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This weblog was developed and is supported by the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, Baruch College, CUNY
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.
Mar
18
Checking the pulse of online news
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 18, 2008 under: blogs, community journalism, multimedia, newspapers, online news, television, video | 6 Comments
Each year, the Project for Excellence in Journalism releases a report that analyzes the status of journalism in the U.S. So obviously, I clicked straight through to the section abut news on the Web.The findings aren’t surprising. More people are going online for news, more people are watching video online and no one has figured out yet how to make a lot of money off of news Web sites. News about foreign events (particularly the war in Iraq) filled a larger news hole on major news Web sites than in other news outlets.
The editorial part of news organizations were credited with being innovative in finding ways to use new technology. The report criticized Madison Avenue for not moving more quickly to find ways to make advertising pay on news Web sites.
The section on the major trends identified by the study is important reading for all who work - or those of you looking to work - in the news business.
Mar
4
The power of the Web
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 4, 2008 under: community journalism, television | 1 Comment
I wanted to note in a quick post just how powerful the Web can be when someone powerful uses it. Oprah Winfrey, who already has conquered television and publishing, is launching a new online endeavor - a free, 10-weekly Web seminar with herself and self-help author Eckhart Tolle. His book “A New Earth” is Oprah’s pick for her influential book club.
She says 700,000 people have signed up for the weekly Web seminar. Anyone would agree those are pretty impressive numbers. According to Oprah.com, participants will watch live classroom Web casts and have the opportunity to ask questions and connect with other like-thinking people around the world.
Feb
21
Going local in Miami
Posted by Vera Haller on Feb 21, 2008 under: community journalism, newspapers, online news | Leave a Comment
It’s always good to keep track of new Web sites that are coming out of the news industry. The newest that I’ve found is miami.com, a companion site to miamiherald.com.
A big banner ad across the top of the Herald site promotes Miami.com, which bills itself as THE place to go for information about going out and other leisure activities in southern Florida.
The new venture is rather breathlessly introduced in a video hosted by J.R. Biersmith and Toni Gonzalez, who apparently run the site and who try to convey that the site is cool and in-the-know.
The site has compiled searchable databases of restaurants , clubs and events and has any number of guides, such as one compiled from Miami Herald reports about beaches in South Florida. Stories, reviews and video tours round out the content on the site.
The site also heavily promotes user involvement, soliciting reviews, comments and photos from the general public.
I find it interesting that newspapers are spinning off sites like this. In the Herald’s case, a local entertainment site such as miami.com would likely generate more local advertising. For other examples, check out metromix.com, which was a creation of the old Tribune Co. (before being sold to Sam Zell) of a network of local entertainment sites in markets where the company had newspaper outlets. The idea of metromix was to generate interest among national advertisers who might want to place ads over several markets.
Feb
5
Go online, get involved
Posted by Vera Haller on Feb 5, 2008 under: community journalism, newspapers, online news, politics, video | 6 Comments
A lot of news is happening in the city today. People are voting in the presidential primary, helping the Giants celebrate their Super Bowl victory at a ticker tape parade downtown and maybe even taking in a show at Fashion Week at the tents in Bryant Park.
In this day and age, there is no reason for anyone to be just a consumer of news. News Web sites in the area are providing plenty of opportunities for readers to be part of these stories.
The Daily News has a cool feature in its fashion coverage called “Hot or Not.” Readers click to a page with photos from the catwalks and they are able to vote on which outfits they like and which outfits they don’t.
For Super Tuesday, The New York Times rolled out its ongoing “Polling Place Photo Project,” with a link off the homepage. Readers are asked to upload photos of their polling places and provide a little bit of information such as how crowded a polling place was at the time of the photo. These photos are hardly scintillating, but people seem to be getting into the project
A little more raucous were the videos of Super Bowl celebrations posted by readers on NJ.com. The site, which gets its news from a group of New Jersey newspapers including The Star Ledger in Newark and The Times of Trenton, had a pretty good selection of reader-posted videos. The site was soliciting photos and video from today’s parade so it may be worth a look this evening when people have had a chance to get home and upload their coverage.
Jan
28
Finding a niche
Posted by Vera Haller on Jan 28, 2008 under: community journalism, newspapers, online news | 4 Comments
Thewashingtonpost.com today launched new Web site, TheRoot.com, which its editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., said would “explore the richness of the black experience.” This is not the first time the newspaper has entered into the area of niche Web sites.Just last July, the Post launched loudonextra.com, an experiment in hyper-local journalism. When I say hyper-local, I mean the content would only interest residents of Loudon County in suburban D.C. You’ll find stories about high school sports teams, local government and lifestyle unique to the area. With TheRoot.com, I assume the Post is expanding this experiment by seeking to establish a niche audience along demographic lines, rather than geographic lines. I think the editors realize that they have to create unique online experiences in order to hold on to readers — and perhaps more importantly — create more places to sell advertising.
Jan
14
How many people does it take to run a Web site?
Posted by Vera Haller on Jan 14, 2008 under: community journalism, newspapers, online news | 1 Comment
When the E.W. Scripps Co. launched www.kypost.com after closing its newspapers in
The plan, according to a Scripps news release, was to focus on northern