NewsTrust

NewsTrust.net is a relatively new player in the Internet media, having just launched in November of 2006. It combines news feed with social network to create unique method of seeking out news stories.

Here's a description of the site from its "About" section:

The free NewsTrust.net website features daily feeds of quality news and opinions, which are carefully rated by our members, using our unique review tools. We rate the news based on quality, not just popularity. NewsTrust reviewers evaluate each article against core journalistic principles such as fairness, evidence, sourcing and context.

But far from a simple rating system, NewsTrust features a complex methodology based on individual ratings about certain journalistic values as well as the reviewer/rater's own reliability.

Instead of a simple "good/bad," users must rate, on a scale of one to five, such categories as trust (of publication), fairness, sources, context, information, etc. These ratings are aggregated and weighted to create an overall rating for the article. The reviewer may then also leave comments about the article, give it search-able tags, post related stories, and suggest improvements.

The final rating of the article is then influenced by your own transparency, which is based primarily on how much you reveal about yourself, such as occupation, affiliations, interests, political leanings, etc. Essentially, the reviewer is being rated just as much as the article.

I doubt I will rely much on NewsTrust for my news; there are certain places I go to seek out my information, and while I'm not utterly devoted to them, I've gotten used to navigating around, and it's a lot faster to use them than to learn something new. That being said, NewsTrust does seem pretty user-friendly, and it probably wouldn't take all that much effort to become comfortable with it.

I also think it's a good idea. This concept takes the idea of members of a community rating news for other members of that community - something like Digg - but gives it an added dimension of credibility and reliability that any news junkie should appreciate.

I tend to dislike tag lines, and NewsTrust's is no exception, but being "your guide to good journalism," may, for once, not be too far off the mark.

Just Plain Cool, Part III

The third and final post of today's series comes from an Oh Gizmo! post picked up once again by a post on Geekologie.

So, I mentioned in the previous post that you could buy "ABC3D" as a coffee table book. No coffee table, you say? Well, I've got a solution for that as well.

Meet the Musical Rumba Series coffee and side tables. This table, offered in four different sizes, is both a piece of furniture and a musical instrument. The table consists of a basic square or rectangular wooden frame with a variety of square instrumental "modules" that go into the frame in any assortment and pattern.

Now, the cost of chic design is not insignificant, and the smallest of the four tables (2' x 2') will set you back $800; the largest table (4' x 4') is a whopping $2900. But, take any designer piece of furniture, then add in that it's handmade to your specifications (it can be made any height), and then add in a full drum set, and it sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Granted, I'm not going to be buying one; my money's going to tuition and rent. But maybe someday I'll have the table for those books that are a little bit more in my price range at the moment.

Here's a video that details all of the modules that can be placed in the table:



Here's another video of a table being played:



And finally, here's a video about the company itself:

Just Plain Cool, Part II

So, if you're reading this post, I think it's a pretty safe assumption on my part that you know your ABCs. However, if you'd like a refresher course, or just want a little bit of entertainment, check out the video below.



I found this book and video again through a post on Geekologie. The book, "ABC3D," is going to be released on October 14, 2008, but you can pre-order it on Amazon.com for $19.95. I don't think it's going to do much in terms of teaching a kid the letters of the alphabet, but it should make for a nice coffee table book if nothing else.

What I thought was actually rather interesting when I looked up "ABC3D" was that there a number of pop-up books that are actually geared toward a much more adult audience. They span quite a wide range of subjects, from the psychological ("The Pop-Up Book of Phobias" or "The Pop-Up Book of Nightmares") to the racy or tabloid-style ("The Pop-Up Book of Sex" or "The Pop-Up Book of Celebrity Meltdowns") to the educational or artistic ("Frank Lloyd Wright in Pop-up").

I had no idea there would be such a market for these adult "kids books." However, I think one of the comments someone left makes a good point. In reference to the celebrity book, Carolyn Rampone from Florida said, "There are not many fun books for adults so I treasure this all that much more."

It's really a rather profound observation in some ways. As we become more and more "connected" to our jobs through technology and kids are given more and more responsibility at an early age, I think we often forget how to have some fun. These books are a good way to find some simple enjoyment, and you can always say it's educational. It is a book, after all.

Just Plain Cool, Part I

So, to begin, a brief science lesson. There are multiple states of matter based on the energy level and amount of movement by the individual atoms within that matter. Depending on the person to whom you speak, there are four or five states of matter: solid, liquid crystal (the "optional" one), liquid, gas and plasma.

Any matter can move through those states by increasing or decreasing its temperature, which in turn increases or decreases the activity level of the atoms. H2O is the simplest substance to use as an example. It is ice as a solid, water as a liquid and steam as a gas. It is harder to understand liquid crystal, yet we are all familiar with it as used in the screens of computers, televisions and other electronic devices (LCD).

Plasma exists at a level of energy above gas. This is even harder to understand, because it is not something readily found in nature. However, the sun consists of plasma. Lightning, in its brief moments of existence, is also a natural form of plasma.

Now, if you've made it this far, here's the subject of my "just plain cool" headline: plasma speakers. This concept came to my attention from a post on Gizmodo (So much in love with shiny new toys, it's unnatural.) that was picked up by Geekologie.

Basically, people have managed to harness the power of plasma and turn it into a speaker; it's like making a tiny lighting bolt play your favorite song. Apparently the idea has been around since the 1950s, but it's just not practical to develop due to safety concerns and the difficulty in maintaining the plasma arc.

Regardless, it's a lot of fun to watch. Enjoy.

Internet Tabloid, 1... Mainstream Media, 0

Score another win for the Web-based, tabloid-style, alternative media.

On March 17, The Los Angeles Times published an article titled "An attack on Tupac Shakur launched a hip-hop war." This extremely lengthy story by Chuck Philips chronicles the 1994 ambush on Shakur and the deep-seated roots of the "hip-hop war" that eventually led to his death as well as that of rival rapper Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorius B.I.G. Of course, had that been the extent of the article, it probably would not have been considered newsworthy.

Indeed, the crux of this story was "newly discovered information," including eyewitness interviews and FBI documents, that linked rapper, designer and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs to the ass1994 assault. Of course he denied the allegations, and said he was "shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."

Well, it turned out that Combs was telling the truth, but the proof didn't come from the mainstream media. Instead the popular Web site The Smoking Gun printed a detailed expose
titled "Big Phat Liar" about "how a federal inmate duped the Lost Angeles Times, fabricated FBI reports, and linked Sean 'Diddy' Combs to 1994 ambush of Tupac Shakur." This extensive examination was able to prove that the documents used as proof by The Times were faked.

Thus began the back-pedaling of The Times in an effort to correct its mistake and apologize for its lapse. Executive editor Russ Stanton released the following statement in apology:

We published this story with the sincere belief that the documents were genuine, but our good intentions are beside the point.

The bottom line is that the documents we relied on should not have been used. We apologize both to our readers and to those referenced in the documents and, as a result, in the story. We are continuing to investigate this matter and will fulfill our journalistic responsibility for critical self-examination.

Staff writer James Rainey was then commissioned to write a 1600-word article, "The Times apologizes over article on rapper," which now acts as a preface to the article in its original form. (Click here for the preface as well as the original article, which begins on the third page.)

I think it's incidents like this that really solidify an argument in favor of the alternative Internet press. Most people would probably not consider The Smoking Gun a pinnacle of journalistic values, but thanks to this Internet tabloid-style site, Combs has been quickly exonerated and a major misjudgment on the part of a well-respected newspaper has been revealed.

It's quite possible, even probable, that the mainstream media would have discovered that the documents were faked. However, the establishment press is slow to critique itself, as is any kind of powerful institution. Papers are not dead; blogs are not solely the future. But this symbiosis, the Web-based media keeping the mainstream press in check, seems a good indicator of the balance that could be struck in the future.

The Murdochs... Again

So, I don't want to seem as though I'm beating a dead horse or that I have some sort of agenda against Rupert Murdoch and his progeny, but I just keep seeing more things about this family, and I'm coming to find them rather fascinating.

If there was ever going to be any evidence that a career path is genetically bred, the Murdoch clan would certainly be that proof. On Monday, The New York Times published a reasonably lengthy profile of Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert, sister of Lachlan, both of whom have received some mention in this blog (here, here, and here).

So, surprise surprise, Elisabeth works in the media. She was raised primarily in New York City and educated in the United States, then went to work for her father at British Sky Broadcasting in the United Kingdom. However, she wanted to make a name for herself, so Elisabeth left to start her own company, Shine Limited, a television production company responsible for British versions of "Project Runway," "The Biggest Loser" and "Law & Order" (being developed).

Now Murdoch has branched out into the US with the acquisition of Reveille Productions, an American television production company responsible for "The Office," "Ugly Betty" and "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" This $125 million deal means that now a full two-thirds of her joint company's income will come from the US. Indeed, part of this income could come from selling television shows to Fox, her father's network.

Apparently Elisabeth is also something of a celebrity in the UK, perhaps due her "stony silence" in the public eye, as described by a columnist for The Observer in London. Her husband is Matthew Freud, a prominent PR executive and great-grandson of Sigmund. Together, "the couple cuts a glittering swath through London’s social circuit." According to friend and former producer of "The Cosby Show" Caryn Mandabach, "There is no U.S. equivalent to them as a power couple. It’s actually demeaning to call them a power couple, because they are such fine individuals.”

There are ongoing discussions and speculations about who will eventually succeed Rupert Murdoch at News Corp. But for now, Elisabeth says she never wants to leave Shine, though an eventual return to her father's fold is "certainly not out of the cards."

Regardless of how this family of media titans divvies up their growing slice of the media pie, it should be interesting to watch as time goes by.

PostSecret

“We elementary school teachers do NOT want you to ‘volunteer’ in our classrooms! We all think you need to get a JOB, get a LIFE.”

“I think GOD makes my period late, just to watch me squirm.”

“Every year a single rose from this pink rose bush would bloom white. My grandpa thought it was really special, he and I would wait for it every year. He died nine years ago. The white bloom still comes but now it’s just like any other flower.”

“Everyone who knew me before 9/11 believes I’m dead.”

This is a sampling of the ever-changing selection of secret-bearing postcards that are found every week on PostSecret, the Internet-based community art project created by Frank Warren, an entrepreneur turned blogger, author and public speaker. Some are funny; some are tragic; all are deeply personal.

Despite posting new content only once each week, PostSecret boasts a monthly hit count of more than three million and a total visitor count of more than 131 million since its creation in 2003. El Mundo PostSecret, a Spanish-language version of the original site, began on March 2 of this year and has already received 17,500 visitors. If The New York Times with its 24-hours-a-day news coverage receives only 13 million monthly hits, just four times that of PostSecret, it is clear this art project meets online community is no flash in the pan.



To Share a Secret
Emily Bursch is a sophomore at Flagler College majoring in English literature; she also has a secret. “Since the first time I read PostSecret, there was one secret that I had in mind,” she said. And so she made a pact with her friend: each of them would create a postcard and submit it. If one of them was posted, the card’s creator would admit the secret to her friend.

Some time later, Bursch’s postcard appeared on the Web site. Though unwilling to publicly admit her secret, Bursch made her friend guess which was hers. “There were only five posted that week, so she figured out which was mine,” Bursch explained.

“It really was therapeutic to make up a piece of artwork for something I had been thinking about a long time,” Bursch said. Because she is an “artistic, crafty person,” physically creating the postcard did not take a long time. But she explained that the finished secret could have taken on a much different form at another time in her life. “If I were someone younger – five or 10 years ago,” she said, “it would’ve been completely different than what I chose.”

Jenna Ullrich, a sophomore graphic design and photography major at the University of Maryland, was hired as one of the first two PostSecret interns last year; in this role, she saw hundreds of secrets arrive each week. Though she thought about submitting her own, she never followed through with it. “You have to be really brave to send out your secret to a complete stranger,” she said.

Northeastern University middler and philosophy student Nicole Keimer completed the pair of original PostSecret interns, but unlike Ullrich, she has submitted some of her secrets. None of them were published, though if they had been, “none have been that devastating,” she said. “People talk about how they felt such a release from sending in their secret, but… I just enjoyed the process of doing the artistic piece to represent my secret.”

Judith Hall, a social psychologist and professor at Northeastern University, equates the creation of these postcards with the expressive writing tradition. “If someone is given an opportunity to write about something that troubles them, it has these incredible effects on their well-being,” she explained. “There are less emotional symptoms; they are healthier and more focused.”

“If someone spends a long time deciding on a secret, deciding on the phrasing, how to present it, it is a much more significant event than it seems on the surface,” Hall said. “It gives them a chance to vent. It’s a form of unconscious self-therapy.”

Though now an alumna, Britta Nugent first heard about PostSecret as a student of theater and English literature at Mount Union College; she submitted her secret during her junior year. “It wasn’t exactly something I was keeping from my friends at school, but it definitely was something I was keeping from my parents – and it was eating away at me,” she explained. “I think sending that postcard in is what eventually gave me the courage to tell my parents what I had lied to them about for so long. I’ve given PostSecret most of the credit for that for a long time. I’ll always be grateful.”



PostSecret: The Evolution
From obscure beginnings, PostSecret has grown into an international phenomenon. The band All American Rejects requested to use some of the postcards in its 2005 “Dirty Little Secret” music video. PostSecret has won eight Weblog Awards – the “world’s largest blog competition” – including Best American Weblog, Best Community Weblog, Best Topical Weblog and Weblog of the Year. It has also received two Webby Awards – “honoring excellence on the Internet” – in the 2006 NetArt category: Webby Award Winner and People’s Voice Winner.

Warren has parlayed the Web site’s popularity into four successful books: “PostSecret,” “My Secret,” “The Secret Lives of Men and Women” and “A Lifetime of Secrets.” He has appeared on “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America” and “20/20,” as well as programs on CNN, MSNBC and NPR. The PostSecret International Art Exhibition is currently touring the United States and Canada.

But the project is not all about profit and fame. Warren promotes numerous wellness resources, primarily the National Hopeline Network – 1(800) SUICIDE – for which PostSecret has raised more than $100,000. Instead of accepting the $1,000 offered to him by the All American Rejects, Warren asked them to make a $2,000 donation to the Hopeline. For his efforts in “advancing awareness and acceptance of mental wellness and mental illness,” Warren was honored by the National Mental Health Association with one of their inaugural forWARDS, which “pay tribute to the people, actions and events that move the cause of mental health forward each year.”

The Truth Shall Set You Free
One of the biggest questions raised by the immense scope of this anonymous project is, are these thousands of secrets all true? Though several attempts to contact him were unsuccessful, Warren addresses this question on the Web site, stating that it “is more complicated than it might appear on the surface.” He goes on to explain that he views each postcard as less of a secret and more of a work of art. “As art, secrets can have different layers of truth. Some can be both true and false, others can become true over time depending on our choices,” he said. “Sometimes a secret we keep from ourselves only becomes true after we read it on a stranger’s postcard.”

Bursch feels the question is not really worth considering. “I think that if somebody was making up a secret and sending it in, there must be some underlying thing going on,” she said. “It must be therapeutic in some way or they wouldn’t spend all that time on it.”

Though there is no way to prove if the secrets are true or false, Hall believes there are probably only “a tiny fraction” of people fabricating secrets. “There is really nothing to be gained,” she said. Making up a secret is “interesting in and of itself.”

Hall concurred with Warren’s explanation of the multifaceted nature of secrets and the project in general. “Maybe it’s a wish instead of a secret,” she explained. “If nothing else, they may be reaching out for attention. Knowing a lot of people may look at it is satisfying a need.”

There is, however, the potential for people’s competitive nature to come through. If a person is only sending in a secret to get it posted on the Web site, “it could promote distortion,” Hall said. “It may lead people to make up a secret or make it more vivid.” She also considered the idea that previous postings may influence new submission. However, the lack of online archives may act as a mitigating factor, promoting an “instant amnesia” about what has been publicly posted.

Community: Why PostSecret Has Become So Popular
“It’s a kind of voyeurism,” Hall said about PostSecret. “Even mentally healthy people have a streak of that in them, a morbid fascination for the terrible.”

“To have this window into other people’s lives is definitely alluring,” Ullrich concurred. “What keeps people coming back is the cathartic effect it has for those who read their own secrets… written by a completely different person.”

Now, beyond just reading the postcards posted each Sunday, people can interact with one another through the PostSecret Community. “Since [Warren] receives so many secrets, he can’t post or publish them all,” Keimer explained. “The Community was created so that people can still share their secrets anonymously and have their voices heard.” Since its creation, the Community has expanded to more than 20,000 registered users, she said.

Though she has a fulltime job as an instructional aide for children with learning disabilities, Nugent is a dedicated member of the Community, often spending up to four hours on it each night. “Some of us who have been there for a while have formed some fantastic friendships,” she said. “It gives everyone the opportunity to come on the forum – post a secret if they so choose – and they immediately receive support.” She added, “It’s really helped me through quite a bit in the past, and the people who post there are some of the most genuine, loving people you’ll ever come across. I’ve found a home away from home… and I’m so thankful for it every single day.”

PostSecret is a blog and a business, but also a community and a form of therapy. “People have sent in cards saying they saw the Web site when they were thinking of killing themselves, but they called the [Hopeline] and changed their mind,” Bursch explained. “PostSecret has an impact on people. It can change their lives.”

Nugent added, “I hope PostSecret stays around for years to come.”

The Fall of The Wall... Street Journal

About two months ago, I wrote a post that I titled "The Wall Street Tabloid" about how Rupert Murdoch's purchase of Dow Jones & Company, including The Wall Street Journal, would change this well-respected journalistic institution. I was, and still am, less than confident that Murdoch's stewardship of the paper is going to prove to be a good thing.

Well, the New York Times ran a story today about The Journal making over its popular Marketplace section. This second section of the paper will now have fewer business features on its front page, and some of the section front's recognized columns will be moved inside. The section will also focus more on hard news in the corporate world.

These changes come on the heels of an already shaken Journal staff, which has seen the following changes: reduced coverage of business features and investigative pieces; shorter stories; a focus on politics, breaking and non-business news; pages for world news; and a new sports page.

To this outside observer, these changes seem like a pretty big deal. But representatives of the company don't seem to agree. The Times piece quoted Robert Christie, a Dow Jones spokesman, who in turn quoted Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli as saying, "There are a lot of evolutionary changes going on."

I really don't think too many people would argue with the suggestion that The Journal is going to be markedly different from its old form by the time Murdoch is done molding it into the image that he feels is most appropriate. However, it remains to be seen whether his changes will be good, bad or somewhere in between, and I'm certainly not the one to judge. But no one person really is, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how the tide of public opinion turns.

Want to see an opera? Go to the movies.

Several years ago, I spent two wonderful weeks in July in Vienna, Austria and the surrounding countryside. While I was there, I saw parts of several major orchestral performances and an opera, and I didn't pay a single Euro for it.

Every summer, the city government of Vienna sets up a film festival-type event in the Rathauspark, the area in front of city hall. It consists of a drive-in sized movie screen, hundreds of chairs, and food vending stands from restaurants all around the city. And then ever night a different film is shown, free to the public. But these aren't your typical movies. Instead they show performances of some some the world's greatest symphony orchestras, operas and ballets. You can stay for just a part of it, walk around, get a bite to eat, and enjoy some of these great bits of culture without spending any more than the fare to get there on the tram.

I thought it was a real shame that there wasn't something similar in Boston, or any other city that I had heard of. Granted, I have never done any research into similar programs, but considering it was such a novel concept to me, I'm going to assume it's not happening all over the US.

But that could be changing. According to a New York Times article, movie theaters across the country may soon be showing classic TV shows, concerts and performances of all kinds, and even live sports events. Certain theater companies have apparently been experimenting with this kind of content already, and getting some mixed reviews.

There have been some complaints due to technical difficulties and people feeling as though they didn't get their money's worth. However, one company called National CineMedia started showing simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and had 300,000 people attend during 2007. They're projecting more than a million people to come to these performances in 2008. These are certainly not insignificant numbers.

I'm well aware that the theaters are only doing this because of the bottom line; there just isn't as much draw for people to go to the movies anymore. But at the same time, I can't think how beneficial this could be to a whole new population of the country that has never experienced these enduring pieces of culture. Sure, I'm a big fan of the symphony and would pay $40 for a seat in the back of the top balcony. But how many people feel the same way? Probably not tons. And so these people will probably choose to simply never experience these bits of culture. But for $20 and a close-up view of all parts of the stage, I think the audience would be significantly larger.

My one opinion: I'd challenge the theaters to charge even less money. Perhaps they won't be able to afford live simulcasts, but I'm sure there are plenty of other performances they could find and that people would want to see. And if it's appealing to watch a concert for $20, it only makes sense that it would get an even larger audience at $10.

I have no doubt the theaters will make plenty of profit on these new shows, but the ability to facilitate an ongoing interest in the arts could have a far greater impact that these companies think.

It's the Advertising, Stupid

So, everyone knows how important advertising is to the media. Subscriptions and newsstand sales maybe cover all of the shipping costs, if the newspaper/magazine is lucky. But that leaves the physical production of the product, the business's infrastructure, and that pesky little thing known as a salary for all those reporters out there (plus copy editors, layout staff, etc.).

So, where does that money come from? The advertisers. And why is the newspaper industry in such trouble? Because the advertisers aren't paying nearly as much for online advertising and print circulation is in decline.

Okay, this is not big shock. But now, apparently the advertising giant that is Pepsi is skipping print altogether.

Meet Tava, Pepsi's new, no-calorie, fruit-flavored, carbonated beverage. If you haven't heard about it yet, it could be because you're outside of the target demographic: men and women ages 35-49. But it could also be because Pepsi has decided to skip all print and television advertising and go strictly online. If it seems as though the demographic is off for an Internet-based ad campaign, you might just be unaware of the "reborn digital" crowd being targeted by Frank Cooper, vice president for flavored carbonated soft drinks at Pepsi-Cola North America (try saying that title three times fast).

All right, this is all online. So won't they still be selling ads to newspapers' Web sites? There will be banner ad sales for these sites, but the primary ad push comes in the form of the drink's own Web site (warning, it starts playing music, so watch the volume).

But the problem with this idea is getting people to actually want to visit the site. Well, problem solved. Beyond all of the information about the drinks, this site features emerging musicians whose songs you can download, the work of artists and illustrators, and arts events like the Boston Arts Festival (since Boston is one of the target markets).

But frankly, the information relating to the drinks is almost amusing enough. Take, for example the description of the "flavor inspiration" for Brazilian Samba:

Passion fruit flavor, hints of pineapple, and drops of lime weave a vibrant melody in this sparkling beverage. You don't need the gift of rhythm to enjoy Tava Brazilian Samba, but some toe-tappin' skills wouldn't hurt.

Who knew that carbonated drinks could get the same thoughtful descriptions as your favorite vintage wine. Oh, and while you're at it, if you're wondering what to drink this stuff with, they tell you right there! Brazilian Samba goes best with Thai-style shrimp and cucumber salad and Mexican-style shrimp cocktail, tasty-looking pictures and recipes included.

So, while I don't think this one instance of online advertising spells doom for the media, it is a bit concerning when the advertisers can "out new media" the media. The joy of Pepsi, indeed.

Side note: For some reason, I love this line from the article in the New York Times: "Pepsi-Cola North America is bringing out a line of no-calorie, carbonated beverages named Tava — not to be confused, presumably, with Teva, Lava, Kava or just plain java."

And to close, a classic cinematic masterpiece featuring Britney Spears and Bob Dole.

General Electric, Part II

So, a week ago I wrote a post about General Electric that was sparked by a New York Times article about GE publishing its 2007 annual report to investors. Well, in looking up some information from the actual document, I managed to miss another Times article that mentions the effort CEO Jeff Immelt is making to embrace not only his company's investment in NBC Universal, but also in the world of new media.

It turns out that instead of the typical press releases and/or press conferences, Immelt decided to address investors via an "exclusive, Internet-only broadcast" on March 13. A Web page from which the 35 minute broadcast can be launched is located here. The site also has a link to download a transcript of the broadcast as well as Webcast FAQs.

According to GE, the audience submitted 6,000 questions for Immelt, though the Times article points out that only a few of them were actually answered during the interview. The FAQs are apparently the "best of the rest," and Immelt (or, let's be honest, his public relations team) provided written answers to such questions as:

• Some analysts and investors still think GE is too big and complicated. Can you
  comment?
• In this economy, how are you positioning to keep up growth? Through
  diversification or internal penny-pinching?
• What do you think are the most important qualities to become a CEO?
• What does your company do to promote diversity in the workplace? What are you
  and your company doing to make things better?

And then my two personal favorites:

• I live in Brazil. I have experience in Finance. Could you, by any chance, accept my
  resume? Carlos from Brazil
• Why do you own NBC Universal?

I'm going to be mean and not include any of the answers. They can be found by following the link above. But I'll just say that I think it's commendable for Immelt to be embracing the Internet as a medium of communication, even if this is just a shameless bit of self-promotion.

News from Your Neighbors

"9Neighbors is a community-ranked news site for the Boston area. Stories here are submitted and voted on by users."

This is the description provided in the "About" for the reasonably new Web site 9Neighbors. My classmates and I have been asked to take a look at this site because we are having its editor/moderator Rick Burnes as a guest speaker this week.

My initial impression of the site is that it's nicely designed and easy to read, and it seems reasonably simple to navigate. There are plenty of links to group news by community, "top stream," most recent, and those your friends find interesting (you must have an account for this particular feature).

I also noticed (and this could just be a chance occurrence) as I was clicking through the applicable links, i.e. Boston as opposed to Somerville for me, but none of the stories really jumped out at me. The top three most popular headlines in Boston are "Bye, bye trans fats," "Mayor Menino Supports Zoning Rule to Limit Rentals to Four or Fewer Students," and "Evacuation Day/ St. Patty's Day." Okay, it's good to be healthy, but a ban on trans fats isn't really going to have an impact on me. I should be concerned about the zoning rule, but I live alone, and I don't intend on having a roommate ever again. And I didn't even know that it was St. Patrick's Day.

According to a post about 9Neighbors on Burnes's blog, the site has indexed more than 25,000 local news items, 70 percent of which were "independently produced," i.e. not from the mainstream media. This is an impressive number, and I have no problem with the concept of the site, I guess my problem is, what's the point?

The site is supposed to represent what people are talking about in the greater Boston area. Okay, I understand. But what makes this so much different than other sites like Hub Blog, Universal Hub, Boston Blogs, or Bostonist?

Perhaps I'm just missing something; I'm well aware that I don't know it all. But I guess in my view, it's nothing particularly new.

"Breaking News:" The Newspaper Industry is in Trouble

A few hours ago I listened to an online broadcast of 90.9 WBUR’s “Radio Boston” from Friday afternoon. The discussion prompt: “After another round of buyouts, we ask what does it mean when there are fewer newspapers and journalists?”

My first response would be that while, yes, there are fewer print newspapers, but there are more media outlets of various forms than there have ever been. And, if my classmates are any indication, there is no lack of well-trained journalists, though the definition of journalist is certainly a topic of discussion.

One of the guests for the program was Steve Kurkjian, reporter and former metro editor of the Boston Globe, who blamed the precipitation of the decline in print media in Boston on bad economic times in the region and the attention diverted to the Internet. This is particularly exemplified in the area of classified ads, which Kurkjian pointed out was the bulk of the Globe’s Sunday edition.

In briefly browsing the classifieds on boston.com, the online branch of the Globe for any unfamiliar with it, the least expensive classified ad appears to be $29 for one week online. Costs can range up to $200 for “until it sells” online ads or print and online packages of more limited length. Now, compare this to the now ubiquitous Craigslist. Users may post ads for free in more than 26 major U.S. cities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as 53 countries around the globe. This incredible reach at no cost (for most situations) to the poster makes it a much more appealing option than the more limited Globe print edition or boston.com.

Editors of the Globe and the Boston Herald (Marty Baron and Kevin Convey) both called the radio show to speak about their papers and describe how they are maintaining their viability. Baron explained a local focus at the Globe, stating its “most important mission is covering this community.” Convey said the Herald has had to “narrow [its] focus considerably” and try “to present stories people aren’t going to find anywhere else.”

The problem with this focus on Boston is that there are other sources for much of this information. People in a live, online chat running concurrently with the broadcast expressed the general opinion that newspapers are outdated and that good local news can be found in blogs and online information boards. One would think you could find almost anything you were looking for with a service like Boston Blogs. Here one can search by topics such as sports, politics, religion, and even T stop. Granted, there may not be huge amounts of breaking news coverage, but it provides the kind of hyper-local coverage that people seem to crave these days. A similar service is offered by Boston Online, which provides a map to choose blogs by town or neighborhood.

I don't know how comfortable I am with leaving the hard-hitting, investigative, and I would say most important I don’t know how comfortable I am with leaving thejournalism in the hands on blogs, and in that respect, I think the traditional media outlets serve an important purpose, though the form is less important. However, some blogs have broken important stories in ways traditional media wouldn’t. And I don’t agree with blanket generalizations made by some people, such as Kathy, a caller on “Radio Boston,” who said that so many anonymous bloggers post such hurtful things that she “just can’t read that.”

In the long run, I think I have to agree with Kurkjian’s summary of the situation: “Empowering the public with information makes sure that city halls and state houses are responding to the public needs,” and what was once only coming out of established media outlets is now coming out of people’s living rooms. It is truly the voice of the people, and that is certainly for the better.

The GE Admiration Society?

So, I have to admit that I'm rather fond of General Electric, one of those big, bad corporate entities and the proud owner of NBC Universal. I worked for GE Infrastructure in the Small Commercial Engine Operations division of GE Aviation; trust me, I know exactly how complicated it sounds, and you've got every reason to be confused.

Now, I didn't particularly enjoy my time as a co-op there, but that had much more to do with my specific job description/responsibilities than it did with the company overall. In fact, I was continuously struck by the dedication people seemed to feel toward GE. It reminded me much more of the attitude I used to hear from my grandfather when he talked about how loyal employees and employers were to one another.

I think part of this enthusiasm and loyalty comes from a continuous self-promotion, but in a good way, re-affirming the many achievements of each small division of the company as well as corporate efforts in volunteerism and green technology. An example you may be familiar with:



Now, I always wondered how NBC fit into the mix, considering how different it was from the rest of the company. But after numerous brief exchanges with my doppelganger (NBC had a Stephen Asay working for it as well, and our email paths were often crossed in the corporate database), I came to realize an undeniable sense of camaraderie. And so it should come as no shock that GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt is denying rumors that the company is trying to offload NBC.

Here are excerpts from Immelt's letter to investors in the GE 2007 Annual Report:

Should we sell NBCU? The answer is no! I just don’t see it happening … not before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games … not after the Olympic Games. It doesn’t make sense. The business has outperformed its competition and the GE average for the last 20 years. Our diversified content position is very strong. Content is increasing in value in a digital world. We are in a good cycle, with momentum around the Beijing Olympics, the U.S. elections, and the 2009 Super Bowl. NBCU benefits from GE’s global footprint, financial strength, and human resource skills. And, NBCU provides us with a leading perspective on digital transformation. NBCU adds value to GE, and GE adds value to NBCU. This is true now, and it will be true in the long term as well.

I know this whole letter is really just PR spin meant to make investors feel good about the progress of the company, but I think Immelt makes some points that should make all of us feel good. That the chairman of such a major corporation is talking about the value of "digital transformation" can certainly be a sign of hope for journalism. As Lisa Williams (founder of H2otown) in our class the other day, maybe it's time for the journalists to go to the companies and make some changes instead of just waiting for the apocalypse to come.

Another excerpt:

NBCU is a great example of a business that becomes more valuable as its market evolves. In 2002, 75% of its earnings derived from NBC broadcast television. But we realized that the broadcast model, while important, would grow more slowly in a digital world. We have refocused NBCU in global markets around fast-growth cable, film, and digital businesses. Today, driven by powerhouse brands such as USA Network and Universal Pictures, these businesses in total represent more than 80% of NBCU’s earnings and are growing at about 15% each year. In 2008, we expect to achieve double-digit growth in digital revenues. As a result, NBCU is positioned to grow earnings 10% in 2008.

I find this interesting based on some conversations we've had in my Journalism Ethics class about media consolidation. General Electric is often left out of some the all-powerful media companies, I think because NBCU is such a small part of the company overall. Yet here we have GE admitting to the fact that NBCU is trying to grow in the cable/digital/film world, and in another portion of the lengthy letter, Immelt talks about global growth as NBCU makes attempts to break into foreign markets.

I'm not too worried about GE's influence on NBC, and from the sounds of it, I'm not too worried about NBC's health as a media business either. Though, according to Nicole Parent, an analyst who covers GE for Credit Suisse and was quoted in a New York Times article, NBC is at a low point in its value: "It’s very clear to sell an asset at the bottom doesn’t make sense.”

I think that someday I'd like to understand how 10 percent per annum growth within a multi-billion dollar company is "at the bottom." But until I do get it, I'll trust the experts on the matter, and assume that GE and NBCU are a pair that is here to stay.

Disappointment

Apparently the new big story is about New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his connections to a high-end prostitution ring. You know what? I don't care. So he's slimy... just like almost every other politician.

So, why do I mention this? Because Web traffic increased so much based on this story that it was causing Web sites to crash.

I first saw mention about this aspect of the story on Journerdism, "stompin' grounds for journalists and nerds." (I now can't remember if I learned about this site from a classmate or my professor, but I consider myself a journalist-in-training and definitely a nerd, so I've been checking it out) When I saw the headline "Spitzer story crashes nytimes.com," I had to check it out.

Journerdism linked me to a LostRemote blog post:

The big story today that the NY Times broke about the NY Governor and a prostitution ring apparently caused the site to crash under the traffic, according to a spokesperson from the paper in response to the Huffington Post. According to the paper, the site has crashed two other times: 9/11/2001 and the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens.

So, on my continuing journey of discovery, I went to the Huffington Post story. Rachel Sklar was able to get confirmation from a Times representative that the high amount of traffic did cause problems with the site, with a 60 percent increase in the amount of traffic normally seen during the same time frame. As the LostRemote post repeated, they have had this problem only those two prior times. But the Times rep also said it was hard to compare these events, because the site now has 10 times more bandwidth than it did in 2001.

It's great that breaking stories can still generate large traffic to news sites. And it's shocking that there can be enough of a surge to actually crash a titan like the Times. But what I pull away from all of this is, instead, profound disappointment in the American people. The largest reader surge since 9/11 is for a sex scandal? That is just sad, and it shows how wrong our priorities are.

We are trapped in a quagmire that, in my mind, is on a path to rival Vietnam. Our government breaks the law, and then diverts attention by calling people's "patriotism" into question. Segments of the population still fight for equal rights. Our economy is heading into a recession. And yet people care most about a governor paying for sex.

Sad.

To Use or Not To Use... An Anonymous Source

I find it interesting timing that an Associated Press story that just ran in today's Globe deals with a current legal argument surrounding the protection of anonymous sources. It is a topic that has been on my mind of late, and something, I think, that most reporters will have to deal with at some point in their careers.

This is a topic of interest to me both as a current journalism student and as a future law student. In fact, I recently wrote a research paper for my Journalism Ethics and Issues class about the legal and ethical issues regarding the use of anonymous sources. I tried to focus specifically on the CIA leak/Valerie Plame/Robert Novak/Judith Miller situation (primarily because it is the most talked about case, therefore the case with the most researchable material), but there have been a string of similar cases across the country.

Jim Taricani was placed under house arrest for refusing to reveal his source after broadcasting a leaked videotape showing a Providence, R.I. official accepting a bribe. Journalists at the San Francisco Chronicle came under attack after reporting leaked grand jury testimony in the BALCO steroid investigation. Five reporters were found to be in contempt of court when they refused to name their sources on Wen Ho Less, suspected of passing nuclear secrets to the Chinese.

Now reporter Toni Locy, formerly of USA Today, is facing extensive fines and potential jail time for refusing to identify her sources from stories in 2001 about a scientist who was, at the time, a leading suspect in the anthrax attacks in Washington, D.C. Locy is appealing a ruling that sentenced her to fines of up to $5,000 per day, which she must pay personally. She may also face time in prison if she continues to withhold her sources beyond an April 3 deadline.

Because Locy says she cannot remember which specific sources she used for the articles, but does remember about a dozen confidential sources from the FBI and the Justice Department, the judge ordered her to reveal all of them. Locy has the support of 29 news organizations, but at this time, certainly not the support of the courts.

Now, I could go on about this protecting sources (the 3,000 word paper is evidence), but I think it essentially boils down to a few key points:

• Anonymous/confidential sources are an extremely valuable tool for reporting on stories that serve the public interest, when a source is reluctant because he or she could lose a job or face other threats.
  
• The media has become too cavalier about using these sources; reporters should never offer confidentiality just because they think a person's position "requires" it.
  
• Reporters and media organizations must fight at all costs to preserve a source's confidentiality until the source absolves the agreement.
• The only time a source should be "outed," regardless of his or her motive, is if there is an obvious, imminent risk to an individual or the public at large.
  

You may agree. You may not. But this is a volatile time for the media. Dropping circulation is forcing staff cuts; people are turning to the Internet and blogs for news; and the media's traditional role as the protector of democratic ideas is in jeopardy in the courts and the public eye.

Clay Calvert, a professor at Pennsylvania State University specializing in first amendment law, summed up the problem the media faces in "Victories for Privacy and Losses for Journalism? Five Privacy Controversies from 2004 and Their Policy Implications for the Future of Reportage" in the Journal of Law and Policy:

For the news media, the preponderance of judicial opinions... in 2004 may reflect... a growing belief among the public that, as compared to... years past, modern "journalists are sloppier, less professional, less moral, less caring, more biased, less honest about their mistakes, and generally more harmful to democracy.

This is obviously not a view that can continue if the media are to maintain their place in society. And a careful approach to anonymous sources is just one part of the battle.

If you're interested in the topic, the articles below contain some interesting information and perspectives:

• "Attack At The Source," by Douglas McCollam (Columbia Journalism Review)
• "Fighting Like Tigers," by Jessica Myers (American Journalism Review)
• "Kind of Confidential," by Lori Robertson (American Journalism Review)
• "The Journalist and the Whistle-Blower," by Geneva Overholser (New York Times)
• "Uncharted Terrain," by Rachel Smolkin (American Journalism Review)
• "Under Fire," by Rachel Smolkin (American Journalism Review)