All Entries in the "News Media" Category
The Media’s Curious Lack of Curiosity
The health care bill finally squeaked through the House of Representatives this week after a furious debate that’s lasted for more than a year. The bill begins to bring health care in the United States up to a par with many other civilized nations.
Anatomy of How to Report TV News
Television news today – local, cable or national – is all formula driven. There are a few exceptions, like PBS NewsHour and HD Net’s World Report, but just a few. The rest of it is mostly shallow, inane and predictable.
Neda – Person of the Year
Neda Soltan has been named “Person of the Year” by the Times of London. For many of us, the haunting images of her death in Tehran on June 12, caught on video, may always be with us.
Jim Lehrer’s Rules of Journalism
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS Television – one of the most respected daily news programs in television history – will have a high tech facelift this coming Monday. Everything I’ve seen that they are doing is spectacular. The updates will make the best even better, in my opinion.
Newshour Sheds Light on Changes
I asked a lot of questions in my blog post yesterday about the new alliance between PBS Newshour, my favorite weekday television news program, and an online news outfit in Boston called GlobalPost. While, on one hand, a spokesperson for GlobalPost responded in a curiously confrontational manner – especially for a fairly new “news” organization – I just received far more professional and enlightening perspective from Newshour.
GlobalPost Threatens Over Blog Post
I wrote yesterday about the questions and concerns I had about my favorite television news program, PBS Newshour, announcing a partnership to use the international reporting services of Boston-based GlobalPost. GlobalPost, I found, has been described as a “blog” and even NewsHour last evening called it a “Web site.” Today, there are threats from GlobalPost and a demand that the blog post be removed.
PBS Newshour Outsources International News
Consolidation … it’s a sign of our times in mainstream news media, as financially challenged news organizations struggle to stay vibrant and alive. Newshour, the respected television news program on PBS, announced today it is partnering with GlobalPost.com, a Boston company that runs an international news aggregator blog.
The King of Late Night Talk Radio
I like radio talk show host Jim Bohannon. Always have. He’s one of the classiest people on radio today, and Jim’s been on radio for years … with a large and loyal following, coast-to-coast.
The Washington Post’s Lack of Transparency
The Washington Post – the once-legendary newspaper in the nation’s capital – continues to stumble and crumble along, the victim of an increasing number of self-inflicted ethical mistakes. A few months ago, it was about the egregious attempt by publisher Katharine Weymouth to sell her paper’s editorial influence to Washington lobbyists.
Papers, Magazines in Europe Make Money
While visiting friends in Munich recently, I was struck by a couple of modern-day contrasts with American cities – I saw very few people in Munich walking down the streets with eyes glued to their Blackberrys or iPhones.
Instead, people sitting at coffee shops, reading all kinds of publications – actual newspapers and magazines.
A Must-Have Book for Any PR Pro
Here’s why it’s important for anyone in the field of communications and PR – you will get a clear sense of how a journalist works to get a story, what he or she is looking for, what makes it on the air and what does not. You understanding the thinking about what makes news.
Watching the Washington Post Crumble
The Washington Post is flailing. The signs are there that the newspaper is struggling, directionless, out of control. The Post is becoming a less credible and responsible newspaper. I have written here that if the Post were located in any other city but the nation’s capital, it would be out of business.
Money, Money, Money
While on annual vacation with my wife … we always visit the same remote valley in extreme southeast Switzerland near Italy … I have been thinking about Frank Rich’s essay in The New York Times this past Sunday on the passing of Walter Cronkite and lamenting the demise of journalistic standards as we have know when for years. I believe Frank, who I greatly respect, missed the main point about the crumbling news business.
40 Days Since Neda’s Death
Since I wrote about the murder of Neda Agha Soltan in Tehran on June 20, I wanted to follow up with this moving and powerful story from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty … an interview with Neda’s mother:
July 30 marks 40 days since the death of 27-year-old Neda Agha Soltan, who has become a symbol of Iran’s brutally suppressed “Green movement” protesting the results of last month’s presidential election.
Washington Post Apologizes for Exclusive Access
I held off at first writing something about this story when it first broke last week, primarily to see how it would unfold. There was something about the story that seemed to ring so true about the Post today even though what the paper did was so bone-headed.
What They Mean When They Say …
Do you ever wonder about all the jargon and cliches you hear on TV news, especially the 24-hour cable news channels? They all say the same thing. So, here’s a crib sheet to what they really mean.
