Newspapers often pride themselves as prodiving the “record” of news, critical events and information. So, how does a print publication of record fare in a modern environment where print seems to be becoming a vanishing breed?
Here’s an interesting and poignant video that documents the death watch for the Rocky Mountain News, the feisty tabloid that served metropolitan Denver and Colorado for 150 years… until last week. The paper stopped its presses last week after its owner, the Scripps Company, failed to find a buyer for the property. But the closure of a publishing house is more than stopping presses, shuttering buildings and switching off computers — at its heart is an action that affects the people who make up its workforce and provide the vitality of the operation. It’s a sign of changing and evolving times that newspapers are referred to as “products” and “properties” — a nomenclature that seems to extract the human factor that provides their essence.
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Two products are vying for the attention of America’s readers of books.
Kindle 2 — nytimes.com
Amazon’s Kindle 2 and Sony’s PRS700 Reader are small, book-sized devices that feature the ability to upload an entire book, or a number of books for that matter, and permit the reader to have a more personal experience with text than that they would get by reqasding a book on a computer screen or laptop.
Inside the Actor’s Studio, the periodic television show, is often predictable, with host James Lipton almost fawning over his guests, tossing them softball questions and heaping much flattery upon them. However, there is one segment near the end of each show that often provides more insights into the guest than the most of the show preceding it.
And, it is from the segment that I think we all can take a lesson on how to become a more effective interviewer. The goal of an interview is to draw out a subject and have them reveal new and interesting things about themselves.
Last week’s exercise in writing a personality profile about a classmate was a first real venture into writing a news piece on deadline. I have read all the stories and will return them Thursday. Based on this reading, I will offer some generalizations. However, there ae the beginning of several compelling stories in what you wrote.
Here are some tips and suggestions.
Last week we had good news and bad news. The good news was that class was shortened. The bad news was that there was a quiz before the class was shortened. The good news is that most folks did pretty well on the quiz. The bad news is that your were left with a lot of homework.
Your instructor was in Nashville for the Southeast Journalism Conference, a three-day confabulation that focused on student journalists through a variety of symposia, on-site competitions, and education outside the classroom.
In a full page ad in the New York Times, a consortum of newspapers announced that they are fighting back against what they termed is the premature obituary for the newspaper industry.
Does this bring to mind Mark Twain’s famous retort when it was widely reported that the literary icon had died: “News of my death has been greatly exaggerated”?
As we experiment with blogs in MC106 this semester, it might be helpful to consult some experts. Just what is blogging? How fast is it growing? What are the basics of blogging? How do I get started?
This is a reminder that there is a quiz on Thursday, Feb. 12 on Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 (through page 48). Good luck.
I am off to the Southeast Journalism Conference being held at Belmont University in Nashville. I am accompanying six UAB students who will compete on site and attend various educational sessions.
You can read about it online by CLICKING HERE.
One session will compare notes from student editors at two schools in the Southeast — Ole Miss and Belmont — that hosted Presidential Debates. Should be interesting.
We will see you Thursday, Feb. 19, for a discussion of interviewing principles and covering the news.
Research reported today on a new media blog seems to underscore a couple of notions.