Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Cecille B DeMille predicts YouTube!

Well, kinda. From the Paleofuture blog: a 1925 newspaper interview entitled “Expect Movies to be Produced in Every Home” in which legendary Hollywood producer/director Cecil B DeMille predicts that: “Within the next 20 years some householder with absolutely no studio training will produce a screen masterpiece, with no stage except that of his own parlor, dining […]

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Journalism's uncertain future

As they say, prediction is hard – especially about the future. Many years ago – sometime in the mid-to-late 1990s – I started to take note of the technological change revamping the journalism business, and I started to make some fanciful predictions about the direction it would take. Anyone who takes an interest in futurology […]

Friday, July 17th, 2009

8 reasons why journalists love Twitter…

…much more than real people do For some reason journalists have grabbed hold of Twitter as a starving man does a ham sandwich. But why? What is it about this slightly clunky, limited, and frankly difficult to negotiate web tool that we love so much? Here are a few thoughts… You can build up a […]

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Some more scoop on LivingScoop

A little while ago I posted about a strange invitation I received to join LivingScoop. This was, apparently, a video-sharing vehicle aimed specifically at journalists, citizen or otherwise: A very good place for training, improving and to promote and value your creativity, skills and audaciousness whether you are a journalist (student, rookie or experienced), a reporter or […]

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Why free is not just about the money

Very interesting piece by Stan Schroeder on Mashable on the different implications of free online content. “Free” is not just about price – it’s also about simplicity and ease of use.  Some content will be difficult to charge anything for. Unfortunately for journalists, it’s news. Forcing charges down people’s throats is a bad way to […]

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

11 key ways for journalism students to improve their employability

It’s a tough world out there in the media – what with grinding recession, a skillset that needs updating by the hour and a revenue model that’s been turned upside down by the web. It doesn’t help that more students than ever before are being turned out by the UK’s journalism courses. That makes it […]

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

iPhone – the saviour of journalism

Inspired by the thoughts of blogger Soilman, my post on Why journalism may become software development struck a chord with a few readers. I’m now pleased to say it seems to be coming true (though not because of me, you understand). Media Industry Newsletter web site Min Online suggests 5 online content models worth watching – […]

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Why paid journalism is in trouble

As a coda to my post on why journalists can’t afford to be purist about their trade anymore, Eat Sleep Publish sums up exactly why the paid journalism model is in such trouble. Former P-I staffer Curt Milton runs theEastlake Ave blog. He keeps a part time job, makes tons of local connections, writes his posts, edits […]

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Journalists can't afford to be purist about their trade anymore

There’s a nice rant over at Fleet Street Blues decrying the media’s current seeming obsession with the delivery of media content over its practice. The best thing about journalism isn’t blogging, or Twittering, or finding innovative multimeeja ways to tell a story, or even asking someone difficult questions Paxman-style. It’s about finding something out that no one […]

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Teenagers reject Twitter shock

Much media kerfuffle about the news that teenagers aren’t interested in Twitter. Well – crucially, that they’re not interested in using it from their mobile phone, which costs money. The piece in question, from the Financial Times, reports on a research note from Morgan Stanley written by 15-year-old intern Matthew Robson. (The note is available […]