What I am up to...

So yeah I haven't been bloggin as of late. Well at least for the last couple of months, but I hope to get in a routine this semester where I give myself an hour or so a day to read and write.

Anyway, I am in Youngstown right now, but I am leaving to go to Columbus for the weekend. I think I'll be sticking down there for New Years and for the OSU/ND game. Go Bucks!!!

I'll then be coming back here to Youngstown for a handful of days. On Saturday, I think I'll head back to Muncie to prepare for my second semester of grad school.

Next semester I'll be taking three classes and doing an independent creative project. My classes are:

ICom 602 - Foundations in Digital Storytelling 2
ICom 630 - Story Design and Development
Comm 614 - Contemporary Rhetoric and Public Issues

And my creative project is hopefully to finish a screenplay I started in undergrad.

But that's that and that is what I've been up to. Hopefully I'll start blogging again once I get back to school.

Good Stuff

We think it's time for Congress to heed the warning of George Orwell.

To that end, we're asking for your help: Mail us or drop off your tattered copies of "1984." When we get 537 of them, we'll send them to every member of the House of Representatives and Senate and to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.


A great editorial by The Oakland Tribune.

Going home...

So I am leaving tomorrow afternoon to head back to good ol' Youngstown. I have a lunch at noon and then I'll be heading out. I might swing by c-bus for a little while to see how its going there. Then eventually (somewhere between 7-9) I'll be back in the Mahoning Valley.

BSU and Game Show Network Partnership

"GSN, the spunky game-oriented network jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corp., Monday unveiled plans for an unusual collaboration between an ad-supported cable network and a major academic researcher, commissioning a study by Ball State University's Center for Media Design examining how people use interactive television in their daily lives." -Media Daily News article excerpt.

Ironically the pointer came from LostRemote.com. This is ironic because I work approx. 200 feet from the Center for Media Design.

Full Interview

Ahhhh...this is exactly what the web was meant for...NBC has announced that the full edited exclusive interview Brian Williams had with President Bush will be streamed at MSNBC. That is great. It's not like I am going to watch it, but I like that I can.

It will be posted at nightly.msnbc.com
Pointer by LostRemote.com

My school is richer than your school...

So Ball State University got re-granted by the Lilly Foundation. Woohoo...20 million dollars here we come.

Check out the IndyStar article.

End of the Semester Thoughts

So as everyone, or more precisely the two people whom regularly check this site, have noticed. I have not been updating the ol’ blog for a while. Unfortunately, I got busy with school and just with life and the blog got put on the back burner. I think I should be back to regularly posting at least for the next number of weeks.

I’m heading back to my Mom’s house in Youngstown on Friday and will be staying there for the next number of weeks. Then I’ll head back to Muncie for semester two of graduate school.

Here is a recap of semester one:

On school, I have had a great first semester, where I have been challenged to think and produce. I wrote what I think is a very good essay, entitled “Looking Toward 2008: New Media and Its Effects on the Political Process,” which takes a very small look at how new technologies might alter the face of the Presidential campaign in America. It is essentially a precursor to my thesis and has let me slightly arrange my thoughts for when I write my thesis next fall. I also produced a fifteen-minute documentary. “This Life.” is a slice-of-life style piece about a Christian skateshop and skatepark located in Muncie, Indiana. We will be sending it out over the next couple of months to a number of contests and festivals.

On life, I have made some great strides and some stupid decisions during the last three and a half months, but through it all I think I have made it through fine because of good friends and a great family. With friends who are willing to call you an asshole, when you’re being an asshole and a family who supports you no matter what you do, I wake up every morning asking myself how could I possibly fail. Along with those friends, I have met some amazing people over the last few months and I hope a number of these relationships last past the two years we’ll be here in Muncie. Don’t get me wrong some of these people and these relationships have driven me crazy at different points and drive me crazy now, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything in the world. My experiences here have taught me a lot about myself and have taught me a lot about what I value and what is important to me.

I have found that I value my family greatly and although I have had the sudden realization that my father is not superman during this semester, I have also found that he is a survivor and a hero. I have found my mother to be as supportive when I am away as when I was living at her house. I have found a countless number of things this semester and my family and my friends, new and old, have been with me through all of them.

That was my first semester. I have three left. As for next semester, I have two classes picked for sure and I am still deciding on a third. I’ll try keep everyone abreast of what is going on and I’ll try to start updating this again, well at least until it gets crazy again at the middle or end of next semester.

So I think I bought a new car...

Well the paperwork hasn't gone through or anything, but I have nearly bought a new car, actually it is just new to me. It is a 2001 Dodge Intrepid with 22,000 miles. It is burgundy and seems to be a very nice automobile.

Thanksgiving Wishes

I would like to wish everyone a great Thanksgiving. As per the previous message and the impending end of my first semester of graduate school, I was not able to make it back to Austintown for the holiday, but I will be back shortly. My semester ends December 16th and I should be home either the 16th or the 17th.

Anyways have a happy holiday and if your feeling productive please feel free to write a paper for me on new media and the political process.

So my car is finally dead....

So my car finally died. Just fabulous, luckly I'm not busy these next couple of weeks.

O-H-I-O

Ok so it has been a while since I have blogged...Apparently grad school is a little more time consuming than I originally anticipated. Anyway I just wanted to give a quick update of what I have done and what I will be doing over the next number of months.

This semester:

623 - Finishing up my first actual documentary. This 15-20 minute short doc tentatively entitled, 'Skating for Jesus.' This documentary is center around a Christian skateshop and skatepark in Muncie, Ind. It examines the relationship between the seemingly unlike activities of skatboarding and practicing religion. Due Date: Nov. 30.

601 - Finishing up a paper tentatively entitle, 'Looking Towards 2008: The Effects of New Media on the Political Process.' It is going to be good and it is basically the basis on my upcoming masters thesis. Due Date: First/Second week of December.

690 - Working on a five-minute piece looking at faith during times of crisis. This piece is from the footage I shot, while I was down south after Hurricane Katrina.

610 - I am pretty much done with most of the work on all three of my projects. My first class was creating a proposal for a new class for the Digital Storytelling Masters Program. My second project was creating the concept for a bar and venue for the Muncie area. This was my group project, which I did with Betsy. My third project with is still slightly unfinished is completing a website for the head of our masters program Dr. James W. Chesebro. Here it is so far: BETA

But more importantly this post was to say I am leaving Muncie again. This time I am going down to Columbus to root on the OSU Buckeyes as they on the dreaded team from up north. GO BUCKS!!!! O-H-I-O.

Moving on to next semester, I schedule and am taking: ICom 602 (research project on facebook and other online communities), Comm 605: qualitative Research Methods (hopefully I can tie my facebook research into this), ICom 630 (not really sure), ICom 670 (a one-credit project building the greatest website ever: NickGeidner.com or themediadork.com)

Plain Dealer

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has announced that they are killing the long running Sunday Magazine. The PD's Sunday Magazine launched June 29, 1919. The last issue will be December 18th.

-Full Article

Microsoft / AP video deal

Microsoft and the Associated Press just inked a deal to supply video content to newspapers for their websites. This seems to be the talk of the town today.

LostRemote.com has two articles on it.

Launch of 2006

With the Dems holding on to the governorships in New Jersy and Virginia, Arnold going zero for four, and the Texans outlawing gay marriage (while allowing the execution of mentally retarded twelve year old schoolgirls) the 2006 midterm campaign has started.

Then just think the day after the 2006 election is the launch of the 2008 Presidential Election. Fun stuff.

NBC Nightly News

Starting yesterday episode, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams is now available online at MSNBC at about 10:00ET every evening. The stream is free and is pretty much free of commercials. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The link to the Netcast:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/

For Mac Users:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9962131/

Election Day 2005

Today is Election Day 2005 and although there are some interesting races out there I think this more importantly means tomorrow officially starts the 2006 mid-term election campaigns. 2006 will be interesting...the whole house, a third of the Senate and 36 statehouses will be up for grabs in a races that is already shaping up to be good. Also interesting will be the use of new media in these campaigns.

I will closely be watching Congressman Ted Strickland, a dem from Ohio's 6th district, as he makes a run at the Statehouse.

The World has Changed

VOD is now real.

CBS and NBC have both inked on-demand deals with Comcast and DirecTV, respectively. NBC will sell shows such as Law & Order: SVU for 99 cents without commercials, within hours of it's original airing. This is huge and is all result of ABC's deal with iTunes.

-Pointer from LostRemote.com
-Article about NBC deal.
-Article about CBS deal.

A lawyer in the family

So the Geidner family now officially has a lawyer in the family. My brother, Atty. Christopher Geidner was sworn into the Ohio Bar Association today. The swearing in was at the Ohio Supreme Court and I assume a good time was had by all.

Congrats Chris.

Election Day

Tomorrow is Election Day '05, which means after tomorrow the 2006 mid-term campaigns will really start. I think the dems have a really chance of taking over Ohio and taking back the US Senate.

Live West Wing

Way to go to Alan Alda, Jimmy Smitts, and Forrest Sawyer for their great performance in the east coast live performance of the West Wing Presidential Debate. It started by having Alan Alda's character, Sen. Arnold Vinnick, asking to have the strict rules and protocols of the debate thrown out the window. It was like what a real debate should be like, candidates challenging each other and asking each other to not just make 8 second soundbytes, but to actually explain themselves. Anyway, it was some good stuff.

CNN Article

Nick Geidner New Car Fund

If you'd like to donate to the Nick Geidner new car fund you can make checks payable to:

The Nick Geidner New Car Fund
c/o Nick Geidner
3488 N. Tillotson Apt. 31
Muncie, IN 47304

NPR Podcasts

NPR is doing very well with its podcasts. Four million downloads in apparently the last two months. All 17 podcasts are also consistently in the iTunes list of Top 100 blogs.

Pointer from LostRemote.com.

NewsLink Indiana

NewsLink Indiana, the organization which I am a GA for, has launched a podcast and vodcast. They should be available through the iPod store over the next few days. But either way here are the feed addresses:

For the podcast:
http://www.newslinkindiana.com/data/podcast.xml

For the vodcast:
http://www.newslinkindiana.com/data/vodcast.xml

Also look for big changes to be coming soon to NewsLink Indiana.

$50 Billion in Budget Cuts

As we spend hundreds of millions of dollars everyday on the war in Iraq and as we keep the "much needed" Bush Tax Cuts, which benefit the richer side of society, the money has to be cut from somewhere else. Here are a couple of places the republicans are deciding to do it:

'Raid on student aid'

It also imposes new fees on students who default on loans or consolidate them and higher fees on parents who borrow on behalf of their college-age children. California Rep. George Miller, the senior Democrat on the panel, called the package a "raid on student aid."
The Ways and Means Committee approved on a party-line vote a plan by its chairman, Rep. Bill Thomas, R-California, with so many difficult-to-swallow provisions that lawmakers and aides whispered about whether the intent was to make it hard for GOP leaders to win its passage in the full House.
It includes $3.8 billion in cuts to child support enforcement. Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-North Dakota, charged that Republicans were appealing to the "constituency of deadbeat dads."
The bill also would tighten eligibility standards for foster care assistance in nine states and delay some lump-sum payments to very poor and elderly beneficiaries of Social Security's Supplemental Security Income program.
"It was abundantly clear that Thomas didn't want to do this stuff," said an aide to a Ways and Means Republican who spoke on condition of anonymity but cited meetings that occurred behind the scenes.
House GOP leaders this month directed Thomas to produce $8 billion in savings, eight times the original target he was assigned.
The Ways and Means plan also would eliminate payments to industries harmed by unfair foreign trade practices. Those payments come from the proceeds of duties on foreign goods "dumped" into the U.S. market.

ANWR drilling

The House Resources Committee approved a controversial plan to raise $2.4 billion in lease revenues by permitting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Minority Democrats opposed virtually everything that was done, saying Wednesday's actions are part of a broader GOP budget blueprint that also calls for $106 billion in new tax cuts over the next five years.
"They are targeting programs for poor people to pay for tax cuts for rich people," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wisconsin. Once those tax cuts are passed, Obey added, deficits will be increasing again.


So apparently the republicans are deciding to keep the Iraq war and the tax cuts, but get rid of the environment and education.

The above section is from this CNN article.

Google Advertising

"Improving ad quality improves Google's revenue," [Eric E. Schmidt] said in an interview at the company's headquarters, known as the Googleplex. "If we target the right ad to the right person at the right time and they click it, we win." -NYT article

Incredibly interesting article on NYTimes.com today about how Google is going to take over the world. Specifically it is about Google's unique and amazing advertising system might be applicable to alot more media over the next few years. The by far most interesting possibility is using Google's ad structure with digital cable boxes and on-demand TV. The Google system could use what you watch to determine what ads you see, making those ads more effective and more valuable to the client.

Google is taking over the world. Watch Epic 2015.

NBC Nightly News

So apparently NBC is going to start streaming its "Nightly News with Brian Williams" on MSNBC.com. The feed will be available at about 10pm ET, after the West Coast feeds and airings.

Way to go NBC News. Between this and Brian Williams's blog "The Daily Nightly," I am fairly impressed with what NBC News is doing in the new media field. I really like this move. I mean, honestly, I never watch the evening network news. I am usually busy at 6:30, but if I could watch it whenever I want I really think I would be more likely to view it. So who knows maybe they are picking up one viewer.

NBC Press Release

Ball State No. 6????

Ball State Football was number 6 on the top ten plays of the day on ESPN. That is crazy. Ted Ginn and OSU was number 9.

Ohhh...Snap pt. 2

Libby indicted. It isn't treason, so I guess we won't have to execute him. That's nice.

Law Dork Esq.

So my brother has realized a lifelong dream and went ahead and become a lawyer.

Way to go Attorney Chris Geidner.

Law Dork Esq.???

So my brother, Chris Geidner, The LawDork finds out tomorrow if he passed the bar and if he will be admitted into the Ohio Bar Association. It must be terrible, yet amazing to be only 12 hours from possibly realizing one of your lifelong dreams.

Good Luck and you deserve it Chris.

If you want to find out if he passed you can check here anytime after 7:00am (8:00am Indiana time).

Ooooh...Snap

Harriet Miers withdrawls her nomination for SCOTUS. Did President Bush just become a lame duck?

CNN.com

Goodnight and Good Luck

On Sunday afternoon, in Baltimore, I was able to go see "Goodnight and Good Luck." It was an incredibly well put to together, well shot movie. The use of archive footage was just amazing and I really hope McCarthy gets an Oscar nod for best supporting actor. But in all seriousness, I think George Clooney deserves a nod for best direction of a motion picture.

Also, way to go Edward R. Murrow and all journalists over the years who have fought the good fight for liberty and democracy.

Everybody is doing stuff

Washington Post announced a vodcost.
ABCNews.com offers free video.
Comedy Central is launching a broadband.
Warner Brothers is forming a digital unit.

These ones are all from LostRemote.com, but there are a lot of things going on.

Back in Indiana

So I flew back in to Indianapolis Airport last night. I looked out the window as we were landing and saw cornfields as far as my eyes could see. I cried a little bit...and not in a good way. Either way I am back up in Muncie, back to the daily grind with school and work.

MediaDork is back east...

It's good to be back to a place where all the TV is on at the right time and is airing live. I'll be back in Muncie on Tuesday.

MediaDork going east

So I am taking another trip, but this one is only a vacation. No school. No shooting. No grits. I'll be heading out east to Baltimore to see my Father for a few days and to head up to Washington D.C. to see a friend of mine. A good time should be had by all.

Ohh....Lost Remote coming through again

This is just a good article. It is another biting piece of sarcasm aimed at the state of broadcast news. This is all in response to "Goodnight and Good Luck." The new movie about Edward R. Murrow.

Google getting sued...again

The Google Print Project seems to be generating more controversy. Five major American publishers have come together to file a lawsuit against Google to get them to stop scanning copyrighted books. Google has said that it will not be making full texts of copyrighted material available. They will only be using the scanned pages to make searching more accurate. The publishers apparently don't think it will work that smoothly. Full Article.

Thanks for the pointer from Kevin.

PTC Family

The Parent Television Council released their list of best and worst shows for family viewing. FOX shows make up 60% of the worst list, which is headed up by "The War at Home," "The Family Guy" and "American Dad." The best list is headed up by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Three Wishes." The best part of the article, "the group couldn't even come up with 10 prime-time shows it would recommend for family viewing. Its list stops at nine."

Full Article

Apple

Apple can just not stop releasing things. It seems they have had announcements like every other day for the last three weeks. The good news is most of the Apple stuff I have is not outdated yet. Well I mean my iPod and iBook are, but my Power Mac and monitor are not, so rock and roll.

Murdoch is taking over...

Well first I am glad I don't use MySpace, being that it is a recent Rupert Murdoch purchase. Second, News Corp. is buying up way to much in the way of internet distribution systems. This is chronicled in a recent Fortune article.

Nightline

Nightline is actually going to a three-anchor format. Martin Bashir, Cynthia McFadden, and Terry Moran will all anchor the newly formatted Nightline, which will start airing on November 28. Kopple retires Nov. 21.

New JibJab.com Animation

JibJab.com most remembered for their satirical animations about the election have released a new animation about big box department stores and globalization. They actually aired the full thing on CNN before an interview with the JibJab founders. Which is crazy, because they don't give that much time to real news or to Lacy Peterson type stories.

Give Now. Give Often.

Ohhh...Muncie

It is Homecoming Weekend at Ball State and that means a number of things, such as the annual bed races. Today was the 25th annual bed races on Riverside Drive and there were about 35 teams that completed. The teams represented everything from fraternities and sororities to random on campus academic groups.

It was a beautiful day for bed races and the turnout was very impressive. I'd say most of the the 1/4 mile course was lined about 4 or 5 deep with students and on-lookers. We stuck around for about an hour, but I guess they'll be going on for hours until one champ is crowned.

For more info you can check out NewsLinkIndiana.com. They did a feature piece on the guy who has been firing the starting gun for the last 25 years.

Point - Counterpoint

Lost Remote has a couple decent articles looking at the iPod video. It is a point/counterpoint kind of thing between Steve and Cory, but I think they are asking the wrong questions and looking at the wrong thing. The importance in this first generation iPod video is its possible future implications. What is amazing about the original iPod is not the actual technical specs, it was its future implications. And although I agree with Steve to a point I think it will have lasting implications which will be important, such as the two main points of my two articles on the iPod video.

What's next...

Well as I had predicted a couple months ago, Apple released the iPod video and a new version of iTunes, with full video options, so then the question to ask is what's next? I got a few ideas.

The first and biggest is going to be the addition of Wi-Fi to the iPod video. The Wi-Fi enabled iPod video takes the whole idea of vodcasting and podcasting to the next level. I assume when they do it, it will include an RSS style auto-update feature, which will download new versions of any of the pod/vodcasts to which you subscribe. This auto-updating will happen anytime you walk into an open Wi-Fi area, such as say, San Francisco.

Here's how I picture this will work for me. I'll subscribe to the CNN Breaking News/Updates vodcast, maybe some other ones, but definitely that one. And say every half an hour or so, CNN will update their vodcast and if I am in a Wi-Fi area it will automatically get downloaded to my iPod, writing over the previous cast.

I think this will be huge and so convenient. I also think it will grab multiple demos, unlike the full show or music video model, which Apple is using as the jumping off point.

I also think the implications iTunes 6.0 will have on the market are huge. I have not downloaded anything yet, but a friend of mine downloaded an episode of Desperate Housewives and was impressed by the quality. He said in high-movement, high-action moments you could see a little pixelization, but that was it. So this leads me to think, why should I pay 12 bucks a month, or whatever I pay, for Tivo. I mean given, there are only a few shows available now, but that is going to end up expanding. So once there is more available I can just pay 2 bucks for commercial free shows, whenever I want them. I don't need to remember to have the Tivo record or anything.

There will still be more on this, but for now that is all I have.

iPod Review

Engadget reviews the new iPod video.

iTunes 6.0

As I had previously guessed along with the announcement of the release of the iPod video comes a new version of iTunes, iTunes 6.0. The impact this could have on television viewing patterns in amazing. You can now download a full episode of Desperate Housewives for only $1.99. Imagine what that will do...2 dollars is cheap and iTunes is easy. I have always said HBO shows do so well because you don't have to ever miss an episode, they air them like 6 or 8 times. Now you don't ever have to miss an episode of Desperate Housewives. You can go out on Sunday night and then come home and download it for just 2 dollars. That is huge.

There are only a few TV things up right now, but I think we are going to see a huge jump over the next couple of months. For example, anything that the nets are now Podcasting they can start putting up on iTunes. ABC News could put up ABC Nightly News and Nightline...leave the commercials in and make it free or take the commercials out and charge a buck. This is huge.

Michael Bloxham, of Ball State University's Center for Media Design, has predicted the world is turning into a world of 'screens.' No television. No computer. No separate entities, just 'screens' and iTunes video is helping that along. I have a 20' Apple Flat screen monitor and the Harmon Kardon Sound Sticks and I can tell you I would rather watch a DVD on that than my slightly older TV and DVD player. One single broadcast viewer is by no means worth two advertising dollars.

This has huge implications and I will have more later. Product placement. Overall TV viewing. Tivo sales and more.

iPod Video

Finally I was right. Apple announced the iPod video. More later.

MTVU in the News Again

MTVU has announced the creation of MTVU Uber, a broadband only channel, which will feature content from students across the country. "We are handing over an entire channel online to college students," says an mtvU rep.

Pointer from IWantMedia.com

Google Fixing, Taking Over World

Google has announced a new philanthropic operation, which will start with a one billion dollar endowment. It is thought that this move is in response to criticism that Google is getting too big and preparing to take over the world.

More Info:
Google.org
SF Gate Full Article
Epic 2015

PC World Writing about Epic

As I have mentioned many times before Epic 2015, the short animation by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson, is amazing and now others are starting to realize it. Epic 2015, which describes how Google is taking over the world, is written about today on PCWorld.com.

MTV Digital Incubator

MTV's university out-reach program, MTVU, is working together with Cisco to create 'Digital Incubators.' These ten $25,000 grants will support the creation of any type of content which can be broadcast via broadband. This includes online games, short films, and various other projects. Full Story.

Audiobook...

So I am trying my first audiobook. I decided that there are a number of books I would like to read, but either don't have the time to read them or don't want to commit the time to reading them, so I figured best alternative option...audiobooks. I am starting with Jon Stewart's "America: the audiobook," which obviously is based over his bestselling "America: the book." I am about 12 minutes into it and it seems to have kept my interest, but we'll see if it lasts.

300 Years

It could take 300 years to index all the world's information and make it searchable, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt predicted on Saturday at the Association of National Advertisers annual conference in Phoenix.

"We did a math exercise and the answer was 300 years," Schmidt said in response to an audience question asking for a projection of how long the company's mission will take. "The answer is it's going to be a very long time." -excerpt from CNet article

Google is clearly taking over the world. This is just propaganda to convince us it will takes them enough time that we don't have to worry about it.

Watch Epic 2015.

TV Guide

So apparently TV Guide is not really going to be a TV Guide anymore. As I Want Media is reporting the 52 year-old version of TV guide will be replaced by a "much-anticipated, full-size TV Guide, with fewer television listings and more photos and features on celebrities." That's right it is going to be full sized not digest guide and it is going to cut down on all that crazy TV guiding that it does.

Apple announcement

Apple is making another big announcement on Oct. 12 and yet again it looks like it is not going to be the Video iPod. Booo Apple. ThinkSecret.com is reporting that the announcement is going to involve new iPods and 4 new mac configurations. The new iPods are just going to be regular iPods with more storage and the new macs it sounds like they are going to be updated Powerbooks and PowerMacs.

10 Miles

Today I completed my first real distance run. I went 10 miles on the Cardinal Greenway in a time of about 1 hour and 22 minutes or so. The Cardinal Greenway is a beautiful running/biking trail that cuts through the center of Muncie and goes all the way across Delaware County. , which was funded by the Rails to Trails Conservation Project that started in the mid-90's.

New Nightline

So ABC News is revamping "Nightline" after Kopple steps down. They are going to a 2-anchor New York/Washington DC format. It is very obvious that this reworking is being done to try to attract a younger demographic. In a recent article Broadcast and Cable went as far as to saying, "ABC has made no secret of wanting to remake the show to draw younger viewers and mix up the story selection with more human interest pieces." I have absolutely no problem with ABC adjusting the show a little to appeal to a younger demographic, but as I member of the younger demographic I beg ABC not to dummy down the content.

We in the younger demo might have short attention spans and might not even be huge television news consumer, but more and more the nets and news organizations in general are going to be stuck with us and that doesn't mean they should stop producing high quality news. The web and twenty-four hour news channels are more and more becoming shallow places were celebrity gossip and over exaggerated news stories rule, but I am here saying there are still people who want to see real, relevant news. And even if there were not people who wanted to see it, it is the responsibility of the nets to act in the public interest, convenience and necessity and it is necessary that we receive good news coverage.

Daily Show

Apparently "The Daily Show" is going to start having bands. December 1st they will start with The White Stripes. I don't know I am fairly indifferent on it. I don't mind bands, but I just don't want it to take away from the show. For example, if Jon Stewart is still doing the Daily in 2008, I would much rather have all Indecision '08 and no band. On the other hand, if it is a slow news day I don't mind it.

West Wing Rocks

In continuing to be one of the greatest shows on TV NBC's "The West Wing" is rising above the rest by airing a live debate between Presidential candidates Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Senator Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). The debate will take place Nov. 6 at 8:00pm. NBC is also preparing to launch campaign sites for both Santos and Vinick.

Pointer from LostRemote.com

2 Anchor 'Nightline'

Apparently, ABC's 'Nightline' is going to a 2 anchor format in November after Ted Kopple retires. The new format is going to launch November 28. Full Broadcast and Cable article.

Life Skateboards

Well I started production on my second major work since I came out here. My first one for all of you who don't remember was going down south to cover a very small slice of the aftermath of Katrina. I have cut a one and half minute little sample piece for Ball State to use and now I am working on a long piece from the Katrina footage about the role of faith in times of tragedy. Anyways, today we started shooting just generic b-roll for a 15-20 minute piece on 'Life Skateboards,' a Christian skateshop and skatepark. We are honestly not sure exactly what the story will be, but it will generally focus around the juxtaposition of skateboard, a gritty, extreme sport, with Christianity, generally a very ritualistic and tranquil religion. Anyway as with any idea I post up here I would really appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Heifetz Leaving

Today is Terry Heifetz last day at NewsLink Indiana. Over that last three years Terry has lead the NewsLink operation as its News Director and will be sorely missed. He has accepted a position as Assistant News Director at WRTV 6, the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis.

Video iPod

Again people are talking about the possibility of a video iPod. Apperently Apple is making another big announcement on October 12th. Full Story.

Buying of News Illegal

"Federal auditors said on Friday that the Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party." -New York Times excerpt

Well it is great to hear that this kind of propaganda is illegal. So now what? As Dan Gilmore points out, "...which government official or officials will be charged with a crime? Who will go to trial?" And I agree with his answer...Nobody. Nobody will be held responsible for the blatant abuses of power by this administration.

Interesting article...

Mark Biello, a veteran CNN photog, apparently put down his camera a number of times during the Katrina aftermath to help save lives. This jumps into the awkward area of making not merely recording the news. And although I am not by any means saying what he did was wrong, I am saying that this a very awkward journalistic predicament...to save a life or record the facts. Full AP article.

Pointer by Lost Remote

Again I say...

Google is taking over the world, which is both the best and worst thing for civilization. Google is offering free Wi-Fi to the San Fran area. Full article here.

Sidenote: Watch Epic 2015.

Cultural Immersion

So as part of the Digital Storytelling Masters Program at Ball State University I need to do a cultural immersion. The requirement for this program is to emerge myself into a different culture for at least four-weeks. I have been slowly, but surely coming up with ideas. Basically I am looking for somewhere to go which is rather cheap, well because I am poor, and a place I might be able to pick-up some kind of side work. Here are a couple ideas:

1) Across America by Rails - For this I would jump on the Amtrak and ride, ride, ride. I would look at the cutural on the train and off the train.

2) Anchorage, Alaska - I think it would be a lot different up there then here in Muncie or over in Youngstown. They also have TV stations, so maybe I could pick-up some kind of vacation relief work or something.

3) London - You know...why not?

If you have any ideas, please get in touch with me. I am looking to go to any city for really any amount of time during next summer. Well I guess my time limits would be between mid-May and mid-August.

On The Media

NPR's 'On the Media' this week has a segment devoted to the Digital Middletown Study done by the Center for Media Design at Ball State University. The segment is with study co-author and Ball State telecommunications professor Bob Papper.

8 hours and 11 minutes

That is how long Nielsen says the average American watches TV. Here is the full article. Along with Neilsen's claims I think it is also important to look at Digital Middletown Study done by the Center for Media Design at Ball State University. This study looks at concurrent media usage. It basically says people don't just watch TV. They watch TV and use the internet or watch TV and talk on the phone. I think it is very interesting relevant research.

Tivo

We now have a working, connected Tivo in the house.

Some things...

As you could probably notice by my lack of blogging, I have been fairly busy with my first semester of grad school. I think I just got a little overwhelmed for a week or so, but anyway I think I'll be back to blogging regulary as of now. Anyways, here are the things that have been keeping me busy:

1) A quantitative and qualitative look at the emotional response from cellcasting news - This a survey/focus group comparative study on the emotional response people feel when they view news package on cell phones compared to regular television.

2) Looking towards 2008: New Media's effect on the political process - This is a paper where I'll be trying to predict the role of the Internet/New Media in the 2008 Presidential Election.

3) NewsLink Indiana - Again NewsLink is where I work as a graduate assistant.

Here are a few things I find cool:

1)Clinton Presidential Material Project - has working archive copies of all of the different versions of whitehouse.gov

2)Archive.org - This is just cool and I don't understand how it works. If you enter nearly any site into the way back machine you can see old index files dating back for a long time.

3)OpenSecrets.org - Cool site to find out where politicians are getting their campaign money.

4)Homework Express - The show that I co-creator during my undergrad finally launched its first full season the other day, so congrats to them.

Well I am out for now, but I should be back to blogging regularly now.

Fall 05 Ad Rates

LostRemote.com linked up this convent little table for the fall ad prices. The leaders of the pack are:

American Idol (Wed.) $705,000
American Idol (Tues) $660,000
Desperate Housewives $560,000

NYT journalist killed in Iraq

Fakher Haider, an Iraqi journalist working for the New York Times, was found hands bound and a bag over his head outside of Basra. Full Story.

AP Launches ASAP

ASAP is a new news service from the Associated Press, which is geared towards younger readers.

Ball State cleans-up

Congrats to Ball State University's Telecommunications program for winning 6 or 7* regional Emmys, including one professional, regional Emmy for Best Magazine Format show for "Connections Live."

Lost Remote

Lost Remote is at it again, they are talking about the Natalee Holloway with a uncommon amount of sensibility and reason.

Times Select...boooo

The New York Times' pay service starts next week. The pay section includes a number of extra features and stuff that will only available if you pay the fifty bucks a year. One thing included and only available by paying will be the New York Times Op-Eds. Booooo.

Anyone have an opinion

So for my creativity class, iCom 610, we have to do various creative projects. One of our many options was to create the concept for a new class for the Digital Storytelling Masters Program here at Ball State University. Here is my idea:

iCom 645: Storytelling for New Media News

Course Objectives
To examine the effects of the various new technologies, such as the Internet, interactive television, podcasting, cellcasting, etc., on how stories are being told in news media. To look at the classic styles and techniques used to tell effective news stories. To test and evaluate various forms of current new media influenced news storytelling techniques. To theorize on the future of current technologies and on the future innovations which will have an effect on news storytelling.

Course Overview
Since the dawn of the Internet, news media has been trying to adapt their message to the various new media. Currently, both television and print news organizations are trying to figure out how the Internet, blogs, podcasts and the other media can be used to both act as new revenue streams and as a way to promote and bring people back to their television newscast. The role new media plays in a broadcast news operation’s business model is not going to get smaller over the next decade…it is going to explode. Therefore it is imperative to understand how new media can be most effectively used to enhance news stories.

I think it is a pretty solid idea. As a matter of fact I would like to take that class. If anyone has any ideas or opinions that could make the class better let me know. Drop me a comment or an e-mail. If you actually are very interested I do have a full syllabus for this class created.

What I am up to

Well as I have mentioned, I am very busy right now, so I figured I would let everyone know what I am working on. Here is a brief rundown:

601 - Paper tentatively titled, "Looking towards 2008: New media's influence on the political process"

610 - First creative project - the creation of a new class for the iCom/Digital Storytelling program. The class is tentatively titled, "Storytelling for New Media News." - I am also brainstorming for my second creative project. I think I know what I am going to do, but for now I'll just keep that to myself.

623 - Brainstorming for documentary ideas and working on small intro assignments

690 - Creating a one and half and a five minute piece from the footage we collected in the South. Creating a research grant proposal for a study comparing the emotional impact viewers experience when watching television news packages on various media, including television and video-enabled cellular telephones.

So that is what I am doing and that's why I am busy.

What the CMD is up to

The Center for Media Design at Ball State University is one of the more innovative television research facilities around and they are currently working on a lot of very interesting things. Here are a few of them:

The Digital Middletown Study Part 2 - This is the follow-up study to the first project and will be released on September 26th at ad week in New York. In short, the study looks at media usage, but it concentrates on how people use multiple media at the same time. It is very interesting research and some of the numbers are just astonishing.

Eye Tracking for TV - This is by far one of the coolest things in the world. I mean seriously. We saw a short demo of this today and it is really just mind boggling where people look when viewing TV. Right now they are using the eye tracking stuff to look at the current trend of using "fly-ins" for promotions. (You know the logo/text things that fly-into the bottom corner of the screen and tell you Apprentice is on next) It looks at whether or not they are effective promotional devices.

They also have tons of other things going on at the CMD, such as web usability testing and just a countless number of other cool things. More importantly, it seems as though I can get involved in any or all of these different studies and pieces of research. I can also propose to use these facilities for my own research.

Day Four Final 2 of 2

So after we did some interviews and checked out the ABC News logistics center at the Marriott, we headed to a shelter in Baton Rouge. This was another shelter housed in an AME church. While we were there we talk to various people about their experiences. The people at these shelters seemed to be the people from the lowest socio-economic classes and they seemed to be the people who were the most unstable before the hurricane/flooding, let alone now. We also had a long sit-down interview with the pastor of the church.

It was very interesting to see how he saw it and what he was thinking. The Allen Chapel AME Church shelter was opened on Aug 30th, the day after the main landfall of Katrina. Rev. Washington said many things, but two things really struck me. At one point he said, "The upper beaucratic [system] is not doing what they are supposed to be for Louisiana" and at another point he said, "They believe in New Orleans. They're not grasping the magnitude of this...some haven't accepted the fact that they aren't going back. There ain't nothing to go back to."

The first comment was interesting to me, because he wasn't really talking about the short term initial response to the tragedy. He was talking about the long term things. The logistical support required to relocate a large percentage of one of America's major cities. He was talking about jobs support, apartments, getting kids registered for school. These are all problems that he, as a pastor, just doesn't know how to deal with. He knows how to preach to people. He knows out to counsel people, but he does not know the best resources for relocating to another city and there is no reason for him to know that.

The second comment made me realize a major problem cities in the south are going to be seeing over the next few months. Baton Rouge has gone from a population of about 350,000 to about 850,000 in a matter of a week. The economic system of the city can't match that kind of growth fast enough, but people don't want to leave because they believe in the New Orleans...they don't want to leave their home. They are thinking they can live in Baton Rouge for a month or so and then move back home. This is just not going to happen.

The interview with Rev. Washington was very informative, interesting and will be a major part of my story on Faith in Times of Crisis.

We then went to another AME shelter were the church group I was with was able to find a family interested in coming back with us to Indiana. After talking for a while with people from our group and amongst themselves, they decided to come back with us and relocate to Richmond, Indiana. It was interesting to see a family decide to completely move their whole lives in a matter of twenty minutes. It was crazy. Either way, the whole family, with their two kids came back with us.

After that, at about 11:00pm, we decided to head back to Jackson, Mississippi. We got back to the shelter, in Jackson, at about 2:00am, had some cold pizza and corn bread, and decided we might as well just get on the road right then. We ended up leaving at about 3:30am. We drove for about two and a half and then had car problems. We ended up pulling into Muncie at 10:45pm. It was a long day.

Digital transitions commercials

Does anyone know who is paying for the digital transition commercials? They seem to be running a lot on CNN, if you haven't seen them. It says paid for by the 700 mhz association or something.

Day Four Final 1 of 2

So day four..day four...what to say about day four. This not as easy to write a dispatch three days later, but here goes it.

So I woke up at about 9:30am and found out that the plan was to go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but there was no real mention of why. But at that point I had finally accepted the fact that I was at the will of the group and half of the group weren't journalists at all, so they weren't really interested in the storytelling aspect of the trip. Either way I figured what the hell, I've never been to Louisiana, so giddy-up.

We were apparently shooting to leave at about 11:00am, that didn't happen. The nice ladies at the church had decided to make a real good lunch, since it would be our groups last meal at the shelter, so we couldn't get on the road until after our specially prepared lunch. They said it would be like a half an hour or so, but like seemingly everything else in the south it took much longer than expected. We ended up leaving Jackson at about 2:30pm or so. But the food was great...fried chicken, chicken casserole, corn bread, green beans, caramel cake...it was good stuff.

Anyways, Baton Rouge is about two and a half or three hours away from Jackson, so we ended up pulling into the Baton Rouge Marriott at about 5:00pm or so. We only pulled in there to get directions to a persons house for a previously set-up interview, but it ended up being a lot more than that. The Marriott, like apparently every hotel in Baton Rouge, was being used to house some evacuees. But they were different evacuees than the ones we had been talking to all week. These were the middle/upper class evacuees and the juxtaposition of them to the lower/working class people we had seen at the shelters and at the Coliseum was astonishing.

These people were not concerned about what they were going to eat or where they were going to live or how they were going to get adequate health care for their kids. In most cases, these people weren't concerned about losing their house. They were most shattered because they lost family photos or heirlooms or special personal knick-knacks. I don't mean to talk down to this group or about this group, because I am that group, everything I own is insured and I have never worried about how I was going to eat or where I was going to live. But the juxtaposition of the thoughts of these different classes and groups made the upper class thoughts seem so frivolous and petty. It was very interesting to see and to compare.

Also while we were at the Marriott I went for a walk, following some guys who had media credentials, acting like I knew what I was doing. They lead me back to a large conference room, which was acting as the logistical center for ABC News for the whole Gulf Coast. That was pretty cool. That room was dealing with all the supplies (water, food, tapes, batteries, gas, etc.) for all the ABC News employees in the Gulf Coast. They were also equipped to do some light production work and they had a couple of sat trucks available.

Sunday was really a long day. In the second half of this post, the group will head to a couple of shelters in Baton Rouge, meet a family interested in coming back to Indiana, and start working our way back to Muncie, but for now I must get back to school work.

I'm busy

Unfortunately going out of town makes you busy when you come back. I am going to try to get some stuff done today and get back to blogging, but I need to get that done first...or I'll have to end up changing the header of my blog from Ball State Grad Student to former Ball State Grad Student. Anyways hopefully I'll get back to being the Media Dork this evening or tomorrow.

For now check this out:

Roberts answer questions about media access - MSNBC story

Finally back...

I am back in Muncie. I got back late. I have slept about two hours, since Sunday morning and I have to work tomorrow morning at NewsLink. Anyways, the Baton Rouge experience was amazing and the trip back was long, so please check back and expect a full forth day dispatch plus a conclusion/wrap-up from my trip to the South.

Day Four pt1

It looks like we are heading to Baton Rouge, LA today. I don't really know the purpose for this trip, but they told me that is where the van is going, so that is where I'm going to head. And I've never been to Louisiana before, so I guess I'll get to cross that off my list. 29 down 21 to go.

Day Three Final

Well day three is over and again I find myself exhausted. It really has been a long three days. To recap my earlier post, we woke up at about 8:30-9:00am loaded a semi full of various goods (water, clothes, food, etc.) and then went over to the Coliseum. At the mass shelter, housing three hundred or so people, we were able to set-up a camera and do some interviews. We did a number of interviews ranging from a guy who evacuated New Orleans to a set of teens volunteering their time helping with the kids in the shelter.

We came back to the AME shelter, we have been staying at, for lunch and to regroup. After lunch, we went to a ordination ceremony for elders in the AME church in Eastern Mississippi. It was very interesting for me...your average white guy from the north to find himself in a black church in the south. It was defended a situation I am not accustom to and so it was a learning experience for me. After the church service, we went back to the AME shelter and had the most impactful and interesting interview I have had yet.

The interview was with Cleveland, a man from Biloxi who has been staying at the Coliseum since last Tuesday. It ends up Cleveland will be heading back with us. He is relocating to Richmond, IN, which is offering free long term housing for people effected by the hurricane. It was just really interesting to talk to this man who has lost everything. He walked into the shelter at the Coliseum with seriously, just a fanny pack worth of stuff. And now he has decided to move to Richmond. He says he has a good feeling about it, but he also pointed out that really it can't get much worse. Either way over all he had a good attitude and was really amazed and effected by the out pouring of support.

We closed our day by doing an interview with our professor, who is also a Reverend in the AME church, so that worked pretty well for the story I am looking to tell. Faith in times of tragedy. Now I am going to sleep I'll try to go in to more detail about everything when I am not so tired.

Day Three pt1

So here is a brief rundown of what I have done with my day so far. First I woke up at about 8:30am and had breakfast at the shelter. Then we went across the street to some other relief organization that needed help loading a semi. I believe the semi was heading down to Gulfport, but I am not entirely sure. Then at about 11:00am, we went back over to the Coliseum where we were OKed to set-up a camera and get some interviews. I feel we got some solid interviews, both with survivors/evacuees and with volunteers donating their time at the shelter.

We now just got back to the AME shelter we are using as a home base and we are going to eat lunch. We brought Cleveland a man from New Orleans, who is staying at the Coliseum, back with us, so he can have a good hot meal. I am not sure what we are doing with our afternoon, but so far it has been a successful day.

Day Two Final

Well Day Two is finally over. Again it was a long day. It started at 4:00am, when I woke up and got ready to head to Baton Rouge, LA to meet up with a supply plane. Unfortunately, there was not enough room in the truck going to Baton Rouge to fit me, so I went back to sleep.

I woke up again at about 10:00am or so and we headed over to the Coliseum in Jackson, MS, which has been set-up as a mass shelter. The Coliseum is currently playing host to about 300 people, but at its max was sheltering over 1200 evacuees. Again, we were unable to bring cameras into the facility, due to the Red Cross privacy rules. We ended up volunteering at the shelter, doing various jobs. For the first number of hours I worked separating toys. As it can be imagined, people donate lots of toys, books, crayons and various other things for kids do, to the Red Cross. At some point those toys all need to be organized and put out, so the kids can find what they want. That was my job. As a side note, I think the whole South has enough crayons. Man, were there a lot of crayons.

But really there was a lot of everything. Walking around the building you saw semi, after semi of supplies being unloaded. Food, toys, clothing, medical supplies...everything. It is also amazing how much they have for the kids and parents to do. For example, tonight was movie night. Outside on a huge screen, they were showing children’s movie and passing out tons of free popcorn. All donated by a local movie rental chain. They also have a computer bank manned with people who are trained at helping evacuees to fill out the FEMA paperwork to apply for grants and low-interest loans. All of this was donated by AOL Broadband. Starting next Monday, they have a whole crew of people volunteering their time to tutor kids, to make sure they don't fall behind in their studies.

I think because of all this people seemed generally in a good mood. I mean don't get me wrong everyone wasn't walking around singing in sheer joy, but I really expected a lot more negativism, a lot more anger. The kids also amazed me. They all just seem amazingly happy. After we finished sorting the toys, we had a quick box lunch provided for us by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. While we were eating, we saw that there were people giving out stuff in the back parking lot of the Coliseum, so we walked back there to see what it was all about.

It was a group involving the supposedly famous Mississippi rapper David Banner and the magazine Juice. They had three truckloads of stuff that they were giving away. This ranged from nice new Nikes, donated by ludicrous, to baby food and medical supplies. We ended up interviewing the on-hand representative of David Banner and a woman who calls herself Juice who, you guessed it founded and runs Juice magazine. As much as I want to mock her name and all, I really must say they are doing some good stuff. Over the last week, they have raised over $261,000 and they are driving around to different shelters and hard hit neighborhoods and giving away supplies. It was two nice solid interviews.

After that we went back to work in the Coliseum. This time we were assigned to help and clean-up in the play area. It ended up just being playing with kids for hours. It was really fun and refreshing and interesting. It was interesting to hear what these kids were saying. If they really understood what was going? If they knew their family was hitting some if its hardest times? After we finished playing with kids, we saw a video crew talking to some people outside.

We talked to the videographer and finally found out who we needed to talk to and how we could go about getting some interviews. We talked to the man, Butch Harms, the shelter manager, and explained to him what we interested in doing and he set us up. So tomorrow it looks like we are going to head back to the Coliseum, were we will be getting to interview whoever is willing to be interviewed. I am really looking forward to this. All the conversation that I did have with people today, I had really wished I could have gotten them on film, so hopefully tomorrow I can.

Moving on, we then left the Coliseum and came back here to the AME Church shelter, where we had an impromptu kind of class with our professor talking about what we have done so far and what we are planning to do. I told her I plan on doing my story on faith in times of crisis. I think that is an interesting topic and can lead to many different things. We also hung out with the people here and picked up a crewmember.

Also we plan on heading somewhere down south again on Sunday. We are going to try to get together with a church that has lost their church and see if they are having any kind of non-traditional service. That is another reason I picked the above topic. I know I will have more than enough good video. Also we will tentatively be leaving here on Monday morning at 7:00am. Arriving back in Muncie at about 9:00 or 10:00pm. Give or take.

Day Two pt1

Heading to Baton Rouge, LA to meet with a supplies plane. Then I am not sure where does supplies will be distributed, but that is where I'll be headed.

Day One

Well day one is finally nearly over and it seems to have gone fairly well, all things considering. As previously noted we got a very late started and did not end up arriving in Jackson, Mississippi until around 9:45am. We then hung out for a while at the African Methodist Episcopal shelter in Jackon. We had some breakfast and then interview some of the residents. The woman that really struck me was one of the people that you here of on TV. A person who has truly lost everything, but she was OK with it. Her whole family had survived and that is all that mattered to her, "...everything else is just material." she said.

At about 11:30am or so, the trucks started arriving. Four in all. One semi and three large U-Haul style trucks. They were ended up being filled to the brim with supplies, everything from food and water to much needed medicine and baby formula. After helping load up the trucks we were off to Gulfport, MS, one of the worst hit cities.

It was insane, as far out as about 70-80 miles you started seeing the devastating effects of Katrina. It began with just a few blown over trees and a few signs knocked over, but then every mile it kept getting worse. We were able to get into to Gulfport and move around the city, but there seemed to be an impenetrable force field of military humvee's and national guardsman blocking the way to the actual gulf area. Either way it was amazing to see...to see the shear devastation a simple natural disaster can reap on an area it just mind boggling and we didn't even see the worst hit parts.

Other the brighter side of the news, the supplies that we brought down to Gulfport nearly filled the gymnasium of Gaston Point Elementary School. We ended up making it back to Jackson at about 11:00pm, eating, writing this and going to bed. I will be waking up at 4:00am to head to Baton Rouge, LA to meet a plane which is bringing in more supplies. As of yet the experience has been very interesting, the people I have met so far have all been inspirations.

Katrina's Aftermath: M.D. updates tonight

Media Dork, a.k.a Nick, has asked me to post this on his blog:
NIck arrived in Jackson, Mississippi early today, and has caught a bus heading to Gulfport, Mississippi. He has no internet connection at this time, but wanted to include this brief update on his blog. His first dispatch will be posted later tonight. His blogs will be posted on Media Dork, as well as Lost Remote and A13.
-Glenn Luther, American University Grad Student.

Leaving...

Well it looks like we are about to finally leave. As with any big trip such as this, we are running behind. But we should be hitting the road soon and heading down to Indy, where we will be picking up more supplies and a second van. That's the story as of so far.

Leaving Soon

Well we leave in about four hours. As far as I know I have everything I need...hours of tape, rolls of film, digital media cards, a change of clothes, my iBook, and a handful of reporters notebooks. Hopefully I'll be able to get media back here to Ball State to get distributed, but either way it looking like I should be able to blog at least a few times during the trip.

MediaDork going south pt. 2

Well, we are leaving from Muncie, Indiana tomorrow at about 12:30pm. We will be heading down to Indy to pick-up some extra supplies. Then we will be heading the rest of the way to Jackson, Mississippi, where we will be setting-up a base camp of sorts. We should arrive in Jackson at some time around 2 or so AM.

Thursday should be filled with interviews and setting-up the various trips our groups will be taking. My group is supposed to be going to New Orleans, we also have a group going down towards Biloxi, and another group will be staying up in Jackson. Of course this is all subject to change, but that is the plan.

I will be posting media to various sources through out this week. You can keep checking back here at MediaDork for the latest info, but I'll also be posting blogs at http://www.lostremote.com. My video clips will be going back to Ball State University for use by NewsLink Indiana, NewsLink @ 9, and any other source that wants to use it. We are also trying to set-up phoner interviews for me with WIPR, Muncie's public radio.

That is the plan as of now, but I am sure it will change.

MediaDork going south

I am going down to Jackson, Mississippi with part of my iCom 690 course and with the African Methodist Episcopal 8th District Relief Fund. We will all be heading down to Jackson and then spreading out from there with the relief group. I believe I and a couple other classmates and some relief workers will be heading down to New Orleans. I am planning on blogging as much as possible on this trip. Hopefully I will be able to tell the story as I see it to anyone who wants to read it.

I will be posting various things through out the day. Stay posted.

Apple Announcement

I don't know if I got something wrong or if they changed their original announce date, but as everybody knows Apple did not make any announcement yesterday, they are actually making it this Thursday. The current rumor is that the announcement is going to be iPod enabled phones (256 and 512mb) and new color iPod minis (4, 6, and 8gb). We'll find out Thursday.

My guess is still a video iPod and the rollout of iTunes 5.0 with video download options.

The Big 6

The big 6 nets, or the big 4 nets and then the other two, are planning on simulcasting a benefit show for hurricane relief this Friday.

Weather Service Warning

On Brian Williams's "Daily Nightly" blog he talks about the last National Weather Service warning he received on his Blackberry on Sunday night before Katrina hit. It is quite disturbing how accurate they were.

Here's the bulletin:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER.

AT LEAST HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED...ALL WINDOWS WILL BE BLOWN OUT.

THE VAST MAJORITY...OF TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

Apple announcement

Apple is supposed to make a huge announcement tomorrow. My guess is the release of the video pod and the release of iTunes 5.0, which will included a section for video download. But my guesses don't count for much so, we'll find out tomorrow.

Depressing story

As if all the other stories aren't depressing enough, this one I think is really bad. In the last number of days, according to a recent CNN.com article, at least two New Orleans police officers have committed suicide and many more,maybe hundreds, have not shown up to command centers. This is an incredibily depressing indicator of how bad it really has been on the ground over the last six or so days.

Times-Picayune editorial

Again I applaud the men and women of the Times-Picayune. If you have been following my blog or the real news, you probably know that the Times-Picayune is the newspaper in downtown New Orleans that had to evacuate their headquarters in the aftermath of the hurricane and flooding, yet still managed to keep publishing a least a web-based version of the paper. Their staff kept coming to work, kept covering the story and kept getting the news to the people who needed it.

With that in mind, the Sunday edition of the Times-Picayune has a very impressive editorial in the form of an open letter to the President. Its main theme is that New Orleans has been and continues to be accessible, unlike what FEMA and Homeland Sercurity have cited when talking about the delay response time.

"...there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.

Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning.

Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach." -excerpt from the Times-Picayune editorial

This editorial is a must read.

Helping Media Workers

The Poynter Institute has set-up a webpage for journalists to help journalist.

But I still want to know where I can donate money to the journalists who lost everything in the storm/flooding yet continued to show up at work and get the news out to the people.

2 Big Wins

One went the way I wanted...the other one...not so much. In case you didn't know, today was the first saturday of the college football season. Here's how the teams I follow fared:

OSU 34
Miami 14

BSU 0
Iowa 56

BSU Football

Not that we weren't screwed before, but this is really bad for the Iowa game,

"Thirteen Ball State players, more than half of them projected starters, were suspended for Saturday's season-opening game at No. 11 Iowa in a continuing investigation of NCAA violations." AP article on ESPN.com

[Update] Thanks for the pointer from Dave.

NBC special

NBC Hurricane Special...gets political and racial...example: "Bush doesn't care about black people"

[ed. note] I did not actually see this yet...I am in Muncie, Indiana, so we don't see it live. This was info from Glenn Luther, a journalism grad student, at American University. But it will be interesting if it airs in my version.

[update] The show just started here...check Lost Remote for a full recount of the events.

[update] I am fairly OK, well I'm not OK with Faith Hill voicing a news-style package, but I will begrudgingly accept it. But putting up a super that says, "Reported by Faith Hill" that is just crap. Come on.

[update] So here is how they dealth with it in Indianapolis...On WTHR-13, Indy, they just went to a live local news cut-in kind of thing. It was pretty impressive if they put it together in only hour. It involved two anchors at the desk, a customized open and a sat-live from a 13 reporter in Blioxi.

[update] No nevermind they aired it. I was confused with when it was in the show with the above update. It aired full. "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

[update] You can find the clip here http://www.pixelmd.com/kanye.html

President

Where is the President or anyone from the White House? This has been mind boggling to me. For a President, who amazingly guided America through the dark days after 9/11, we are seeing a very disappointing White House presence. At no point during this clearly immense national tragedy has the President made a national primetime press conference. Our country needs guidance and it is about time the President of our great country leads us and guide us through our current dark days.

[Update] President Bush kills twenty minutes getting a faux-briefing about the hurricane damage from the republican governors, then admits the relief effort isn't going great. Luckily he finally decided to do that on Friday.

NAB Fundraising

The National Association of Broadcasters has started a drive to raise 100 million dollars for hurricane relief and although I completely and unequivocally agree with their effort and idea, I think some of the money should be earmarked for the various media workers who were not only greatly effected by this, losing their house and the like, but many of them were also showing up to work to get the much needed news out to the people. Either way, this is a good program and should be supported and the NAB should be applauded for starting the ball rolling by donating one million dollars. Now the ball is in the court of every local TV and radio station to raise the other 99 million dollars.

NAB Press Release

NewsLink Indiana

NewsLink Indiana, Ball State University's fully converged newsroom, is back. Right now the briefs are only up on the web, but starting Tuesday briefs will start being available on WIPB, WIPR, on the web and through the Ball State Daily News.

NewsLink Indiana is an innovative program, which covers an eight county area in East Central Indiana. NLI and many other programs at Ball State were created by a $20 million dollar grant from the Lilly Foundation. NLI is also were I serve as a Graduate Assistant.

Anderson Cooper

I have been watching Anderson Cooper 360 and it seems that he is close to breaking down. Multiple times in the broadcast it sounded like he was getting choked up and getting really effected by the lack of help as of yet. During an interview with one of Louisiana's senators he just seem pissed with the lack of preplanning for a natural disaster such as this. It has been interesting. I do not mean this post to sound negative towards Anderson Cooper at all. I think he is an amazing reporter and journalist and I think he has the right to be effected by this. I mean he has been there doing this, dealing with the same problems as the survivors for the last four days, so it is understandable that he is getting effect.

Sat Image of New Orleans

Satalite images of New Orleans before and after Katrina.

(Pointers from Lost Remote)

Message from Times-Picayune Managing Editor Peter Kovacs

"The Times-Picayune has lost contact with Leslie Williams, a reporter who was to cover the hurricane on the Mississippi Coast. Because our phones failed in New Orleans, we were unable to communicate with Leslie and he may not know that we are in Baton Rouge at LSU. If anyone ran across Leslie, please contact me at 225-578-9880. My cellphone is 504-352-5550 but it is still balky. My email is kovacs70003@yahoo.com. Leslie is experienced at covering hurricanes and is a native of the Mississippi coast. His mother still lives there and he sometimes stays with her."

[ed. note: Full text straight from Romenesko.]

Liberty Corp.

Liberty Corp has not only covered the hurricane, but they felt it personally, as they continued to bring the news to the people who need it.

"Ten Liberty staffers lost everything in the storm, including their homes, said Fritts, and yet they continued to come to work to get information out to the community, he said with obvious pride. Among Liberty’s stations is WLOX Biloxi, Miss., which was virtually ground zero for the hurricane’s fury."

Full Broadcast and Cable article.

Interactive Map

MSNBC.com has a pretty cool interactive map up. This kind of stuff is where I think web based news is going.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Times-Picayune produced an online only edition for today. This is due to multiple reasons: 1) No means of production. 2) No means of distribution.

WLOX Biloxi

WLOX, in Biloxi, is still broadcasting from their horribly damaged building. From their website,

While the station sustained heavy damage during the storm, they continued to broadcast and are continuing to broadcast at this time. They are also simulcasting through several radio stations in the market.

Many WLOX employees have lost homes or their homes have suffered heavy damage.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

The role of the journalist

I would like to start by saying that the amazing journalists, photographers, producers and other crew bringing us the news over the last number of days are true heros. The risks these people take to bring us the news is amazing. CNN's Gary Tuckman and Anderson Cooper are perfect examples of this. Both are at the point in their careers where they could easily stay in a New York studio and report from the warmth and comfort of Times Square, but instead they are risking their lives to bring us the news. Gary Tuckman and his crew's truck was totaled after it was hit by flying debris...while they were all in it. Another CNN photographer has been working for the last two days...shooting with a broken foot. These are just a few examples of what these people, these great journalists are doing to bring us the news.

As a self-proclaimed, media critic I pick on the media quite a bit. I pick on the journalists who front these networks and I question the legitimacy of everything they do. I constantly look for slant, bias and ulterior motives, but it is times like these, times of natural disasters, where I truly appreciate the role of the journalist in American society.

We can have blogs, citizen journalists, media explosion on top of media explosion, but when it comes down to it, when the cards are down and we want and need information, we will turn to these brave heros, risking their lives to bring us the news.

Word on the Street

So the word on the street is CNN is cutting "People in the News" and is going to be replacing it with more real documentaries. So hopefully that is true.

Hmmm....

I honestly don't know which is the worse fate...

Hi-Def Dave

Starting tonight, Letterman is broadcasting in Hi-Def. [Sidenote: Every morning I go into work, I pass the David Letterman plaque in the Ball Communication Building] According to Letterman, 1 in 500,000 have Hi-Def.

Video iPod???

Could it be Monday? Apple has said they will make a huge announcement next Monday. The invitation to the media reads as so:

"1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything,
Here we go again."

I must say I am really excited to find out what it is. I am actually to the point, that if it is just the video iPod I will be disappointed. As I have said before I am not really a big fan of the video iPod.

Here is a previous post of mine, which lays out my thoughts on the video iPod.

Also here is the full article about the Monday announcement.

Gen Y employees

Poynter has a very interesting centerpiece article today, entitled "Boomer Bosses, Meet Your New Employees". It is a fairly, well done article, that I tend to agree with, especially considering I am from Gen Y and I left the newsroom to go back to academia.

So far...

So far, as of yet, I guess I am just wrong. It doesn't seem that the cable networks are using citizen journalist as much as I thought they would. But we'll see there is still the aftermath and clean-up.

The President on The President

'President' Bartlett, or Martin Sheen, was protesting at Crawford on Saturday. Hell, what can I say I think I would have picked Bartlett over Gore or Kerry. Seriously. Anyway this is a fun little story.

Amazing

It is amazing how the coverage of this hurricane is different than any other one I have seen. I mean the cable news nets are not really using many journalists on the ground. I think everyone is really accepting that this coming to be pretty bad and they seem to be doing the responsible thing and pulling reporters out.

It is also amazing how many TV stations have been evacuated. Lost Remote has a fairly good list of stations that are evacuating.

Citizen Journalism

I think over the next number of hours we will see the largest movement of citizen journalism is the history of media. There will be, by my predictions, more pictures submitted by citizens and used by the major media, than by professional photojournalist. This hurricane, since it is almost a planned news event, will be an amazing model and case study for citizen journalism. Some of the questions we must look at are as follows:

1) Are the media using any discretion when purchasing the pictures? For example, if someone is putting themselves clearly in harms way are they still going to buy the pics?

2) Are they buying the pics at all or are they just letting people volunteer them up for free?

3) At what point does citizen journalism stop and journalism start? Will they, the nets, use text, video and photos from CJ's or are they just going to accept pics?

4) Can CJ coverage be used outside of tradgic events?

5) How do we prevent a national paparazzi or a citizen journalist mob mentality?

There are tons of other questions that must be asked and we must look at, but those are some of the ones we must look at right now. Citizen Journalism is something we, as the media (or I guess I am really just a media critic now), are going to have to deal with over the next number of years. We are going to have to find out how citizen's response to news and citizen's content can be meshed with our current media structure.

The public's information and thoughts are going to be used more and more as we go forward in this media explosion. Blogs, photos, video, first-hand accounts...all are going to have their place, but we have to figure out what that place is. The public is not held to the stringent standards in which the journalist is bound, so we must understand question 3. There must be a solid, clear dividing line between man-on-the-street content and the content of trained journalists.

WBAL New Site

So WBAL, in Baltimore, got a new website and I think I like it. It uses video well and has all the essential things right out front. You can the news, the TV schedule, a little weather thing and video choices all on the front page. Check it out. See what you think, but I think it is a step in the right direction.

Lost Remote

If you don't check out Lost Remote you should start. As they have for the last couple months, today they again use biting sarcasm to critize the media's coverage of the Halloway story. Here's the headline:

"Natalee: extended for fall season"

Good stuff.

CNN today

It is amazing. If you've been watching CNN today you have seen an unprecedented call for viewer submissions. I think it is interesting, they are openly and constantly saying things like, "We want to see your hurricane Katrina pictures and video. Send them to us." Is this the form 'citizen journalism' is going to end up taking? Something to think about.

So good, yet so bad....

This is the e-mail I just recieved from my roommate, a journalism grad student.

AP NEWS ALERT... Muncie, Indiana... The bees have made a major move on the Apt. 31 front. Early this morning, they were found slowly and casually entering the interior of the famous home of the new G5 PowerMac.

Only a few bees were spotted on the inside, General Adam Maksl said. However, after careful surveillance of the exterior of the window, General Maksl said more bees were coming from a small hole in the bottom-left corner of the window frame.

"Those bees are pretty sneaky," Maksl said. "We block one major point of entry and they find another."

Those in Apt. 31 have a plan. Maksl said he ordered the Apartment Office to send the 158th Tactical Extermination Unit to find and eliminate the bees.

"We will fight and we will win. We have not lost our resolve."

Man is that good...well except for the fact that bees are overrunning my apartment. That, on the other hand, is bad.

ICom 690

So I picked up a class, ICom 690. It is a directed study class and we are looking at storytelling for alternative distribution platforms. This includes various different media, but it looks like we are going to be focusing on DVD, podcasting, and cell casting video stories. We are trying to do this in connection with some new Microsoft software, should be pretty cool.

The other thing I found very interesting about this class was I was the only American student in the class. I found this mind boggling, considering I'm in Muncie, Indiana. Hell, they put the mid in MidWest. Anyway, the class is composed of two men, one German and then me, and three women, one from France, one New Zealand and one from the United Arab Emirates.

One week into a two-year program, I am already amazingly impressed by this university and the education, be it classroom or cultural I'll will receive.

The Daily Nightly

There is an interesting article in today's NYT about "The Daily Nightly," Brian William's blog. I honestly hadn't been checking his blog, but it sounds interesting. Here is a sample from the Times article:

"On June 23 at 4:09 p.m., for example, under the heading "Debating the Rundown," Mr. Williams wrote: "During our editorial meeting (which I will politely call a boisterous and vigorous exchange of views between colleagues) we debated the competing merits of our two lead story candidates: the changing administration position on the insurgency in Iraq, and today's Supreme Court decision on private property.

"Mr. Williams then identified particular colleagues by name, and the positions they staked out. The reader was left with a cliffhanger, the matter unresolved. Only at 6:23 p.m., seven minutes before he went on the air, did Mr. Williams take to his blog to write, 'And the lead is ... the Supreme Court decision.'"

It sounds interesting. I might start checking it out. I do have some issues with a main anchor running a blog, but by what the Times says he is careful not to cross the line. Full Article.

Boo GoogleTalk

So Google did release GoogleTalk this morning. You can get to it by going to the gmail frontpage, then going to the 'New Features' section. Two problems: 1) You have to have a Gmail account. I don't mind that, but some people don't want gmail. 2) They haven't released a mac version yet. That is just silly. Come on Google.

Hunter's goodbye party

There is an interesting article by Jon Friedman, on MarketWatch, talking about Hunter S. Thompson extravagant memorial last weekend. He basically says that it was overly grandiose and over covered by the media. Here's a line:

"It's hard to equate the grotesque farewell to Thompson -- a media spectacle so grandiose, scripted and bloated that could match any political convention -- to the best of his writing in Rolling Stone."

It's a good read.

Run Tim Run.

There has been various rumors over the last couple of months about Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), from Youngstown, making a run for US Senate against the incumbent Senator Mike Dewine (R-OH) in '06. I just wanted to let it known now that Media Dork would be a big supporter of the Ryan for Senate campaign. I only wish I was going to be in Ohio more over the next two years, so I could directly help the campaign.

I will admit Ryan does have flaws, he has many, but I believe he is a positive person who is willing to look at opposing viewpoints and question his own beliefs. He is a person who believes in and benefits from the great debate. He also has, over his few years in Congress, involved himself with many very beneficial and positive bills and committees. In short, Media Dork will be supporting the inevitable Senate run of Tim Ryan. Be it in '06 or '08, I am sure Tim will eventually run.

YSU Strikes

Two unions, the faculty and services unions, are both currently striking at Youngstown State University, my undergrad institution. WYTV.com story.

GoogleTalk

GoogleTalk is coming. According to a LA Times article, Google will be launching instant messaging software as soon as Wednesday. Google is taking over the world. Watch Epic 2015.

A few things to start you morning

First, I took the shuttle over to campus this morning, which gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a Podcast. I have subscribed to "On The Media" for maybe two months now and this is the first time I have been in a situation where I said to myself, "Self, you could use to listen to some talk radio." So I guess, as much as I've been saying Podcasting isn't going to last, I also find myself trying it out. But to me it is still just talk radio.

But here are some other things to enjoy this morning:

HappyNews.com - maybe it is not journalisticly ethical or anything like that, but it is: Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive. (This site was mentioned on "On The Media")

Also for any Ball State Student or anyone who likes thinks that are fun, here is the new Ball State Fight Song video. This was created by recent Ball State grad and Oscar award winning director Jaron Henrie-McCrea. It is good fun and it was shot all HD, so it is technically impressive too.

Insanity in the name of security

"Somewhere along the way, in the process of trying to develop a foolproof system of protecting itself against genuine threats, the US has lost the ability to distinguish between friend and foe. The price this powerful country is paying for living in fear is the price of its civil liberties."

The above is a line from an amazingly interesting article in the London Guardian. The article is the first hand experience of Elena Lappin as she tried to enter America as a journalist.

New Yorker-Target pt. 2

MarketWatch has a commentary piece today, in which Jon Friedman defends and even praises the New Yorker for their August 22nd issue, which Target was the sole-sponsor.

WP blog article

There is just a fun little article in today's Washington Post about the addictive nature of blogging and just the blog culture. It is a light, fun read.

Hunter may rest in peace

On Saturday, the ashes of the famous gonzo-journalist, Hunter S. Thompson, were shot out of a huge cannon in Woody Creek, Colorado. I would comment more, being that I am a huge Thompson fan, but instead I am going to go to sleep. Here is the full CNN story.

Must see

Any person who is at all interested in news or more specifically the current state of news needs to see this week's Dilbert. It is great.

Citizen "Journalists"

Broadcast and Cable has pretty good article highlighting the current happenings in the citizen journalist movement. Keep checking back sometime this week I am going to posting my feelings on citizen journalists and video journalists.