now networks are fluid.” — Jeff Jarvis
You need to read the full post to appreciate the point Jarvis is making. I’ve been thinking about how it applies to the various networks our company owns. And what does it mean to “own” a network? We have contracts with the radio stations that make up our networks. We own the satellite uplink and the downlink receivers that distribute our programming to those radio stations.
Our company has purchased other, smaller networks. And it was the affiliation contracts and the contracts with advertisers that we perceived to have the greatest value. Has that changed? Is it changing? Stay tuned.
“It isn’t broadcasting anymore.”
In the early 70’s, Clyde Lear and Derry Brownfield founded the company I work for. It’s really a pretty cool story. In a recent blog post, Clyde demonstrates that he understands the seismic changes going on in the media world, and how they apply to our company.
“Affiliate radio stations are an important part of the mix. But farmers and other ag interests have so many ways to receive the message: print, podcasts, computers, etc. What remains is the message. It is the reporting and story-telling of … smart, discerning reporters who can effectively communicate. That is the message–not the media!”
I’m of the opinion that all established media companies must reinvent themselves to a greater or lesser degree. Some won’t make it. I’d like to think we will. And it’s a good sign that the top guy is clued.
Down the food chain a link or two, a couple of our reporters asked me to set up blogs for them this past week. They’re both veteran radio reporters (and writers). Bill Scott has been covering Wisconsin sports for a loooonnng time. Kay Henderson is one of the most respected political reporters in Iowa and has been at since the late 80’s.
Here’s the exciting part: read a couple of Bill’s stories here and Kay’s stories here. Now, read the first couple of posts on Bill’s blog…and Kay’s blog. I’m not suggesting that one is better than the other, just different. And, for me, one is much more interesting to read. I’ll let others argue about what is –and isn’t– journalism.
If Bill and Kay stick with the blogging thing, I predict that in a year, they will have far more readers of their blogs than of their “real” news and sports stories. And, for what it’s worth, they’ll be having more fun doing it.
Living Healthy (30) – Ankle Sprains
Tattoo: “Do Not Resuscitate”
A great grandmother wants to make it absolutely clear where she stands should she ever become incapacitated. So, at age 80, Mary Wohlford of Decorah, Iowa, has had the phrase “DO NOT RESUSCITATE” tattooed on her chest. In addition to the tattoo on her chest, Wohlford has a more binding document in a prominent place. She has signed a living will and has hung it on the side of her refrigerator.
Sorry, Mary, but it doesn’t matter what you want. The Pope and Jerry Falwell and some dicks in Washington will decide this matter for you.