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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
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.
Mar
27
Young people and the news
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 27, 2008 under: blogs, newspapers, online news, politics | 1 Comment
That the younger generation seeks out its news from different sources is hardly new, but The New York Times today takes it a step further. An article states that young consumers are spreaders of news, especially in the realm of politics. Here’s an excerpt:
“According to interviews and recent surveys, younger voters tend to be not just consumers of news and current events but conduits as well - sending out e-mailed links and videos to friends and their social networks. And in turn, they rely on friends and online connections for news to come to them. In essence, they are replacing the professional filter - reading The Washington Post, clicking on CNN.com - with a social one.”
The article underscores the fact that the ease with which the Internet allows the transfer of information is leading people to get to their news in non-traditional ways.
Mar
26
Aggregating the news
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 26, 2008 under: multimedia, newspapers, online news, politics, television, video | 3 Comments
An area I haven’t touched upon yet in this blog is the ability of the Web to aggregate news by subject matter. This may seem very obvious to some of you, but I wanted to draw attention to the way it affects traditional news Web sites.
More and more people are using searches such as Google and Yahoo news, which organize the news by topic and then list links to stories written by different news organizations. When you can see the top news stories from a selection of outlets, why go to just one site for your news?
This means that people are entering news Web sites through larger search engines, not by going to the home page and seeing what the editors have posted and chosen as the top stories. It also means people might not have the same attachment and loyalty to “their” news Web site like they used to have to the local newspaper. Just another example of how news consumption is changing.
Another type of news aggregator to watch are sites such as digg.com, which post stories, photos, videos and podcasts based on the number of times they are recommended by readers. I find these lists interesting but often skewed heavily with stories about technology, politics and the weird and whacky.
Mar
19
Web workout
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 19, 2008 under: Uncategorized, newspapers, online news, politics | 3 Comments
Under a headline “Obama speech on race gives Web a workout,” USA Today took a look at how the candidate’s take on race relations in America played out on the Internet.The article includes statistics on the number of hits and stories and blog entries out there about Obama’s Philadelphia speech. It’s interesting that how a story plays out on the Web has become the story itself.
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
11
When a big story breaks
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 11, 2008 under: multimedia, newspapers, online news, video | 5 Comments
That blockbuster of story – the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal – has spurned a million stories, blog entries, photo galleries and interactive features.
As an exercise, I scrolled through the local online coverage and pulled out a few links that illustrate how the written word was augmented by many online features.
If anything, the breadth of coverage shows how a big story gets covered in the digital era.
Interactive timeline: Milestones in an Ambitious Career
Audio: Back story with Sewell Chan
Write your own Post headline (not censored)
Video: Spitzer’s apology
Photo gallery: Political career
Poll: Should Spitzer resign?
Video: Reaction on Wall Street
Photo Gallery: Inside the Emperor’s Club
PDF: Criminal complaint about Client 9
Predict the New York Post’s headline
Mar
10
Running with the story
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 10, 2008 under: newspapers, online news, politics | 1 Comment
News that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was implicated in a prostitution ring hit the Internet right around 2 p.m. today when The New York Times broke the story. It took no time at all for the news to spread throughout the Web.
This was a big story. The quickness with which it was disseminated was in direct proportion to the magnitude of the story. Readers surely will be clamoring for details and the Web will oblige as a platform that permits immediate updates and room for unlimited copy.
Because of how quickly the story developed, Spitzer was out there in front of the television cameras only a short time after the story broke to apologize to his family and constituents for his involvement in a “private matter.”
Here are a few links to check out. A Google News search on Eliot Spitzer shows how far and wide this story went. Also, The New York Observer wrote up an item about how the Times metro staff broke the story.
Mar
4
A must-read
Posted by Vera Haller on Mar 4, 2008 under: multimedia, newspapers, online news, television, video | 6 Comments
A new poll shows that younger people (those under 30) are increasing turning to the Internet for their news. No big surprise, but this survey on the state of the news industry by Zogby International really drives home the point.