A Space for Thoughts

Reinventing the BBC

2006-04-30T13:39:00.000-05:00

Jeff Jarvis blogs about changes occuring at the BBC. They area apparently revinventing their network as a response to change. Apparently they intend to create a new approach which includes "development commissioning and prodution"- this includes a lot of different projects, some of which I didn't completely understand, but it is really clear that they are focusing heavily on multimedia and their relationship with their audience as they want to make it more interactive. This is a clear marker of what we have been discussing in class and the importance of this multimedia revolution! One of their biggest projects is called BBC Web 2.0 which among other things it will include a more powerful search tool, with both video and audio search. They said they aim to be the best web interactive forum in the world with a strong audience engagement "with the aim of being the most open and transparent news organisation in the world." It will be an interesting development to follow and see whether news networks in the US follow, as they seem to trail far behind the BBC. IT will also be interesting to see what other evolutions will come about.

The Dream Act

2006-04-26T13:17:00.000-05:00

I did a story about the Dream Act this week, which I think is a topic that has been undercovered in the news in regards to the immigration debates, yet a very important topic. For those of you who don't know what it is, The Dream Act is a proposal in Congress that proposes 2 things: 1)to give in state-tuition to undocumented students if they meet certain requirements and 2) it proposes a path to residency for students who graduate from at least a 2 year college or the army if they meet certain requirements. One of the bigger issues is that currently undocumented students who graduate from college can't really do much with their education because they are not residents, thus can't get a job.

Check out my videocast and let me know if you have any comments

more current events

2006-04-23T22:47:00.003-05:00

This past week, the Associated Press published an interesting report about the No Child Left Behind Act- and the loophole it has. Apparently the implementation of this Act into schools across the nation is actually hurting school integration. The Act requires that each school meet certain standards every year for each ethnicity in order to aquire benefits such as funding, but the result has had a negative side effect. Apparently test scores of minority students are not being counted when reported. They are not being accounted so that the school can score better and not be negatively impacted by their low scoring children's performance. This is really awful considering that a lot of these children will probably fall throught the cracks because they will not receive the instruction they need. And how could the government be in the shadows about this? I am a bit weary, but it will be interesting to see what type of solution they try to implement and whether they will finally do away with the notorious No Child Left Behind Act, which seems to be leaving millions behind.

Journalism Professor Panel

2006-04-23T22:47:00.001-05:00

This past Monday, I helped organize a journalism professor panel with an organization I am a part of. Professors from all areas (excluding photo j) were present (including Sharon!) and we discussed several contemporary issues as well as job experiences. One of the things that I really sunk in at the panel is that multimedia is really sweeping all mediums (despite the fact that that's what this course is about) almost every professor who participated mentioned in one way or another that multimedia, the internet, is a factor in their field and it really really made me question again how much longer print is going to be around for, at least in the US. I think everybody realizes that slowly it is becoming more obselete, but I really think it would be a terrible medium to loose, especially because we still have a huge technilogical divide. I think it is probably dissipating slower in other countries again because of this technological divide. Another thing that I really came away with is again the realization that this job is extremely competitive and demanding and aligning yourself with good resources while in college is really a must. It was also sad to realize again how companies can easily take advantage of a person beggining their career. Overall, the panel was insighful and it helped me rethink some of the issues that we have always discussed in this field from the beggining.

current events

2006-04-17T00:54:00.001-05:00

Last week we saw an impressive manifestation across the nation regarding undocumented immigrants rights. Millions across the nation rallied last Monday, UT also participated by having their own rally. I would have liked to see a response from Congress, I think it's a bit unfortunate that they would take a 2-week Easter break when such decisions are at stake. Easter is only one day, 2-weeks for recess is long. I don't think however that any decisions will be made soon considering that congressional elections are coming up and candidates will probably want to use the issue as a platform for their election. We'll see what happens, but I don't think we'll see anything soon.

blogs as a professional

2006-04-17T00:54:00.000-05:00

Upon reading more about the Washington Post closing a blogs comments, I begun to analyze the situation a little more. I think that it defeats the purpose of the blog if you dont allow citizens to participate by giving them the opportunity to give their input. If the Post is just posting blogs, it kind of defeats the purpose because it is merely in a way reporting or another commentary which is what a newspaper contains already. Blogs are meant to be interactive. The decision was made after a citizen's reply contained profanity which is reasonable, but I think that that particular post could have been deleted or revised for the sake of keeping the blog principle alive. I wonder what kind of complaints if any the Post has gotten.

Web dangers

2006-04-10T08:40:00.000-05:00

With the popularity of sites such as MySpace and Facebook, I recently read an article that warns people about the content they choose to reveal on the internet. Apparently some job emoloyers are now looking to these sites when considering a future employee. I don't necessarily agree with this use because I think that especially facebook, these are spaces for you to be creative and not so serious. This isn't intended to market you for a job Nonetheless, everyone out there should be careful with what they post.

Newspaper tactics

2006-04-10T08:39:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article from the Post Gazette that talked about new tactics that newspapers are employing in order to attract younger audiences while increasing their appeal to advertisers. Since newspapers have been in jeapordy with the rising popularity of the internet and increased television viewership, one tactic they are using is creating youth oriented publications that attract smaller advertisers that can't afford mainstream newspapers. Several newspaper publishers are also creating specialty publications that target a certain younger wealthier demographic while also attracting local businesses to advertise with more affordable rates than the local newspaper. Another such tactic is the launch of search engines that are meant to compete with Google and Yahoo on a local level. Instead of just finding a news story related to the search, you'll also get a lot of different advertising options. And yet another tactic is the free use of the classifieds, which generally generated most of their profit, but with sites such as Craigslist, Monster and Ebay, many are resorting to free classifieds in order to maintain and attract more readers. While they are good ideas, we will have to see how well they work and how much of a positive impact it has on newspapers

CJ Story

2006-04-03T03:26:00.000-05:00

I went to the Austin Fine Arts Festival this weekend and took a couple of picture for my photoblog. You can check it out here The festival celebrates over 50 years of existence and it brings artists from all over the country to promote the visual arts. I also gave podcasting a stab and I talked to a couple of people about the festival through an italk. It was a bit challenging but I hope it works: audio

2006-03-27T08:16:00.000-06:00

A recent article on Poynteronline talked about a new model for citizen journalism. A media company in Boston, Massachussetts is tightly blending professional journalism with contributions from citizens, instead of separating the two. Apparently this 'tight integration of citizen content with professionally produced journalism' is the better way to go to produce the best information.
The melding of professional and amateur collaboration could be a success, but I don't think it's the way many news outlets will head. I think it could definately work for some markets, but maybe not for all.

Social Problem

2006-03-06T08:54:00.000-06:00

While listening to NPR this morning, I was astonished by the child obesity report- something I've always been intruiged by ever since reading "Fast Food Nation. " Apparently half of all children in North and South America will be overweight in 4 years and worldwide it is expected to soar as well! When is the governement finally going to have an imput in child propaganda by major junfood and fast food businesses? Parents should also have a stronger imput in not providing this type of food as often to children. I know it is extremely hard to do in this day and age when the most accessible thing is a hamburger, but it will be intresting to see what kind of repercussions and what kind of a nation we become.

Podcasting/Vodcasting

2006-03-06T08:17:00.000-06:00

Yet another feature to the media is starting to attract audiences... and its getting more tech savy. After reading the Steve Outing commentary about the new medium, several things came to mind: I do think that podcasting and vodcasting are a unique feature that enhances print journalism and I think that it will bring positive reactions from audiences. I do question however whether this is pretty much radio broadcasting? Why not just listen to the news on the radio? As for vodcasting, it also reminded me of creating a story via broadcasting format, so you also have regular braodcast news to watch, on a larger screen. I do like the idea however, and I think that it will probably help the print media as well, but I aIso think perhaps like Outing mentioned, that podcating and vodcasting might be more popular among younger audiences who are used to navigating the web and trying out new technologies. One thing is for sure however, in this day in age with so many ways to get access news, people ought to be able to get informed one way or another.

Blog Readership

2006-02-27T01:36:00.000-06:00

An article that I read in the Daily Texan caught my eye a couple of weeks ago as it talked about blogger readership and it's popularity. Apparently according to a Gallup Poll that tracked blog readership from February 2005- December 2005, only 9 percent of internet users frequently read blogs. Sixty-six percent of internet users never read them. I found this a bit interstesting, considering the discussions that we've had in class which prove that blog participation and readership have grown. I believe it has, but it is probably slow integrating. As it is a relatively new medium, I believe blogging is something that is and will take time to fully integrate. At what speed? I am not certain. This does however, once again reinforce the fact that mainstream media such as broadcast and print media, will not be going anywhere soon , or ever.
So a question I have is why is readership in reality quite low? What draws internet users to blogs and what should bloggers do to attract larger audiences? I know personally, before I took this class, I knew vaguely what blogging was all about. I realize that it's an important medium, but also a very gradual medium.

Technorati tag: Daily Texan + Blogging

Mardi Gras after Katrina

2006-02-27T00:36:00.001-06:00

Six months after the destruction of Katrina, New Orleans still finds itself in the spirit of celebration. Personally I was surprised that this mega festival was still scheduled to resume and after reading several commentaries about this year's festival, I came to the conclusion that the decision to hold it this year was not a bad idea.
Mardi Gras after all will lend help to the Louisiana economy, as much of Louisiana and other impacted cities are still largely uninhabited due to its reconstruction status. Mardi Gras will help businesses in the area, hotels, restaurants, musicians and much more, with the influx of tourists coming in to spend their money. I do deeply sympathize with all of the people who suffered losses of all kind- after all, it takes more than six months to truly be in a euphoric celebrating mood. It is also really sad that many people are still missing and perhaps will never be found, while thousands are stomping on their grounds celebrating. However, I do think that although this is a difficult situation, dwelling on the past will not necessarily help the city move on. Resuming with the celebration on the contrary is an attempt to keep a part of Louisiana's culture and history, and it would be sad to loose that as well. Of course turnout will more than likely be significantly lower, but at least it's an attempt to slowly rebuild and maintain a part of what Louisiana is and was.

Technorati tag: Mardi Gras+Katrina

Homosexuality… how accepted is it?

2006-02-20T04:16:00.000-06:00

I observed an interesting point this weekend regarding homosexuality and its progression in 2006. While it has come some way in this century, it is still an extremely taboo and extremely controversial issue. It is surprising to me because I have always been around an accepting homosexual environment, so it really puzzles me that people can have such staunch un-accepting perspective towards it. The fact that it has played an important role in elections also highlights my point. In Texas, it was probably the main issue in the legislative government. In 2004, it was also probably one of the main platform topics. Everyday it also seems like another state is attempting to outlaw gay marriage in their constitution. Personally, my question is, how does a homosexual’s life really impact or involve opponents? How does it affect their lives negatively? If anything, homosexuals might get a few benefits if gay marriage were allowed; furthermore, heterosexual marriage has an extremely high divorce rate, so what is this paradox of gay marriage ruining heterosexual marriage? It is interesting to me that what seems like a trivial social issue to me, is more pressing in people’s lives in comparison to taxes, education, medical insurance, etc… If anyone has a response or opinion to any of my questions, I would love to hear your justifications, I want to understand the other side of the story better.

Valuable contribution...at times

2006-02-20T04:15:00.000-06:00

We’ve been discussing citizen journalism and its credibility the last couple of weeks. Harbinger’s article on http://www.journalism.co.za/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3549 brings up again another interesting point and further raises concerns about this new medium. I have come to agree that citizens play an important contribution to mainstream journalism. Their first account stories and priceless pictures only add value to the story. Nonetheless, I still have several concerns. Fact checking every story could grow to be a challenge, thus disseminating incorrect information. The addition of blogs on credible news outlets however could perhaps be more trusting. I do think it is important for people to remember that not every things out there is a fact or credible. Furthermore, the web also presents an opportunity for political propaganda. Take the wikipedia filtering for example. How do you make sure politicians using their status as citizens and not government officials could use blogs to skew information? Furthermore, digital divide is and will continue to be a problem. So only a limited portion of the population can really have access to this type of news. In conclusion, I think blogging is an important contribution at certain times, but like everything else, blogging has a lot to work on if it wants to be a successful source.

Low Brow Television

2006-02-13T08:06:00.000-06:00

Television does not cease to impress me. And not in a good way. The anticipated Grammys were held this past week and of course it’s hard not to hear some of the buzz surrounding it. More surprising was the fact that apparently American Idol out-rated the Grammys this year. I did not watch either but I find it really surprising that yet another show that claims to be a sort of entertainment reality show is still doing so well. The show is completely scripted, debunking the “reality” that it has to it, and it’s not hard to see that Simon Cowell’s notorious comments are scripted for entertainment purposes. I have to admit that I watched the first season, but after I don’t know how many seasons now, I personally think it gets kind of monotonous and boring. Apparently my opinion does not seem to be part of the majority.

Citizen Journalism?

2006-02-13T03:22:00.000-06:00

Citizen journalism sites? After reading Stephen Bryan’t commentary http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/060209bryant/ about journalism 2.0 and the new revolution of ordinary citizens publishing their stories on the web on user edited sites, I was a bit astonished, appalled and scared. Although Dan Gillmor lectures on the importance of this new medium, as I guess you could call it, I still adamantly believe that traditional news media outlets, for the sake of news integrity, are more important than ever. How is it that everybody and anybody can be called a journalist simply because of their additions to the world wide web? As a journalism student, I am a bit insulted. I do agree that citizens have important contributions, but not everyone and everything can be trusted now a days. Who is a regular joe schmoe accountable to? How do we know that their sources are credible and that in fact everything in their report is factual and not a farce or a hoax? Furthermore, a citizen’s account is less likely to follow the principles of journalism and contain a balanced story. Bryant does point out that this new medium is not as prominent as Gillmor thought it out to be, and I have to say I believe that is for a reason. People need credible news sources to give them a complete, accurate end of the story. Furthermore, I believe traditional media outlets have to work harder than ever to maintain reliability with the public by relaying a good product.

Hamas Victory

2006-02-06T08:48:00.000-06:00

I was wondering the other day as news about the Hamas vistory is still a main story in the media, whether the US simply wants absolutely everything to go their way in the Middle East? For logical reasons, I think the government does have a right to support whoever they think is the best governing body, but I also have to wonder what they will do with every governing body that they dislike or disagree with. Condaleeza Rice time and again says that the US will cut all financial and political support of the country unless the governmental choice is reevaluated. I wonder what is going to happen if Hamas does not step down.

Broadcast News & Blogging

2006-02-06T08:12:00.000-06:00

Jeff Jarvis’ commentary about the state of the media brings an interesting point across in his "Behind the Cameras" blog http://www.buzzmachine.com/. Jarvis reflects on the state of the media after the CBS Evening News interviewed him for a story on that precise topic. I do agree on the fact that news may not always be finished when we print it, sometimes it is an ongoing story, but just like articles online can update new information, a newscast can also do a follow up story. As for his comments about broll being shallow, it is necessary to show relevant pictures with a story in broadcast! Otherwise, it would be really boring to watch a five minute interview of two people talking (for all stories that is). People want to see relevant footage, they want to see some activity going on.
Furthermore, I do agree with Jarvis that broadcast news could be "value-added to the web" and that you can't simply compile all the information needed in a two minute report all of the time, but my main problem with this, which I think Mr. Jarvis is forgetting, is that NOT ALL people have a computer or access to the internet at all times! People who do, are able to surf blogs all day, but what about the other portion of America and furthermore the world who don't have a computer?? Are they just out of luck because they can't afford these amenities? I think the internet is a fabulous tool, but I do also think that broadcast still serves a very valuable purpose.

UPDATE
Technorati tag: Online+ Journalism

Political Aftermath

2006-02-01T08:38:00.000-06:00

Hurricane Katrina has come and gone and some of the uproar has died down. I am wondering hoewever, what the reconstruction of Louisiana is going to reap. Will the crime trends and rate (as well as the corrupt police department) be improved? Another grander question I have is whether our administration will finally pay more attention to the environment and global issues which have been crying out for help and have constantly been ignored for the advancement of profit instead. I will try to analyze and answer some of these questions in future postings.

Why We Need the Media

2006-02-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Dan Gillmor's "Blogosphere," http://bayosphere.com/blog/dangillmor brings up a very important point. In an age where journalism is facing credibility issues and reputation is being questioned, it is critical to remember that the media is the watchdog to government and powerful institutions. Like Gillmor says, it is a shame that the values of journalism should have to be compromised due to the outside influences it affects: investors. It is reasons like this that television has saturated the public with low brow programming (i.e tons of reality shows, artist reality shows- which only contributes to their bank accounts and viability), and perhaps even the sensationalist change in mainstream media outlets. Unfortunately the founding points of journalism are slowly being reduced, I would really hate to see it reduced to a mockery.

test

2006-01-25T09:57:00.000-06:00

my first post