Rupert Murdoch’s speech to the US Federal Trade Commission
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: December 6, 2009
Rupert Murdoch’s speech to the US Federal Trade Commission was very enlightening. He proposed three prominent points that need to happen in order for journalism to survive in the 21st century. They are:
First, media companies must deliver the news media consumers want – and do it in the ways that best fit their lifestyles. That means we must innovate like never before.
Second, we need to do a better job of persuading consumers that high-quality, reliable news and information does not come free. Good journalism is an expensive commodity.
Finally, the government needs to clear the path for companies to invest and innovate – by reducing unnecessary regulation and eliminating obstacles to growth and investment.
The speech also featured some very striking yet truthful statements that make perfect relevance to journalism and the changing landscape of the industry.
Statements that I feel made Murdoch’s speech strong and empowering.
1.Without content to transmit, all our flat-screen TVs, computers, cell phones, i-Phones and blackberries, would be blank slates.
2.They [representatives of 13 former British colonies] understood that an informed citizenry requires news that is independent from government. That is one reason they put the First Amendment first.
3.Whether the newspaper of the future is delivered with electrons or dead trees is ultimately not that important.
Photo:http://www.ngonlinenews.com/media/media-news/news-thumb/091109/murdoch.jpg
The Motorola Droid: Innovation Beyond Belief
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 29, 2009
A few weeks ago Verizon Wireless introduced the Motorola Droid, a technological savvy device catering to your every single possible need. This phone has every thing you can image, some features however are a bit scary. The concept of big brother is watching you definitely shows on the Droid’s GPS system.
The Droid was able to detect that I was in my house by using Google maps. It also showed my location in the house. A blue dot determines your exact position. I was carrying the device around my house and as I moved the dot on the screen correlated with my position in the house. This feature is awesome, but is very scary and I don’t like the concept that you can see exactly were I am inside my house. It’s almost like an invasion of privacy.
Aside from a super accurate GPS system, the Droid features a voice activated Google search option. You just need to open the widget and say the word or phrase you want to look up on Google and within a few seconds Google opens up and the search results appear. The voice recognition is spot on and is very accurate.
One last feature that is unbelievable is a free downloadable widget called Barcode Scanner. The barcode widget acts as a scanner for items. For example, I took my text-book and scanned the barcode located on the back. Within a few seconds the bar code was picked up and I was able to do a product search on Google. This feature is absolutely incredible. You can be in a store looking at a product, scan the item and then magically search on Google to find cheaper deals or other stores where the product maybe located all with a few touches on the Droid.
This phone definitely defies outstanding innovation and technological brilliance.
Check out The New York Times Review on the Motorola Droid.
Photo:http://www.internetnews.com/img/2009/10/motorola_verizon_droid_443x600.jpg
WiFi on the Go
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 23, 2009
On a long six hour bus drive back home from upstate new york, I had the luxury of a WiFi enabled ride. I was in awe when I clicked on my iPod Touch and discovered that I could connect to the internet.
I just didn’t think it would be possible to have WiFi while your moving, especially in the hills and mountains upstate. I must say I just accepted the terms of agreement for the Coach USA service (no service fee) and I didn’t experience any connection failure or interruptions. I had full connection the whole way.
Time quickly passed by as I read articles on The New York Times website, checked my email and even sent a few messages on Facebook.
Coach USA and Greyhound are two bus services that I know that offer this technology to its riders. Not all the buses have WiFi capability, it is only certain ones. I have traveled numerous times on ShortLine buses from Coach USA and this was the first time I had the ability to use WiFi. I definitely think this will change the way people travel.
I am still really curious how they make the WiFi on the go work. How do you not lose signal while your in motion?
Photo:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf2eq8r3SSQ/SGFqCI0PmGI/AAAAAAAAAVU/26q30aGdrbg/s400/The%2Bfuture-Bus.jpg
Oprah Winfrey says Goodbye
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 22, 2009
Oprah Winfrey has announced that “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” will come to an end on September 9, 2011. It is going to interesting to see how the network ratings are going to be affected once her show is over.
An article from Media Buyer Planner wrote, “For CBS, which owns the syndication rights to the show, the decision will mean the loss of millions of dollars in revenue each year as it says good-bye to its signature program. ABC stations, which aired the show in syndication, will lose daytime’s most popular program, which regularly draws 7 million viewers that led into evening news programs.” Read the rest of this entry »
YouTube Direct
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 18, 2009
I recently read about YouTube launching a new site called YouTube Direct. Apparently online news editors and broadcasters can take footage from this site to use in their web and TV news packages. Most of the content on this site will be provided by citizen journalists.
The article by The Hollywood Reporter further said, “News outlets seeking footage can announce it in a variety of ways, including via call-out videos posted at YouTube. When a YouTube user has video they think will interest the mainstream media, it can make it easy for editors, producers and journalists to contact them.”
This idea is wonderful and great for amateurs and everyday people who want to receive fame and recognition from media outlets. From a journalist perspective not such a great idea. This concept is just going to decrease the demand for videojournalist. Also, I think news outlets will be more inclined to use this site.
1. The content is free and the article said there will be no revenue pay. (everyone likes free stuff)
2. News outlets won’t need to pay or send out a videojournalist or team to capture footage. (decline in the demand for videojournalist)
Photo:http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID23513/images/youtube2_jjpg.jpg
Fitting In The New Media Ecosystem
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 15, 2009
Professor Selvin asked us to write a blog post about a hypothetical situation: If we were to graduate in December, what type of journalism job would we look for in the new media ecosystem?
If a food journalism job or career is out their I will definitely gobble it up! I am very interested in food writing. I would consider a top food magazine or a food website. I am more driven towards a food website because the internet is more versatile and you can incorporate multimedia, which I really like.
Another idea is to become a food journalist entrepreneur. I would try to create some kind of website that incorporates photos and multimedia. Without any form of multimedia I don’t think the site would thrive at all. I have a few ideas about incorporating food and journalism together. Maybe, a website reporting on different cooking traditions across the world. Perhaps, traveling and videotaping how individuals prepare staple dishes. Another possibility deals with gourmet foods and artistic presentations. Writing about unique food presentations, gourmet dishes and how some restaurants and chefs treat food as an art form.
If a future in food journalism doesn’t work out, I would consider contacting Brian Farnham. I would like to be apart of setting up a patch in the town of Farmingville. I really think my community needs a hyperlocal news site. The school district could use some more high school sport coverage. There are also other issues that would draw people into following and reading the site. Like Farnham said, it is going to be difficult and a lot of work, but definitely going to be a great learning experience.
Recapping Rosenblum & Farnham
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 11, 2009
Special thanks to Michael Rosenblum and Brian Farnham for taking the time to be guest speakers in our class. Both guests were very inspirational and made some very motivating and interesting proposals about the future of journalism.
Michael Rosenblum:
Rosenblum was by far the most energetic, vivacious and entertaining speaker I have ever listened to. He definitely knows how to leave an impact on his audience. Although he may have intimated some students about the concept of owning a business, I think his ideas about journalism as a business make sense. He is right. We need to “OWN IT!”
I guess I have just been raised to understand the idea of being your own boss since my father and uncle own their own businesses. Even my grandfather used to run his own business.
Rosenblum is right. You need to be willing to take risks and pursue something that you believe can make a difference. There are going to be attempts that fail and ideas that don’t work out. We need to embrace the moment and take advantage of the opportunities that are right in front of us.
Right now, journalism is like a big chunk of clay. It is waiting for someone or something to come reshape and mold it into something worthwhile. We (journalism students) are the ones you are going to be the ones who make these changes.
As for story ideas, Rosenblum’s heroine video may have not been the most “news worthy,” but I am pretty sure if that video was on a website next to a video about the local government it would probably receive many more hits.
Just a quote that I think has some relevance.
“There is nothing more difficult…than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” (Niccolo Machiavelli)
Brian Farnham:
After Rosenblum’s intense presentation, Brian Farnham of patch.com spoke about his work with setting up the site. I don’t want to refer to it as a hyper local blog because Farnham doesn’t really consider it to be one. Farnham went into detail about how patch.com was set up and its purpose. Patch.com has different sections (patches) that are based around specific towns. Each patch has an editor and freelancers to write all different types of stories about things and events happening in that town.
One clever idea that patch.com has incorporated into their site is the concept of a directory. The way the site was created to generate advertisements for local business was very ingenious. All local businesses need to do is fill in a few boxes, type in a credit card number for payment and an advertisement is generated. One suggestion that I think might also help benefit the site is the introduction of a coupon generator. What if local businesses could create coupons for their business and let costumers print them out off patch.com?
When Farnham discussed the process of how they choose editors for the patches, my eyes gleamed with hope! He said many of the editors are a few years out of j-school. Finally, something about the future that is positive. Seems like there is a market for journalists who are willing to tackle an intense work load of being the local editor of their town. Farnham says it’s a lot of work but a great learning experience.
Thank you both for your thoughts and ideas!
Photos: http://www.solovj.com/the-new-economics-of-video-production
http://www.magazine.org/userdata/content/images/22823/Farnham,%20Brian.JPG
Brian Farnham From Patch.com Comes to Stony Brook
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 8, 2009
This Monday, Nov. 9, Brian Farnham, editor-in-chief, of patch.com is coming to Stony Brook.
Questions:
1. Do you plan to expand the idea of patch.com to other states across the United States or just have patches in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut?
2. How difficult was it to set up the patch.com website and team?
3. How do you recruit the writers and editors for a community that is interested in becoming apart of patch.com? Is it a volunteer process?
4. Do the editors and contributors of each patch community get paid? If so, how much do they get paid per story?
Rosenblum Comes to Stony Brook University
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 4, 2009
On Friday, Nov. 6, Michael Rosenblum is coming to Stony Brook University. His presentation should be very worthwhile because he believes that journalism is a business. I am very interested and in sense frightened to hear what he believes and has to say about the future of the journalism profession.
Questions for Rosenblum:
1. How should students embrace this model of journalism as a business? Do we all need to become business entrepeneurs to become succesful in the future?
2. In your Columbia University Graduate School of the Internet Post, you mentioned that there needs to be a complete rethinking of the profession. You commented that the only way to do this was to gut the faculty and start fresh. Who would be hired to teach students and what kind of things would they be learning?
3. How to Make Millions in Journalism and the “Entrepreneurial Journalism” course sounds like a really great idea. Do you suggest undergraduate journalism schools start-up a similar course or should it only be offered at the graduate level?
4. Do you think journalism students should spend more time learning about business topics and strategies than learning grammar, sentence structure and writing skills? If so why?
Review of Journalism 24/7
Posted by: Amanda Marzullo on: November 4, 2009
The semester is slowly coming to an end. Only 5 or 6 weeks left! I can’t believe how fast everything is going. As a junior, my college career is dwindling away. I will soon be a senior and then a college graduate in search of a job. It’s very frightening, especially learning about the down turns, layoffs and complete 360 of the journalism profession.
So far, Journalism 24/7 has been a really big eye-opening class for me. I really enjoy blogging and think that it’s a really great skill that we are learning. Prior to this semester, I had no experience of blogging. Blogging for this class along with my JRN 320 class, I think I have nailed the basics of WordPress.
I think self promotion of journalist on their Facebook page or Twitter account is very beneficial. I have done the same and made my blogs website links on my Facebook page. I really enjoy looking at my views for the day and seeing that someone actually reads what I write.
As for those rss media feeds. I try to glance and read over them everyday, however they do seem to fill up my inbox. Most of the time when I read the feeds, it makes me really depressed. It’s somewhat like reading a media obituary and discovering another newspaper or media company biting the dust.
Presentations are decent. I mean some of the topics are a bit mundane and boring while others are more intriguing. I must say that my presentation on Time Warner really helped me understand the media industry and how companies are divided between vertical and horizontal integration. I discussed these types of integration in two other classes, CCS 101 and SOC 330. JRN 301 topics have complimented many of the other courses I am taking this semester.
As for the topics we have been covering, I think they are worthwhile. I was unaware about all the deep packaging and how information travels across the internet. Its mind-boggling to me.
I am really looking forward to Michael Rosenblum’s presentation this Friday. After reading some of his blog posts, he is very blunt and I think some of his ideas are very radical and intimating to a student majoring in journalism.
Photo: http://www.designthinkingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/journalism.jpg
Amanda Marzullo
