Without A Net

The New Media team's look at news, journalism, pop culture, and everything else that interests us personally and professionally.

<<March 2010 
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031   
Entries from February 3, 2010
Whistling past the graveyard

Feb. 3, 2010|Julio Morales|0 comments

When I graduated from college nearly two years ago I couldn't have imagined that one day I'd be working as a Web producer, much less at a radio station. I simply wanted to write.

While that desire still exists within me, the landscape of the news media has changed quite dramatically during my foray into the industry. So while I scramble to keep abreast of how technical advancements are driving the way news is broadcast and published, there's also not much comfort in knowing many editors, producers and publishers are playing catch-up, too.

A rather novel proposal to start charging visitors to The New York Times Web site is seen as a "gamble" by some. View a video of what some people think of paywalls, some of which I can relate to:

Another proposed solution comes from the two co-authors of a recently released book, "The Death and Life of American Journalism."

The title alone is hardly inspirational, and the authors' proposition that $30 billion in subsidies be used to keep journalism afloat in the digital age also seems to have found its detractors, including one book reviewer who summarizes the authors' proposal as "an interesting set of dreams."

My opinion? There's no end to what people will do to get at the Truth. Yes, even pay good money. Upstarts such as ProPublica are just one example of how a discerning demand for content can be met.

Interestingly, in my newfound role here at KPCC there is a chance for me to witness one of the industry's more personal and intimate pleas to help keep journalism alive: the ubiquitous pledge drive!

An American Question Time

Feb. 3, 2010|Mike Roe|1 comment

People were taken aback by President Obama's question and answer session with House Republicans last Friday. It was a serious discussion of the issues facing the nation, carried live on several cable networks, which seemed to go beyond what we usually see in public politics. You can view the 20 minute address by Obama and the hour of Q & A that followed here:

Obama took questions from members of his own party this week in a public session with Senate Democrats:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A group has come together demanding that something like the House Republican question and answer session become a regular thing. Demand Question Time, a group describing themselves as "an ad-hoc cross-partisan group of activists, writers, bloggers, journalists, technologists, philanthropists and politicos," has set up a Web site with a petition stating their demand, as well as a list of high profile supporters. The group's steering committee ranges from blogger Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds on the right to Mother Jones' David Corn.

The idea comes from the United Kingdom's Question Time, where government ministers, including the prime minister, answer questions from parliament. Other prominent supporters include the Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, Daily Kos's Markos Moulitsas, former Bush media advisor Mark McKinnon, and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark.

It's an intriguing proposition. It seems an even bolder proposition than the British version of Question Time, as there still seems to be a bit more political posturing, jokey soundbites and yelling in that setting. The session Obama held with House Republicans, on the other hand, was a largely dignified affair with serious back and forth between Obama and the Republican congressmen.

Whether that air of collegiality could be preserved on a regular basis, or even if this was done again, is a concern I don't think has been adequately addressed in this proposal. Still, as a journalist, I'm interested in anything with the potential to better inform the public.

• YouTube: President Obama Takes Questions at GOP House Issues Conference
• MSNBC video: Obama takes questions from Senate Democrats
• Demand Question Time