I tried getting my news, well would be if I lived in Atlanta, texted to my cell phone from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. To say it failed would be putting it lightly. I haven't received one text from the AJC.
Not One.
Maybe it was the 305 area code that threw off their bots. Maybe there just hasn't been any breaking news in all of metropolitan Atlanta. Or maybe no news worthy of a text message. IDK.
What ever the reason the outcome is clear: No news texts for me. And, it's been eight days since I signed up.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Endorsement changes
Speaking of how the Internet is changing the industry…
Here are some interesting excerpts from a live chat with the Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor at the Washington Post. The chat centers on the Post’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president.
Online journalism students might find it particularly interesting because Hiatt discusses how because of readers changing habits the paper to altered its endorsement release. He also talks about readership numbers.
Find the whole thing here or just read the excerpts below.
Washington: Doesn't the Post usually do Presidential endorsements on Sunday? Why today instead?
Fred Hiatt: We've always done it Sunday. But our Web readership--you all--is much larger on weekdays than Sundays, so we decided to experiment this year.
Springfield, Va.: The Post's circulation has dropped by about 200,000 copies in the past decade. How much of this loss do you attribute to curltural and generational changes (i.e. generation X prefers to get their news online) and how much is because subscribers are choosing to get news from another source that matches their liberal or conservative bias?
Fred Hiatt: Another excellent question. I think the two probably feed into each other. Our readership is actually way up, when you add washingtonpost.com readers to subscribers. But as you say, younger people (though not only) are used to getting their news on line, not in print--and this may tap into a tendency to want to go to websites where people know the views they read will be congenial to them.
On the other hand, I can tell from the comments that we and our columnists get that plenty of people who don't agree still want to read diverging view points
Here are some interesting excerpts from a live chat with the Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor at the Washington Post. The chat centers on the Post’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president.
Online journalism students might find it particularly interesting because Hiatt discusses how because of readers changing habits the paper to altered its endorsement release. He also talks about readership numbers.
Find the whole thing here or just read the excerpts below.
Washington: Doesn't the Post usually do Presidential endorsements on Sunday? Why today instead?
Fred Hiatt: We've always done it Sunday. But our Web readership--you all--is much larger on weekdays than Sundays, so we decided to experiment this year.
Springfield, Va.: The Post's circulation has dropped by about 200,000 copies in the past decade. How much of this loss do you attribute to curltural and generational changes (i.e. generation X prefers to get their news online) and how much is because subscribers are choosing to get news from another source that matches their liberal or conservative bias?
Fred Hiatt: Another excellent question. I think the two probably feed into each other. Our readership is actually way up, when you add washingtonpost.com readers to subscribers. But as you say, younger people (though not only) are used to getting their news on line, not in print--and this may tap into a tendency to want to go to websites where people know the views they read will be congenial to them.
On the other hand, I can tell from the comments that we and our columnists get that plenty of people who don't agree still want to read diverging view points
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
ProPublica.com
This, in many ways, is what journalism has come to: Top-notch, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalists leaving traditional news organizations to work for a Web site—ProPublica.com.
Don’t misunderstand; the site’s mission—“to focus exclusively on truly important stories, stories with ‘moral force’”—is exactly why most journalists enter the business. It most certainly isn’t the pay or the hours or the notoriety.
What is sad are the reasons (more than likely) that caused some of the best investigative reporters in the business to jump ship. And we’re not talking about shabby shops either. These folks were at The LA Times, Wall Street Journal and Oregonian, to name a few.
The industry is changing. As newspapers and television stations struggle to find their footing in the digital age, it seems like some core journalistic tenants values have fallen by the wayside.
Context is sacrificed for content more times than should be. For that reason alone, I hope ProPublica not only survives but also thrives.
Don’t misunderstand; the site’s mission—“to focus exclusively on truly important stories, stories with ‘moral force’”—is exactly why most journalists enter the business. It most certainly isn’t the pay or the hours or the notoriety.
What is sad are the reasons (more than likely) that caused some of the best investigative reporters in the business to jump ship. And we’re not talking about shabby shops either. These folks were at The LA Times, Wall Street Journal and Oregonian, to name a few.
The industry is changing. As newspapers and television stations struggle to find their footing in the digital age, it seems like some core journalistic tenants values have fallen by the wayside.
Context is sacrificed for content more times than should be. For that reason alone, I hope ProPublica not only survives but also thrives.
Mobile News
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this nifty little option directly under the main bar that allows viewers to have news updates sent to their cell phones.
Yes, lots of newspapers provide this option for their online readers. But seeing it right there while I scanned the homepage made me think: What about all those folks with cruddy cell phones that making logging on the Internet a chore?
Not everyone has a crackberry or iPhone, you know.
So, I signed up for mobile access to the AJC. I’ll let you know how, and if, the whole thing works out.
Yes, lots of newspapers provide this option for their online readers. But seeing it right there while I scanned the homepage made me think: What about all those folks with cruddy cell phones that making logging on the Internet a chore?
Not everyone has a crackberry or iPhone, you know.
So, I signed up for mobile access to the AJC. I’ll let you know how, and if, the whole thing works out.
Monday, October 20, 2008
NPR.org
So NPR (National Public Radio, for those that don't know) has jumped on the multimedia bandwagon like just about every other news organization on the planet.
Click through the Website and it's apparent that the public radio world is struggling with this question much like newspapers and televisions: How do you use photo, text, audio, video and graphics in a complementary not redundant way?
The written stories are actually just transcripts of the broadcasts, which is a bit of a missed opportunity. Reporters typically come back to the newsroom with more stuff than can fit into their story.
The flip-side to this being: Who has time to, in essence, create two different stories-one for the radio, one written for the Web?
Still, I love the fact that the photo galleries allow you to see what you've heard. It's like the icing on a yummy chocolate cake. They just makes things seem complete.
Click through the Website and it's apparent that the public radio world is struggling with this question much like newspapers and televisions: How do you use photo, text, audio, video and graphics in a complementary not redundant way?
The written stories are actually just transcripts of the broadcasts, which is a bit of a missed opportunity. Reporters typically come back to the newsroom with more stuff than can fit into their story.
The flip-side to this being: Who has time to, in essence, create two different stories-one for the radio, one written for the Web?
Still, I love the fact that the photo galleries allow you to see what you've heard. It's like the icing on a yummy chocolate cake. They just makes things seem complete.
Anchoring part deux
Apparently I misunderstood the concept of anchoring and chunking Website design principals. Opps. Hey, mistakes are the best way to learn right?
In an effort to redeem myself, I scoured the Internet looking for subheads that would take me to another place on the Web page not another site (anchoring). I also clicked my way through about half a dozen sites looking for examples of chunking-when a story is split between several Web pages. It's like of like each paragraph gets its own page.
After an exhaustive search of more than half a dozen sites, I was unsuccessful.
Sigh.
Apparently, my regular sites do it right, so to speak. So cyberspace: Do you all know where someone can click to actually see these concepts.
In an effort to redeem myself, I scoured the Internet looking for subheads that would take me to another place on the Web page not another site (anchoring). I also clicked my way through about half a dozen sites looking for examples of chunking-when a story is split between several Web pages. It's like of like each paragraph gets its own page.
After an exhaustive search of more than half a dozen sites, I was unsuccessful.
Sigh.
Apparently, my regular sites do it right, so to speak. So cyberspace: Do you all know where someone can click to actually see these concepts.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Breadth over depth
Short and sweet articles apparently better than long and deep. Not sure how I feel about that. Runs counter to why I got in the business.
Christian Journalists
Reporters check political ideology at the newsroom door. But what about religious belief, esp. with faith and politics inextricably linked?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Blogging for bucks
I can hear journalists’ collective sigh of relief if Jim Hopkins learns how to turn online journalism into a moneymaker.
Poked
Best new blog—Poked: Social Networking Etiquette for the Working World. Wish I thought of it. I can relate to the "friending" dilemma.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Anchor's away
Per the request of our fearless leader (translation: the professor), my online journalism class has scoured the Internet for examples of chunking, layering and anchoring links. Sounds like a nifty haircut, doesn't it?
Not really. They are the various ways that news Web sites structure stories and compile information for readers/viewers/unique visitors, i.e. all of you who type w-w-w-dot then click on a story link.
An example of anchoring, if I have my definitions correct, is the LA Times Web site. I love The Times, even worked there for a while as a reporting fellow, but they tend to anchor photo, video and story galleries about three graphs into the article.
The page layout takes a little getting used to. As one classmate said last week, she tends to think the story is finished when she comes across this design.
But if the content is compelling enough--like the discovery of multimillionaire, adventurer Steve Fossett's plane--you'll keep reading. You might even go back and click on a link or two. I did.
Not really. They are the various ways that news Web sites structure stories and compile information for readers/viewers/unique visitors, i.e. all of you who type w-w-w-dot then click on a story link.
An example of anchoring, if I have my definitions correct, is the LA Times Web site. I love The Times, even worked there for a while as a reporting fellow, but they tend to anchor photo, video and story galleries about three graphs into the article.
The page layout takes a little getting used to. As one classmate said last week, she tends to think the story is finished when she comes across this design.
But if the content is compelling enough--like the discovery of multimillionaire, adventurer Steve Fossett's plane--you'll keep reading. You might even go back and click on a link or two. I did.
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