MeRead.txt
things recently in my browser or otherwise consumed
Media archive
Thursday, October 12, 2006
NYT: On Fox, Sour Notes From a Pair of Veteran Voices
“But [Thom] Brennaman is not great. He is mediocre, distinguished mainly by an unmodulated megaphone-like voice that is like a parody of what a sportscaster should sound like. It does not convey a warm welcome, or the promise of excellence, as do Vin Scully or ESPN’s Jon Miller, who was joined for Friday night’s Yankees-Tigers game in Detroit by the retired Ernie Harwell, ever a delightful and welcoming legend.”
Posted by Jon, 9:54 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
PI: Gibson: Run golden-oldie ads, get golden-oldie viewers
“Want younger viewers for the evening news? Ditch the geezer ads, says ABC World News anchor Charlie Gibson. If networks are serious about luring pre-Social Security eyeballs, they should replace commercials for adult diapers, dentures and “patent medicines” with spots for younger, sexier products, in Gibson’s view. “When you put on ads mostly for medicines, you’re saying ‘We want an older audience.’ I would like ads that say ‘We have a younger audience here.’ “
Posted by Jon, 9:42 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
SFC: Cool Web 2.0 sites
“The Chronicle today highlights some of the startups from this hot sector of the tech world — companies that fulfill the Web 2.0 philosophy of community, sharing and user-created content, and that fit in the modern gestalt with things like video, music and digital photos. The only real requirement is that the companies are something you probably haven’t heard of before. And if you have, consider yourself hip.” Hey, then I’m just a little bit hip.
Posted by Jon, 9:06 am :: Comments (0) :: #
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
WaPo: Increasingly, Bush Escapes the Media Pack
The idea that Bush could travel across the country without a full contingent of reporters, especially in the middle of a war, highlights a major cultural shift in the presidency and the news media. In the four decades since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, presidents traditionally have taken journalists with them wherever they traveled on the theory that when it comes to the most powerful leader on the planet, anything can happen at any time. But increasingly in recent months, Bush has left town without a chartered press plane, often to receptions where he talks to donors chipping in hundreds of thousands of dollars with no cameras or tapes to record his words for the public. Barred from such events, most news organizations will not pay to travel with him. And so a White House policy inclined to secrecy has combined with escalating costs for the strapped news media to let Bush fly under the radar in a way his predecessors could not. … Lanny J. Davis, who was White House special counsel during the Clinton fundraising scandals, expressed surprise that the change (closing some fundraisers to the media) has not generated more criticism. “I marvel at their ability to get away with it,” he said. “I have to grudgingly admit to some envy. I admire their chutzpah.”
Posted by Jon, 9:28 am :: Comments (0) :: #
Monday, August 7, 2006
NYT: The Many Voices of Wikipedia, Heard in One Place
With 1.2 million entries in Wikipedia, “there’s a sense in the English community that we’re going from the era of growth to the era of quality,” Mr. Wales said in an interview. “That could mean quality control — making sure the information is accurate — and it could mean a clearer presentation, or more information.”
Posted by Jon, 7:46 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
IHT: Read all about it: Free circulation in the newspaper war
“Almost all over Europe, you see circulation going down for paid newspapers,” said Piet Bakker, associate professor of communications at the University of Amsterdam. “At the same time, the economy is improving, helping the advertising market. Free newspapers are seen as the best way to take advantage of this.”
Posted by Jon, 7:42 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
NYT: Picture Tubes Are Fading Into the Past
The bulky, squarish, heavy picture tube, the standard television technology for more than 60 years, is heading for the dustbin of history much faster than anyone expected.
Posted by Jon, 7:41 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Friday, July 28, 2006
IHT: France’s mysterious embrace of blogs
“With so many blogs, I’m hoping for fewer protests and strikes in Paris this fall,” said Loïc Le Meur, a pioneer French blogger and European managing director of the blog-hosting company Six Apart. “If people can express themselves online, then maybe they don’t need to block the streets.”
Posted by Jon, 12:34 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Sunday, July 23, 2006
AJR: “To Love This City Back to Life”
Brian Thevenot, a reporter at New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, writes about writing about the only story going these days.
Posted by Jon, 9:21 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Saturday, July 22, 2006
NYT: Survey of the Blogosphere Finds 12 Million Voices
Also, from the SF Chron: THE TRUTH ABOUT BLOGGING: Lots of us do it, and it’s not political, according to study
Posted by Jon, 7:09 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Monday, July 17, 2006
NYT: When Couric Broadcasts the News, Some Radio and Web Sites Will Too
“Our goal on Sept. 5 is that whether you’re in your car, on your computer, commuting, listening on your cell phone, or, God forbid, at home watching television, that the CBS news will be available to you,” said Mr. McManus. Ah, “platform independent programming.” Now, let’s see if they can drag the advertisers over to where the audience is.
Posted by Jon, 10:45 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Monday, May 29, 2006
DFP: U-M’s Martin pleased with radio deal
Michigan’s new deal may not have the biggest radio stations involved, but the end of the story mentions something key — all football and men’s basketball games will be streamed over the internet. Gotta love high speed. The original story gets all the particluars.
Posted by Jon, 12:01 am :: Comments (0) :: #
Sunday, May 7, 2006
NYT: Things I’d like to read, but don’t have time to:
- Someone Has to Pay for TV. But Who? And How?
- Early Intensity Underlines Role of Races in Ohio
- For Bush, the Economy Is a Glass Half Empty
- Contra-Contraception: A growing number of conservatives see birth control as part of an ailing culture that overemphasizes sex and devalues human life. Is this the beginning of the next culture war?
- Oh, My: Now That Was Italian
- Five ‘Don’t Miss’ Exhibitions This Summer
Posted by Jon, 11:20 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
AP: MediaNews-McClatchey Deal Has Many Nervous
I had no idea that The Detroit News would not be publishing a Sunday edition. Singleton does seem to be the dominant personality in newspapers. Can you even name the CEO of other media companies, aside from Rupert?
Posted by Jon, 10:39 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
NYT: As Katrina Recedes, Newspapers Still Float
A bit of comparison of two papers in the devastated Gulf Coast — The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and The Sun Herald in Gulfport, Miss. “We’re far more direct in getting at what we think matters,” said Jim Amoss, the editor of The Times-Picayune. “The urgency is palpable.”
Posted by Jon, 9:10 am :: Comments (0) :: #
Sunday, April 9, 2006
blog: Free versus Fee: The Print Battle in Baltimore
Why do rich people need their news free? Watch now as the Baltimore Examiner apparently attempts to produce a high-end news product (that can be consumed in 20 minutes or less) with only 20 actual journalists. On the other hand, what advertiser wouldn’t want to reach the rich with cheap ads?
Posted by Jon, 11:13 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Saturday, April 8, 2006
blog: The New York Times Redesigns, Influenced by Blogs
These screen have actually been up for a couple of days, so its time to link to them. The first is from the people who built Movable Type and it has turned into quite the discussion. Another critique comes from Jay Small of Sensible Internet Design. He’d like more contrast and less “gray lady.”
Posted by Jon, 5:44 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Thursday, April 6, 2006
blog: NYTimes.com redesign is not good enough
Alan Jacobson, a well-known media designer has five suggestions of how the NYT redesign could be better. I’m fascinated.
Posted by Jon, 10:35 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Macworld: Podcasts to be banned during Singapore election
“In a free-for-all Internet environment, where there are no rules, political debates could easily degenerate into an unhealthy, unreliable and dangerous discourse flush with rumors and distortions to mislead and confuse the public,” said the country’s senior minister of state for information, communications and the arts. See, the United States is an example of democracy for the world. Our elections degenerate all the time.
Posted by Jon, 9:46 am :: Comments (0) :: #
Monday, April 3, 2006
blog: The Awesome Redesign I Didn’t Do
The Design Director of NYTimes.com has a personal blog, wherein he talks about the new design that launched over the weekend. While I’m not a fan of certain element (the giant type in the middle) and some of my co-workers are unimpressed, I’ll watch it for a bit.
Posted by Jon, 11:02 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
SPI: Public TV host Brancaccio says people just don’t trust the media
“I read blogs quite a bit because they are other smart people with more time on their hands than me (and they) have aggregated stories that I need to see. I’m just worried that underlying the blogs — there needs to be some news coverage … It’s all great stuff but it is not a replacement for professional reporting … just people kind of commenting from the side is not all you need.”
Posted by Jon, 10:54 pm :: Comments (0) :: #
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