Media Giraffe Project -- <br>Link & reference blog: March 2006

Monday, March 27, 2006

Lifetime Awards for Molly Ivins, Anthony Lewis

ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002237138

Published: March 27, 2006 4:28 PM ET

By E&P Staff

NEW YORK -- Creators Syndicate columnist Molly Ivins and former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis will receive lifetime achievement honors at an April 11 ceremony for winners of Hunter College's James Aronson Awards for Social Justice Journalism. The ceremony -- which takes place at Hunter's New York City campus -- will feature remarks by Ivins and Lewis.

Winners of this year's Aronson awards include Kirk Anderson for "Cartooning with a Conscience," Gary Fields of The Wall Street Journal for exposing problems in the system of "get-tough" prison sentencing, Kevin Fagan of the San Francisco Chronicle for his coverage of the homeless issue, and Tracie McMillan of City Limits magazine for reporting on low-income and working-class people in New York City. Also, the first Aronson Award for blogging is going to University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole for his Iraq War-related "Informed Comment" blog.

Aronson was a longtime journalism professor at Hunter, and a founder and editor of the now-defunct Guardian -- a progressive national weekly newspaper based in New York City.
_________________________________________________________________

E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)

# posted by newshare @ 9:58 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 24, 2006

Four tips from InstaPundit for the newspaper business

Glenn Reynolds, the University of Tennessee law professor who's moderately
conservative political blog, "InstaPundit.com" has written a short column
of advice to newspapers about how to survice. His key points:

1. Stop using paper to produce the product -- information
2. Hire more reporters with the money saved
3. Stop insulting readers
4. Get readers more involved in the process

Here's the full essay. The original URL:
http://www.tcsdaily.com/Authors.aspx?id=160

By Glenn Harlan Reynolds : BIO| 22 Mar 2006

(Glenn Reynolds' writes the blog: InstaPundit.com)

Moody's is looking at downgrading the New York Times' credit rating. The
Times' stock is doing badly. And other newspapers are in trouble, too --
the staff of the San Jose Mercury News has resorted to launching a "save
our paper" website.

These certainly look like dark days for the newspaper industry generally.
ABC's Michael Malone writes:

It was just a year ago that I predicted -- to considerable consternation
and censure from the press -- that most major newspapers would be dead or
dying by the end of this decade. Apparently, I was being conservative.

As I look around California, for example, I see the San Francisco
Chronicle turning into the Daily Worker for baby boomers, the Los Angeles
Times selecting stories based on political considerations, and now, the
only real newspaper of any size left, the Mercury News, apparently
orphaned. Meanwhile, McClatchy's strategy appears to be that of snatching
up small-town papers, the last redoubt of daily print journalism. But that
is just buying time before Yahoo and Google start putting local Little
League box scores online.

Of course, Malone warns new media darlings, like MySpace, that they're
likely to be next, victims of changing technology and fickle tastes on the
part of a public that -- as it didn't in the halcyon days of the newspaper
business -- has lots of choices.

Unlike, I suppose, a few bloggers I'm not cheering the demise of
newspapers. I do think that the newspaper industry has dug its own grave
through bias, disrespect for its audience, and simpleminded costcutting
efforts that have seriously damaged its core competency (and killer app)
-- actual gathering and reporting of truthful, accurate, hard news. But I
don't think it's too late for imaginative newspapers to save themselves.

What would a new-era newspaper look like?

First, I think I'd skip the "paper" part. I've visited a lot of newspaper
offices, and many of them proudly display the printing presses that
produce their product, just as older newsmen often glory in the title of
"ink-stained wretch." But their product isn't paper (in fact, for those of
us who recycle, the paper is a drawback, not a plus, at least until it's
time to pack things for a move). Their product is information. Paper is
just an increasingly obsolete delivery platform. It's expensive, and on
the way out. Get rid of it, or start a new "paper" without it.

Second, I'd put some of the money I saved by abandoning delivery trucks,
printing presses, and the like into hiring reporters and writers, who have
been the object of a lot of cost-cutting over the past couple of decades.
And I'd expect a broader range of competency: My reporters would also all
be photographers, equipped with digital cameras, and videographers,
shooting clips of video that could be placed on the website along with
their stories. This isn't asking too much, really. The world is full of
people who can write and take pictures. I've heard editors at existing
newspapers who doubt that their reporters could do this sort of thing, but
if so, they need better reporters. I'd tell them to learn, or seek
employment elsewhere. It's not that hard. This sort of approach might
create union problems, which often forbid reporters from doing the job of
photographers or vice versa; I'd tell the unions to go visit the Buggy
Whip Museum and ponder the fate of work rules in that industry. (See
examples of what I'm talking about in the video department here and --
from my local newspaper, complete with commercials -- here).

Third, I'd stop insulting readers. As Malone notes, many newspapers lean
left; they're out of touch, as numerous surveys demonstrate, with the
attitudes of most Americans. Often, like George Clooney (spokesman for
another declining industry), they celebrate this disconnect. They
shouldn't. People don't like being preached to, or manipulated, and they
are increasingly unwilling to pay for that now that they have
alternatives. So stop; give them the news, with as little bias as
possible.

Fourth, I'd get readers involved. I'd incorporate readers and bloggers
into the reporting, fact-checking, and revision of news stories. I'd be
generous about handing out credit, too -- people will do a lot for a
little bit of ego gratification. With digital cameras, cameraphones, etc.,
all over, there's usually somebody on the scene when something happens.
I'd take advantage of that. I'd also take advantage of readers with
special expertise in particular areas -- in fact, I'd build a roster of
those people and use them as color commentators on stories in their areas.
If union rules interfered, well, see above.

The bottom line is that there's plenty of market space for the news
business, so long as it sticks to its core competencies of actually, you
know, reporting news accurately and well. But the Daily Planet model of
newspapers -- or, worse yet, the model shown in today's New York Times or
San Francisco Chronicle, places where behavior that Perry White would
never have tolerated is, sadly, routine -- is on its last legs. There's no
reason that newspapers can't remain competitive -- no reason, at least,
outside their own management.

Glenn Reynolds is TCS Contributing Editor and author of An Army of Davids.

BIO:
Email:pundit@instapundit.com

Contributing Editor, TCS

Glenn Harlan Reynolds is contributing editor of TCS where his special
feature on technology and public policy called "Reynolds' Wrap" appears
each week. He is a law professor at the University of Tennessee.

His special interests are law and technology and constitutional law
issues, and his work has appeared in a wide variety of publications,
including numerous law reviews, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology,
Law and Policy in International Business, Jurimetrics, and the High
Technology Law Journal. Professor Reynolds has also written in the New
York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, and Wall
Street Journal, among others. He is the co-author of Outer Space: Problems
of Law and Policy. He created and writes for the influential Instapundit
website.

Reynolds' most most recent book is called The Appearance of Impropriety:
How the Ethics Wars Have Undermined American Government, Business and
Society, (The Free Press, 1997) coauthored with Peter W. Morgan.

# posted by newshare @ 7:57 PM 0 comments

CASE STUDY: Progressive bloggers bag Washington Post's right-wing blogger

Is this an example of how quickly the blogosphere can affect events?

Said WashingtonPost.COM's Executive Editor, Jim Brady (via Editor & Publisher):

"Plagiarism is perhaps the most serious offense that a writer can commit or be accused of. Washingtonpost.com will do everything in its power to verify that its news and opinion content is sourced completely and accurately at all times. "We appreciate the speed and thoroughness with which our readers and media outlets surfaced these allegations. Despite the turn this has taken, we believe this event, among other things, testifies to the positive and powerful role that the Internet can play in the the practice of journalism."

CBS blogger's take.

1. "Ben Domenech Resigns." Washington Post, March 24, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1575

2. "Media Matters to Wash. Post brass: Fire bigoted blogger," Media Matters,
March 23, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1568

3. "Washington Post's New Conservative Voice a Plagiarist: It's Now a Blood Bath," Daily Kos, March 23, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1574

BELOW . . . COPY OF "victory" email from Moveon.org, the progressive political action group.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 24
Mar 2006 15:03:13 -0500
From: Adam Green
To: Adam Green
Subject: MoveOn Reaction - Resignation
at Wash Post
Weblink: http://civic.moveon.org/mediaaction/alerts/washpost_victory.html
Dear MoveOn Member,
Today was a huge victory for good journalism-and a huge
defeat for right-wing zealots and the Washington Post editors who caved to them.
You helped make it happen.
Just days after Washington Post editors gave right-wing hack Ben Domenech an online column called "Red America," he resigned today after his history of bigotry and plagiarism was discovered.
But now we must ensure the Washington Post learns the right lesson and never again caves to right-wing zealots who want to destroy the media's ability to hold power accountable. It was wrong for Washington Post editors to "balance" strong watchdog journalism by their reporters with blatant
right-wing propaganda.
Please contact the Washington Post today. Tell them to never again hire right wing hacks to "balance" journalists who are doing their job by practicing strong watchdog journalism. If they want opinion columns, the right and left should both be represented, but it is unacceptable to continue "Red America" by itself.
Below are links to today's Washington Post announcement, yesterday's Media Matters letter calling for Ben Domenech to be fired, and a Daily Kos compiliation of Domenech's plagiarism.
Thank you for all you do.
-Noah T. Winer and Adam Green
MoveOn Media Action
Friday, March 24th, 2006
P.S. Media Action is a campaign of MoveOn.org Civic Action
empowering regular people to reform the media and hold news outlets
accountable when they abandon strong watchdog journalism.

# posted by newshare @ 3:19 PM 0 comments

Thursday, March 23, 2006

INTERVIEW: "Baghdad Blogger" says he's baffled, amused by reception to his work

ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.22.06/pax-0612.html
From the March 22-28, 2006 issue of Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly
Newspaper.

The Report From Baghdad: Salam Pax, the 'Baghdad Blogger,' says he is 'baffled and amused' by the reception to his work.

The Blog of War

SJSU becomes the first university to embrace blogging in a literary series when Salam Pax arrives March 23. Meet the Baghdad Blogger.

By Vrinda Normand

THE blogging phenomenon is no longer the sole property of web junkiesÿÿnow it's pushing into university classes and literary circles, as well. Professors who once assigned Ernest Hemingway as an example of the classic war novel are now directing their students to follow the Iraq War via the refreshingly bare, unassuming online diary of one man: Salam Pax, otherwise known as the "Baghdad Blogger."

The 32-year-old Iraqi architect attracted an international following when he started posting informal reports in 2002 about the coming war, the bombs that rattled Baghdad and the American occupation. Though the traffic on his website caused server shutdowns, the outspoken and openly gay Pax continued to type, nervously evading Iraqi authorities monitoring the Internet. His vivid accounts, laced with snarky comments and humor, gave the outside world a peek into the mind of an ordinary person dealing with the fallout of war.

"What is bringing on this rant," he wrote once, "is the question that has been bugging me for days now: how could'Support democracy in Iraq' come to mean 'Bomb the hell out of Iraq?' Nobody minded an undemocratic Iraq for a very long time. Now people have decided to bomb us to democracy? Well, thank you! How thoughtful." San Jose State University students are poring over passages like this, thanks to creative writing professor Mitch Berman. "Salam is presenting himself as himself at all times," Berman says, "I think his blog is the most outstanding writing anywhere on Iraq."

As the director of SJSU's Center for Literary Arts, Berman is featuring Pax in a literary series this month (the firstfor any blogger at an American university). On Thursday, March 23, Pax will appear at the King Library in downtown San Jose at noon and the San Jose City Council chambers at 7:30pm. He spoke to Metro from London about blogging, the war and what it's like to be "the Iraqi."

METRO: The Western world has obviously become fascinated with your account of the Iraq war. What do Iraqis think? What kind of reaction do you get at home?

SALAM PAX: Not much of a reaction, really. Very few Iraqis in Iraq know about the blog and Salam Pax, which is just as good. Who I am and the views I express will not go down nicely with many Iraqis today. I really can't see a heretic homosexual making headlines in Iraq or the Arab world, unless it is news about my arrest. What will you be talking about in San Jose?

I have to admit I am not really sure. I have not done this sort of thing before, and I'd much rather be hiding behind a computer screen than having to give speeches. That is exactly the thing I did not want to be doing, and look at me now, it feels as if my profession has become "The Iraqi." I think people would be interested in some sort of a progress report from the ground by someone who has no other agenda than living peacefully in his country. I guess whoever will come will get some of that.

METRO: Is there a downside to being famous as 'the Iraqi'? Do you feel tokenized or trivialized by this perception?

The problem with becoming the token Iraqi is that you have to make generalizations based on your point of view. People ask you questions and when you answer it is like "the Iraqis say." That is not the case at all. It is me who thinks this or that, and now I have to constantly qualify and clarify what I say because I don't want what I say to be taken as something all Iraqis feel or believe. In the last three years it feels like I have become part of a small Iraqi minority, one that believes that religion and state should be separated and that we should try hard to keep this entity we call Iraq together and not break it up. You want to hear what Iraqis really think you need to go talk to the people on the street. I am too Westernized for their tastes and too liberal.

Q: Do you feel caught between two worlds, writing about your native land in a nonnative tongue?

Part of the big Muslim dilemma and the trouble in the Mideast is the fact that much of the younger generation feels like it has fallen in a gap. My cultural heritage refuses to yield so that I can accommodate the changing world around me and I am stuck with a worldview that is very unsatisfying. Sometimes the weblog felt like it was there to bridge that gap. Many of us feel like we are caught between two worlds. At one point I think I decided there is little my own cultural heritage and religion can offer me and I embraced the ways of the "wicked West," but I feel guilty for abandoning who I am. So I try and do something to reconcile myself to that heritage only to be reminded of why I feel there is nothing in it for me. I am not happy with what my heritage offers me, and I will never be accepted as part of "the other" no matter how hard I try. I tell you the whole idea of a Global Village came shattering down on my head when I came to that realization. If you are from t!
he Middle East, you don't become a "world citizen" you just lose all cultural ties and become uprooted.

Q: This will be the first time a university literary series has invited a blogger. How do you feel about being regarded as a literary figure?

I feel really, really awkward about this. You put a label like "literary work" on something and you come with certain expectations, and I feel that I have to apologize every time this is mentioned. Whenever I get emails from students around the world telling me they have been assigned to read my book [a collection of his blog entries] in class I usually answer, "I'm really sorry you have to do that." I mean, here you have someone who really was just bored at the office and started writing in a language that is not his mother tongue, using idioms and words he picked up from movies and songs, and someone puts it on a school curriculum! I am baffled and amused by what happened to the blog, book, and to Salam Pax.

Q: Are you saying the blogosphere has become overhyped?

I am not saying that blogs do not offer content that is worth the "literary" title. There are many amazing blogs and webjournals that make amazing reading. I started my own because of a couple of really great blogs I tried to emulate. I generally read more journals online than news blogs. They are such a fascinating window into people's lives, and when this is coupled with a gift for writing it can be as gripping as some of the best novels. What makes it even more exciting is that you have to wait until the author feels she/he is ready to give you the next installment. I think today I spend as much time reading personal blogs as I spend reading books. There is no argument that they are a new literary genre which is fresh and exciting because of its immediacy. You don't have to wait for it long to be published and world or local events that influence the writers are not time shifted but they are now.

Q: I understand you're working with the BBC in London? What's it been like stepping over to the journalism world?

When someone suggested I do video blogs, a program on BBC2 [Newsnight] offered to give it a try, and we have been doing these for them for the last year and a half. I have to admit that the v-blogs are almost more fun than the blogs online. Just as in my own online blog I am not bound by any sort of editorial policy or TV constraints, and we played with the format. And they accepted my amateurish camera work after some initial grumbling. One of the editors who worked on a couple of the blogs used to say that when working on a Salam Pax piece you have to "embrace the wobble"ÿÿthat's my shoddy camera work. I haven't really become a journalist. I have a press pass because I don't want to be thrown in prison if coalition soldiers or Iraq Army catch me filming convoys, but other than that I don't use the J-word. I wouldn't even describe myself as a freelance journalist, and I don't buy into the whole bloggers-killed-the-journalism-star argument. Apples and apple pie is what I!
say -- related but not really the same.

Q: Your previous career was architecture; will you ever go back to it? What do you want to accomplish as the Baghdad Blogger? Will you ultimately leave Iraq for good?

I have not left the country through all this. I do get to travel more often these days, which is nice, and it gives me a break from the madness, but there was never a moment my family and I thought we wanted to leave. This might change now with the feeling that we are on the brink of a civil war. And I guess I will take the blog as far as it goes. I do know that Salam Pax serves a particular purpose, and when that time is gone we will just put him back under the bed and I go on with my life, which hopefully will be in Baghdad and not in an enforced exile, running away from civil war.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com.
From the March 22-28, 2006 issue of Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper.
Copyright © 2006 Metro Publishing Inc. Metroactive is affiliated with the Boulevards Network.
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# posted by newshare @ 9:01 AM 0 comments

Monday, March 20, 2006

BOOK: "Crashing the Gate" by bloggers Markos Moulitsas Zuniga and Jerome Armstrong

Here's a review of a new book -- publication date is March 27, 2006 -- by two darlings of the progressive Democratic blogging movement: Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of http://www.dailykos.com and Jerome Armstrong of http://www.mydd.com

The review author is Rob Williams, an historian and professor at Champlain College, in Burlington, Vt., and president of the Action Coalition for Media Education.

ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.acmecoalition.org/blog/direct_link.cfm?bid=18751852-50BA-1A28-5270676C25CAA09A

BOOK REVIEW: Crashing The Gate - Netroots, Grassroots and the Rise
of People-Powered Politics

Reviewed by Rob Williams

Crashing The Gate: The Trade-Offs Of "Netizen-ship"

What do you get when you cross two high-powered progressively-minded citizen activists with the "information superhighway"?

The answer: a new book called Crashing The Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics. Co-authored by liberal blogmeister Markos Moulitas Zuniga of www.dailykos.com and www.myDD.com founder Jerome Armstrong (two of the most popular progressive bloggers in the country), the book makes a compelling and occasionally frustrating case for re-tooling the brain-dead (some say) Democratic Party for the Internet Age.

Wait a second, you may be thinking. Stop right there. Please speak in English. What's a "blog," for starters?

Back up twenty years. Like any other new communications technology (think the telegraph, the radio, or the television), the Internet's arrival during the 1980s brought with it the usual mix of hyperbole and hot air that accompanies the invention of the same. And, of course, during the first two decades (so far) of development, the Internet has moved from being a promising public forum for cutting edge electronic community discussion to an orgiastic corporate commercial sales vehicle. Anyone who uses e-mail or surfs the web is now confronted with the latest and greatest in pop up and banner ads touting everything from online porn pictures to penis enlargement procedures, while electronic "cookies" keep track of our every mouse click. Surveillance society indeed.

But Armstrong and Zuniga belong to that heady group of citizen activists who effectively have used the Internet to tap into Americans' frustration with politics as usual. "Fueled by the new technologies -" the web, blogging tools, Google -" this new generation of activists helped spark some life into the Democratic Party establishment," they write, "and the online medium allowed a level of participation nonexistent in traditional media." To answer the question above: A "blog" (short for "web log)is an electronic journal, of sorts, that creates an online arena for conversation -" individuals log in to a blog site, read people's posts, respond with thoughts of their own, and voila -" first an extended conversation, then a community, then a movement is born.

Or so the argument goes in "Crashing The Gate." And make no mistake -" this is not a book about policy-making. (In fact, some reviewers have suggested the book might benefit from a more wonky flavor, though I disagree with this assessment). Instead, the authors have written a slim and accessible book about the process by which citizens engage in politics using the Internet, and Zuniga and Armstrong are our tour guides intimately familiar with the progressive e-landscape, having played central roles in shaping it.

After setting the stage by emphasizing the problems associated with the traditional Democratic Party approach to politics (at once too centralized, hierarchical and unfocused) and related fears about a well-funded and well-organized Republican Party machine, Armstrong and Zuniga recount their various battles with Establishment Democrats, and the successes they've had in creating electronic communities of like-minded progressive activists. "A whole new generation of reformers -" from the online world of the netroots, to new multi-issue groups, to new labor, to new big-dollar donors -" is engaged in a two front war," they observe, "battling to knock Republicans off their perch while jostling for control of the Democratic Party."

And this "insider's perspective" makes for fascinating reading.

Perhaps the best piece of advice Zuniga and Armstrong give is the need to build a progressive infrastructure -" not the "sexiest topic," as they say -" but vital to the long-term success of any political effort. And complicated by the fact that your average American, hustling to work several jobs in an effort to "put food on the family" (to quote the White House's current occupant) doesn't necessarily have the time, energy, money, resources, or interest in entering the "blogosphere" for extended conversations about how to "take back our country."

The e-alternative -" the weekly bombardment of e-mail missives urging action on specific issues from the likes of such groups as MoveOn.org (now with 3 million members) -" has some utility in alerting and organizing citizens around certain issues -" but, paradoxically enough, feels exhausting after a while.

While Zuniga and Armstrong have written a vital book about the high-tech promise of "people powered politics," we all might do well to remember the words of famed Boston Democrat "Tip" O"Neill: "all politics is local." The face-to-face conversation and organizing efforts that take place in pubs, schools, churches and communities have never been more important in an age where relationships are continually mediated. While "Crashing The Gate" offers a useful roadmap, then, it is but one part of a much larger 21st century political story all of us are authoring.

And you can be sure that those of us in the peaceable secession effort -" frustrated conservatives, progressives, libertarians, Greens, and liberals alike -" will remember this moving forward.

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# posted by newshare @ 3:14 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 19, 2006

David Mitchell ex-Point Reyes Light owner, restrained

ORIGINAL ARTICLE LINK:
http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_3613088

Article Launched: 03/17/2006 8:51 AM PST

New editor, old editor feuding in Point Reyes

Nancy Isles Nation
Marin (Calif.) Independent Journal

The Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor and publisher of the Point Reyes
Light has been slapped with a temporary restraining order by the
ex-prosecutor who replaced him at the weekly West Marin newspaper.
The order bars David Mitchell, the muckraking journalist who published the
Point Reyes Light for 30 years, from the newspaper office where he used to
hang his hat.

The order also compels him to stay away from the new publisher, Robert
Plotkin, 35, a former Monterey County deputy district attorney who bought
the Light from Mitchell and has dreams of turning it into "the New York
Times of West Marin."

Plotkin petitioned for the temporary restraining order on Feb. 17, a day
after he said Mitchell grabbed him by the neck and tried to run him down
with his car.

On March 2, Marin Superior Court Commissioner Randolph Heubach issued a
ruling ordering Mitchell to stay 100 yards away from Plotkin, his wife,
Lys, and 5-year-old son. Mitchell is also to stay away from the Point
Reyes Light offices, Plotkin's car and his home in Bolinas, and his
child's school.

In a statement filed with the request for the restraining order, Plotkin
said that he and several staffers were going to go out to lunch with
Mitchell on Feb. 16. Plotkin was a passenger in Mitchell's car when
discussion turned to plans by the paper to publish an article about a
ranch.

Plotkin said Mitchell told him he would not go to lunch and proceeded to
drive toward the newspaper office to drop him off.

"He grew visibly, shakingly angry," Plotkin wrote in the statement. He
said that when Mitchell grabbed him by the throat, he jumped out of the
passenger seat.

Plotkin claimed that Mitchell then screamed profanities and nearly drove
his car into the newspaper office's French doors.

Reached at his home, Mitchell, 62, referred questions about the
restraining order to his attorney, who did not return phone calls.

But Mitchell did say Plotkin was overreacting.

"It sounds like we have a very young man with a very wild imagination,"
Mitchell said.

The 6-foot-6-inch Mitchell said he wrote a column in the Light a month ago
asking the public to support the new publisher of the local paper.

"I've been trying to defend him," Mitchell said. "The guy is excitable and
sometimes has a tendency to jump at shadows. He sometimes goes after the
people trying to help him."

Locals say they have had mixed feelings about Plotkin's Point Reyes Light.

Steve Doughty, a dairy rancher and owner of Point Reyes Vineyards, said he
and some others set Plotkin straight at the last chamber meeting. "This is
not New York," Doughty said. "We think he's coming around - if he follows
through with the things we talked about at our meeting, it will work out."

Doughty said locals don't want a newspaper like the New York Times. "I
chastised him for writing about driving his BMW and living in Bolinas,"
Doughty said. "He needs to get out and meet some of the people and find
out things."

Judy Borello, a rancher and owner of the Old Western Saloon in Point Reyes
Station, was unaware of the conflict between Mitchell and Plotkin but said
she misses the old Light.

"Dave knew us better - he knew the layout and the people in the town,"
Borello said. "Robert lives in Bolinas and hasn't lived there that long."

Heubach extended the restraining order until the next court hearing on
April 4. Lawyers for both the men said they hope to settle the issue out
of court. Mitchell's lawyer said Mitchell wants access to the newspaper's
archives.

Mitchell, whose stories on Synanon won the Pulitzer for public service in
1979, is confident everything will work out.

"He will come to his senses," Mitchell said.

Plotkin, in an interview Thursday night, said he has "no animus" against
Mitchell.

"Since I took over the newspaper, it's been very difficult on Dave, and
the loss of the newspaper has affected him very deeply, and I hope he'll
be able to recover," he said.

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# posted by newshare @ 10:18 PM 0 comments

Jarvis/A wake-up call to end teaching and learning media silos

Follow the link below. It's a recent post from Jeff Jarvis, new-media entrepreneur, formerly TV Guide critic and Newshouse/Advance new-media director, now about to enter journalism teaching at CUNY. It's another reminder that if we're interested in media, we have to stop thinking of print, broadcast, web, etc. as different silos. An exciting challenge, 'though hard, too.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2006/03/18/tear-up-the-tracks-and-the-business-cards/

Jarvis quotes from a post by Paul Conley, found at:
http://paulconley.blogspot.com/2006/03/students-teachers-and-visionaries.html

# posted by newshare @ 9:19 AM 0 comments

Friday, March 17, 2006

Editor's weblog: Is the role of editors more or less important in the digital age?

Friday, March 17, 2006

Posted by John Burke on March 17, 2006 at 05:41 PM
http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2006/03/is_the_role_of_editors_more_or_less_impo.php

Is the role of editors more or less important in the digital age?

There is a serious predicament facing that century-tested bastion of journalism, the people who decide what the public should know, the ultimate conventional gatekeepers; news editors. Some believe that editors are more necessary than ever in sifting through the plethora of information on the Internet. Others feel that online interactivity could replace traditional editors with peer-to-peer suggestions. In these respects, the question is,in the digital world, will editors thrive or will they die?

Former president of CBS News, Andrew Heyward, recently touched upon this topic in a speech at the Poynter Institute. "My view," he opined, is that this complicated world is an even bigger market for editors and journalists who can make sense of it all."

Indeed, in Heyward's opinion, the massive amounts of information at any Internet user's fingertips accompanied by the burgeoning citizen journalism movement has created chaos, a chaos that will be a permanent fixture of the information world: "Side by side, you're going to have professional journalism and citizen-created journalism. Order vs. chaos -- this is a world that is chaotic compared to what we're used to. It's not neat. Get used to it. Chaos is going to co-exist with order in the media world."

In a similar vein, last year new media journalist for the PBS blog MediaShift, Mark Glaser proposed what could become a permanent fixture of newsrooms; the citizen media editor (CME). The roll of the CME, which some purport is already established in several newsrooms (at least in function if not in title), is to pick out the contributions from readers and viewers that are most worthy for public view. In the end, this saves the reader lots of time instead of having to browse through tens or hundreds of contributions before finding one that pleases them. At the same time, this also contradicts the idea of choice that Internet newsreaders so cherish.

This is where the threat to editors from online interactivity comes into play. One facet of this interactivity is "the buzz"; what people are talking about, what theyÿÿre listening to, what they're reading. The problem that some see with the traditional editor in the interactive world is that it's only one person who is deciding what stories get researched and eventually published. Obviously, the decision of one person is not going to appeal to everyone.

But collective decisions, according to some netizens, surely do. Take the blossoming site, Digg.com, which describes itself as a "website that employs non-hierarchical editorial control." Digg is composed of stories submitted by registered users. These stories are then voted on by the registered community. Those that prove popular are bumped up to the front page in a dynamic process that continually changes the articles on the homepage. And of course there is an internal search engine to find stories of more personal, specific interest, stories that have also been voted on so the reader can gauge their popularity with people of like minds.

As of now, Digg focuses on technology. But don't be surprised if in the very near future offshoots emerge on various topics like politics, economics, or dare I say, the future of traditional media.

Topic specific versions of Digg would avoid situations such as that which happened with a newspaper website in Chile where readers were invited to vote on the stories they wanted the paper to follow. The site quickly turned into a celebrity and gossip tabloid. Other newspapers implement such collective opinion tools such as the ever-present most emailed stories sidebar. Or the wikitorial, which may not have lasted long at the Los Angeles Times but is already being revived in South Dakota.

Also, a few newspapers that blog have citizens censor comments and vote on those they feel feed the discussion, pushing those comments to the top. This comment censoring is also seen in other online communities such as Craigslist, where users can flag any postings that may include offensive content. And letÿÿs not forget about the user-edited encyclopedia, Wikipedia. So it seems that the traditional editor has some major competition on the Web in deciding what the public should and shouldnÿÿt see. But even if the interactive collective opinion should triumph over the choice of one editor, other aspects of an editorÿÿs job description become more important: fact checking and the actual editing.

If choice is left up to the masses, the masses are going to seek out the most well-investigated, well-verified, well-written and overall best stories to pass on to their peers. Here in, the job of the editor in guiding the production of quality journalism will be more crucial than ever.

Sources: Poynter, Digg.com

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# posted by newshare @ 11:29 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Massachusetts daily newspaper group launches "Wicked Local" web offshoot

Wicked Local Breaks New Ground - Media site integrates news, citizen
journalism and local search.

QUINCY, Mass. -- March 15, 2006 -- Enterprise NewsMedia, LLC today announced the launch of Wicked Local, a network of hyper-local websites that will draw news content from affiliate newspapers, offer a robust platform for citizen journalism and provide a comprehensive local search resource.

The venture will launch first with news and citizen journalism in Plymouth, MA with Wicked Local Plymouth (www.wickedlocalplymouth.com <http://www.wickedlocalplymouth.com/> ) and with local search throughout the Boston region with Wicked Local Search (www.wickedlocalsearch.com <http://www.wickedlocalsearch.com/> ). The company is planning to expand the network in the market over the next two years.

"Wicked Local is integrated in nature. It marries professional journalism with citizen journalism in a way that will gain and sustain audience traction," said Bob Kempf, vice president of interactive media. "As publishers of community newspapers, we are in an ideal position to host and lead the local conversation and information exchange in the communities where we publish."

Wicked Local Search provides the venture's advertising support with a distinct focus on paid search. "We felt a need to move beyond simple platform shift with our newspaper classifieds and display advertising," said Kempf. "We've taken that content and integrated it with listings aggregated from other sources in order to provide our readers with a truly comprehensive local search engine. As a result we can offer advertisers a range of effective upsell and paid search options around that content." Wicked Local Search is powered by Planet Discover, a search technology company.

Enterprise NewsMedia, publishers of the Patriot Ledger, The Enterprise and 23 community newspapers in the Boston area, sees Wicked Local as an integral part of its overall audience development strategy. "We envision a seamless network of communities being served by Wicked Local," said CEO Kirk Davis. "Not only will this product deepen our reach within the region we currently serve, but it's been developed as a platform for 'wicked' expansion. This is a transformational step for our company and we're very excited about it."

In addition to professional journalism from the company's print publications, Wicked Local will provide in-depth community information, easy-to-use tools for readers to contribute news and photos and opinions, blogs from staffers, and much more. "People are looking for a central source where they can find all the news they want, how they want it," said Wicked Local online editor Courtney Hollands. "Wicked Local satisfies the ever-changing appetite of today's news readers."

Wicked Local is the most recent venture of rapidly growing Enterprise NewsMedia, the South of Boston region's leading local media company. The company's Plymouth-based Memorial Press Group has expanded the weekly and bi-weekly community newspaper portfolio, closing on the acquisition of the 12 Associated and Independent newspapers earlier this month. Enterprise NewsMedia operates SouthofBoston.com and publishes the Plymouth Guide for tourists.

For more information contact: Bob Kempf; 617-786-7078, rkempf@ledger.com <mailto:rkempf@ledger.com> or

Anne Eisenmenger; 617-786-7266, aeisenmenger@ledger.com <mailto:aeisenmenger@ledger.com>

This release may be viewed online at: www.wickedlocal.com/press
<http://www.wickedlocal.com/press>

# posted by newshare @ 11:00 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

EDUCATION: Teaching better journalism through video games?

ORIGINAL LINK (who graphic):
http://www.happynews.com/news/392006/Game-teaches-journalism-students-skills.htm
ALTERNATE LINK:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11746789/

Better journalism through video games?
Instead of slaying monsters, players must tackle sources

Updated: 10:40 p.m. ET March 9, 2006

By Peter Svensson
Associated Press Writer

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Being a rookie journalist can be intimidating. But what if your editor is an ogre?

To teach fact-finding skills, professors at the University of Minnesota have turned the fantasy computer game "Neverwinter Nights" into a tool for journalism students. Instead of slaying monsters and gathering gold, the players tackle sources and gather information. "When we initially did the game, it still had lava pits, the editor looked like an ogre . stuff like that. The librarian had breastplates," said Nora Paul, director of the university's Institute for New Media Studies.

The team, which includes game designer Matt Taylor and journalism professor Kathleen Hansen, have now modified the game graphics to look like a modern town, the fictional Harperville. A train has derailed, spilling toxic ammonia, and the players are sent out to cover the story. They dig up information by going to the library, government offices or talking to a retired train engineer at the bar.

For each step of a conversation, the players have four choices of what to tell to the interview subjects, ranging in attitude from assertive to tentative. If players are too brash, the interview subjects will say "Excuse me, I don't like your attitude," and end the conversation.

The goals of the game are not only to reinforce the thinking process behind information gathering and distinguishing between different types of sources, but also to teach etiquette, Paul says. The team had initially planned to have a crowd of game characters milling about the accident scene, but the game wasn't amenable to that. A bug in the program meant that any time a player approached a group of people, he was immediately attacked and killed.

CONTACT:

Nora Paul
Director, Institute for New Media Studies
University of Minnesota
313 Murphy Hall
200 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-8593
npaul@umn.edu
www.inms.umn.edu

BELOW FROM: http://sjmc.umn.edu/mreporter/facupdate.html

(Professor Kathleen Hansen and Institute for New Media Studies Director Nora Paul were awarded a $16,000 grant from the College of Liberal Arts to develop an interactive simulation using an off-the-shelf game system called .NeverWinter Nights.. The simulation is being developed as a way to teach students the information strategy process through a realistic scenario in which the students play the role of a reporter covering a community emergency.)

---------------------------------------------------
STORY BELOW FROM THE MINNESOTA DAILY, student paper
at the University of Minnesota:

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/02/16/67172
February 16, 2006

J-School students play games to learn

Journalism students will use a game this semester to develop research skills.

By Jeannine Aquino

This just in: A train derailed in the city of Harperville and spilled its load of anhydrous ammonia, a highly irritating gas with a sharp, suffocating odor. The story is assigned to a rookie reporter at the Harperville Gazette. He has only a few hours to get information, find people to talk to and figure out an angle for his story.

These are just a few challenges working journalists face every day. Now, through innovative use of the commercial computer game .Neverwinter Nights," University journalism students will have the opportunity to take on these challenges virtually.

This semester, in the Information for Mass Communication honors section, 25 students will perform the role of the rookie reporter. Each student will have to research, report and eventually write a 1,000-word article about the virtual spill in hypothetical Harperville.Journalism professor Kathleen Hansen teaches the class. She said there are a lot of skills the course is designed to give students that they might not necessarily be able to practice.

"Part of what we are doing with this game is to give students the opportunity to practice these techniques without having to go out in the physical world," she said. Hansen, along with Nora Paul, director of the Institute of New Media Studies, decided to use computer games because they were interested in whether the games would enhance a student.s comprehension of the information-gathering process.

"It's one thing for people to read something in a book," Hansen said. "It's another thing to have a game that simulates that process and forces you to put it together."

Similar to real-world reporting, the game allows players to do a little research before heading out for a virtual interview. Reporters can go to a news library stocked with hundreds of pages of documents and sources from online sites. The reporter even has the option of looking up a potential source.s address and making a few calls to prepare for an interview.

Paul and then-Dunwoody College of Technology instructor Matt Taylor approached Hansen about the possibility of using computer games almost two years ago. Hansen and Paul provided the journalistic content while Taylor worked on the actual development of the game. Taylor updated the original medieval content of .Neverwinter Nights" into a more modern setting for journalism students.

"We don't want students to be able to hit someone with a club," he said, referring to the commercial games ability to allow players to fight a multitude of fantasy characters. Hansen introduced the team's first working version of the game to honors students last semester. The version had several bugs that needed to be fixed, including an actual battle between the newspaper editor and reporter near the end of the game, Hansen said. "You might have arguments with an editor, but they don.t usually try to kill you," she said jokingly.The bugs have since been fixed and a more refined version of the game will be available for students to use in March, said Ted Whelan, a child psychology junior who was hired last week to help make the game more realistic.

Hansen said the game was not intended to replace the actual class. "It's another way we're trying to convey some of the ideas and concepts in the class," she said. "You can almost think of it as an enhancement." The use of computer-assisted instruction is a significant change from thinking of games purely for entertainment purposes.

"Games can indeed be useful and not just frivolous or dangerous," Whelan said. "I think that games as educational or research tools hold a lot of promise."

Barbara Garrity is a sophomore journalism student in the course's current honors section and soon will use the game."It could be more beneficial than reading because you actually have to interact with it," she said. "Like, with reading, I kind of zone out."

----------------------------------------------------------------

The articles above are copyrighted material, the use of which may not have
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The material is made
available in an effort to advance understanding of political, economic,
democracy, First Amendment, technology, journalism, community and justice
issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' as provided by
Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.
Chapter 1, Section 107, the material above is distributed without profit
to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use
copyrighted material from this blog for purposes beyond fair use, you must
obtain permission from the copyright owner.

# posted by newshare @ 9:34 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 12, 2006

NEWSPAPERS: Newspapers fading, but not that fast, PEJ annual report says

ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002157352

FOR FULL REPORT:
http://www.stateofthemedia.org as of Monday, March 13, 2006.

Annual State-of-Media Report: 2005 'Three Times Worse' Than 2004

By Editor & Publisher Staff

Published: March 12, 2006 5:40 PM ET

NEW YORK The annual "The State of the American News Media" report, to be
released Monday, declares that while 2004 was a bad year for the newspaper
industry, with circulation and advertising declines, "2005 was about
three times worse.".

It also asserts that at many old media companies "the decades-long battle
at the top between idealists and accountants is now over. The idealists
have lost. The troubles of 2005, especially in print, dealt a further blow
to this fight for journalism in the public interest." The report quotes an
editor a major paper: "If you argue about public trust today, you will be
dismissed as an obstructionist and a romantic."

In a surprising finding, the report states that the audience for online
news appears to have leveled off. The growth now is not in how many people
get news online, .but how often they do so..

The 700-page report, from the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ),
reveals that newspapers are expected to have lost about 1,500 jobs in
2005. That represents a drop of about 3,800 jobs, or about 7% since 2000.
Since 1990, circulation will have fallen nearly 15% or more than 9
million, on weekdays.

Yet the report concludes that .any idea that newspapers have turned a
corner and are on a rapid course to extinction seems overheated. The
circulation declines and job cuts will probably tally at only about 3% for
the year. The industry will still post profit margins of 20%. And if one
combines print and online, the readership of many newspapers is higher
than ever..

The report also looks in-depth at television, online, blogs, radio and
cable.

.The variety of news sources available today makes relying on a single
outlet seem like an outdated idea,. Project Director Tom Rosenstiel said.
.But consumers need to be careful about where they go and even when.
Stories come and go fast and getting a comprehensive picture of the news
can be difficult..

The big question, the report poses, is how long will it take online to get
to an economic model that rivals the old media in revenues. .In the
meantime, American newsrooms, already shrinking, may no longer be able to
cover the waterfront,. it warns.

Among other findings, as described by PEJ:

. The new paradox of journalism is more outlets are covering fewer
stories. As the number of news outlets grows, generally the audiences of
each one shrinks, and news organizations cut back on resources. Yet they
still all have to cover the big stories. Thus on most major events, we
have more reporters, but fewer stories are being covered generally. A
close look at the big news websites even demonstrates it. Google News
offers access within two clicks to 14,000 stories, but really they are
accounts of just 24 news events.

. Among newspapers big city metros appear to be suffering the biggest
circulation declines and newsroom cutbacks. The three national newspapers
and smaller papers are faring better. These big papers are caught between
people having access to national and international sources at one end, and
more niche publications on the other. Yet our content studies suggest the
big metros are the news organizations most likely to have the resources
and aspirations to act as watchdog over state, regional and urban
institutions, to identify trends, and to define the larger community
public square. It is unlikely small suburban dailies or weeklies will take
up that challenge.

.In the last year, the changes in media have intensified, and the problems
for print have accelerated,. said Rosenstiel. .Yet it.s probably glib and
even naïve to say simply that more platforms equal more choices. The
content has to come from somewhere, and as older news gathering media
decline, some of the strengths they offer in monitoring the powerful and
verifying the facts may be weakening as well..

The study, which contains detailed charts, graphs and citations, can be
accessed online at www.stateofthemedia.org as of Monday morning.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The article above is copyrighted material, the use of which may not have specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The material is made available in an effort to advance understanding of political, economic, democracy, First Amendment, technology, journalism, community and justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' as provided by Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Chapter 1, Section 107, the material above is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

# posted by newshare @ 9:41 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

TRAINING RESOURCE: NewsCollege.ca website

From Jonathan Dube, writing on the Poynter website:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=32&aid=97445

NewsCollege
A new place for journalists to find tips online

By Jonathan Dube
CyberJournalist.net Publisher

NewsCollege is a new site for journalists, packed with dozens of
journalism tip sheets and articles.

The site, which launched earlier this month, was created by Gregg
McLachlan, the Associate Managing Editor of the Simcoe Reformer in
Ontario, Canada.

For years he has published the newsroom newsletter "The Write Way," which
has been circulated to journalists in Canada, the United States,
Caribbean, Malaysia, Europe, South Africa and South America.

NewsCollege is a new site that includes many of the tip sheets previously
published in "The Write Way," some of which have been updated and revised
for NewsCollege.

The tips touch on all of the basics, such as tightening copy and
eliminating weak quotes. The site also has dozens of other tips ranging
from how to learn from your mistakes to 50 ways to find story ideas.

# posted by newshare @ 11:00 PM 0 comments

Ex-daily reporter at Capitol Hill Blue gives finger to Patriot Act demand

Capitol Hill Blue, an independent website which covers Congress, is
reporting that " . . . the National Security Agency is wiretapping
reporters' phones, following journalists on a daily basis, searching their
homes and offices under a USA Patriot Act provision that allows "secret
and undisclosed searches" and pouring over financial and travel records of
hundreds of Washington-based reporters". Doug Thompson, a former daily
newspaper reporter and government worker who is the website's
owner/publisher, says he received a National Security letter (authorized
under the USA Patriot Act) asking for records and he responded with a
two-word expletive in what he termed an exercise of his First Amendment
rights.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/blog/2006/03/bush_declares_war_on_freedom_o.html

DOUG THOMPSON BIO:
http://www.blueridgemuse.com/bio.htm
http://prorev.com/2005/12/who-is-doug-thompson.htm

Doug Thompson
220 Parkway Lane South, Suite 2
Floyd VA 24091
540-745-3433
doug@blueridgecreative.com

# posted by newshare @ 9:57 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 05, 2006

METRICS/RESEARCH: Snapshop of metrics at Philadelphia Inquirer

These paragraphs are from:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13961469.htm

EXCERPT:

"Employment at Philadelphia Newspapers peaked at 4,000 in the late 1980s. Since
then a series of cutbacks has dropped the total to less than 2,800.
Inquirer circulation also peaked in the 1980s, at more than a million on
Sundays and half a million on weekdays, but has slid steadily to about 358,000
daily and 715,000 on Sundays, according to the Audit Bureau of

"Circulation - although some of the loss can be attributed to changes in
accounting. Natoli, PNI's publisher, says readership is actually growing,
counting readers of Philly.com.

"Most important, from a financial perspective, advertising sales peaked in
2000,
at $472 million, tumbled almost to $400 million the next year, and have stayed
at or below that level ever since. Natoli says the company's share of sales
through Careerbuilder.com, Shop Local, Apartments.com, Topix.net and other
sites Knight Ridder has a stake in will boost future profits."

FULL STORY:

Posted on Sun, Feb. 26, 2006

In digital age, what is a paper worth?As Knight Ridder accepts bids, the
fate and value of The Inquirer and Daily News are open to debate.

By Joseph N. DiStefano
Inquirer Staff Writer

The last time The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News changed owners, in
1970, circulation was down, competition was up, and the papers' fate was
in the hand of a distant corporation.

Seems like old times. Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., which publishes what
are now the city's two major dailies, has the largest circulation and the
biggest advertising sales among the 29 markets served by the Knight Ridder
Inc. newspaper chain.

But while The Inquirer and Daily News account for more than one-sixth of
Knight Ridder's revenue, they contribute less than one-tenth of the
company's operating profit.

Stuck in a slow-growth market, facing advertiser consolidation and a
steady shift by readers and ads from its printed pages to its
less-profitable Internet sites, PNI is not in a happy place at a time when
the parent company is for sale.

Last fall, under pressure from its largest shareholder, Private Capital
Management Inc., Knight Ridder agreed to look for a buyer for the entire
chain, which is based in San Jose, Calif., and also includes newspapers in
Miami, Charlotte, N.C., and Fort Worth, Texas.

PNI publisher Joe Natoli and his lieutenants have scrambled to boost
online ads, maintain print advertising and circulation, and fill gaps
created by 100 newsroom buyouts last year. Now they also get to wonder who
they will be working for. At least one senior executive, human resources
director David Vidovich, left in recent weeks, taking a job at Tasty
Baking Co., although Vidovich said he had been thinking about the move
before Knight Ridder went up for sale.

Natoli called the potential sale "distracting" but added that the company
still generates significant profits. He tells his staff to keep providing
"compelling" news, good customer service, and "the best return on
investment for an advertising dollar."

Meanwhile, would-be owners are touring company offices and work areas.
William Dean Singleton, chief executive officer of the Denver-based
MediaNews Group newspaper chain, and Norman Alpert, head of Vestar Capital
private investments in New York, visited last week. They were joined by
Gary L. Watson, former newspaper chief at Gannett Co. - another potential
buyer.

Knight Ridder wants to sell the papers as a group to avoid the tax impact
of selling them individually. Since no single buyer has emerged, analysts
speculate that a group of newspaper chains and private investors might
make a joint bid, with the expectation that some properties could later be
sold. One private investor, Yucaipa Cos., of Los Angeles, says it wants to
participate in the purchase of nine unionized papers, including the two in
Philadelphia, with support from the Newspaper Guild union.

How likely is a break-up of the chain? "Private equity guys really have to
struggle with that," said Susan Casey, media analyst at Houlihan Lokey
Howard & Zukin in Los Angeles. "The concern they have is, where do they
exit? What will the landscape look like in five years?"

Analysts are uncertain whether buyers will be willing to pay much more -
for all of the company or pieces of it - than the $63 per share it has
fetched in recent trading.

"These companies... have rightsized their workforces already. So what's
the upside?" said Seth Lehr, a founding partner of LLR, a Philadelphia
private investment firm.

Like an old-fashioned editor, no matter how good you are, Wall Street
wants to know what you've done for it lately. Public companies are under
constant pressure: Boost sales or cut costs, but don't let profit fall, or
someone will buy you out.

Employment at Philadelphia Newspapers peaked at 4,000 in the late 1980s.
Since then a series of cutbacks has dropped the total to less than 2,800.
Inquirer circulation also peaked in the 1980s, at more than a million on
Sundays and half a million on weekdays, but has slid steadily to about
358,000 daily and 715,000 on Sundays, according to the Audit Bureau of
Circulation - although some of the loss can be attributed to changes in
accounting. Natoli, PNI's publisher, says readership is actually growing,
counting readers of Philly.com.

Most important, from a financial perspective, advertising sales peaked in
2000, at $472 million, tumbled almost to $400 million the next year, and
have stayed at or below that level ever since. Natoli says the company's
share of sales through Careerbuilder.com, Shop Local, Apartments.com,
Topix.net and other sites Knight Ridder has a stake in will boost future
profits.

All that leaves potential buyers - of Knight Ridder as a whole, and of PNI
in particular - mulling whether the Philadelphia papers have the potential
to boost future print advertising and Internet income, or are an industry
and a market in decline.

PNI remains the largest single source of advertising and news in one of
the nation's five largest markets. This despite the fact that, as Lehman
Bros. noted in a recent report, newspapers as a group command half the
advertising market share they held in the 1960s. Natoli notes that
broadcast news has lost even more ground.

A few local investors have made discreet inquiries about buying the
papers, although one of them, advertising executive Brian Tierney, calls
the business "awfully complicated" and discouraging to all but the biggest
buyers.

Local business leaders don't seem too upset by the prospect that one set
of outside owners may soon replace another. But academics and veteran news
professionals have sounded concerns about the possibility that new owners
will cut newsrooms further to boost profit.

Calling news a public service, communications professors, retired editors,
and a Daily News columnist have asked nonprofit foundations to take over
the papers as a public trust. Rebecca Rimel, head of the Pew Charitable
Trusts, said in November that foundations like hers have a role in
discussing the future of the papers.

But Pew board member R. Anderson Pew dismisses talk of his foundation
owning the paper, saying "newspapers aren't charities."
How much is Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. worth?

"It's worth what people will pay for it. That's Economics 101," cracked
Chuck Faunce, director and valuation specialist at Devon-based Smart and
Associates L.L.P.

Investment bankers like to say that each deal is idiosyncratic, and that a
range of prices can be justified by a determined buyer and its hired
experts.

Any investor trying to come up with a reasonable price for PNI faces some
tough basic questions. Among the most important: Which corporate assets,
debts and other liabilities will be assigned to the Philadelphia papers in
case of a sale?

Knight Ridder points to the success of one of its online partnerships,
CareerBuilder.com, which posts help-wanted ads in partnership with
newspapers at Gannett and Tribune Co., and claims to be the most popular
online help-wanted site.

But "we are not sure where the online properties would end up were the
company to be sold," and that could make it tougher to price individual
Knight Ridder papers, analyst Jake Newman of CreditSights, a British-based
bond analysis firm, warned in a recent investor report.

The papers also control a string of weekly neighborhood newspapers, free
ad books, and some prominent real estate. Publisher Natoli says the
Northeast Times, The Trend, and other "community publications" reach "more
than one million households each week.

PNI's key real estate holdings include the office tower and former
newspaper plant that take up a block of Callowhill Street between Broad
and 15th in Center City, plus the Schuylkill Printing Plant in Upper
Merion.

The tower was assessed at $10 million in 2003. But real values are "tough
to say," said Eugene Davy, director of assessments for the city. "Maybe
you could gentrify the tower and put in condos... But it's not approved
for that kind of development."

The printing plant, opened in 1992, was assessed by Montgomery County in
1998 at a market value of $55 million. But last year, PNI successfully
lowered the assessment to show a market value of $35.5 million - although
that's cheaper than neighboring sites.

Most of the company's value "is intangible," said Faunce, the valuation
specialist. It's customer lists, brand identity, advertising and reader
relationships. "There's no real way to know for sure" what those are
worth, he added.

To justify high purchase prices, newspapers need to convince buyers they
can add sales, not just cut costs.
Numbers aside, there may be local buyers who would pay a premium for
newspapers because they expect intangible benefits.

"There are still rich guys who think it makes them king of the community
if they own the news," said Susan Casey, media analyst at Houlihan Lokey
Howard & Zukin, a Los Angeles investment bank that concentrates on
midmarket companies. It's the kind of multimillionaire who might buy a
sports team, in part, for the prestige factor. "They want to be heard -
they want a platform - and the big metro dailies don't change hands very
often."

Are newspapers really a platform of the future? Now that affluent
Americans can buy digital programming straight from Web sites and
entertainment media, mass-market newspapers and broadcasters "are going to
survive because of the digital illiterate - the poor - who... are going to
continue to put up with advertising as part of the price" for free or
low-cost content, argues Eric C. Meltzer, managing director at Curtis
Financial Group L.L.C. and a former magazine publisher. He says the trend
is well along, as papers like The Inquirer cut pages and features like
their Sunday magazines.

Natoli is pushing a contrasting vision of locally based, nationally
networked advertising built around "our rich, authoritative content."
Print and online newspaper products offer "news, information and
advertising in multiple forms: in print, online, through mobile devices,
Pod-casting, 24 hours a day. Consumers will determine how and when to
access our journalism and advertising. Over time, the advertising revenue
will follow the audience."

Knight Ridder wants to know: Who's buying that vision and how much will
they pay?

Valuing Companies? It's Magic

Valuing companies is like "black magic," especially for subsidiaries like
PNI whose financial information is not readily available, said Glenn
Rieger of NewSpring Capital in King of Prussia. Here are some approaches
suggested (with many warnings) by investors and dealmakers:

Check the comps:Pulitzer Co., of St. Louis, sold last year at $1.46
billion - more than three times earnings, or 14 times cash flow (sales
minus operating costs, not counting taxes, depreciation, interests and
other financial costs.) By comparison, PNI is roughly the same size.

Stock market rules:Knight Ridder is worth $4.2 billion on the New York
Stock Exchange at recent prices. Since PNI is roughly one-sixth of the
company's sales, one-seventh of its circulation, and one-tenth of its
profit, investors could put a value on PNI of roughly $420 million to $700
million.

Rosy assumptions: Analysts said a motivated buyer would be willing to
consider what a company ought to be capable of earning. Based on the
revenue-to-expected-cash-flow numbers from recent deals, PNI could justify
a value of as much as $1.7 billion, not including debt, said Neal
McCarthy, managing director at Fairmount Capital Partners.
Don't forget the debt: Knight Ridder owes more than $2 billion. What is
Philadelphia's share? asks Jake Newman, analyst at CreditSights, a London
bond analysis firm. The total should be considered part of the deal price,
he said.

The customer is king. Dividing sales by circulation, the typical Knight
Ridder customer generates nearly $1,100 in revenue. Recent newspaper deals
have valued each customer at two to four times yearly customer revenue. In
PNI's case, that would suggest a value of $1 billion or more.

- Joseph N. DiStefano

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Joseph N. DiStefano at 215-854-5957 or jdistefano@phillynews.com.
Peter Dobrin and Anthony R. Wood contributed to this report.
----------------------------------------------------------------

# posted by newshare @ 11:24 AM 0 comments

ADVERTISING: Traditionalists worry how consumers will relate to advertising

ScottWalker notes a NYT article has some good info related to emerging business models, pointing out how - as consumers change habits, marketers will come to terms with it and develop new strategies, and therefore new business models will develop. The article includes this paragraph:

"How consumers will relate to media and advertising in the future is an issue that worries many marketers, and Google is only part of that question. Aspeople spend more time online or engrossed in iPods or video games, and asdigital technology shakes up traditional media, allowing on-demand reading or viewing, older forms of advertising are losing their impact."

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/business/media/01adco.html

Walker:
http://www.mediagiraffe.org/docs/walker_profile.html

# posted by newshare @ 9:57 AM 0 comments

BUSINESS MODELS: Crosbie says 100 web readers equals 1 print reader

ORIGINAL POST:
http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,,1719141,00.html
HEADLINE: One newspaper reader worth up to 100 online users in ad revenue
Monday February 27, 2006

By Stephen Brook
Press & publishing correspondent
MediaGuardian.co.uk

Newspaper websites need up to 100 extra online users to accompany each reader that migrates from print editions or they will lose revenue, according to an analysis presented to the World Association of Newspapers.Between 20 and 100 additional online users are needed because the revenue per reader for a newspaper website is far less than the equivalent figure earned by a print edition, even though online advertising is booming.

"As more and more people shift their news reading from print to online, the newspaper industry must dramatically increase its online advertising revenues or die," said Vincent Crosbie, a senior associate at American media strategist Borrell Associates. "Some experts say the battle is already lost in America because newspapers did not move fast enough," Mr Crosbie told the World Newspaper Advertising Conference & Expo.

Print editions of American newspapers earn between $500 (£287) and $900 (£517) per consumer a year from a combination of direct circulation revenues and indirect revenues from advertising, according to Mr Crosbie's analysis. "If American newspapers continue to lose 2-16% of their print circulation each year, they will need to gain 40% to 1,600% more website users just to stay even," he said. "Almost all American newspaper websites are free. Only 35 of the more than 1,500 daily newspapers' websites charge for access. Most have tried, but discovered that readers will not pay. So, newspaper websites must get advertising revenue to profit."

Online advertising revenues have risen dramatically in recent years because of broadband. Internet advertising was worth more than $17bn (£9.8bn) in the US last year, with $4bn (£2.3bn) going to newspapers. The trend is borne out in Britain, with the Financial Times announcing today that the willingness of its biggest advertisers to book combined newspaper and online advertising had pushed FT.com advertising revenues up 27%. In the US internet advertising is expected to surpass ad spending on telephone directories this year and will overtake radio ad revenues during the next 12-18 months. It has already overtaken advertising spending on outdoor billboards and magazines.

American newspapers earned nearly $4bn in internet advertising in 2005, including more than $1.9bn (£1.1bn) from national online advertising, $1.7bn (£1bn) from local online advertising and $222m (£128m) in direct referral online advertising. Yet internet companies such as Google and Yahoo! took more than half of all online ad spend during 2005. Internet companies earned nearly $9bn (£5.2bn), 53% of all online ad spending in the US.

· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk
or phone 020 7239 9857

# posted by newshare @ 1:05 AM 0 comments

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Blogs don't break open-meeting laws, North Adams, Mass., city lawyer advises

ORIGINAL POST:
http://www.thetranscript.com/headlines/ci_3562589
PUBLISHED: Thurs., March 2, 2006
HEADLINE: Blogs don't break open meeting law

TEXT OF LETTER:
http://newshare.typepad.com/greylocknews/files/weblogs-and-open-records-02-24-06.htm

By Jennifer Huberdeau, Reporter
North Adams Transcript

NORTH ADAMS -- City councilors can post to Web logs and appear together on television programs, as long as their conversations do not "engage in deliberation," says City Solicitor John B. DeRosa. Responding to open meeting law questions posed by Councilor Clark H. Billlings at the Feb. 14 council meeting, DeRosa provided a written opinion filed by the council Tuesday night. "I think this is good advice," Councilor Alan L. Marden said. "I think this should be made available to all of the city boards and committees."

The council had also sent the questions on to the secretary of state's office, the attorney general's office and to District Attorney David F. Capeless. Both the state offices declined to weigh in on blogs, councilor-hosted television shows, e-mails and candidates' nights, referring the questions to the district attorney's office. Capeless also declined to give an opinion.

"The district attorney's participation in the enforcement of the open meeting law is limited to determining whether there has been a violation of the law in a particular circumstance and if so, to decide the appropriate action that is required to respond to the violation," Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. Pieropan wrote. Pieropan continued: "Accordingly, this office does not offer advice or opinions regarding the interpretation of the open meeting law or the application of it to theoretical situations. Regardless of how narrowly worded a hypothetical question may be, it is inevitable that any answers provided by the district attorney could be mistakenly and/or inaccurately applied to some variation of the hypothetical circumstance. The district attorney's ability to enforce a violation of the law in such a circumstance would be seriously compromised."

"I'm a little disappointed the district attorney could not go into the hypothetical. It leaves every board in Berkshire County out on a limb until his office makes a decision to prosecute," Billings said. However, he was pleased with DeRosa's reply.

DeRosa determined a councilor's posting to a Web log would not violate the law as long it was not being used as a "ruse to poll other members who participate or deliberate." "As with all discussion of public issues, the purpose, place and manner of communication will determine whether the open meeting law is violated. If a Web log is utilized by a quorum of councilors or a subcommittee to deliberate on a particular meeting, only then would it violate the open meeting law," he wrote.He said otherwise a councilor's posts on a blog are no different then a commentary in a newspaper or other media form. However, DeRosa said councilor-hosted television shows do "run the risk of violating open meeting requirements." He wrote that a quorum of either the council or a sub-committee needs to be careful not to deliberate any matter because it would "constitute a textbook violation."

"Although such discussions are not 'private,' and do not violate the law's design for public access, they are not public meetings with proper notice and an opportunity for the public to attend. ... Although a councilor is certainly free to attend a television, radio, or other media program and discuss public issues, the convening of multiple councilors at the instigation of an elected colleague poses a forum for polling members concerning their decisions on a particular matter and deliberating outside of a designated public meeting," he wrote. DeRosa also determined candidates' nights and forums are not subject to the open meeting law because their purpose is to allow "the public to make its decision as to which candidates are desirable for office." He also noted that e-mails between city councilors are part of the public record.

When thanked by fellow councilors for his "forward thinking," Billings said he did not ask the questions because he was thinking ahead, but "out of fear."

Questions about the open meeting law surfaced after Billings attended a workshop on the law at the Massachusetts Municipal Association's January convention. During the meeting, two town counsels disagreed over how the law effects things like blogs. He was worried councilors could be blindsided by a violation ruling, which could potentially carry a fine of $1,000 if proposed state legislation . holding government officials accountable for open meeting law violations . should pass.

Jennifer Huberdeau can be reached at jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.

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# posted by newshare @ 10:32 AM 0 comments

Blogs don't break open-meeting laws, North Adams, Mass., city lawyer finds

ORIGINAL POST:
http://www.thetranscript.com/headlines/ci_3562589
PUBLISHED: Thurs., March 2, 2006
HEADLINE: Blogs don't break open meeting law

By Jennifer Huberdeau, Reporter
North Adams Transcript

When thanked by fellow councilors for his "forward thinking," Billings said he did not ask the questions because he was thinking ahead, but "out of fear."

Jennifer Huberdeau can be reached at jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.

----------------------------------------------------------------

# posted by newshare @ 8:09 AM 0 comments

Media Giraffe Project --
Link & reference blog

Monday, March 27, 2006

Lifetime Awards for Molly Ivins, Anthony Lewis

Friday, March 24, 2006

Four tips from InstaPundit for the newspaper business

CASE STUDY: Progressive bloggers bag Washington Post's right-wing blogger

Thursday, March 23, 2006

INTERVIEW: "Baghdad Blogger" says he's baffled, amused by reception to his work

Monday, March 20, 2006

BOOK: "Crashing the Gate" by bloggers Markos Moulitsas Zuniga and Jerome Armstrong

Sunday, March 19, 2006

David Mitchell ex-Point Reyes Light owner, restrained

Jarvis/A wake-up call to end teaching and learning media silos

Friday, March 17, 2006

Editor's weblog: Is the role of editors more or less important in the digital age?

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Massachusetts daily newspaper group launches "Wicked Local" web offshoot

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

EDUCATION: Teaching better journalism through video games?

Sunday, March 12, 2006

NEWSPAPERS: Newspapers fading, but not that fast, PEJ annual report says

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

TRAINING RESOURCE: NewsCollege.ca website

Ex-daily reporter at Capitol Hill Blue gives finger to Patriot Act demand

Sunday, March 05, 2006

METRICS/RESEARCH: Snapshop of metrics at Philadelphia Inquirer

ADVERTISING: Traditionalists worry how consumers will relate to advertising

BUSINESS MODELS: Crosbie says 100 web readers equals 1 print reader

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Blogs don't break open-meeting laws, North Adams, Mass., city lawyer advises

Blogs don't break open-meeting laws, North Adams, Mass., city lawyer finds

RECENT POSTS:

Links

archives

About The Media Giraffe Project

Media Giraffe Project -- Link & reference blog

Monday, March 27, 2006

Lifetime Awards for Molly Ivins, Anthony Lewis

Friday, March 24, 2006

Four tips from InstaPundit for the newspaper business

CASE STUDY: Progressive bloggers bag Washington Post's right-wing blogger

Thursday, March 23, 2006

INTERVIEW: "Baghdad Blogger" says he's baffled, amused by reception to his work

Monday, March 20, 2006

BOOK: "Crashing the Gate" by bloggers Markos Moulitsas Zuniga and Jerome Armstrong

Sunday, March 19, 2006

David Mitchell ex-Point Reyes Light owner, restrained

Jarvis/A wake-up call to end teaching and learning media silos

Friday, March 17, 2006

Editor's weblog: Is the role of editors more or less important in the digital age?

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Massachusetts daily newspaper group launches "Wicked Local" web offshoot

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

EDUCATION: Teaching better journalism through video games?

Sunday, March 12, 2006

NEWSPAPERS: Newspapers fading, but not that fast, PEJ annual report says

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

TRAINING RESOURCE: NewsCollege.ca website

Ex-daily reporter at Capitol Hill Blue gives finger to Patriot Act demand

Sunday, March 05, 2006

METRICS/RESEARCH: Snapshop of metrics at Philadelphia Inquirer

ADVERTISING: Traditionalists worry how consumers will relate to advertising

BUSINESS MODELS: Crosbie says 100 web readers equals 1 print reader

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Blogs don't break open-meeting laws, North Adams, Mass., city lawyer advises

Blogs don't break open-meeting laws, North Adams, Mass., city lawyer finds

RECENT POSTS:

Links

archives

About The Media Giraffe Project

Media Giraffe Project --
Link & reference blog