This is from my home country, sorely missed (sometimes). How to create a 2 minute news segment in 2 minutes – watch and learn!
TV
The Digital Journalist
The following post was written as part of a thread on the subject of saving photojournalism, written by Dirck Halstead at http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0909/how-to-start-to-save-photojournalism.html.
I have come across many posts, blogs, and articles that point to internet advertising as the future for funding on-line content. I also read industry publications such as Ad Week, Advertising Age, and PR Week. From this broader perspective, it is apparent that on-line advertising is NOT an answer that can be depended upon for the future funding of anything unless you are bought in to one of the major on-line ad platforms (Google, for example).
There are many challenges. TV and print advertising is easier to target to a specific audience, especially if you are selling a product or service geared to a well defined target market. Day-time viewing, prime-time viewing, after school viewing, late night infomercials – it is a science that goes far deeper than many of us can imagine.
You may put a print ad in a magazine that is only purchased by your target market, like a Canon ad in PDN magazine for example. But now, let’s say, you put that same Canon ad in USA Today. Will you get the same results? No. USA Today is read by a much larger volume of readers, many of whom have absolutely zero interest in seeing the latest products from a camera manufacturer. This is similar to the challenge being faced by internet advertisers. Unless they advertise only on those sites that are geared toward a specific audience, then they are trying to sell to people who have zero interest in what they are offering. And the instant gratification, short attention span nature of the internet means that it is easier than ever to click past an ad that holds no interest for you. Technology certainly allows for Canon to only show ads on sites that are photography related. But the easy access to internet advertising by almost anybody with a connection to the web means that Canon is suddenly advertising in a much more crowded market. There are more ads for camera gear on the internet, competing for attention, than you would get in a print magazine.
The advertising industry has defined this issue as an important challenge to be resolved for the continued success of their own businesses – this is not something I just made up. So if advertisers are uncertain about the value of advertising on the internet (and there is plentiful data to support this concern), then we need to consider alternative revenue sources to support the work that we do, and want to do.
One model that was discussed in Advertising Age was very interesting, and quite compelling. If you are a cable TV subscriber, perhaps just signing up for the basic package, then you will have access to only a handful of channels, most of which are pretty pathetic. But if you upgrade to a different level, you get access to more channels, HBO, Starz, Bravo etc. Those channels get their cut of viewer subscriptions to help pay for their productions. Advertising Age suggested that a similar model be applied to internet service provider (ISP) subscriptions. I get access to the internet via Comcast. It’s OK. Sometimes faster than others – but it serves me for the moment. Now if I had to pay a little more to have access to premium news content, let’s say $5/month extra for all I can eat access to the NYT, WSJ, LA Times, Washington Post, FT, BBC, Reuters etc. then I would almost certainly sign up for that, if I could no longer get that content for free. It actually makes my life a great deal easier. I do not have to manage subscriptions to multiple publications, and I have instant access to a plentiful supply of news, features, and other content. Now spread that model to publications that focus on specific interests such as lifestyle magazines, international affairs, computer information, etc. A small monthly fee to receive a flood of content on your areas of interest, without having to manage subscription payments for individual publications, would make life so much easier. And Comcast would be responsible for distributing the fees that viewers pay, to the content providers.
And THAT is where advertising will find new value. If they KNOW that there are 5 million subscribers to the “Outdoor Living” internet magazine channel, as delivered by Comcast (for example), then they will be far more likely to spend gobs of money on targeted advertising.
With this scenario, the advertising dollars can, once again, start to flow to journalists and photojournalists, allowing them to devote valuable time to researching, producing, and delivering quality content.
As I said, this is all based on discussions currently underway in the advertising industry. I think it makes a lot of sense.
I have been doing a fair bit of traveling, lately. Planes and departure lounges are where I catch up on my reading. Here are a couple of recommendations:
War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq
This book by NBC Middle East Bureau Chief Richard Engel gives the reader a fascinating insight into the underlying issues that drive conflict in Iraq, Iran, and neighboring countries. An easy to follow and understand history of Shia and Sunni feuding is explained and aligned to the current conflict in Iraq. Peppered with first hand experiences of reporting from a high profile war zone, Richard Engel does an excellent job of sharing thoughts, opinions, and even conflicting views with the reader. Quotes from famous travelers and explorers further draw the reader in to Richard’s world.
If you want to read a book about journalism that goes beyond the basic “this is the war from my perspective”, then War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq is recommended.
In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars
Over the past year or two, those of you that use Yahoo! may recall seeing a button on the Yahoo! web site promoting “The Hot Zone.” This was a project by journalist Kevin Sites with the aim of visiting twenty wars in one year. This book, which comes with a free DVD, does an excellent job of bringing a human face to the challenges faced by those in conflict zones. One man points at a recently destroyed building, hit by a missile. “That was my house,” he tells the camera. But this is not only a well-written book about the life of a war journalist. The project also takes an interesting direction in the realm of mixed-media reporting. The book describes how Kevin came to work with Yahoo!’s New Media Group, using the Internet as a delivery mechanism for his video, still photography, and written reporting. The DVD that comes with the book offers a third delivery mechanism for this material. And the reports go beyond what American viewers are delivered on mainstream network TV which is largely pathetic. The book, web site, and DVD successfully represent some very hard truths – killing, suffering, torture, that is going on right now, and yet we hear nothing about most of it. The very fact that Kevin was able to grab great content from TWENTY conflict zones in just one year is a sad truth in itself.
If you want to see what mixed media reporting might look like, or if you want to make up for a year of not really getting any important news from Fox, CNN etc, then I strongly recommend In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars by Kevin Sites.
As I had yet another weekend in DC, I decided to head back to spend some quality time at the 
Newseum.
Located on Pennsylvania Avenue, within view of the Capitol Building and right next door to the Canadian Embassy, the Newseum is a new museum about news. It is FULL of interactive exhibits that allow you to sit at various computer screens and see/learn more about the major stories and events that shaped the news over the last several decades. The computer screens employ very good touch-screens and even some iPhone-esque features such as zooming and dragging with your finger on the screen.
As well as a myriad of computer screens covering subjects as diverse as ethics in news to “you can play rookie reporter”, there are small movie theaters showing short films about various aspects of the news. Some of these mini theaters are no more than booths with a few bench-type seats. Others are a little larger including one that features interviews with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers including the late Eddie Adams.
Original sections of the Berlin Wall are on display as is a part of the actual aerial from the top of one of the New York World Trade Center buildings that was brought down on 9/11/2001. A mock TV studio allows you to sit in a news-style set and you can even practice reading a teleprompter into a television camera.
In the basement you will find a good food court (although the hours are a little short), more theaters, each showing a program of different films about various aspects of news reporting, including sports journalism, and an exhibit space that, during my visit, featured FBI cases captured by the media, including some original artifacts such as the Unabomber’s garden shed and a 50 caliber gun from the Waco take-down in Texas.
On one level is a large map of the world that color codes those countries where there is a free press, those with a semi-free press (go figure) and those with no free press. The United States is colored green for a free press. Some may argue.
On the same level is a memorial to journalists who have been killed in the line of duty. Sadly, there is space for more photographs and more engraved names on the walls that list/show the journalist’s details. The memorial is rededicated every year to include the details of the latest journalists who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Annoyingly, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Public, with their extended guts, sheet white legs and baseball hats could not get through this area fast enough, looking for the next round of touch-screen fun…
Also annoyingly, the gift shops are full of the usual crap. I wanted to get a little something for myself and something for my wife. I picked up postcards and t-shirts emblazoned with “Trust Me I’m A Reporter” or “Not Tonight, Darling, I’m On Deadline”. And I put them all back. VERY overpriced. Eventually I whittled my selection down to a baseball cap with the phrase “Got Freedom”. But at $16.99 plus tax I just couldn’t bring myself to waste my money.
Is the Newseum worth $20. I think so, yes. You can spend a lot of time there and learn a lot. There is even a section on journalism ethics that should be mandatory for everybody in our profession. Some of the newsreel-like movies do get a little repetitive. Photo credits are not always displayed. Kids seem to love playing with the screens because the technology is something new, not because of what the screens actually show. And the tourist attitude seems to be more in wonder of this shrine-like connection with major news organizations. All that aside, it’s good to connect. The photographs and interviews, the memorial, the review of major stories over the past several years, brought back memories. That is where I saw value. Others may see it differently.
Do I recommend it? Yes, with reservations. But those reservations are based on personal preference. If you are going, avoid weekends and peak seasons if you can.
