The Changing Newsroom - an Extensive Report

Public relations professionals, many of us ex-journalists, are watching in dismay as newspapers continue to unravel across the nation. The recent Pew coverage says:

"The majority of newspapers are now suffering cutbacks in staffing, and even more in the amount of news, or newshole, they offer the public. The forces buffeting the industry continue to affect larger metro newspapers to a far greater extent than smaller ones. In some cases, these differences are so stark it seems that larger and smaller newspapers are living two distinctly different experiences. Fully 85% of the dailies surveyed with circulations over 100,000 have cut newsroom staff in the last three years, while only 52% of smaller papers reported cuts. Recent announcements of a further round of newsroom staff reductions at large papers, including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post, indicates these differences may be widening further."

A very extensive report of the latest survey of newspapers can be found at The Changing Newsroom. The Project for Excellence in Journalism is a research organization that specializes in using empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press. It is non partisan, non ideological and non political. "Our goal is to help both the journalists who produce the news and the citizens who consume it develop a better understanding of what the press is delivering. The Project has put special emphasis on content analysis in the belief that quantifying what is occurring in the press, rather than merely offering criticism and analysis, is a better approach to understanding."

"Doctored" Photos Easy in the Digital Age

I usually check out Scientific American for my science blog WendSight, but this story warrants a view by PR professionals. I pulled the main points from "Digital Forensics: How Experts Uncover Doctored Images" written by Hany Farid.

It says, "Fraudulent photographs produced with powerful, commercial software appear constantly, spurring a new field of digital image forensics. Many fakes can be exposed because of inconsistent lighting, including the specks of light reflected from people’s eyeballs. Algorithms can spot when an image has a “cloned” area or does not have the mathematical properties of a raw digital photograph."

Visit SciAm for an interesting read and photos! Visit this link to see the photo credit.

Make Way for New News Media

I was scouting the pages of Fast Compnay, and see a concept for new radio that looks interesting. From a public relations point of view, if you have a product for NPR, then this looks good.

Writer Linda Tischler says of the show The Takeaway, "The first goal was to create a public-radio news program that replaces highly produced, carefully edited segments, such as those on Morning Edition, with something that feels a little more on the fly--open and conversational. New York's WNYC, which coproduces the show with Public Radio International (PRI), its distributor, drew its inspiration from the BBC Radio's popular 5 Live, a highly interactive alternative news broadcast in the U.K."

Bottom line: get to know the new media, because the old media is not going to be influential for the generation in its 20s right now.

Hologram "Transports" CEO to Meeting

I like to look at ways technology impacts public relations and what to plan for in the future. A company in Australia has sent its CEO to a meeting via a hologram.

Read here. "The future of Australian communications technology has been showcased in Adelaide with a live hologram used to address a business conference. Telstra has used the latest high-speed broadband technology to transmit an image of its chief technology officer Dr Hugh Bradlow in real-time, from his office in Melbourne. The image has been projected as a hologram, to make it appear he was standing on stage. David Thodey, from Telstra, says the technology has the potential to revolutionise how Australians do business.

Considering the cost of travel and hotels, this is going to look better and better as time goes on.

Photo credit goes to aplink.wordpress.com.

Amazon Kindle: Simply Amazing

I am going to look like I work for Amazon, but this product is amazing. Some of you probably already have it! Kindle: a Wireless Reading Device. Consider what the future holds beyond Amazon and books. See what Wikipedia says.

Here is what it can do:

Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
Holds over 200 titles. Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours. Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.

Jeff Bezos says: Three years ago, we set out to design and build an entirely new class of device—a convenient, portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology, reading Kindle’s screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper—and nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen. Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot and is designed for ambidextrous use so both "lefties" and "righties" can read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time.

We wanted Kindle to be completely mobile and simple to use for everyone, so we made it wireless. No PC and no syncing needed. Using the same 3G network as advanced cell phones, we deliver your content using our own wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you’ll never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly contracts, or monthly wireless bills—we take care of the hassles so you can just read.

Best Business Advice from My Dad

Today I am reading the Fortune article on "The Best Advice I Ever Got." A lot of leaders in business reflect on past advice and many point to their fathers.

It made me think about the best advice from my father, Rodger Goodwin. He and my mother, Sue, owned a small business in Lexington, Ky., and during high school and college I spent some summer weeks in the business office.

I can recall how skillful my father was at presenting his ideas that could provide his clients with high-quality and artful ornamental metals for home and business needs. On occasion a client would visit the company on site and I would listen to my father talk with the visitor. I can remember thinking how bold he sounded as he convinced someone to go with the highest quality and if that was not what they wanted they would have to go elsewhere. He said he could only give them the best.

This was not just a sales pitch, he meant it. He was not just trying to get top dollar for his work, he wanted people to want the best and get the best. After a visitor would leave, totally convinced by the way, he would tell me what his thoughts were on how the person approached him, the conversation, and then the results. Essentially, he told me never to provide any work that was not the very best and be willing to give up business in order to be known for the highest quality work.

Read more at Fortune.

Mobile Will Be the PR Way

Business Week has good coverage of new media. The story on Google's ad future by Ben Kunz is enlightening on the advertising side, but eventually will affect public relations as reaching audiences with our messages will probably include mobile in the not-to-distant future.

Kunz says, "Google's biggest threat may not be Microsoft or Yahoo!. No, one of the most formidable challenges facing Google is likely sitting in your pocket or purse. It's your cell phone, and it will put added pressure on Google and other Internet companies to revamp the way they handle online marketing. As more people use cell phones and their tiny glass screens to gain access to the Internet, Google and its fellow online advertisers will have less space, or what's called ad inventory, to place marketing messages for customers. Google makes money selling ad inventory. And its ad inventory is diminished on a cell phone. "