Web 2.0 Television

Between the backlog from my recent trip Stateside and an unfortunate cold coming on, I'm posting another roundup. 

In E-Media Tidbits this week, interactive media consultant Peter M. Zollman holds his ground regarding the Orlando Sentinel's (his local paper) lack of endorsements of mid-term election candidates. The paper, he posted earlier, should be his trusted local source, with information tailored to area voters. His first post on the matter concluded:

As I see it, one of the things a newspaper should — must — do to differentiate itself from just any old blog or local news site (television station, radio, citizen journalism, others) is to provide endorsements in plenty of time for me to consider them in my election analysis. And while endorsements for governor and senator are important, to me at least it's much more important to endorse early and cogently in local races like state senate, county referenda, soil conservation district positions, etc., since information about those is so tough to come by.

Though the Sentinel may have let him down in terms of providing the information he and other voters need to make an educated choice, Zollman applauds the personal response he later received from senior online editor John Cutter, who acknowledged: 

We have heard many positive comments, but need to hear what else voters would like us to do, in case we can add the feature next time." This clearly wasn't a canned response.

Then, he went one even better! In a second e-mail, he said, "Actually, your e-mail and a couple I received on missing city races have made me wonder if we should go other way — focus on races/issues in which it might be hard to get detailed info. Obviously, I think the answer is do it all, but if a choice is required, because of time, resources, etc., I see how you could make the argument you do."

How cool is that? Whether or not this happens, as a reader/user I feel strongly that my voice has been heard, my comments are being considered, and they may help me with my needs next time. Cutter also said that what I'm looking for may be included in the print Voter Guide this Sunday — and if so, it'll be online.

Roy Greenslade on the (UK) Plymouth Evening Herald's pioneering of head-mounted cameras for reporters:

The amazing thing is that viewers are seeing things quite literally through the eyes of the reporter who is wearing it. For a demonstration of what it can do here is the footage on the paper's website taken by its defence correspondent, Tristan Nichols, during a trip to see Plymouth servicemen and women training in Sierra Leone.

The paper got the chance to loan the equipment because one of its manufacturers, Audax, is based in Plymouth and the Herald knew it was developing a specialised head camera - known as a Cylon Body Worn Surveillance System - on behalf of the military and various police forces. The camera is mounted at eye level and a cable leads to a recording pack - hardly bigger than two cigarette packets - that can be carried in a pocket or attached to a belt.

It didn't take a moment to guess which national paper would be the first to call Audax. But I think a sheikh wearing a camera on his forehead would probably be a giveaway, would it not?

Well, yeah. It would. But that's pretty cool nonetheless — and the Herald's site offers multiple resolution options for their Windows Media Video files. Mac users may complain but at least there are options. Like Cutter engaging in discussion with Zollman, it's a good start for taking newspapers digital via using technology to open up the conversation. 

Greenslade also points to the Telegraph's loss of three star journalists and notes a blog post by Shane Richmond, the paper's online editor: 

What we need to do in this digital age, he wrote, is build personalities: "The important thing to do is make sure your writers are the voices people want to hear. Some of your writers will be names already, the others need to be built into names." In other words, journalists with reputations - such as Shulman, Rennie and Herbert - are going to count because they will be sought by online users. And, in drawing people to the newspaper's website, they will enhance its chances of winning advertising revenue.

At the Associated Press Managing Editors conference, WashingtonPost.com executive editor James Brady told several editors he thinks newspapers still aren't using the Web to its full potential. Editor and Publisher's Joe Strupp reports (also via Jim Romenesko):

“In far too many cases, newspapers are still using sites for the basic task of reprinting the paper,” Brady told dozens of editors at the Associated Press Managing Editors conference. “We’re all still working on it, but we haven’t figured it all out.”

Brady, whose site has become the standard for what newspaper online operations can be, said he realized most papers don’t have the 80-person Web staff he commands. But he said many papers can do more with little manpower and limited finances.

“You need to stand out compared to the next guy,” he said about local papers’ in the age of growing Web, television, radio and satellite competition. Citing everything from podcasts to online video and audio files, he stressed the need to take full advantage of all of it.

He added that creating databases on everything from government votes to local restaurant reviews is a simple way to make the Web site more relevant. “This is an area where papers have really fallen short,” he said. “You can build them in ways that the data basically refreshes itself.” Brady also said his site has drawn traffic by posting links to bloggers who have commented on individual stories. Those links, he said, spark return links. "Bloggers can drive 100,000 page views to us if the link to us."

As CyberJournalist.net indicates, the Post itself is doing its part online with a hot topic: "WashingtonPost.com has launched a new game in which you can pick the winners of each congressional election, compare your picks to other players, and submit your picks to win prizes."

And Martin Stabe of Fleet Street 2.0 makes the case for the industry owning the Press Gazette, since the U.K. paper's ownership in the recent past "has been something of a hot potato. Seven different owners have, for various reasons, bought and sold it." Stabe argues:

In a world where journalists are not always valued as they should be by the public they serve, Press Gazette provides a voice that speaks up for them and their freedoms — regardless of whether they’re tabloid or broadsheet, glossy or weekly, news or features, frontline or back bench, paid-for or free, investigative or paparazzi, digital or analogue.

Finally, if Jeff Jarvis wants suggestions for the fascinating ongoing "parlour game" he calls “What would you do with ____ [fill in media organization here]?”– in this case let's say the much-reported and woeful L.A. Times — well, Rory Safran at Editors Weblog seems to have an answer. From the section on improving the Web site:

In addition to enriching its commitment to Los Angeles, the L.A. Times must improve its website and make this L.A.-centric information a worldwide commodity.  As the international authority on one of the world’s most relevant cities, LATimes.com needs to be the West Coast equivalent of washingtonpost.com.

… the general consensus is that the L.A.Times’ website is woefully sub-standard, and embarrassingly lagging where multimedia is concerned.  One main priority is to develop video offerings.  There is some major irony in the fact that the online paper of the world’s entertainment capital is sorely lacking in video.  Take advantage of L.A.’s human resources and produce some original video content!  Certainly the L.A. Times can do better than the New York Times’ bespectacled A.O.Scott droning on about recent movies.

Well, I neither adore nor pan Scott's reviews wholesale — but that's not the point. The point is L.A. needs relevant local content from its leading paper. We all need that from our newspapers, but with video, film and L.A., I agree with Safran — it's a gimme.

And that's today's roundup. I'm off to take echinacea, tea and rest. Have a great weekend … and enjoy that Sunday paper while it lasts.