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This weblog was developed and is supported by the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, Baruch College, CUNY
Apr
21
Trouble brewing on the field
Posted by Vera Haller on Apr 21, 2008 under: blogs, multimedia, newspapers, online news, sports, video | 3 Comments
A New York Times article today describes an interesting battle brewing between the sports world and the news world. Developments in the way sports stories are reported is causing tension between the teams and the news organizations covering them.
According to the article, with bloggers detailing every word and news Web sites posting slideshows and videos, sports executives are looking to limit this ever-growing coverage - and drive fans to their team Web sites.
So the Times asks, “Who owns sports coverage?” Some sources in the stories suggest that these disputes may end up in court.
Apr
11
A museum for news
Posted by Vera Haller on Apr 11, 2008 under: economy, newspapers | Leave a Comment
I’m not the first person to point out the incongruity between the loads of money spent on the glitzy Newseum, opening today in Washington, and the money that continues to drain from the newspaper industry.
The Newseum, whose slogan is “The Interactive Museum of News,” is funded mainly by the Freedom Foundation, a non-partisan group devoted to furthering the freedom of press, so it isn’t totally fair to compare the investment in the museum to what’s happening in the real world. But it is an interesting observation.
I haven’t seen the museum personally, but the write-ups paint an impressive picture - a brand new building on Pennsylvania Avenue, a news helicopter hanging from the ceiling, dozens of interactive computer exhibits, 15 theaters, and the list goes on.
I was struck by the juxtaposition of the article I read about the museum in today’s The New York Times and an article published earlier in the week about the financial difficulties faced by Sam Zell, who recently took over ownership of the Tribune Corp., my former employer.
Here are some numbers from both articles.
According to the museum story, the Newseum cost $450 million to build. That’s about half of Tribune’s $1 billion debt service bill for this year and close to the amount of money needed to buy Newsday, which Tribune is considering selling to offset its huge debt, according to figures in the Zell story.
Again, taking numbers from these two articles — the museum’s operating budget for this year is $50 million, not an insignificant sum when compared to Tribune’s reported net income last year of $87 million.
The figure that struck me most was in a Washington Post article, which reported that rooms can be rented for events at the Newseum for $500 to $30,000. That $30,000 figure is within range of some starting annual salaries for reporters breaking into the business.
Apr
7
Citizen journalism at CNN
Posted by Vera Haller on Apr 7, 2008 under: community journalism, online news, television, video | 3 Comments
As I trolled through various Web pages looking for an item for this blog, I clicked into “iReport,” off of CNN’s main home page on the Web. The headline was too tempting to resist, “YOU take control of the news.”
I went to the site where I was as greeted with more strong words, “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.”
After a bit of Internet research, I found that iReport is a special Web site being developed by CNN to promote citizen journalism – that meaning reporting done by non-professional journalists.
A recent article on Information Week’s Web site gives a good summary of what CNN is looking to develop. According to the article, anybody who registers can upload video, photos and stories to iReport where it is posted “unfiltered.” Then the best reports are linked to CNN’s Web site.
When I checked, the iReport site had video and many good photos up from the Olympic torch protest in Paris.
Not a bad way to encourage the public’s involvement in the newsgathering process, but still keep some editorial control over what appears on a news organization’s Web site.
Apr
1
The art of online news
Posted by Vera Haller on Apr 1, 2008 under: online news | Leave a Comment
I walk through Madison Square Park most days on my way to work from the subway so you can imagine my surprise when I noticed a sign announcing an outdoor exhibit, “Online Newspapers: New York Edition.”
There I was on my way to teach students about online news and the park I trudge through on my commute was hosting an art installation on that very subject. A true convergence!
I returned that afternoon after classes with a digital camera to spend some time at the four video screens that make up the exhibit, which can be found in the area near the Shake Shack.
The images aren’t of Web pages of local newspapers, rather they are photos of the actual front pages of print editions on which the artists Olia Lialina and Dragan Espenscheid have superimposed whimsical animation, such as the bevy of cute animals that jump all over the front page of the very serious Wall Street Journal.
My favorite was The New York Post display. On top of the headline, “Bad Bear,” about the British teacher who had been jailed in the Sudan for naming the class bear Muhammad, the artists laid out a cascading pile of sweet and cuddly Teddy bears.
I liked it. I was able to smile and just for a moment not take the news so seriously. But this is art and the artists obviously were striving to make some meaningful statement.
According to the Madison Square Park Web site, the artists were reviving the “amateur aesthetic” of the early years of the Internet. Here is the explanation:
Okay. I’ll have to think about that, but I might just stop on my way to work to enjoy a smile. The exhibit runs through April 27.