The News About The News

Magazine Rivals Lay Down Their Arms and Join Forces

Thursday, November 26, 2009

By: Chris Mars

Rival publishers have been planning to open an on-line store similar to the itunes store to generate new digital media. This new store would make up one of the biggest alliances among rival publishers ever and would include magazines like The New Yourker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Sports Illustrated.

John Squires, an executive vice president at Time Inc., has been heading up the new project and would leave his current position to get the new store up and running. Each different publisher would be responsible for creating a digital version of their content but would hopefully benefit from producing larger revenue.

This is a step towards saving the magazine industry and adapting to new media. Squires says its very important to remind readers that the magazine experience is worth the cost.

Dangers of Facebook

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

by: Amy Johnson

Social networking sites – a source for good or evil?

Sites like Facebook and Twitter have quickly become the new way of keeping up with family members and friends all over the world. Especially with Facebook, people can keep up in many different ways; writing on walls, composing a private message, and being able to create events to let people know what's occurring are a few of the options.

A current event called “Kick A Ginger” day, referring to redheads, was held on Nov. 30 of this year. Many jokes have been told about gingers thanks to an episode of “South Park,” and the event was more than likely meant to be the same – a joke.

A few kids from a California middle school took it literal. A 12-year-old boy was beaten up by a group of classmates in two separate incidents; the Facebook event is linked to the case. The annual “Kick A Ginger” day caused the same kind of results last year.

People need to be able to distinguish between the difference between a joke or a real event. Perhaps Facebook should take a precautionary measure for events that have more than 500 guests; if Facebook sees an event such as “Kick A Ginger” day, they would be able to delete it before more and more people get involved.

(Photo Credit: Flickr.com)

No more Oprah

Sunday, November 22, 2009

By: Mallory Tandy

Oprah has decided to leave "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and focus all her time and energy on her cable network "Oprah Winfrey Network". Her show will sadly end on Sept. 9, 2011. This means a great loss for CBS, they will lose millions.

Larry Gerbrandt, who is an analyst for the firm Media Valuation Partners says that any new show they are going to replace it with will not draw as many viewers as Oprah did. It is a huge blow to the fortunes of broadcast television.

Will Oprah's new show do as well as her hit show she has now?

I think Oprah's viewers are so dedicated to her and love her they will watch anything she is on.

Media luck is starting to change but jobs are still at loss

By Michelle Zimmerman

Although it has been seen in the past few months that the media has begun to take a new, bright direction in their industry, people all around are still losing jobs.

AOL announced last Thursday that they would again be cutting another 2500 jobs. The industry explains job cuts similar to AOL's are because most jobs are no longer needed.

Over the year there have been multiple job cuts all over the media industry which at first did not effect much of the production of companies. As the year continued along with more job cuts, it is expected that many companies are now cutting to a save costs but can possibly suffer from the lack of employees.

The media industry is thought to have an increase earnings because of the precautions companies are now taking to consider lower costs. Sadly it is not because of an increase of revenue.

Making Driving Safer One Less Cellphone at a Time

By Meghan Vosberg

We have all been told; wear your seatbelt, look both ways before you cross the street, and don't talk on your cell phone while driving. But since most people insist that they and their cellular devices are attached at the hip, they look to hands free voice technology.

Ford and Microsoft are selling devices that are powered by voice commands to dial phones, but studies have shown that even this way of trying to keep drivers safe still can prove dangerous. Therefore more technology is made to solve the problem cause by technology that was created to solve the problem of a different set of technology.

Zoomsafer is the new handsfree technology. It's a free service that uses your phone's GPS sensors and determines if the speed you're driving is safe. If it deems your speed dangerous it will turn off your cell phone until the car is stopped.

Photo Credit: wikipedia

Oprah Says Goodbye in 2011

Thursday, November 19, 2009

By Keri Waterhouse

"TheOprah Winfrey Show" began as a local Chicago talk show and grew over two decades into the foundation of a media empire worth billions, is going to end its run in 2011after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey's production company said Thursday night.

Winfrey became a billionaire and one of the most powerful women in entertainment, plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast on Friday, said Harpo Productions Inc.

Winfrey's 24th season opened earlier this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans.

A lot of loyal fans and viewers will be devistated to see her go. She has touched so many lives and has a lot of followers.

http://www.kcci.com/entertainment/21668599/detail.html
http://indyposted.com/6396/oprah-show-going-off-the-air-in-may-2011/

Advertisers Biggest Night

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

By: Amy Johnson

On Feb. 7, 2010, the annual Super Bowl will be held. Many people tune into the Super Bowl for a very different reason than watching the game – the commercials.

Advertisers pay dearly for mere seconds of ad spots for this big event. According to the network's head of sports sales, CBS is only 10% from having all of its ad space completely sold out. It is likely that there are only six to 12 30-second ad spots left out of the 62 that are typically sold for the event. CBS says that there are a few spots left to sell in the first half of the game, but that most of the remaining time slots are in the forth quarter of the game.

With the economy in as battered of a state that it is, will advertisers be less likely to pay millions of dollars for an ad slot during the Super Bowl? If last years numbers hold true, the answer is yes. No American automaker, nor did FedEx Corp., buy ad space for the game last year.

With 30-second ads going at a rate of $2.5 million and $3 million, is it worth it for advertisers? Yes. The Super Bowl is one of the few times that people actually turn the television on with the intentions of watching the commercials.

(Photo Credit: Flickr RMTip21)

Sullivan Denies Spreading Palin Rumors

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

By Zach Jevne

Sarah Palin's new book, Going Rogue, continues to make news.

This time Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan is the target, but he's firing back. In her book, Palin writes, "formerly reputable outlets like the Atlantic ran with the loony conspiracy that I was not Trig's mother."

During the McCain campaign, Sullivan expressed skepticism in Palin's pregnency and wondered if one of Palin's daughters, Bristol or Willow, were the mother.

Sullivan responded by saying, "My blog never ran a story that Bristol or Willow was the mother of Trig. And I never aired any conspiracy stories."

During this point in the campaign, around the end of August in 2008, Sullivan began to inquire about the pregnancy and birth of Trig. He asked the campaign to prove that she was the biological mother of the 4-month old. He says now, in response to the book, that she "failed to produce any such evidence. If she hadn't used the baby as a central political argument in favor of voting for her, I would not have cared."

It's no surprise that Sullivan jumped at the chance to defend himself against her statements in the book. Clearly there is no love lost between the two.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

By Taylor Finch

This week's cover of Newsweek displays a photo of Sarah Palin showing a little leg in running shorts, which has many people questioning whether or not this is a sexist depection of Palin.

Meghan McCain is one who believes it is sexist and offensive to women.

From one of her numerous blogs, McCain writes: "[The photo] is the most sexist thing I have ever seen...[Palin] has broad national appeal for a whole slew of reasons, very few of which having to do with how she looks in running shorts."

There may be an ample amount of coverage on Palin that could come off as sexist, but to most of the people reading her book and idolizing her, the Newsweek cover is not one of these sexist pieces.

This particular photo of Palin was not even intended for Newsweek, but was an extra photo left over from a recent Runner's World shoot that Palin, as a marathon enthusiast herself, willingly posed for.

For Palin to not only endorse herself as a politian, but a runner and mother who is, believe it or not, human, is actually rather empowering to all women.

This merely takes her political self and enhances it with the fact that yes, Palin is a feminine, female politician.

(Photo credit: thehollywoodgossip.com)

A Bleak Outlook

By Tessa Leone

Time.com has just released a list of 10 major newspapers that are predicted to either fold or move to a strictly Web based publication within the near future.

On this list is: The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Philadelphis Daily News, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Miami Herald, The Detroit News, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Sun Times, The Daily News, and The Fort Worth Star Telegram.

" It is hard to imagine that when I am old I will have to explain to my children what a newspaper was," said consumer Gina Telaroli.

It looks like the economy and news industry are taking some hits, although with the forecasted discontinuation of all of these newspapers the environment is at least benefiting.

Photo Credit: photobucket.com

Paying for Online News

By Ryan Franker

A survey was taken to 5,000 people in America and nine other countries, on whether they would pay for online news.

About half of Americans, 48%, said they would pay for online news and even news that is on their mobile phone, but said they would only pay about $3 a month for news on the Internet. The people in Great Britain tied with the same percentage of Americans willing to pay for online news, while Australians tied with the amount willing to pay for news with Americans.

Italians are willing to pay an average of $7 a month for the online news.

There is a large difference in how many news outlets the Europeans get their news and how Americans get their news.

In Europe there is a generally dominated by a couple large news outlets, where in America it is all over the place. Europeans are more willing to pay for news, just because they cannot go to a free news outlet like Americans do.

The people that are more willing to pay the money to read the news online, are the readers that have avid newspaper readers.

(Photo Credited: flickr.com)

YouTube Direct

By: Chris Mars

In recent news we have seen the steady decline of old media. Following the same trend we have seen a decrease in students declaring Journalism as their major of choice. The news industry is changing but the opportunities to become a self-made journalist seem to be limitless.

With the capabilities of new media and new technology it's becoming apparent that anyone can report the news. You Tube Direct is a new platform that capitalizes on the abilities of You Tube by giving you the same features on your site.

This new feature allows news organizations to solicit and verify news footage on their web site, giving video makers the ability to participate in your news gathering process.

See the benefits and how You Tube Direct works here.

Photo Credit: You Tube Direct

CBS Attempts New Project

Monday, November 16, 2009

By Brianna Carlson

"CBS Reports: Where America Stands" is the new series CBS plans to launch. Sampling of the series will take place within the first couple weeks of January.

This series will report topics concerning health care, the military, the economy and crime. It will not only discuss current events, but the show will also give reports as to what happened 10 years ago on the issue and what is predicted in the next 10 years.

One example of the show will be discussing military issues. How has the military changed in the past 10 years, and will it be strong enough in the next 10 years after the war we're currently in.

Diane Sawyer will be taking Charles Gibson's anchor position for ABC's "World News" during the same hour that the new CBS series will show. CBS is hoping the different audiences won't like Sawyer taking over at ABC and possibly look for other options to watch.

Photo Credit: (horizonspeakers)

Online Media Proved to be a Success through Fort Hood Happenings

Sunday, November 15, 2009

By Michelle Zimmerman

I first heard of the tragedies of Fort Hood through a text message from the Des Moines Register stating there had been a shooting killing at least 11 people, none of which were from Iowa. This text message was only one of the thousands of different ways the information of Fort Hood spread Nov. 5.

Internet media streams were filled with updates about the shooting and Twitter was a top Web site notifying the public of occurrences as they were happening. A few users of Twitter were actual soldiers on site of the attack that were tweeting information they knew. Many of the soldiers were unsure of what was happening but knew of some type of shooting.

As Web sites continued coverage over the tragic event, many topics covered the shooter, his affiliation with his Muslim religion, and possible motives. As the information was being spread over the Internet it is unsure where exactly the news became incorrect.

The Internet media was suddenly stating that there had been multiple shooters at the scene, and 1 shooter had been killed during the 7 minute killing spree. Although this is obviously a lie, it took some time for journalists to recover the truth and marks a weakness in the process of Online media. Sometimes it is possible for incorrect news to be stated and it isn't long before those lies are spread as truth.

On the positive side, the Internet medias all showed a strong connection. Many companies and journalists were streaming information as quickly as they received it and this was pleasing for the audiences they were reaching out to. People of the U.S. as I am sure around the world wanted accurate information immediately.

Working together these journalists were recognizing other journalists in the industry that were providing similar information that audience members might find useful as well. Together the Internet media proved why it is considered so efficient. People were given information in a timely matter, most of which was very accurate.

I believe the media on the Internet covered this tragic occurrence very well. As soon as I received the text message I was able to get to a Web site that was posting news feeds momentarily with the newest updates.

Prescription Drug Prices Are On The Rise

By Keri Waterhouse

Drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by taking off $8 billion a year after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.

The industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent, according to industry analysts. This is going to add more than $10 billion to the nation’s drug bill, which is on track to exceed $300 billion this year. By at least one analysis, it is the highest annual rate of inflation for drug prices since 1992.

The drug makers are saying that they have valid business reasons for the price increases. While some of the critics are saying that the industry is trying to establish a higher price base before Congress passes legislation that tries to curb drug spending in the next coming years.

Having prescription drug prices raised it’s going to make it difficult for people to afford them. Bad things could start happening because of this rise in prices.

Is AOL in trouble?

By: Mallory Tandy

AOL recently cut 100 jobs and is making a drastic move by deciding to leave Time Warner Inc. Time Warner has said that AOL has had charges for restructuiring for as much as $200 million possibly due to work force.

Tim Armstrong, a former executive of Google Inc, took over AOL in March, has been trying to keep the optimism up for the workers, updating them regularly of what is going on with the company and what the future holds for them.

Time Warner approved the plans for AOL to spin off in May. This will make AOL an entirely separate company, which hopefully should lead to success after the failed merger between the two companies that occured in 2001.

I am not an AOL user, it never interested me. I am no sure if being it's own separated company will help them at all, it may continue to go down hill.

Dell Tests Their Version of the Smartphone

By Meghan Vosberg

Dell has now officially joined the Smartphone family by launching their new Dell Mini 3.

Powered by Google's Android operating system, this new piece of technology will not be launching into the United States unlike Samsung, HTC, and Motorola. China Mobile, the largest phone company in the world, will be the first stop for Dell with its distributing of its new Android handset. The launch date has not yet been confirmed.

Rumors circulated earlier this year that the smartphone project had been postponed. There is still not much known yet about the Mini 3 as Dell has not released information other than the phones are thin touch screens with no visible keyboard.

Will the phone ever reach the United States? The answer is still unknown but Dell was sure to point out that the company currently sells 3G notebooks through AT&T and Verizon.

Publisher in Portugal Picks a Fine Time to Start a Newspaper

Friday, November 13, 2009

By Laura Reid

A Portuguese publisher has decided to start up a newspaper during a time when newspapers are beginning to call it quits to print. João Palmeiro, the president of the Portuguese Publishers Association, has started up a newspaper called "i", which stands for "informação", or information in portuguese.

This newspaper is set up like a magazine, with it stapled in the middle. It also places op-ed pieces before business and political news, since many people already receive their main news over the Web. This allows for a fresher take on the news.

The paper has started in a good position, with their sales higher than expected with over 11,000 subscribers. Just like other papers, however, advertising sales are below expectations.

I find this very interesting that a publisher had the courage to start this when the entire industry is failing. There is also a Web version, which would be expected, but the hard copy is fairing well in this economy. Maybe this will prove that print newspapers will survive just a little longer than expected.

(Photo Credit: Alex Barth)

"Modern Warfare 2" Craze

By:Chris Mars

Nov. 10 was just like any other day for everyone except the gaming world. The release of "Modern Warfare 2" had 4.7 million people happy after the first day of sales. My roommate was one of the dedicated 4.7 million who purchased the $59.99 video game the first day. His had been reserved but he still had to stand in line for two hours.

After seeing and playing the game for a very brief time I was shocked at how realistic the graphics are, its really does look like real life. After leaving the next morning and coming home late at night to find him in the same spot I realized why we are the most uninformed generation. Instead of paying attention to the news or keeping tabs on our political leaders, many youth spend hours or even days playing video games. After these long sessions of battling online or completing missions there is little time left to dedicate to news.

This is on top of the months of searching and researching the game prior to its release. It's amazing the time and energy our generation spends with video games and and what I like to call "zombie media." These mediums require little physical effort and no educational benefit either. Sure, games like "Modern Warfare" have so historical appeal to them but it's nothing significant and goes unnoticed a majority of the time.

I'll stay away from "Zombie Media" as much as possible.

Photo Credit: www.COD6.org

Facebook Precident

Thursday, November 12, 2009

By Tessa Leone

Rodney Bradford, a nineteen year old from New York City has won the first court case by using Facebook, a social networking unit as evidence.

Rodney was accused of robbing two people on October 17th in the Brooklyn housing unit where he lives. He was held for twelve days and was expected to be convicted.

Bradford had eye witnesses claiming his innocence but no hard evidence to prove his wear abouts, except a Facebook message posted on his girlfriends wall asking her where his pancakes were.

At 11:47 on October 17th the phrase "Where my IHOP?" was posted from Bradford's computer using his Facebook account.

This news was presented before the judge and Bradford won his case.

"This is the first case that I am aware of in which a Facebook comment has been used as alibi evidence. We are going to see more of that because of how prevalent social networking has become." said Dallas lawyer John G. Browning.

Picture credit: msnbc.com

Journalism grad school applications on the rise

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

By Ryan Franker

Journalism grad schools have seen a rise in the number of people applying. New York University has seen a six percent increase in applications from last year.

NYU's increase is nothing compared to some other journalism schools, but with this increase it gives the schools hope that journalism is going to take off again. Stanford saw a 20 percent increase, while Columbia saw a 38 percent increase.

The students don't all intend on going straight to writing hard-hitting stories, one student said that he is wanting to work on documentary films or advertising. Those are still part of journalism and Associate Director Stephen Solomon tells his students to, "study other subjects that interest them in conjunction with journalism, and gives a competitive edge and a depth of knowledge."

There are a lot of different field that journalist can go into, Solomon also encourages his students to become broader in the journalism field, such as blogging.

The students believe that journalism is not going to die out, but you need to be open in what you want to do. "I think the value in journalism is communication, which is something that will not die," said Margaret Eby, a second-year graduate student.

(Photo Credited: flickr.com)

Simmons' NBA Book Top Seller

By Zach Jevne

If you just picked up a copy of Bill Simmons' new book, The Big Book of Basketball, it might take you until the end of the NBA season to finish it, or longer.

Simmons, also known as the "Sports Guy," just released his second book, all 697 pages of it. The book is all about the NBA, features 1,032 footnotes and has just topped the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list.

The popular Simmons attractes 1.4 million page views to his column, which is featured on his own ESPN Web site, "Sports Guy's World." His podcasts, "The B.S. Report," are downloaded two million times a month.

I wasn't much of a fan when Simmons first started gaining national fame with his column (c. 2002), which I was introduced through "ESPN The Magazine." His writing featured too much of a Boston-bias for my taste.

I began listening to "The B.S. Report" and reading some more of his columns a couple of years ago and began to enjoy his work a lot more. He is able to crack me up occasionally and his knowledge of the NBA is unrivaled. He is funny, but not hilarious. Sometimes I don't care for his pop culture references, especially the MTV ones.

One of his new platforms for his "well-informed, snarky" takes on sports is Twitter. Simmons has over 980,000 followers. A tweet on Tuesday night served as a reminder to watch ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary series tonight, for which he is an executive producer.

His columns are usually too wordy for me to read on a consistant basis, but enjoyable when the time is taken to get through one. For that reason, his Twitter account, "sportsguy33," is my favorite way of keeping up with what he is thinking.

As a passionate fan of the NBA, I'm glad Simmons wrote a book about the league. I respect and admire his passion and the amount of information he has on the subject. I will enjoy his book, even if it takes me three years to get through it.

This is Simmons' second book. Now I Can Die In Peace was released in 2005, a year after his beloved Red Sox won the World Series. He recently appeared on the "Colbert Report" to talk about his book.

(Photo Credit: David Shankbone)

New York Post Editor Gets Fired Over a Comment About a Cartoon

By Taylor Finch

A now former New York Post editor has decided to sue the newspaper, claiming she was fired unjustly after making a comment about the "racist" cartoon that appeared to compare President Obama to a chimpanzee.

Sandra Guzman, a black, Puerto Rican associate editor for the New York Post, filed the lawsuit Monday after being fired on September 29 for what she believed was retaliation for her complaints.

Though the New York Post Chairman, Rupert Murdoch, explained that the cartoon's image depicting a policeman shooting at a crazed chimpanzee was merely a play on an actual incident that happened in Connecticut, he later apologized for the inappropriate cartoon after Guzman's allegations of the cartoon's inappropriateness.

The newspaper claims that Guzman was fired on the basis that they were planning to cut the monthly insert that she edits, ultimately letting her go along with the insert, although she had worked there for over six years and had received "strong performance reviews."

Guzman plans to seek "compensatory and punitive damages" for the newspaper inflicting racist and sexist conduct, not only with the cartoon, but also for happenings within the office infrastructure, such as a senior editor constantly referring to her as "Cha Cha #1."

This is not looking good for the New York Post, especially during a very fragile time for the newspaper industry.

(Photo Credit: www.noquarterusa.net)

Library Gets Hit By Media

by: Amy Johnson

The world of media is changing constantly. Radios still play a big role in giving people news, but it has been taken over by television that has video and more commentary to go along with it. Newspapers are seeing a decline in sales as more and more readers are getting their news from the Internet.

A change in the way people use the library is also in the works.

Google Book Search searches the full text of books that Google scans and converts to their database. Google has put a limit on the number of viewable pages in an attempt to prevent copying pages that are under copyright.

The publishing industry and writers' groups view this as infringement to copyrighted work. Many publishers and companies have sued Google over this, saying what they are doing is a massive copyright infringement.

A big step was made recently in the struggle Google has faced. A federal judge in Manhattan granted an extension for a revised settlement to legalize Google's plan to create its own library of digital books.

The original agreement arose from a lawsuit filed by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers against Google, also claiming copyright infringement. After a settlement was reached in October 2008, it faced objections from people of every kind: authors were upset, librarians saw problems with the idea, and rivals were upset.

In September, the Justice Department recommended that the court reject the settlement in its current form. The department were hopeful that a new agreement could be reached as it offers many benefits to readers and scholars.

This is a big step in the world of media. People would be able to find the book they are looking for online, pay a small fee for it, and download it right to their computer. It's simple, and readers would not have to leave their home for a bookstore or a library. It would all be at the tips of their fingertips.

(Photo Credit: timetrax23 at flickr)

Anita Dunn Steps Down Her White House Position

By Keri Waterhouse

Anita Dunn, the White House Communications Director is stepping down by the end of November. She will be replaced by her deputy Dan Pfeiffer.

Her departure was expected because she took the position on an interim basis early this year. The White House had thought Dunn may leave before the end of 2009.

She is leaving at a critical time for the White House, with the administration trying to get the Senate to follow the House of Representatives' lead to pass the health care reform.
She was a vocal critic of Fox News and last month accused the network of being a "wing of the Republican Party," will remain as an outside consultant to the White House and continue to be involved in strategy.

Pfeiffer has been most likely known to be the candidate to replace her. Pfeiffer worked on Barack Obama's presidential campaign and also for several Democratic senators, including Indiana's Evan Bayh.

Dunn assumed the communications post on an interim basis after Ellen Moran stepped down for a job at the Commerce Department.

Her stepping down at this time of the year will be hard for them. She has played a big role in the White House. They are in a tight spot right now with the health care reform. They could use someone like her to get this through. Hopefully he will be a good replacement for her position.

NBC deal is under review

Monday, November 9, 2009

By Brianna Carlson

Comcast plans to take control of NBC Universal. Updates will be announced in the next couple of weeks, but this will be the Obama administration's media regulator's first test.

Comcast is the biggest cable system operator in the United States so adding NBC Universal to the picture will just expand Comcast.

The combined entity "would be calling the shots for one out of every five viewing hours in the United States" estimated Bernstein Research.

(Photo Credit: wikimedia)

Keeping readers attention

Sunday, November 8, 2009

By: Mallory Tandy

Journalists can no longer just have a story with text and expect a large number of people to read it. There now has to be videos and pictures that are strategically placed in an article. If there are videos to go along with a story more people will be interested in the story and want to read it and watch the video that goes along with it. Journalists are now having to do more with their articles to draw attention and keep a reader's attention.

I think it is a good idea to have videos and pictures to go with a story, i am more interested in a story if there are pictures or videos.

The Media's Misleading Healthcare Prices

By Michelle Zimmerman

The media is always expediting the latest information on the health care reform our nation is undergoing but is the information they are providing accurate? Many people in the media industry have yet to establish the costs that the health care reform may require when it is completed and many people are worried this type of information is relevant to the public.

Until a few days ago there hadn't been an article defining the currency that would be involved with this new health care package. That is until Ezra Klein from the Washington Post gave detailed information of what exactly this health care package would include; including the prices.

It can easily be noted that the United States health care prices are out of the roof. Compared to other nation's we rank the highest and many of the blame has been put to insurance companies. That is once again until the information Klein wrote about. Klein states that a large amount of the money in health care is going to the doctors and pharmacist who over the years have increased the prices of medical services.

I feel what Klein wrote is very important to the public because I, as I am sure many others as well, believed that the price of health care was at the fault of the insurance companies. I now feel educated to the idea that maybe the prices of medical services are over exaggerated and that then effects the cost of insurance to increase.

Social Isolation vs. Social Networking

By Meghan Vosberg

With all of the status updates we notice our Facebook and Twitter friends posting we should feel closer to them, right? Wrong. People who use social network sites like Facebook are 30 percent less likely to know their neighbors and 26 percent less likely to give them companionship.

Compared to 20 years ago, America's social circle is much smaller today. But unlike most assumptions the blame does not go to digital technologies.Actually people who use their cellphones and other digital technologies are more likely to volunteer their time at local organizations.

Mobile phone users tend to have a circle of close friends that include 12 or more people and those who send instant or picture messages have about 9 percent larger social circles than nonusers. Mobile users are also seen to be more diverse, meaning that they keep in touch with many people from different backgrounds. This is opposite of public belief.

Photo Credit: Ben Stein

Google not in the 'Content' Business

Friday, November 6, 2009

By: Chris Mars

Recent rumors about Google's plans to buy the New York Times are dismissed by the Google CEO, Eric Schmidt. The interview explains Google's decision to stay away from the "content" business and instead "focus on being a supplier of platforms." Schmidt stressed the fact that they need the content but they are "better off powering it, not writing and owning it."

This is positive to see Google turn down this opportunity and realize their abilities. Although, it would make for a pretty interesting and powerful marriage. Even though Google had a solid reason to turn down the opportunity, could this be a nice way for Google to say the New York Times' future isn't worth the risk?

Photo Credit: Mediabistro.com

Better-Than-Expected Profit Is Reported by News Corp.

By Laura Reid

Fox News Corporation has reportedly had a profit this recent quarter, mainly from their television networks and movie studio.

Fox News mogul Rupert Murdoch has said that the cable channels that he owns have grown in profit because cable channels are now taking over most of the ratings as compared to local networks. While the News Corporation was down in revenue a couple million dollars, the net income was up 11 percent from a year ago.

Most of this money I think is coming from the recent events dealing with the White House. No other major network has been able to boast such profits, and that's because they are not butting heads with the Obama Administration. Murdoch's newspapers, The Wall Street Journal and The Dow Jones, are not doing well. It's all about the entertainment for viewers which is why I think Fox was able to succeed this past quarter. I would wait until everything has died down between these two groups before they continue to boast good profits.

(photo credit: mroach)

Pricey Redisign

Thursday, November 5, 2009

By Tessa Leone

The Iowa Sex Offenders website, iowasexoffenders.com, went under a 250,000 construction process to add to the efficiency of the site. Grants funded the pricey redesign.

You can now not only view convicted sex offenders and where they live in regards to your home, but you can also join blogs, receive email notifications and view online prevention plans targeted at parents.

Website users can create a name and password and log into the registry. It's much more interactive and informative and aims at equipping parents with the necessary information to keep their children safe from sexual harassment or molestation.

Interaction seems to be the conman thread of evolving media and technology. In the past this media was strictly a one way spectrum of news, providing readers with warnings and potential dangers withing their communities. Now the readers can respond and share concerns of their own. The readers are becoming the reporters.

Photo Credit: Photobucket

Magazine Offered Online-Only

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

By Zach Jevne

Starting in January, a new magazine launched earlier this year will no longer be a magazine.

Purpose Driven Connection, a magazine published in partnership with Rick Warren (left) and the Reader's Digest Association, announced that beginning in January 2010 they will stop publishing in print and move to online-only.

Warren founded the Saddleback Church in 1980 in southern California. It is a popular evangelical Christian church and is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

"Our biggest discovery was learning that people prefer reading our content online rather than in print, becasue it's more convenient and accessible," Warren said.

The magazine's fourth and final print issue will be released later this month and will be a Christmas issue.

The original plans were for a quarterly magazine and various multimedia offerings aimed at Warren's Christian audience. The Saddleback church averaged nearly 20,000 people each week in 2008, which ranked eighth in the country according to Outreach Magazine.

RDA says they are offering to refund unused print subscriptions to the magazine. However, upon visiting the site, a link to subscribe to the magazine is still available.

Purpose Driven Connection serves as a good example to the differences between Web and print content and where the future of print is going.

"An online magazine allows us to minister to people internationally; provide more content and features than we could fit in a print magazine; create interaction and two-way dialogue; and offer it for free, " Warren said.

All of those examples were featured in discussions this week comparing Web news and print news.

(Photo Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Apple Pushing It To The New Level

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

By: Amy Johnson

Apple is taking it to the next level.

The company is trying to get television networks to sign up with iTunes for a service that will let those interested download an unlimited amount of television shows for around $30 a month.

Apple has been flirting with cable companies for months about the idea. Sources say that nothing is set in stone as Apple is still in the early phase of talks.

Movies and individual episodes of shows can already be bought by iTune users, but this new monthly subscription-fee would target cable companies. Fans would be able to watch their favorite shows without counting on the cable companies to show their favorite programs all the time.

Networks would be paid more for shows that are more popular by Apple and less for shows that viewers are less likely to tune in to.

This new strategy for Apple would boost their success even more. Apple would be going beyond the music business and into the world of television. Not only would they be boosting their name, they would also be helping fans.

Fans can pay a small fee to be able to watch their favorite shows on the go. If Apple can get this idea off the ground, they could be introducing their iTunes fan base to something elite.

(Photo Credit - Lance Club)

Media Denied Access to School Flu Clinics

By Taylor Finch

The Rhode Island Department of Health and school district in South Kingston together are not allowing journalists to be present at school-based clinics giving the H1N1 shot, due to the HIPAA, also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

The HIPAA was an act made in 1996 that provides federal protection for personal health information held by covered persons and corporations that gives these patients a variety of rights in respect to their health information.

A particular journalist that is known for covering the school district of Sough Kingston, was turned away by the school's superintendent and told to leave the clinic area, for he was not allowed to even take pictures of people who were even waiting in line for their shots or take statements from them.

The superintendent said the local journalist was not able to do so under the patients' protection under the HIPAA.

The journalist did not give up there. He obtained parental consent from a few mothers in line with their children in order to take pictures of their children getting their shot, but he was still denied access, even with the consent.

He found this odd, due to the fact that he has been able to cover stories dealing with the school district's past flu shot clinics.

The journalist later inquired to the Rhode Island Department of Health, only to find out that he was not allowed access into the clinic because department did not want to stir up fears about H1N1.

Though the journalist did the right thing in gaining consent, apparently the Department of Health did not see it ethical or legal to publish photos or quotes from inside the clinic.

(Photo Credit: www2.med.umich.edu)

Are e-books the new thing?

Sunday, November 1, 2009

By: Mallory Tandy

New York Publishers are hoping that electronic reading devices will increase their sales. Some say this will not happen until the technology improves.

There has been a lot of talk in the publishing world about Amazon.com Inc's Kindle and Barnes & Noble Inc's new Nook, their new electrical gadgets.

These new gadgets are unlike the technologically advanced smartphones, in that they lack a lot of the functions other devices have. Until the technology on these new devices improves, no one will want to carry around another gadget.

They do have their advantages, people can store thousands of downloaded books and have access to multiple websites, magazines, and newspapers. Students who do not have their books in before classes start can easily go online and get them through these resources. According to Forrester Research the 2009 sales will reach up to three million. Bill Stein, who was once with Institute for the Future of the Book, thinks digital publishing is going to face many obstacles.

I think having books online can be beneficial for students especially, but i personally hate reading off of a computer screen and would much rather have a an actual book. I don't really know if digital publishing will take off.

Media's attempt to discover new plans to save the industry

By Michelle Zimmerman

The Federal Communications Commission has decided to form a wide range of studies that will hopefully lead to innovating ideas for the industry to succeed. The FCC is searching for successful ways the media can survive the turbulent times of the economy as well as searching for a more efficient way of expediting honest news.

The FCC has hired Steven Waldman to conduct this search. Waldman is said to be chosen because of his success as a journalist in the newspaper as well as accommodating the popularity of the Internet. As the media began to change Waldman followed successfully.

Currently the quality of information being exploited over the Internet is lacking something to filter false information. Therefore, the FCC intends to develop a way for the media industry to regain control, set guidelines, and be compensated for the news being posted over the Internet.

FCC's action to find a resolution for the media industry is justifiable but it also worries people. As always the media has been protected by the First Amendment, but many people feel the government is crossing over the boundaries of involvement.

Regardless of the amount of interaction of the FCC I think it is very important for the media industry to start looking for a resolution to the revolution of the Internet before it is unattainable to fix.

The New Smartphone at Verizon Wireless

by Keri Waterhouse

The anticipated Google Android phone called the Droid is almost out for Verizon Wireless customers. The phone comes out November 6. This smartphone will cost $199 with a two-year contract.

This phone has a voice-activated search that lets users speak a query and the Google-powered search engine will deliver Web results or results from the device such as contacts, music, and photos. The voice search also works with the new turn-by-turn directions for Google Maps.

The new Droid is loaded with lots of cool Android apps and has access to the more than 10,000 applications available in the Android Market but it does not have many of Verizon's branded services. It has Android 2.0, a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. It has a Webkit HTML 5 browser, and it's powered by a 550MHz processor and a 1,400mAh lithium ion battery offering 6.4 hours of continuous talk time and up to 11 days of standby time.

So many changes are happening in technology. What is going to be the point of a laptop now? I got a Blackberry this summer and I honestly have my life in that phone. I don’t know what I would do if I lost it. There are so many things that you can do with smartphones. Many people

don’t even know what all you can do with them. While they are more expensive, I think they’re worth it.

CNN places last among other cable news networks

By Brianna Carlson

In October, the viewers of cable news networks placed CNN fourth among the other cable news networks. The networks rely on their viewers and audience for their advertising.

More than two decades ago, CNN was the first to start the cable news network.

For the month, Fox News (689,000 viewers), MSNBC (250,000 viewers), and HLN (221,000 viewers) all placed in front of CNN (202,000 viewers).

This shows that the viewers want more opinionated news channels. CNN has moved opinionated hosts like Nancy Grace to HLN which is CNN's sister network so that CNN can keep their news-orientated style.

(Photo Credit: blogmeister USA)

Time Inc. cuts 6% of workforce

Friday, October 30, 2009

By:Chris Mars

http://tinyurl.com/yjokugm

The magazine industry seems to continue to fall as Time Inc. announced it will cut 6% of its workforce in a recent New York Times article. Cutting 6% of its workforce calculates to about 600 people. As recent as 2007 the company which produces magazines like Time Sports Illustrated and People was doing as much as $5 million. This year they're down to about $3.7 million and have cut $800 million in costs.

This is obviously bad news for a major company in the business and the future doesn't look much brighter. Recently, they have shut down magazines like Cottage Living and Southern Accents and Life, two very repectable magazines.

Will the magazine undustry bounce back or are we seeing the decline of a major medium?

Photo Credit: AllThingsBeautiful.com

Forbes Magazine Plans More Layoffs

Thursday, October 29, 2009

By Laura Reid

Forbes Magazine is laying off employees, mainly editorial and business staff members, from the company due to decreased advertising revenue.

Steve Forbes, the chief executive and editor-in-chief of the magazine, announced that because of the recession, more jobs had to be cut from his company. 100 employees lost their jobs last year, and many others had to take five days of unpaid leave and their 401(k) program would not be matched by their company. It is not the magazine readership that is suffering, however, those numbers have stayed the same, but its the number of ad pages that are down 32.5 percent in the third quarter.

This is just another news source that is taking a major hit in its company because of the economy and slowed advertising sales. But I don't think these lack of newspaper and magazine sales should constantly be targeted. While they are big newspaper companies that are losing business, I don't think we hear a lot about advertising agencies, who are the main culprit. Where are ads making their money? They can't make it through newspapers because not many people read them. Magazines are more promising because people do still read them for entertainment, but TiVo-like TV systems are allowing for more people to skip through the commercials. Should we stop worrying about the news and magazines for a minute and start focusing our attentions on ad agencies?

(Photo Credit: Corporateinfoonline.com)

First Readers, Now Advertisers

By Tessa Leone

Today at 11:25 the Wall Street Journal closed it's Boston Bureau. After an advertising slump that has newspapers reeling, Wall Streets editor Robert Thomson announced to employees that "The economic background for the closure is painfully obvious to us all".

Low numbers regarding advertising are the main contributor for the closure. With less readers, many advertisers are seeking other forms of communication. Although the paper was the only one of the top 25 U.S. newspapers to increase its weekly circulation, those numbers werent enough to counter balance the lack of advertisements.

The Boston coverage will now switch to the papers Money and Investing division in New York. Although there are no plans to close any other Wall Street bureaus at this time the forecast for print media in general does not look good, but this is not new news.

Women in Sports Journalism

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

By Zach Jevne

The world of organized athletics and sports journalism is still dominated by men, but there are a number of women that have reached the top of the profession.

In the early 1970s, The Associated Press estimated that only 25 women worked in the sports department of U.S. newspapers and only five worked in sports broadcasting. Today, around 10 percent of the sports media industry is women.

Christine Brennen graduated from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism in 1980. She has been a pioneer for women in the industry, paving a way for women to be accepted in the press box.

After earning her master's, she became the first female sports writer at The Miami Herald, covering the Miami Hurricanes football team during its championship season in 1984.

Brennen has twice been named one of the nation's top 10 sports columnists by the Associated Press. She currently has a weekly column in USA Today, an accomplishment that many would consider the pinnacle of the profession.

Brennen said her career in journalism has been the "world's greatest adventure." She stresses that sports journalism is a people business and women have to work twice as hard to get on the good side of those around them.

It's noted that although equal treatment of women in sports is not evolving as rapidly as the rest of the journalism world, change is happening. One thing needed in the future is to remove the label of "female" from sports reporter.

People will still have stereotypes and assumptions about women in sports journalism, but hard work and professional behavior can overcome others misperceptions.

(Photo Credit: Northwestern University)

Reshaping the Business Model

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

By Ryan Franker

The San Fransisco Chronicle has figured out a way in making a profit with the newspaper. The Chronicle believes that changing their business model is what helped their change. They had such a horrible decline in daily subscription last year, but with the changes that were made they were able to make up for it.

The changes the Chronicle did, were offering fewer discounts on subscriptions, and stopped delivering the newspapers to homes that made no economic sense in delivering it to that house. Their subscription rate jumped from $4.75 to $7.75 within 18 months. The Chronicle has the largest circulation in the Bay Area.

With the Chronicle's subscription rate up, the newspaper was able to make changes that would benefit them in the long run. The Chronicle is planning on switching the normal newspaper paper to the glossy magazine type paper, it will be the first newspaper to switch to that kind of paper in the country. The paper is also making a new section in the paper called Ovations, it will be for arts and culture.

It is hard to tell which path to take, because each city is different and will take a different approach to it. The Chronicle was lucky that the approach they took, the people liked and were able to give them money back to enhance the readers papers.

(Photo Credited: flickr)

Free News for Younger Readers

By Taylor Finch

Newspapers today have been on the decline for a while, and are desperate to find an answer to put them back on the map as soon as possible.

France is trying out a new plan by giving away free papers to young readers in attempts to turn them into customers. The government named the project "My Free Newspaper," in which 18-to-24-year-olds would be given a free year's subscription to a newspaper of their choice.

This project is just one of many other projects that the government is doing, including financial subsidies to newspapers, to help cure the problems of the newspaper industry.

These problems, such as advertising slumps and the Internet being the primary hub for news today, are especially bad in France. According to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in Paris, only half as many papers are sold in comparison to Britain or Germany.

France is particularly lacking young readers, so this project is offering about 60 publications that they can choose from, including the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times.

Costs of the project are being split by the participating newspapers and the state, with the government giving $22.5 million over the course of three years.

Some believe that this is a bad time for newspapers to not be receiving revenue from readers, but maybe this could influence the younger readers who already read and buy newspapers to influence others to do the same.

(Picture by: metajungle.net)

Protests arise after special on Latinos

Monday, October 26, 2009

By Brianna Carlson

This week CNN showed a four-hour documentary about Latinos. Activist groups are now trying to get Lou Dobbs fired because they think Dobbs has been lying for years about this issue.

Dobbs is a veteran anchor on the 7 p.m. show for the news channel. He has strong views against immigration.

"Latino in America" had it's first show Wednesday night. Protestors were saying Dobbs has been lying about immigration.

Isabel Garcia, a civil rights lawyer, and a randomly picked activist were interviewed for the documentary, but both of their comments about Dobbs were edited out of the show.

Garcia commented that by showing Dobbs show CNN was “promoting lies and hate about our community." This comment did not make the documentary.

A CNN spokeswoman said "Latino in America" was just trying to show both the successes and challanges Latinos are going through. One of the issues did include illegal immigration.

Photo Credit: Nasa Images

New Strategy for NBC

By: Amy Johnson

NBC's Universal Television Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin recently announced that the network would not be producing programs to profit margins.

The network is trying something different than most networks have done. Their new idea is that a network does not have to spend a hefty profit on a show; by producing a show that is really cheap and easy to make, a big profit can still be made in their time slots.

While NBC is producing cheap shows, competing networks are soaking up the ratings but is paying for expensive sitcoms. Those sitcoms may be getting stellar numbers, but they are also affecting the network's profit margin negatively.

An example of NBC's new idea was when they moved “Jay Leno” to nine o' clock. NBC has yet to see if this plan has worked as Leno hasn't discovered its ratings resting point quite yet; baseball playoff programming on Fox and TBS have taken away some of his viewers.

This move may prove to be very smart on NBC's part; by lowering the costs of producing shows, NBC's budget will not see as big of a blow. The question is how will viewers take to these changes? Most well-liked sitcoms are ones that have been around for a few years and cost more to produce. If more networks go to this idea, many viewer's favorite shows could be canceled.

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

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