exploiting bloggers isn't enough to make local news business attractive

Written by on May 22, 2011 to industry structure

Unsuccessful local news businesses have succeeded in getting free content and indemnifications from unpaid bloggers.


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press-release media aggregators

Written by on April 3, 2011 to industry structure

For many stories, traditional news organizations have been news aggregrators adding little value to press releases.


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moving beyond "man bites dog" news

Written by on March 22, 2011 to economics of attention

Sensational news has always been a seller for mass media.


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new standards for being informed

Written by on January 17, 2011 to devices

Today, a public service advertisement presents a laptop/netbook as the icon for “be informed.”  Next year, the retail price of today’s high-end smartphones is likely to drop under $100.  Then the icon for “be informed” should become an image of a smartphone.


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the Newseum tries Elvis

Written by on April 25, 2010 to industry structure

The Newseum, a $450 million dollar monument to news industry leadership, currently features an Elvis exhibit: “Elvis! His Groundbreaking, Hip-Shaking, Newsmaking Story.”  In the business crisis facing the news industry today, something has to be done to raise revenue and support quality journalism.  Maybe Elvises (a good investigative journalist could find a lot of them) [...]


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new media?

Written by on October 4, 2009 to economics of attention

Sacred to Commonweal was this net design’d To pierce the heart and humanize the mind. But if a hitless Blog, the Blogger’s curse, Shows us our Thoughts and Reasons lose their force Unwilling we must change the nobler scene, And in our turn present you Celeb-queens; Quit Poets, and set Journalists to work, Show gaudy [...]


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Jack and Jill on Walter

Written by on July 26, 2009 to citizen journalism

Jack:  “There will never be another like Walter Concrete.  He was the most trusted man in America.” Jill:  “How do you know he was the most trusted man in America?” Jack: “Somebody said so on television.” Jill: “…and that’s the way it is.”


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traditional news: an academic style

Written by on January 25, 2009 to industry structure

The rise of interactive media has directed attention to differences in communicative style.  “News is a conversation” and “conversational marketing” have become rallying slogans for new-media news reporting and advertising initiatives.   Conversation uses words and grammatical constructs in characteristically different ways and frequencies than does traditional news reporting and public relations releases. Experts in corpus [...]


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learning from history

Written by on January 11, 2009 to industry structure

While having some dental work done last week, I had a TV screen stuck in front of me.  It was showing Nostradamus: 2012, from Armageddon Week on the History Channel.   In this intellectual investigative report, a solemn, authoritative male voice objectively narrates what some scholars believe and what other scholars believe.  Particular scholars appear as [...]


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objectifying news

Written by on November 2, 2008 to industry structure

Most information directed to the general public doesn’t have immediate personal relevance to anyone.   Adopting a style of seriousness, objectivity, and public importance helps makes lack of personal interest into a selling proposition.   The news is what actually interests no one, but what everyone should know. The form of the news has significant costs.  Think [...]


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