Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, June 12, 2013:

The Greek national government abruptly closed the state broadcaster overnight Tuesday, citing the need for public spending cuts to deal with its economic challenges. But the ERT network, also known as Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., stayed on the air via the Internet and has been streaming its content in the absence of a restoration of its broadcast signal. Thousands are protesting the government move outside the network's headquarters.

The annual Oriella Digital Journalism Study has been released. It canvasses 845 journalists in 15 countries. Its findings suggest a digital-first approach has become the new normal. AdWeek reports that outside of North America and Russia, print was still considered more prestigious. Most recognize that online does not produce profits of the same magnitude as print media.  One-third of those surveyed liked their jobs more than they did a year ago. And academics and experts are considered the most trustworthy sources of content.

New consumer research suggests a growing number of millennials are prepared to have broadband-only video consumption. MediaPost reports the study by the Pivot cable network, in advance of its launch online, also suggests strong interest in broadband offerings of traditional broadcasting. Those findings pose potentially serious consequences for cable and satellite firms and conventional TV ownership.




 
 
Media stories of note for Wednesday, April 4, 2013:

Matthew Ingram, writing for paidContent, examines the effort by the new owners of the Orange County Register --- owners with no media experience --- to rebuild the newspaper and online site. They have invested millions of dollars in content and in gestures to make the operations subscriber-first, rather than advertiser-first, entities. 

Ben Elowitz, the CEO and co-founder of Wetpaint, writes for AllThingsDigital that it is important for media companies to understand the principles of programming. Not computer programming, but broadcast programming, and how there is a time to deliver particular content to particular audiences. He argues that sites would be much more successful if they understood that timing is everything. 

The Associated Press has altered its Stylebook to remove the term "illegal immigrant," a move that has implications for the language media use to describe those living without legal permission in the country. It has transferred the concept to the action from the person. Thus there is "illegal immigration" and people living illegally in the country. Poynter examines the implication of this seemingly subtle move.

 
 

I have to admit I write like a print journalist. I have been able at times to write like a broadcast journalist. But I have not mastered writing like a Web journalist, mainly because I've not seen enough information to guide me on my craft.
Now I have the guide. The Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen, in his latest Alertbox column, has outlined the techniques. He's given a very good example of something that doesn't work from nytimes.com as a way to guide us on what works.
Essentially his message boils down to:
- Non linear instead of linear.
- Reader-driven instead of author-driven.
- Ruthless pursuit of actionable content instead of storytelling.
- Comprehensive data instead of anecdotal evidence.
- Fragments instead of sentences.
Nielsen cites examples of how to frame sentences for the best Web audience acceptance, and his column is hugely helpful.
Nielsen isn't snobbish about linear, author-driven writing. He just thinks the deep learning concept belongs in books and in print, and that the Web isn't optimal for that experience. In conventional media, the experience is created for you; in digital, you create the experience.

 

DA25E68FDEC14EAFA7B2A27D26C48058