Here are some media stories of note for the weekend of December 21-22, 2013:
All week the Nieman Journalism Lab has been running a series of predictions for 2014. Some have been fascinating, some in themselves predictable, and some just a little aspirational.
Henry Blodget suggests 2014 will be the year that, finally, we appreciate the differences of digital journalism and stop fighting or criticizing them. Staci Kramer, meanwhile, thinks the year ahead will spur a realization that there is firepower to throw at problems and that we will better connect than ever.
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For years many have been pushing media to restrain themselves from publishing the names of violent perpetrators, in particular the gunmen responsible for mass shootings in such places as Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. They view the attention on the shooters as disproportionate and a further injustice to the victims. Now a victim's mother in the Colorado theatre shooting has formally asked media to focus on her son, not on the man who killed him. Al Tompkins, writing for Poynter, has a sensitive and thorough examination of the issue and prescribes some harm-minimization ideas for media as they navigate this delicate matter.
Freepress notes the passing of the final black-owned full-power television stations in America. Consolidation of the industry and some financial challenges coupled to either take control or shutter the few remaining such stations.
All week the Nieman Journalism Lab has been running a series of predictions for 2014. Some have been fascinating, some in themselves predictable, and some just a little aspirational.
Henry Blodget suggests 2014 will be the year that, finally, we appreciate the differences of digital journalism and stop fighting or criticizing them. Staci Kramer, meanwhile, thinks the year ahead will spur a realization that there is firepower to throw at problems and that we will better connect than ever.
--
For years many have been pushing media to restrain themselves from publishing the names of violent perpetrators, in particular the gunmen responsible for mass shootings in such places as Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. They view the attention on the shooters as disproportionate and a further injustice to the victims. Now a victim's mother in the Colorado theatre shooting has formally asked media to focus on her son, not on the man who killed him. Al Tompkins, writing for Poynter, has a sensitive and thorough examination of the issue and prescribes some harm-minimization ideas for media as they navigate this delicate matter.
Freepress notes the passing of the final black-owned full-power television stations in America. Consolidation of the industry and some financial challenges coupled to either take control or shutter the few remaining such stations.
