Citizen, journalist, blogger - news is news

[tagname]

MediaSaavy writer Barry Parr publishes the online publication "Coastsider", an interesting hyperlocal news site. Barry describes himself as "an Internet media and ecommerce consultant with more than fifteen years of experience building online services, including software development, Internet marketing, editorial, production, and market research." This story is from his blog, not from Coastsider, but it talks about a story of breaking news (sadly a murder case) that he had written about and taken photos of the scene. His photos were bought by a Singapore news operation, leading to his discussion of the blogger and journalist question.

Barb blogs for fun. Hossein blogs for real.

Blogs and blogging. Hossein D. who I met in Nashville, is the author of hoder.com. He might get arrested and tortured for blogging. I think blogging is important, but my ass is not on the line. Read on.

But last June the Iranian judiciary put in place a more sophisticated filtering system that blocks Iranian access to political Web sites and blogs. (Derakhshan's traffic immediately dropped by half.) Then in September, officials got serious, arresting, interrogating, and even jailing some of the country's bloggers, according to human rights groups. Two of those writers, Mojtaba Saminejad and Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdolahi, remain in prison.Wired 13.06: POSTS

AP story slideshow on EU constitution voting and issues

EU constitution.

The EU Constitution

The French voters have rejected the European Union Constitution with more than 70% of the eligible voters casting ballots. What have we heard from the mainstream media in the United States about this constitution so that we can understand the reasons for the rejection of the constitution. What does it mean for the future of the EU? This site has an analysis of the vote and the site is a goldmine of information about the EU constitution. There is even a glossary called euABC.com that is useful if you need to find out about the Bundesbank or what a subsidiary is under the proposed document. [tagname]

Many Buyers Opt for Risky Mortgages

Off topic warning. I see this new load vehicle as a "hay cart to hell" but maybe that is only because I had to listen to stories from people who had lost everything in the Depression. I don't think I have the money or liquity to do get out of the way of the coming real estate debacle, but I know that this kind of loan is going to sink lots of people. Our first mortgage, on a frame four-flat in a marginal neighborhood in Chicago was at 11% and we thought we were lucky to get that. It was so hard to get money for a downpayment then. We had an insurance settlement that gave us a way in. I wonder how these "interest only" loan payers will do if their interest goes up to 10% or something like that. Anyway, Barbara says, watch out for this in the news and to quote my grandpa "never buy anything on credit".Many Buyers Opt for Risky Mortgages: "reflects 'increasing speculation' that is occurring in the real estate market, as investors pursue interest-only loans 'because they need to devote less resources to servicing this debt.'"

my class

my class
Originally uploaded by biverson.

this is a test

New Desk in the Newsroom: The Citizen Editor's

Blogs and journalism. Citizen editor as a job of the future. Steve Outing is catching on, but journalists in general and the traditional media are about 5-7 years behind the curve. Anyone working with interactive media, from an educators to website developers has been finding out that community is one of the most important C's in communication. Virtual communities share some aspects of communities but are not always in a one-to-one correspondance. Virtual communities are opt in, reputational, generally shun hierarchical organization. They work from the wisdom of the crowd the popular book talks about. One of the biggest blindspots I have in coming from an interactive media background to journalism and traditional media is a failure by the people working in MSM to use the technologies themselves. If you aren't in a virtual community, you don't know what one is like. If you don't use "furl" or "flickr" it is like you are unconscious toward a whole important aspect of many people's lives. My advice to journos--get yourself a blog, even if you create a k-blog and don't have lots of readers. Use the Internet features that will save you time, or at least connect you into the e-world. When you do, send me your dodgeball moniker. I am waiting for some people of a certain age to come play with me via dodgeball. New Desk in the Newsroom: The Citizen Editor's

my class

my class
Originally uploaded by biverson.

This is a demostration of connectedness

Court yanks down FCC's broadcast flag | CNET News.com

FCC and the broadcast flag. Court yanks down FCC's broadcast flag | CNET News.com

? What is left for RSS to disrupt? Plenty. | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

RSS and its potential as a disruptive technology. The idea that RSS can eliminate spam is cool, but RSS as a tool for collaboration and wrapping "ideas" up so you can share them is right on target. I like to move from "content" to "ideas" in line with the flip from text which is linear to digital information which can be non-linear, and the kind of mental shift from reading/temporally sequential to rhetorical/aural which is not sequential.

OhmyNews International

Media Matters in America's Heartland: Over 300 writers, bloggers and reporters who normally hang out in cyberspace met face to face in Nashville, Tennessee at BlogNashville earlier this month. Yes, it is a story of mine online at Ohmynews.com. More will follow.

Media Often Ignore Women as Sources, New Study Finds

Bias in choosing experts?Media Often Ignore Women as Sources, New Study Finds

Paper's aim: building blog for success

Greensboro, NC is rocking the newspaper business boat with its new model. You might need to register to view the story. The idea is similar to my idea for In-the-Loop, a virtual community and newspace for students who attend school in the loop. Paper's aim: building blog for success

Kirk to get vote on stem cell research, but there's a catch

Local politics. Buzz is off the technical message because Mark Kirk is a representative from my area, though my part of the town was gerrymandered so that we vote with the more Democratic Evanston. Kirk's problem is that the district has always been independent and liberal in some issues, despite being represented by a Democrat. On the stem cell issue, Kirk is getting hurt in the local papers. This is a good story by Lynn Sweet of the "backstory" of the upcoming votes on stem cell legislation.Kirk to get vote on stem cell research, but there's a catch

Transcript for May 22 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com

Principles are something that need to be lived, not just talked about. Tom DeLay is making Republicans look like hypocrits. Courtesy of NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESSTranscript for May 22 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com: "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS"

Crooks and Liars

Blogs and blogging can be funny, especially when Jon Stewart looks at how cable news stations are covering blogs. "Giving voice to the already voiced..." And Rob Cordry adds his two cents and it is right on target. Crooks and Liars

Examples: Good community journalism

Rocky Mountain News: Opinion

RCCS: View Book Info

Democracy and New Media is a fine set of essays about technology, community, policy and journalism. Read my published review on the RCSS site. RCCS: View Book Info

Guild Chief Under Fire for Comments About Attacks on Journalists in Iraq

Supporting the military and U.S. troops should never mean a blind loyalty. Individuals who serve in our military are to be commended for a variety of reasons. Yet they are individuals and some will be moral, ethical and serve properly, while some may falter in their duty or judgement. To examine the killing of non-combatants of any kind, journalists or otherwise, with an eye to improving the way the military runs is a public good. Furthermore, if the administration of Enron can be separated from Enron employees, and we can analyze what went wrong in terms of poor or crooked management and not dishonest employees, so we should be able to examine the U.S. Military as composed of a hierarchy of administrators (officers) who we presume do their duty and serve honorably, but who as humans, can make mistakes or be misled, or even simply follow orders which turn out to be illegal or immoral orders. Any examination of questions of leadership, proper attention to duty and quality of service is not an attack on the troops or its command, but an attempt to make sure the majority of troops and officers who do their duty are protected from being in a barrel with a couple of bad apples. When I have a student who is cheating in class, I want to know about it and deal with that student. By taking action to stop or punish the cheater, I don't condemn the rest of the students. In fact, by dealing with the cheater, I honor the other students for their honesty. Linda's comments or anyone else's about particular instances in the military are not the same as condemning the whole enterprise. Anyone's blind defense of the U.S. Military as if it were perfect is degrading to the individuals in the service who are doing their duty because it lumps the honest with the dishonest, and says that just being in a group makes you good or right, not your personal adherence to common morals. And that is insulting to the troops and officers. Guild Chief Under Fire for Comments About Attacks on Journalists in Iraq

Inside Higher Ed :: The Medium Is the Moral

Duke's iPod experiment is being labeled a failure in some circles. It might be an idea ahead of its time. The iPod is a portable storage device with audio capability. I can detail many different academic applications for it. However, as a teacher in the field, I ask where do teachers find time to develop the novel and interesting educational content that would make the iPod central to learning? We do not get time at our college to develop new instructional methods, not with having to teach 4 classes *3 hr credit each) per semester. Just getting ready for class, and grading work for the next class takes most of our time in and out of class. What I would do with iPods in some world where learning was actually the center of academe, include these things: use podcasting with video to provide software demonstrations for students. In class these demonstrations are difficult because students learn at different paces, and even trying to go step by step, some catch on and are ready to move ahead while other students need to go over the step again and again. iPod modules would let each student learn at their own pace, plus they could learn before they came to class. That frees face to face time for more complex learning projects. Another kind of lesson: create a tour of an exhibit or place so students could see first hand, guided by the instructor, and learn from the 'real-world'. Students could interview people, and bring that back to weave into interactive reporting (at least for journalism classes.) Anyway, those are a couple of ideas, but will I get any time to follow-up on them? Oh, and I don't even have an iPod to experiment with yet....Inside Higher Ed :: The Medium Is the Moral

On the Dot: Should cities offer free Wi-Fi? - Internet

Wi-FI as a public utility could benefit a municipality. If it did not provide monetary profits, the corollary benefits to the community that was wired in terms of convenience to businesses, educational uses, and such would be worth the public expenditure. Note how in this story communities that could get no attention from SBC and big corps got together to set up a public wireless network. Suddenly the big corporations has money to run an advertising campaign against the government initiative, but at the end, the citizens had no wireless. Utilities in the "commons" are often great benefits to citizens who don't have to pay several different corporations for service, and pay a small amount in taxes for service. It is the public-- the citizens -- who lose when government initiatives that would make the community a better place are sacrificed for the good of the corporation which has no ties to bind it to a community. On the Dot: Should cities offer free Wi-Fi? - Internet

Who Needs Ethics When You've Got Guidelines?

Media ethics and the irony of posting guidelines that help an organization avoid ethical behavior. Who Needs Ethics When You've Got Guidelines?

Crain's New York Business news, lists, rankings, directory and more

Its the paper and the hassle of print in the age of the screen is what I think....Crain's New York Business news, lists, rankings, directory and more

XM in talks about radio on phones | CNET News.com

Trends in radio are accelerating. Of course podcasting is big and what J. D. Lasica calls the "personal media revolution" is about to shakeup radio. Here XM satellite radio is getting ready to deliver its signal to our cellphone. Why bother? Think of the thousands of commuters in subways who can't pick up radio, or the folks in rural areas far from signals who can use this service. We can discuss whether the device you hold in your hand will be a PDA or phone or something else, but the point is, radio is coming to you when you want it, with the programs you want. Soon. XM in talks about radio on phones | CNET News.com

Online Publishers talk podcasting.

Podcasting--savior of Radio?

Meanwhile, "podfather" Adam Curry is slated to start a four-hour show with a selection of the best podcasts for Sirius satellite radio. Curry is also launching PodShow.com as a network of podcasters that he can monetize through advertising. Marketwatch reports that one of the more popular formats of podcasts is now religious-themed content, dubbed "Godcasts." Broadcast radio isn't sitting idly by, however. USA Today says that broadcasters are now offering more eclectic formats and more music with less ads. Plus, Infinity Broadcasting launched its first HD Radio multicast in Chicago, with a country station offering a separate music channel with a more adventurous format. So far, HD Radio has been slow to take off, with expensive radio receivers, but that might change once more broadcasters make the switch and expand programming choices.

Thom Clark, Community Media Workshop

Thom Clark, Community Media Workshop
Originally uploaded by biverson.

The National Media Reform Conference featured interesting panels and a good vendor and display area. Look who I found at the CMW table.

Media Reform in St. Louis

Media reform. I went to Madison last year for the Medi Reform conference and I am going again this year. It is in St. Louis. I'll be looking to see what the FCC commissioners and the legislators that attend are saying. I hope to bring back some information for my Intro to Mass Media classes to kind of finish off the semester with a bang. This year the conference actually sold out, so that is a sign of interest if nothing else. I probably won't be near a computer to post anything for several days. Free Press : 2005 National Conference for Media Reform

Editor: Myself | Hossein Derakhshan's weblog (English)

Hoder is Iranian and writes his blog in Persian and then sometimes in English. I was pleased to meet him and spend some time talking to him at blogNashville. He had some suggestions for how you get a community going that were of interest to me. He likes flickr.com and I noticed I am in a couple of his photos of the Nashville conference. Editor: Myself | Hossein Derakhshan's weblog (English)

The Facts : Al Jazeera International (the English Channel) - Friends of AlJazeera

News about news. So, Al Jazeera will come to the states and the rest of the world in English. The Facts : Al Jazeera International (the English Channel) - Friends of AlJazeera

Galway Advertiser | galwayadvertiser.ie | galwayadvertiser.com

Blogs as they are playing out in Galway. The use of mobile phones as the reading instrument of choice for blog audiences is easy in Europe. Maybe it will be here. I am going to begin doing "WAP" wireless 125 word broadcasts from the student site next year.Galway Advertiser | galwayadvertiser.ie | galwayadvertiser.com

* beep *

Clueless but getting closer. I like Lisa Balde's Drivetime, but I am biased as she is a former student. I am posting more about local Chicago blogs at a new site, blogmaven in preparation for some panels about blogging that I am going participate in. The workshops and panels are Making Media Connections on June 2, 2005 at Columbia College Chicago. The beep seems to know what something about the young, but even with 20 something writers it comes across to me as a product made by "people of a certain age," that is the 40-50 somethings FOR the young. I think this kind of work come off like it is of the demo, not for the demo it targets. But I will keep reading, though I am not the one they want. * beep *

The rapture of Rove

Political comment. At blognashville I was outnumbered by bloggers who represented themselves as Republicans and conservatives. I often find that I agree with many conservative thinkers. The problem these days is that many people use the label conservative when they are "neo-cons." While I am not a Christian, I do think Jesus was opposed to hypocrisy and as this article points out, there is plenty of that going down these days. We have no national energy policy, much less support for alternative energies that would make us less dependent on oil, but our President who has private wealth installs solar on his private residence. At least Mayor Daley goes with the green in city buildings where it models responsible behavior and saves money for all the citizens. The rapture of Rove

Wired News: Wired News Releases Source Review

Transparency is mentioned in discussions of how objectivity has been devalued as a journalistic stance, especially among the "pomos". This story by Wired about how it is handling problems with sources who can't be located is exemplary for its transparency. It is an interesting problem. I would not want to be the writer in question.Wired News: Wired News Releases Source Review

Wired News: DJ Spooky Raps About Remixing

Copyright or wrong. Read this quote. Who do you think said this? "Take for example James Joyce. He would take motifs from posters in the city streets when he was walking and have a notepad and write them down, and they would appear in his book. He would sample stuff from advertising, from other authors, from magazine articles. Or Gertrude Stein, because she had this repetitive style of speaking and her writing reflected that; Antonin Artaud, because he was involved with a lot of theater scripting." He is articulate, he is well-read, he is talented. Guess who? The answer is here:

Some bloggers I met at blogNashville

Bye Nashville bloggers.

Mark Griffith Politicalmanwww.politicalman.blog-city.com Ian Schwartz thepolitical teen Mark Tapscott Tapscott's Copy and of the Heritage Foundation. Also: B.L. Ochman , J.D. Lasica, Terry Heaton, Bob Cox, Robin Burk and Dan Gilmor.

closing down blognashville-comments, reflection

blognashville is over

Here is proof I was in attendance. The conference was interesting. I haven't been to a blogger con before, so I was surprised and pleased to meet people I knew virtually, in the flesh. Leonard Witt who "owns" community journalism was nice enough to give me a ride around town, and meanwhile talk about community journalism. Anyone going to AEJMC should look for the training that Leonard is doing and participate. I am tired and can't be too reflective about the conference now, or else I am following Stacey Kramer's advice and sleeping on what I might post.

At Mr. Roboto's awesome party

Foto(09).jpg
Originally uploaded by biverson.

a good time appeared to be had by all.

being at blogNashville

From Nashville see photos from blognashville or listen to what folks are saying from there.

RFID in passports not a just a USA issue.

RFID In my post on April 27, 3005, I noted that at the recent Electronic Freedom Foundation conference on privacy and freedom, the question of "skimming" information from passports with RFID chips in them came up, and the representatives from the government seemed to realize that there were risks to having an ID chip in a passport that could be read from a distance. Now Rep. Sensenbrenner enters the discussion by telling Eurpeon governments not to bother with RFID in passports, but to stick with "biometrics" like fingerprints or iris scans. Click the title for the full story.

Some context:About James Sensenbrenner (R,Wisc)

Wired News: Ads That Know What You Want

Beware of Adware. Don't like that closely watched feeling? Well. look out, with adware marketers are aiming at you via "behavioral marketing." And this kind of third party cookie won't be outlawed in upcoming anti-spyware regulation. Wired News: Ads That Know What You Want

Time for a change: The Associated Press as Napsterized news

Future of news. Trouble on the horizon for AP? What is information worth and who is going to pay. I think I agree with the writers here. APs new direction sounds like they are expecting most MSM to rollover and stop doing any reporting, and just be content wrappers. Look at Technorati to see how "taxonomies and keywording schemes" are being implemented in their use of tags that integrate with Del.ici.ous and Flickr. Time for a change: The Associated Press as Napsterized news: "The 21st Century news business needs a peer-to-peer network that lets local operations drive cost out of their non-local news packages, divert resources to local web content creation and operate on a level playing field with bloggers, citizen journalists and internet pure plays."

Looking at DeLay from multiple points of view

Novak, news, humor and DeLay's woes. Fun with DeLay.

Herald.com | 05/02/2005 | Bush's school plans in peril

A bit off topic for current buzz, but education policy always interests us professor-types. Here is a story from the Miami Herald (registration req'd. or use bugmenot about Jeb Bush's plans for education in Florida, and how he isn't getting legislative support even among the GOP. Note how it was Jeb's own proposal that mandates a reduction in class size over a series of years that he is now trying to repeal. Why? Because it will cost money. Isn't it a hypocritical to propose and lobby for class size reductions, and then before the plan you campaigned on is fully operational, you "slap your head" metaphorically speaking, and say "Oh, Duh, that's going to mean we have to raise taxes, so let's not do it after all." If it is a good idea, be courageous, politicians and fight for the money for your idea. The public sphere is being starved out through privitization, but where is the benefit to the community as we privitize? No where?Herald.com | 05/02/2005 | Bush's school plans in peril

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 05/01/2005 | Porn omnipresent in teens' lives

Phone porn? St. Paul Pioneer Press | 05/01/2005 | Porn omnipresent in teens' lives

Open Media Network

Grid technology and access to multimedia online. Open Media Network