And finally… May 7, 2009
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Newspapers are going out of business every day it would seem. The latest in the U.S is the Ann Arbor News based in Michigan. There’s nothing different in this story, dwindling advertising revenues are the culprit. Whether Google is taking advantage of expensively gathered news at a bargain basement price the news industry itself must buck up and get with the programme.
Comment: Sam’s blog May 7, 2009
Posted by loumacs in online journalism.add a comment
Sam M posted about a UCD student who knowingly posted a false entry on Wikipedia as part of an experiment on Globalisation. The purpose of which was to prove that journalists have an over reliance on the web as a source of information.
Comment: Coogeechris’ post April 15, 2009
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A post by Chris Murphy titled citizens or customers notes how Googlism is taking over.
News is very often information people don’t like or find hard to digest. It is not about adding sugar to make a product more marketable or palatable. It is clear that a viable business model is needed for News organisations to continue but by the way Schmidt talks about ‘The future of news’, and ‘what your readers/consumers want’. it is clear that he knows nothing about journalism and plenty about making money and covering his backside with a team of lawyers from school B. When customers become more important than citizens it will be a sad day. If companies like Google start tailoring news to suit ‘consumers’ for profit, then news will die and nothing but gossip, rumour and celebrity rubbish will remain.
Nick Clark wrote an article for The Independent, following the Newspaper Association’s Conference last week.
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Mojo April 13, 2009
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The internet has demanded that journalism move with these multi-media times. With so much easy to use software and technology, everyone it seems, is a journalist. This industrial revolution is information based. Upskilling is essential to survival. Media organisations such as Fairfax are already equipping their reporters with multi-functional handheld devices to enable them to gather and disseminate information quickly. This new breed are called Mojos (mobile journalists). Where one reporter is the news crew, visit burningbillboard.
Mojo
A site that encourages collaboration with citizens for effective newsgathering is Synthetic Jungle.
Hyper-local News April 13, 2009
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Whatever about the big media organisations, one definite upside to audience-created content is the localisation of news. The bulk of newspapers read by the majority are of national interest. There are obviously plenty of local titles out there too but their potency is very region specific. Not many people in Dublin will want to read about bingo nights in West Clare and vice versa. On issues that are of interest, circulation is problem with printed matter. This industry is growing in the U.S. The New York Times is leading the way and journalism graduates are educated communities in new media initiatives. Cillian Barry wrote an interesting piece in the Sunday Business Post assessing the situation for an Irish model.
Googlism April 12, 2009
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There has been radio and television. Both were seen as a threat to the humble newspaper but the rags prevailed. Never in a million years could anyone forsee the impact that the web would have on the print news industry. Some missed the boat out of sheer stubborness. The Boston Globe turned down a golden opportunity in 1993 to invest in what was to become monster.com, a classified advertising cash cow which generated over $500million in 2000 alone.
What about when the profiteers directly threaten independent reporting, in a world where money rules and well nothing else matters?
The camera never lies April 7, 2009
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The G20 riots are an excellent example of how shared technology is getting to the bottom of some ugly issues such as police brutality. Television is nothing new but the internet as a platform is. Between news crews, citizens and CCTV a wealth of video material is made available. Rather than competing, the variety and volume of data is rather complementary.
Twit or tweet? April 1, 2009
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Bloggers are often blamed for the downfall of traditional journalism. Mark Nolan’s blog expad.ie has an interesting post on twitter versus blogs. The argument is that real time twittering is affecting the rate of blog posts and interaction… Already?
The result is that blog authority, measured in the traditional blog-to-blog linkage by Technorati, has gone the way of property prices and Brian Cowen’s approval ratings. markhamnolan
Courtney Love leading the way by being the first member of the twitterati to be caught up in twittigation proceedings.
“oi vey don’t f— with my wardrobe or you will end up in a circle of corched eaeth hunted til your dead. Courtney Love
Love directed the tweet at her fashion designer, Dawn Simorangkir. If she has any sense Love will feign semi-literacy and pretend the message was really intended for her dog, vey, who likes to chew designer clothes. Reuters ran an article on the story.
Tweet Tweet March 30, 2009
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First came the newspaper reporter… Hard news, no fluff or faff. Investigating, reporting, being subbed and edited in line with print deadlines.
Blogging followed with citizens participating in the news and posting comments and opinion. One criticism of bloggers is that with the immediacy of the web comes less reflective work or comments. Information at one’s fingertips, replies and updates demanding rapid reply times.
Along came Twitter…
Irish Blogs March 14, 2009
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The Irish blog awards were announced two weeks ago. The subject matter ranges from pop culture to politics to gastronomy. Fiú, tá earnáil ann do bhlagála trí mhean an ghaeilge. You can click above and investigate for yourself but a few are worth a mention.
Suzy Byrne’s blog Maman Poulet won for having the best news & current affairs blog. This also won her the grand prix prize for best blog. Her post The Status of Politics on the Internet in Ireland is worth checking out. If you haven’t already do click on the Irish Times article on her post.
