Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Bad Ad News
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
It's more of the same for beleagured newspaper executives: The speed of the downturn in newspaper ad revenue has accelerated since the beginning of 2007, according to a Wall Street Journal article on July 18. You can read more here:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118471859134569679-7SEc8U7GAYLdAU_0upCRHWAU2cU_20070816.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
Citing a Newspaper Association of America (NAA) report, the article notes that total print and online ad revenue was down 4.8 percent from the first quarter a year earlier. Unfortunately for publishers, online ad gains haven't made up for the loss in revenue from the nose dive in print advertising.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118471859134569679-7SEc8U7GAYLdAU_0upCRHWAU2cU_20070816.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
Citing a Newspaper Association of America (NAA) report, the article notes that total print and online ad revenue was down 4.8 percent from the first quarter a year earlier. Unfortunately for publishers, online ad gains haven't made up for the loss in revenue from the nose dive in print advertising.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Shunning Newsprint...And the News
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Today's young Americans are "estranged from the daily newspaper and rely more heavily on television than on the Internet for their news," according to a newly released study "Young People and News" from the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University.
Though most experts agree that young people pay less attention to the news than their counterparts 20 or 30 years ago, the study comes at a time when many experts disagree on how much attention today's teens pay to current events and news. Some argue that young people are harnessing the Internet to become civically engaged in ways not seen in previous generations. This study - funded by the Carnegie Corp.- seems to contradict that conclusion. The researchers surveyed 1,800 randomly sampled people of all ages and found that teens don't make following news a regular part of their day.
Check out the full report for yourself: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/carnegie_knight/young_news_web.pdf
Though most experts agree that young people pay less attention to the news than their counterparts 20 or 30 years ago, the study comes at a time when many experts disagree on how much attention today's teens pay to current events and news. Some argue that young people are harnessing the Internet to become civically engaged in ways not seen in previous generations. This study - funded by the Carnegie Corp.- seems to contradict that conclusion. The researchers surveyed 1,800 randomly sampled people of all ages and found that teens don't make following news a regular part of their day.
Check out the full report for yourself: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/carnegie_knight/young_news_web.pdf
Monday, July 16, 2007
Student Journalism Rights: Step by Step Toward Acceptance?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a law last week that protects Oregon high school students and college journalists from censorship by school administrators and also gives students the right to sue their school if they feel their right to expression has been violated. Click here (http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007707130314 ) for a Statesman Journal (Salem, Ore.) story on the law detailing how:
+ The Oregon law is the country's first in more than a decade to protect high school journalists and the first ever to cover both high school and college journalists under one statute. (This new ruling adds to the list of six states that currently have laws protecting high school journalists from censorship; all were passed before 1996.)
+ A 2005 Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling (Hosty v. Carter) allowed college administrators to impose prior review and restraint on student newspapers if the publication is not a designated public forum for student expression. (This ruling covers three Midwestern states but has been cited by administrators nationwide to justify tightened controls over high school and college publications.)
+ According to the Student Press Law Center, a wave of similar laws is currently being pursued in other states (including Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and Vermont).
+ Many student press advocates consider the law a victory – yet consider the final version somewhat watered down by amendments (including removal of a provision that would have allowed punishment for administrators that censor student publications, along with another that would have designated college publications public forums.)
To see Warren Watson's piece on this legislation, visit www.jideas.org
+ The Oregon law is the country's first in more than a decade to protect high school journalists and the first ever to cover both high school and college journalists under one statute. (This new ruling adds to the list of six states that currently have laws protecting high school journalists from censorship; all were passed before 1996.)
+ A 2005 Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling (Hosty v. Carter) allowed college administrators to impose prior review and restraint on student newspapers if the publication is not a designated public forum for student expression. (This ruling covers three Midwestern states but has been cited by administrators nationwide to justify tightened controls over high school and college publications.)
+ According to the Student Press Law Center, a wave of similar laws is currently being pursued in other states (including Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and Vermont).
+ Many student press advocates consider the law a victory – yet consider the final version somewhat watered down by amendments (including removal of a provision that would have allowed punishment for administrators that censor student publications, along with another that would have designated college publications public forums.)
To see Warren Watson's piece on this legislation, visit www.jideas.org
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Sweet Notes
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
*Pete Weitzel, founder of the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, an MTF grantee, will be honored by the National Press Club on July 16 with the John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award. Weitzel, the former editor of The Miami Herald who also launched the National Freedom of Information Coalition, will receive the Aubuchon award along with the late Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. A complete list of the 2007 National Press Club Award winners can be found here.
*Speaking of Freedom of Information, July 4 marked the 41st anniversary of congressional passage of the Freedom of Information Act. Check out the nifty Neiman Watchdog profile about the stubborn California congressman who waged a 12-year battle in support of a law giving the American people a right to know the facts regarding the activities of their government. All journalists owe a debt of gratitude to John E. Moss.
*While many of the nation's news organizations continue to reduce staff, tighten budgets and squeeze editorial resources, it's refreshing to watch a privately-held news and information company invest in its product. Bloomberg News is on track to expand its 2,300-strong news operation by more than 10 percent this year. A recent Financial Times report says Bloomberg has already hired 180 new reporters this year and plans to add another 60 more journalists by the end of 2007.
*Slate media guru Jack Shafer weighed in with a thoughtful piece on the connection between quality and newsroom head counts. While careful not to discount the economic turmoil that has slashed editorial payrolls at most mainstream news organizations, Shafer looks at the 1972 staff sizes at the Washington Post and The New York Times. He said both of these newspaper heavyweights were able to publish quality products 35 years ago with far fewer journalists than they currently employ in 2007. He notes that many of the staff upgrades made in the last three decades helped improve coverage in business, international and specialized feature sections, as well as investigative reporting. Of course, the future quality challenge for all news organizations is how scarce resources are managed and deployed. Despite the fundamental changes in the definition of news and how best to present it, the truest measure of quality should always be tied to providing information that allows citizens to make better-informed decisions.
*The spate of collaborations, partnerships and acquisitions involving new and mainstream media organizations was bound to produce some rough sailing. Forbes.com reports that the media revolution is now being co-opted by alliances once deemed unholy. Bloggers who become part of a big media company sometimes face alienating new wave purists. Some also have found the harsher journalistic standards of mainstreamers a daunting challenge. Others appreciate the rigor. "I'm coming in with a lot to learn," said Brian Stelter, a 21-year-old whiz kid who recently joined The New York Times. "What I was doing at TVNewser was journalistic, but it wasn't always journalism."
*Speaking of Freedom of Information, July 4 marked the 41st anniversary of congressional passage of the Freedom of Information Act. Check out the nifty Neiman Watchdog profile about the stubborn California congressman who waged a 12-year battle in support of a law giving the American people a right to know the facts regarding the activities of their government. All journalists owe a debt of gratitude to John E. Moss.
*While many of the nation's news organizations continue to reduce staff, tighten budgets and squeeze editorial resources, it's refreshing to watch a privately-held news and information company invest in its product. Bloomberg News is on track to expand its 2,300-strong news operation by more than 10 percent this year. A recent Financial Times report says Bloomberg has already hired 180 new reporters this year and plans to add another 60 more journalists by the end of 2007.
*Slate media guru Jack Shafer weighed in with a thoughtful piece on the connection between quality and newsroom head counts. While careful not to discount the economic turmoil that has slashed editorial payrolls at most mainstream news organizations, Shafer looks at the 1972 staff sizes at the Washington Post and The New York Times. He said both of these newspaper heavyweights were able to publish quality products 35 years ago with far fewer journalists than they currently employ in 2007. He notes that many of the staff upgrades made in the last three decades helped improve coverage in business, international and specialized feature sections, as well as investigative reporting. Of course, the future quality challenge for all news organizations is how scarce resources are managed and deployed. Despite the fundamental changes in the definition of news and how best to present it, the truest measure of quality should always be tied to providing information that allows citizens to make better-informed decisions.
*The spate of collaborations, partnerships and acquisitions involving new and mainstream media organizations was bound to produce some rough sailing. Forbes.com reports that the media revolution is now being co-opted by alliances once deemed unholy. Bloggers who become part of a big media company sometimes face alienating new wave purists. Some also have found the harsher journalistic standards of mainstreamers a daunting challenge. Others appreciate the rigor. "I'm coming in with a lot to learn," said Brian Stelter, a 21-year-old whiz kid who recently joined The New York Times. "What I was doing at TVNewser was journalistic, but it wasn't always journalism."
Friday, July 6, 2007
Cutting Back on Diversity?
Friday, July 06, 2007
UNITY's president is calling for media companies to begin collecting and releasing the racial and ethnic breakdown of employees laid off or taking buyouts in the past year's flurry of journalism job loss. According to UNITY President Karen Lincoln Michel, the group will be brainstorming in the coming weeks ways to slow the loss of talented diverse staffers in the newsroom. Personally, she's advocating for companies to collect and release the racial and ethnic breakdown numbers of departing staffers as a way to track the situation.
You can read Lincoln Michel's column here: http://www.unityjournalists.org/presidents/przmsg_070507.html
What do you think is the best way to address journalism diversity erosion in a tumultuous business time?
You can read Lincoln Michel's column here: http://www.unityjournalists.org/presidents/przmsg_070507.html
What do you think is the best way to address journalism diversity erosion in a tumultuous business time?
Monday, July 2, 2007
2007 is Journalists' Deadliest Year So Far
Monday, July 02, 2007
According to mid-year statistics released last week by the International News Safety Institute (INSI), the worldwide journalist death toll has reached 100 during 2007, surpassing the level reached in mid-2006, when 68 journalists had been killed. (There were a total of 168 journalists killed in 2006—the worst year on record.)
This year’s milestone was reached in Iraq, where 57-year-old veteran journalist Hamed Sarha was killed by an unidentified gunman on his way home, leaving a widow and five children. During his career, Sarha had reported for various publications and for the Iraqi news agency. The dangers of reporting in Iraq are emphasized by INSI’s tally of 214 journalists killed since the beginning of the occupation in March 2003.
For more information and a detailed account of the casualties, visit http://www.newssafety.com/casualties/2007.htm.
This year’s milestone was reached in Iraq, where 57-year-old veteran journalist Hamed Sarha was killed by an unidentified gunman on his way home, leaving a widow and five children. During his career, Sarha had reported for various publications and for the Iraqi news agency. The dangers of reporting in Iraq are emphasized by INSI’s tally of 214 journalists killed since the beginning of the occupation in March 2003.
For more information and a detailed account of the casualties, visit http://www.newssafety.com/casualties/2007.htm.
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