a brief history of online journalism

Mindy McAdams at Teaching Online Journalism wrote about a few milestones in online news coverage. After reading a CNN article called Tweeting the terror recently, I guess social media's influence on breaking stories is a hot topic.

With good reason.

How often do you find out about stories from people's blogs? Or your RSS feeds? And how often were you turned onto those feeds by people you know online?

It seems to me that social media isn't just changing the marketing world, or the way we connect with friends (old and new), it's changing the very nature of how we learn about and experience our world. And that includes news reporting and consumption.

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Short film: The Aviatrix

Runs 10:44. Girl with cancer fights evil and meets boy with lawnmower. Nice resolution.

tips for media students

Have you seen Theory.org.uk? It's a collection of ... stuff ... that "explores the complex connections between media and identities" (a quote from their homepage).

The site has a list of Nine Top Tips for Media Students. Good reading. It all sort of comes down to this: Get out there and explore the world, use your powers of synthesis, and learn to communicate. All good things, whether you work in media or not.

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New media *isn't* killing the video stars

A new Nielsen report on the amount of television Americans have watched so far this year -- the surprise? It was actually up 1.6 percent in the third quarter of 2008. Speculation on why includes increased web and mobile video viewing.

Do you catch up on TV shows at work? If so, they're talking about you. Read about it at Media Life.

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Presentation on niche online social networks

 I just found a pretty thorough PowerPoint presentation and .mp3 file describing different niche online social networks.

The presentation, by Gerry McKiernan at Iowa State, is divided into two parts: Web 2.0/Facebook and Niche Online Social Networks. He focuses on how libraries can use niche social networks to engage users, but most of the information is just as applicable for other groups looking to expand their outreach and marketing efforts.

McKiernan does a good job of introducing different niche groups and the online social networks each group is most likely to frequent. Facebook is discussed more than other groups, but the information is valuable for anyone looking to expand their reach with niche groups.
 

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C-SPAN founder looks to the Internet

TV Week has a short article on a speech given by Brian Lamb (founder of C-SPAN). He comments on how the Internet seems to be overtaking television news in the relevancy department, especially among young people (evidenced by Barack Obama's video addresses on YouTube).

In yesterday's post, I linked to an IFC-sponsored poll that said Fox News and "the Internet" are now seen as trusted and respected sources for news. Well, they can be. In fact, I feel a little guilty about ragging on Fox News when I've seen them do some good work in the past (really).

Example: When the I-35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis in 2007, I happened to be flipping channels and noticed Fox News had reporters on the scene doing on-the-street interviews a full 10 minutes before CNN. And I thought they did an excellent job of reporting new information at regular intervals, rather than rehashing the same sound bites ad nauseum all evening.

In this media environment, I think that element of being fast and current is what gives the Internet an edge. (see also: Online Journalism's post on why video blogging is 'a good thing')

Network news might follow suit, but given they only have half an hour a day to fill, it's almost impossible to have the same kind of immediacy viewers seem to want. Maybe they'll become more series-focused (like NBC's Making a Difference)?

Like every other mass communication medium, it'll be interesting to see how news distribution continues to evolve with technology.

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Should we be frightened?

A new poll from Zogby and IFC claims Fox News is seen as a trusted news source -- scratch that, they called it THE most trusted news source. A little frightening, no? Read all about it at Wired's blog network.

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What's this? MGM goes YouTube?

Looks like MGM will be the first major studio to post full movies on YouTube. According to this short piece at Media Life Magazine, they're also planning to put TV shows up.

Interesting, but will people really stream full length movies from bandwidth-intensive YouTube? I can barely get 5 minute videos to stream without hitches. On the other hand, I watched Crawford in its entirety on Hulu and had no problem.

We'll have to see how it goes.

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Facebook as marketing machine?

A short video (approx 15 mins) by Mike Lazerow of Buddy Media on how businesses can use social networks (like Facebook) to effectively market to customers. The focus, says Lazerow, is on "cutting through the noise" and building interactive applications that engage and draw in potential customers.

I can say personally that this has worked for me (to a certain extent) with Twitter. I've found that I'm more likely to purchase something from someone I've interacted with, or to bookmark their website to buy from later. I'm also more likely to attend events I receive Facebook event invites for (in the case of local films).

There's a lot to be said for finding your customer, being personable, and making it easy for them to purchase your product or service.

Of course, the opposite end of that spectrum are the sellers who are so annoyingly persistent with their updates and tweets that you just want to un-follow them as quickly as possible!

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short-list for Documentary Feature Oscar announced

Story at indieWIRE -- five nominees will be chosen from the short-list. How many have you seen? I need to get to the theater. ha.

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Media ad models are changing ... or are they?

If you haven't heard, ConAgra (makers of Healthy Choice meals) has launched a new television ad campaign. You may have already seen the commercials; they tie into a new lunchtime web series. (You can view the series at their Fresh Mixers website here.)

The series, called Working Lunch, features the Second City improv group and will consist of four short episodes each workday between noon and 4:00. According to Mediaweek, this noon to 4 block is "the new prime time" since studies show many office workers eat at their desk and watch video during their lunch hour.

So what? Well, it got me thinking about product placement and how so many media articles I read involve "finding new ways" to advertise to consumers. With people TiVo'ing through broadcast and cable commercials, and the media outlook for '09 looking ... challenging? ... for traditional media, will advertisers go back to the sponsorship models of the Golden Age of television? (See also: Company Voice at The Museum of Broadcast Communications.)

Maybe this whole "new media" thing is just a reversion to "really old" media? We'll see.

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There Are Monsters

An odd and scary short from Canadian filmmaker Jay Dahl.

media links: The Net Generation and Digital Strategies for Film

Here's a couple of articles on the Net Generation and digital film distribution.

The Obama Factor: The Net Generation
From MediaLife, an overview of how the Obama campaign connected with young voters, followed by an analysis of the "Net Generation". Discusses 11-30 year olds: How they consume media and how distribution will need to shift as this generation comes of age.

ITVS Digital Strategies for Filmmakers
From ITVS, an article on how to market your film online. Although written with "social issue filmmakers" in mind, the advice is useful for anyone exploring online promotion. There's also sidebars with facts and figures, including numbers on digital film distribution.

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