It is quite popular these days to condemn all things massive; the federal government taking bigger chunks of our money, big banks getting big bailouts, financial institutions too big to fail, the big three automakers...it's a big list.
Very common to include big media on that list, including perhaps the biggest media company on the face of the planet these days. Google clearly has supplanted big TV, big radio, big newspapers, big magazines and in many cases even the used-to-be big Ma Bell as the top example of companies and organizations.
What makes Google so unique is the way it organizes and shifts the distribution of ideas not only on the web but also for print, broadcast, and mobile.
The Radio Television News Directors Association and Foundation recently honored Google , along with Cokie Roberts of ABC/NPR, Susan Grant of CNN, and the Knight Foundation (represented by Alberto Ibarguen) with a First Amendment Award; it was, behind the scenes, a call that took some courage because some in the old media think they still own freedom of speech. They don't.
Here's what Dr. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said about independent voices for newspapers in particular but also in general how getting to an "accurate truth" is something all of us own.
Post viewing: is it just me or does anyone else find it amazing that as every 60 seconds goes by there are 15 HOURS of video uploaded to YouTube? Wow.
Showing posts with label RTNDA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RTNDA. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The DTV Marathon
I've avoided much comment on DTV (digital television) transition issues, partly because I wear the hat as chair of RTNDA and it might be construed any of my snarky observations represent the Association. For the record, here's what my own experience reflects on just one person's digital dealings.
I have a DTV converter for the 20-year old tube we have in the basement, which Nature Girl and I call the tornado TV. When the winds get really bad we exercise the option to pick a corner of the basement resembling a bomb shelter and follow the news via the combination of ol' reliable and a battery-powered radio.
Unfortunately, Tornado TV won't work much longer because we don't have it hooked up to cable; the feeling is if cable goes down at least we still might have a way to watch local forecasters track a storm using Double Doppler Viper Triple XXX Monster radar.
I'm no engineer but hooking it up was pretty simple...rabbit ears here, wire to TV there, and plug it in. It worked OK except it won't pick up WOIO, so no 19ActionNews nor side channels but it does pick up Akron/Canton's Channel 17 (all five subchannels) and 3, 3.2, 5, 8, both 43's (including the Tube Channel that has no Tube), both 49's, 55 and 61.
But if I weren't a young whipper-snapper of 53 I'd be more like this woman --
Thanks to my sister Donna for sharing and, in the process, probably breaking hundreds of copyright laws.
Oh, and now some stations will be digital this month, some won't, and all are supposed to be in June (with some exceptions) while Uncle Sam figures out how to get the converter boxes to viewers who won't notice now until they can't watch American Idol.
Change is coming...
I have a DTV converter for the 20-year old tube we have in the basement, which Nature Girl and I call the tornado TV. When the winds get really bad we exercise the option to pick a corner of the basement resembling a bomb shelter and follow the news via the combination of ol' reliable and a battery-powered radio.
Unfortunately, Tornado TV won't work much longer because we don't have it hooked up to cable; the feeling is if cable goes down at least we still might have a way to watch local forecasters track a storm using Double Doppler Viper Triple XXX Monster radar.
I'm no engineer but hooking it up was pretty simple...rabbit ears here, wire to TV there, and plug it in. It worked OK except it won't pick up WOIO, so no 19ActionNews nor side channels but it does pick up Akron/Canton's Channel 17 (all five subchannels) and 3, 3.2, 5, 8, both 43's (including the Tube Channel that has no Tube), both 49's, 55 and 61.
But if I weren't a young whipper-snapper of 53 I'd be more like this woman --
Thanks to my sister Donna for sharing and, in the process, probably breaking hundreds of copyright laws.
Oh, and now some stations will be digital this month, some won't, and all are supposed to be in June (with some exceptions) while Uncle Sam figures out how to get the converter boxes to viewers who won't notice now until they can't watch American Idol.
Change is coming...
Friday, December 5, 2008
You Never Know...
...who you'll run into when waiting for a plane. Walking up, newspaper in hand, was U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown for the 8:40 to Washington-Reagan Airport Thursday morning. Just like the rest of us -- he was running late.
Brown actually took off from his northeast Ohio home via Cleveland Hopkins International on the 7:30 flight, which would have gotten him to the meeting room where Senators (including Brown) were getting their pitch from the Big 3 automakers today.
Unfortunately, a glitch and a warning light turned the flight around. The next plane out was the 8:40, which didn't spell much hope he would be sitting in the hearing room on time but he promised me he would be doing whatever he could to get there before the testimony was over.
Funny how transportation humbles even the best of us; the Detroit automakers got clobbered for taking private jets, then drove this time to DC in hybrids. Brown normally would be moving heaven and earth to be there on time, but the craft taking him through the heavens is another story.
At least I had the pleasure of saying hello and playing photographer for a young mom from New Orleans who wanted a picture with the Senator and her two kids. No need to burn any fossil fuels for that task.
- - -
In DC on RTNDA business; this city is clearly chomping at the bit for Obamaville just about a month and a half away. All of the sidewalk vendors have Obamagear for sale, including sweatshirts, hats, buttons, dishes, posters -- you name it. For $20 bucks you can get a sweatshirt, some of the other take home gifts are a bit pricier but people are gobbling this stuff up like crazy. It's tough to imagine just where they'll be putting the four million folks they expect to squeeze in between the Dome and the White House. My friend Jane's PA nieces and nephews are coming in just to say they were here -- even if it means watching on TV.
- - -
If you are one of the millions here's a tip: Shelley's Back Room at 13th and F. Take the Metro Center stop and find it but advance notice: it is one of the few places in the District where it's legal to smoke indoors. A very nice cigar bar (enjoyed a fine Mac with a cup of clam chowder tonight, reasonable prices too...) with nice ambiance but air you need a chain saw to cut. It was nice to smoke a stogie tonight in some place other than 25 degrees. Nice to be at the center of America's capitol, within site of the Treasury Department and White House...dreaming of an end to the Cuban embargo.
Brown actually took off from his northeast Ohio home via Cleveland Hopkins International on the 7:30 flight, which would have gotten him to the meeting room where Senators (including Brown) were getting their pitch from the Big 3 automakers today.
Unfortunately, a glitch and a warning light turned the flight around. The next plane out was the 8:40, which didn't spell much hope he would be sitting in the hearing room on time but he promised me he would be doing whatever he could to get there before the testimony was over.
Funny how transportation humbles even the best of us; the Detroit automakers got clobbered for taking private jets, then drove this time to DC in hybrids. Brown normally would be moving heaven and earth to be there on time, but the craft taking him through the heavens is another story.
At least I had the pleasure of saying hello and playing photographer for a young mom from New Orleans who wanted a picture with the Senator and her two kids. No need to burn any fossil fuels for that task.
- - -
In DC on RTNDA business; this city is clearly chomping at the bit for Obamaville just about a month and a half away. All of the sidewalk vendors have Obamagear for sale, including sweatshirts, hats, buttons, dishes, posters -- you name it. For $20 bucks you can get a sweatshirt, some of the other take home gifts are a bit pricier but people are gobbling this stuff up like crazy. It's tough to imagine just where they'll be putting the four million folks they expect to squeeze in between the Dome and the White House. My friend Jane's PA nieces and nephews are coming in just to say they were here -- even if it means watching on TV.
- - -
If you are one of the millions here's a tip: Shelley's Back Room at 13th and F. Take the Metro Center stop and find it but advance notice: it is one of the few places in the District where it's legal to smoke indoors. A very nice cigar bar (enjoyed a fine Mac with a cup of clam chowder tonight, reasonable prices too...) with nice ambiance but air you need a chain saw to cut. It was nice to smoke a stogie tonight in some place other than 25 degrees. Nice to be at the center of America's capitol, within site of the Treasury Department and White House...dreaming of an end to the Cuban embargo.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Notes From Chicago
My first UNITY Convention -- this is where journalists of color hold a convention merging four major associations every four years and while we didn't get the joint Presidential forum as promised (no McCain, Obama Sunday after most are scheduled to leave) it has been a rich experience.
NABJ President Barbara Ciara gave a rousing speech to help kick things off and the dance program featuring cultures representing NABJ, AAJA, NAHJ and NAJA were just spectacular -- check out coverage on the RTNDA website for video, photos and more. Special thanks to RTNDA's Tara Sheehan for the use of the Flip and Melanie Lo for making sense of it all!
One down note from my perspective was Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's welcome address, which he took up as an occasion to give the media a jab. Disappointing to hear those in the audience -- those folks who he was targeting his comments to as well as the "main stream" folks across the hall -- applaud. I'm wondering if Mayors Daley and Plusquellic have a Toastmaster's book they both use with a "beat up the media" chapter, 'cause it sure sounded familiar from the tongue-lashings from South High.
It was fun to get this assignment and RTNDF Chair Bill Roswell of KYW in Philadelphia and I shared a chuckle that it was the radio boys getting the nod to deliver the video. Another sign of the changing times as well as a tip of the hat to Poynter's Al Tompkins who's extensive reporting on the ease of Flip web presentation provided some inspiration.
Even with the dour talk (hard to escape hearing when print and broadcast media get together, especially with job searching on the line) its always uplifting to be around fellow journalists who still share a passion for the basic reason why we got in the business. Thursday night was no exception...
Personal highlight of running into someone you know: the six degrees of fireworks separation on the Michigan Avenue bridge crossing the Chicago River (it's that famous shot right below the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower) as we ran into Fox Chicago's Andrew Finlayson (also one of our Illinois RTNDA state coordinators). Andrew was just hanging out at the center of the bridge watching the Navy Pier fireworks show, totally unexpected (both the show and Andrew sighting) just after the sun went down Wednesday evening. Great show and fun sharing the moment with a friend-I-didn't-expect to see; he tells me he likes walking home on nice weather nights, just across the river, especially on fireworks nights. A great perk that probably isn't included in the job but memorable in Chicago, and not just for us tourists.
Also ran into Steve Hyvonen, the former WEWS News Director (now in Orlando); former Channel 5 GM and ND John Butte, now running his own talent management agency; Lyn Tolan from WSYX and WBNS's John Cardenas in Columbus; Dan Salamone from WOIO among hundreds of others. Nearly five thousand attendees for this largest collection of journalists under one roof. Very interesting experience for what also seems to be the biggest job fair in the nation for newspeople -- print, broadcast and online.
Random observation: Chicago is a vibrant, exciting city but with only one hotel attached to the giant McCormick Place exhibition hall means many attendees are a shuttle bus away; in my case, along the river at the Sheraton down from the Navy Pier. Buses serving attendees take the McCormick Busway, an out-of-sight buses-only route that runs beneath and adjacent to Grant Park. It's the roadway alongside the Metra commuter rail lines you see when walking in the park to Buckingham Fountain, Soldier Field or the Field Museum. Half of it is underneath the park, parking garages or elevated plazas so it's always fun picking up the legion of cellphone and crackberry users muttering 'can you hear me now?"
Nice sponsorship opportunity for Verizon '“ insert here.
NABJ President Barbara Ciara gave a rousing speech to help kick things off and the dance program featuring cultures representing NABJ, AAJA, NAHJ and NAJA were just spectacular -- check out coverage on the RTNDA website for video, photos and more. Special thanks to RTNDA's Tara Sheehan for the use of the Flip and Melanie Lo for making sense of it all!
One down note from my perspective was Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's welcome address, which he took up as an occasion to give the media a jab. Disappointing to hear those in the audience -- those folks who he was targeting his comments to as well as the "main stream" folks across the hall -- applaud. I'm wondering if Mayors Daley and Plusquellic have a Toastmaster's book they both use with a "beat up the media" chapter, 'cause it sure sounded familiar from the tongue-lashings from South High.
It was fun to get this assignment and RTNDF Chair Bill Roswell of KYW in Philadelphia and I shared a chuckle that it was the radio boys getting the nod to deliver the video. Another sign of the changing times as well as a tip of the hat to Poynter's Al Tompkins who's extensive reporting on the ease of Flip web presentation provided some inspiration.
Even with the dour talk (hard to escape hearing when print and broadcast media get together, especially with job searching on the line) its always uplifting to be around fellow journalists who still share a passion for the basic reason why we got in the business. Thursday night was no exception...
Personal highlight of running into someone you know: the six degrees of fireworks separation on the Michigan Avenue bridge crossing the Chicago River (it's that famous shot right below the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower) as we ran into Fox Chicago's Andrew Finlayson (also one of our Illinois RTNDA state coordinators). Andrew was just hanging out at the center of the bridge watching the Navy Pier fireworks show, totally unexpected (both the show and Andrew sighting) just after the sun went down Wednesday evening. Great show and fun sharing the moment with a friend-I-didn't-expect to see; he tells me he likes walking home on nice weather nights, just across the river, especially on fireworks nights. A great perk that probably isn't included in the job but memorable in Chicago, and not just for us tourists.
Also ran into Steve Hyvonen, the former WEWS News Director (now in Orlando); former Channel 5 GM and ND John Butte, now running his own talent management agency; Lyn Tolan from WSYX and WBNS's John Cardenas in Columbus; Dan Salamone from WOIO among hundreds of others. Nearly five thousand attendees for this largest collection of journalists under one roof. Very interesting experience for what also seems to be the biggest job fair in the nation for newspeople -- print, broadcast and online.
Random observation: Chicago is a vibrant, exciting city but with only one hotel attached to the giant McCormick Place exhibition hall means many attendees are a shuttle bus away; in my case, along the river at the Sheraton down from the Navy Pier. Buses serving attendees take the McCormick Busway, an out-of-sight buses-only route that runs beneath and adjacent to Grant Park. It's the roadway alongside the Metra commuter rail lines you see when walking in the park to Buckingham Fountain, Soldier Field or the Field Museum. Half of it is underneath the park, parking garages or elevated plazas so it's always fun picking up the legion of cellphone and crackberry users muttering 'can you hear me now?"
Nice sponsorship opportunity for Verizon '“ insert here.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
On Water And Air
This has been a hard week for travel; the horrible tragedy of the I-35W bridge collapse between Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Phoenix and Dallas news chopper crashes.
The folks at RTNDA (the Radio Television News Directors Association) have been in pretty heavy discussion since the crashes of two TV news helicopters in Phoenix last week that killed four, followed by this week's downing of a news chopper in Texas that injured three. Is it really in the public interest to put life and limb in jeopardy for photos and video of the latest police chase?
Then those amazing, troubling, awful images from the Twin Cities as concrete and steel crashed into the Mississippi River, burying cars and trucks in the mud and water below. As of this writing the death toll was seven, with dozens still among the missing. I pray those families waiting for word from still-unheard from loved ones get the call that it's OK, and not the call they dread.
But for the purposes of this blog, I'd like to address those critics of the helicopter coverage and just what's "worthwhile" news coverage. As I write this, virtually every cable news network has continued live coverage; we've even included live video streams as well as extensive video reports here on AkronNewsNow. That coverage brings home what all of us think as we cross Akron's High Level and Y Bridges; could it happen here? Without those stark photos our friends in the newspaper world have on their front pages this morning (well, most of the newspapers) or the video you see online and on television, the scope and breadth of the tragedy may not be so evident.
As a news consumer, I want as much information as possible; as a newscaster and editor, it is our job to present the most timely and accurate story as we can. Those images captured by the brave men and women circling overhead the Mississippi capture the story in a way words simply cannot describe with any justice. Indeed, many of those images may very well help investigators determine just why the arches on a 40-year old bridge collapsed during rush hour on a warm Minnesota summer afternoon.
This is the legacy of those lost in Phoenix; this is why those injured in Dallas went where most of us wouldn't go. Seeing the story from the air is a necesssary part of telling the story in this day and age when we have the resources to report the news as never before.
The folks at RTNDA (the Radio Television News Directors Association) have been in pretty heavy discussion since the crashes of two TV news helicopters in Phoenix last week that killed four, followed by this week's downing of a news chopper in Texas that injured three. Is it really in the public interest to put life and limb in jeopardy for photos and video of the latest police chase?
Then those amazing, troubling, awful images from the Twin Cities as concrete and steel crashed into the Mississippi River, burying cars and trucks in the mud and water below. As of this writing the death toll was seven, with dozens still among the missing. I pray those families waiting for word from still-unheard from loved ones get the call that it's OK, and not the call they dread.
But for the purposes of this blog, I'd like to address those critics of the helicopter coverage and just what's "worthwhile" news coverage. As I write this, virtually every cable news network has continued live coverage; we've even included live video streams as well as extensive video reports here on AkronNewsNow. That coverage brings home what all of us think as we cross Akron's High Level and Y Bridges; could it happen here? Without those stark photos our friends in the newspaper world have on their front pages this morning (well, most of the newspapers) or the video you see online and on television, the scope and breadth of the tragedy may not be so evident.
As a news consumer, I want as much information as possible; as a newscaster and editor, it is our job to present the most timely and accurate story as we can. Those images captured by the brave men and women circling overhead the Mississippi capture the story in a way words simply cannot describe with any justice. Indeed, many of those images may very well help investigators determine just why the arches on a 40-year old bridge collapsed during rush hour on a warm Minnesota summer afternoon.
This is the legacy of those lost in Phoenix; this is why those injured in Dallas went where most of us wouldn't go. Seeing the story from the air is a necesssary part of telling the story in this day and age when we have the resources to report the news as never before.
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