The Re-Branding of Katie Couric?

Up All Night with the Associated Press

New York Times article about how the A.P. will be reworking itself into the 24-hour news cycle.

MediaBistro.com

Don't know if anyone is familiar with this site, but I haven't heard anyone mention it yet. Media-related news, job postings, online classes, events, and other helpful things. You can also sign up for their Daily Media Newsfeed, whiich is great for staying on top of what happening in this rapidly changing industry.

Just in time for the holidays

Go elf yourself!!

I'm very impressed by the use of Flash on this Web site. The choreographed dance at the end is the best.

Charlie Rose October: Everyone agrees, Iran has no nuclear weapn.

When ElBaradei, the director-general of the IAEA, was on the Charlie Rose program in October, he said Iran does not have a nuclear weapon so there is no reason to speak of force.

Proof: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-rose/mohamed-elbaradei-in-octo_b_75485.html

The biggest weaknesses of news sites

Jon Friedman of Marketwatch recently released a list of what he felt was the biggest weaknesses of news websites. He focussed on the layout, the staffing, and other issues that are facing media companies as they look to create a presence for themselves on the internet.

The New Guy

I recently had the opportunity to interview soon to be ASU Professor Dan Gillmor for a class assignment. Here are some of the unique qualities about this world-famous blogster news man:

Before entering journalism, Mr. Gillmor was a professional musician.
At one time or another I sang and played clarinet, sax, guitar, banjo and piano -- but I haven't touched anything but guitar and piano in a long time. Guitar and voice were my primary instruments in our band, which did
everything from early jazz to rock to country to whatever we felt like (we wrote much of our own material).

One of Mr. Gillmor's best qualities is his willingness to take risks. When asked how he will encourage his students to do the same, he replied:
One way we'll encourage this is to give good grades to students whose projects fail, provided they work hard on their ideas and planning. Venture capitalists often fund people whose previous companies have failed, on the principle that the people have learned an enormous amount from what went wrong.

And his ideal student:
How many adjectives do we have room for? Top of the list: inquisitive,
hard-working, adventurous, honorable.

Um....yeah

Reserve a spot in heaven! This really has no educational value. It's just insanely weird...

Moon Photo Retouched

Remember that article we read in class about NASA asking amateur star seekers to watch for a meteor because their labs can't cover the immense amount of sky? Here's another example of amateurs and obsession put to good use. Posting information on the internet is opening yourself up to thousands of fact checkers. Here's a story of an amateur who could potentially embarass an entire country.

Internet Disturbances

How the internet and techonology continues to mystify and terrify me....I know this is nothing new. In fact, I would hope they would have something like this. But the practice of running prank names to alleviate bordeom? Another example technology turning up in the wrong hands.

T Magazine

NYTimes.com has launched its latest endeavor, T Magazine, a luxury style online magazine. From what I've read, T is getting mixed reviews from the media. Some are applauding its use of Flash, others say it has chosen style over substance.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Can flashy graphics make up for poor editorial content?

NFL.com Streams Packers-Cowboys Game

It was one of the most anticipated football games of the year, and hardly anyone got to see it. The Packers-Cowboys game was aired on the NFL Network, a channel that only 1/4 of American households receive. Due to an impasse in negotiations with most major cable carrier, the NFL Network is not offered to many people, shutting out the majority of fans for the dozen or so games that are to be shown on the network in December. The game was to have live look-ins on NFL.com, but the League decided to simulcast nearly the whole game, possibly succumbing to the pressure of the fans.

It is a shame that the greed of NFL owners and the major cable companies is preventing people from enjoying one of their favorite pastimes. At least some people were patient enough to sit through the web simulcast.

TeleFlip

Are you a mobile journalist with a budget? Do you need to send/receive emails from your cell phone, but don't want to fork out the money for a data plan or an expensive BlackBerry?

TeleFlip is a service that allows you to get your email on your phone via text message. Your phone doesn't even need an internet plan, you don't have to download any applications, no smart phone required. You can receive and reply to email with your phone.

Additionally, an older TeleFlip's service allows you to send an email to anyone, by simply sending an email to [yourfriendsmobile#]@teleflip.com

... the only thing you might need is a calling plan with unlimited text messaging. This is far cheaper than the data plans the cell phone companies offer.

Screenwriter's Strike-Super Funny!

This is a pretty funny video on the "repercussions" of the strike. Thought you might need a laugh during this high-stress time in the semester. Enjoy!

DNA Testing and Prison

I can't remember, but thought we talked about this in class. The New York Times has a great multimedia feature about how DNA has played a role in freeing those that have been wrongly-convicted of crimes.

On the site there are photos, audio interviews of those that have been freed and what it is like now that they are out of prison. At the bottom their is a soundslide of one man's experience. It is very heart-wrenching hearing these stories.

You catch the YouTube Debate?

Professor Schwalbe reports: "Two videos that Advanced Online Media students submitted for the YouTube/CNN Republican debate tonight appeared in a washingtonpost.com article. Check out the second and third entries at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channel-08/2007/11/preview_cnnyoutube_gop_debate3.html (The “nameless poster” is Tiffany Tcheng, whose name appears at the beginning of the video.)For a while, Alex Dowd’s video was one of the “Featured Videos selected by YouTube Editors” in the News & Politics section." I didn't catch the whole show. Any of your videos make it?

Cost of Christmas on the Rise

Thought this was a unique way to look at inflation and how the cost of the holidays is on the rise :) Enjoy.

Grey Blackwell, Web cartoonist

Blackwell, who is with the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., and one of the groundbreaking online cartoonists, writes: "Are you a fan of the Saturday Night Live 'More Cowbell' sketch with Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken? Then you'll appreciate my 'tribute' entitled 'Butch Davis Needs More Victory Bell.' ... For those of you unfamiliar with the story of the Victory Bell, it's a brass bell that goes to the winner of the UNC-Duke football game each year. Since Duke hardly ever wins, UNC has made it a part of their games, ringing it after each victory. If you'd like to see the original SNL skit, you can find it here."

Meow....

Bad Kittycat

Add to My Profile | More Videos
One of the benefits of knowing a little html is that you can go into the code and change the title, which was a bit more provocative than I wanted to post here. The contents are perfectly G-rated. Can't vouch for the videos that are promoted when it finishes, though. :-)

Week in Pictures

I'm a sucker for a great photo, and Msnbc.com's Week in Pictures highlights the best in photojournalism every week. These pictures are moving and awe-inspiring. They show me what's going on around the world through images, and not just words.

Food on the Campaign Trail

Ever wonder what the presidential hopefuls eat on the campaign trail? Check out this video that I found on NYTimes.com

The introductory sentence says it all: "Like everything else on the campaign trail, even the eating is political."

Murdered Gay Man's Parents Submit Question For GOP YouTube Debate

What's your environmental footprint?

With all this talk of parking, here's a website that will help you figure out what your environmental impact is this year.

Writers' Strike Picketer Speaks Out

An insightful yet hilarious opinion about the writer's strike from a Daily Show writer.



I found this on http://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/ , which is kind of like the Cronkbyte blog for the NY Times.

CNN International to Expand International News Gathering Operations

The Cable News Network (CNN) is taking steps to expands it international news gathering capabilities, and plan to open a bureau in the United Arab Emirates and have new full-time reporters in India and Afghanistan. Earlier this year, CNN ended its relationship with news gathering agency Reuters in order to put that money into its own operations. CNN plans to do more original reporting and then be able to distribute it through cnn.com and CNN Mobile. Much like Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation's purchase of the Wall Street Journal, large news organizations see premium content as a way to remain relevant in an ever-changing media landscape. The hope is that by having premium content that they will be able to use that content to spread across multiple platforms and cash in on traditional and digital media.

NBC acquires new Internet series 'Quarterlife'

NBC has acquired the rights to a new series that will debut on myspace on November 18. The series, called "Quarterlife", is about "a group of creative 25-year-olds and how their personal lives are described in the blog of the lead character, a would-be writer named Dylan Krieger." The series will be shown in several 8 minute episodes on myspace, and then on the shows website quarterlife.com. NBC is expecting to be able to show the series in February, once the series has completed its internet run.

Anna Quindlen

Where does Anna Quindlen get her online news? During a lunch with students and staff at the Walter Cronkite School she listed the following sites:

• Politico
• The Huffington Post
• Romensko
• ACLU
• NARAL
• Iraq Veterans Against the War
  

Walter Cronkite Talks to ASU Students

Online Video Sites Courting Striking Writers

The WGA writers strike is still only a few weeks old, and many shows have not gone into repeats yet, but people are saying the internet will be the place that benefits most from this strike. Not only will it benefit from a possible increase in traffic, but also from newer content. The online video site break.com is inviting striking writers to upload their videos to their site. The online video site is offering $5,000 to the highest-rated video from a WGA member. Could it be that the 2007 writers strike will do for the internet, what the last strike in 1988 did for cable television. If writers can find it possible to make a living in online video, it could be a turning point for the entire entertainment industry. Many comedians, such as Will Ferrell, have jumped on the online video bandwagon because of the creative freedom that they have. Writers may soon feel the same thing.

Viral Video

Want to keep a pulse of the latest viral videos?

http://www.viralvideochart.com/

Video promo for newspaper/online series

Guys: We’re launching a series called Unequal Justice this weekend – in print and online – but to capture the Web audience we launched our Web-exclusive case files Thursday. And heck we couldn’t resist doing a video trailer. Check out the You Tube link down below. Makes me wanna plunk down $9 to go to the cinema, not just $1.50 for the Sunday paper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmxzQrRzOFA

Also the series “case files” are at www.dallasnews.com/unequaljustice until Saturday night when we redirect that link to the series splash page.

Interested in what everyone thinks of the package and the trailer.

Anthony Moor | Deputy Managing Editor/Interactive | Dallas Morning News |

More News from the FEMA Primetime Players

"FEMA Press Secretary Directed Fake News Briefing, Inquiry Finds" - Washington Post

With the screenwriters on strike and many TV pros on hiatus, FEMA press secretary Aaron Walker may just have a shot at a "best director" nod this year . . .

Offthebus and Scoop08 join political scene

From Editor & Publisher: NEW YORK Two new citizen journalism sites are offering coverage of the 2008 presidentiral election, according to EditorsWeblog.org.

OffTheBus.com (OTB) is a project launched by The Huffington Post for the campaign. Arianna Huffington and Jay Rosen of New York University publish OTB.

OTB has a low start up costs of $150,000. Like much of The Huffington Post, the writers will not be paid.

Even though the contributors will not be trained journalists, Huffington says she doesn't expect it to be a free-for-all.

Huffington has made it clear that if someone writes an opinion it can go on the site’s blog. She doesn't expect her correspondents to be completely neutral on campaign issues. She does, however, expect them to be clear when they have a bias.

A similar site for campaign coverage is Scoop08.com, which plans to debut this Sunday. The site was created by high school and college students and targets its younger demographic.

PhoenixPicks.com

One of my newest favorite things to find in my inbox! You can sign up for the bi-monthly newsletter (or visit the website) and get the goods on everything fantasia in Phoenix: bars, boutiques, art happenings, farmers markets, etc-basically all the things that make a city a fun place to live! And the writing is pretty sassy, too, which makes it that much better!

Is Fake News Now the Standard?

With Stephen Colbert out-polling half of the real presidential candidates, it's a decent question. Personally, I wouldn't call it the standard, but I do think it's a lot more compelling in certain ways than some of the TV journalism I've seen lately. Check out what the Los Angeles Times has to say about it . . .

The Music Scene on a SIlver Platter

Check out silverplatter.info for all the latest shows/music info around the Valley and a daily updated calendar with photos of the bands, and in time, clips.
And if you're an NPR junkie you can get shows back to 2001 on their website.

Illinois adopts moment of silence law

First amendment at its best? Or at its worst?

Eisner's advice to striking writers: Blame Steve Jobs, not the studios

Eisner's advice to striking writers: Blame Steve Jobs, not the studios...

http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9812703-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

YouTube justice?

The Mesa owner of Big Sticks Cigars posted this security video on You Tube after one of the men captured on the tape apparently walked out of the store with a Seiko watch for which he hadn't paid. ABC15.com carried the story and a still photograph from the video, but did not link to the video or embed it. There's a $1,000 reward for information leading to the man's arrest. More than the cost of the watch. Is YouTubing this video dangerous or smart? Journalistic in nature or vigilantism? The same as posting a flier on a street post? This info accompanied the video: "Suspect was driving white 1976-1978 Chevy/GMC Van. License Plate # 329-NFD." Too far? Appropriate?

New-media-valuation formula...

Accroding to the new-media-valuation formula, Andy Samberg of SNL ('I Ran So Far' Digital Video Short) is worth $342 million.

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=121711

Comprehensive internet news service

For news junkies, check out EINNews. It has news from every country, facts, forums, etc. It is a subscriber service but you can get a free trial. Maybe ASU could get it if we don't have it already.
http://www.einnews.com/
Their tag reads: a service for global professionals. I really wanted to click on the title that said: Aboriginal Zorba the Greek is a hit on You Tube.

Attention Foodies (and foodie wannabes)

This is the Dining & Wine section of the New York Times Web site. Scroll about halfway down and check out the videos for some yummy dishes.

As someone who is addicted to the Food Network, I found these videos to be equally stimulating on the palate.

Enjoy!

Mindy

Site offers news about the internet

Internet News

Articles and news about Web searching and Internet use. Includes search tools, online news, email, current awareness tools, and general use. made by Gwen Harris.
http://www.websearchguide.ca/netblog/

Scoping the visuals

Andrew Long, senior news artist for the Republic/azcentral, works with the creators of an information design focused on the Grand Canyon skywalk yesterday. At right is our colleague Elyse -- who reports on the event two posts down from this.

Radiohead distributes album online only

The band Radiohead has done away with the traditional methods of record distrubtion. Their newest album In Rainbows was first released through a website the band set up. Listeners could pay what they felt the album was worth rather than the industry deciding what price to charge for the CD. With over 2.4 million copies 'sold' the album has been a hit, and has set a new standard for content distrubtion that the record companies can't now ignore. The band also didn't use 'mainstream' online outlets like Amazon or iTunes.

For further reading, check out:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html
Here's a quote from the article by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke:
"I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'F___ you' to this decaying business model."

Infographics class

The infographics class given by Andrew Long on Saturday was fascinating. Infographics is far more than just adding some pretty elements or charts to a story, it is visual reporting and art combined. Unlike the days when papers just had art departments who were given an assignment to create a picture to go with an existing story, Long is actually a reporter, and must tell a story in a way that the reader understands, and use the elements that the story requires, not just the ones he feels like using. He must abide by all the rules of journalism ethics, including checking his facts and talking to sources. One interesting point he made was that in today's journalistic world, work is often done in teams, so he credits contributors as well as sources, and he has to be careful about visual plagiarism and copyright laws. Long said that an infographics reporter must find new ways of telling stories, and that applies to his web work as well as his print work. One major purpose of infographics is to show what the human eye can't easily see. One way is to show an enlarged cutaway of something, like representing a knee surgery by showing an enlargement of the muscles. There can be infographics gone wrong--either facts weren't checked or, because we share a common visual language, the form doesn't represent what the graphic is supposed to, or the graphic has so many extraneous elements (noise) that its meaning is unclear. Like other reporters, Long has to work on deadline. He has to find the story within the facts and somehow portray that story visually, which is very difficult if the story is emotional rather than just factual. Though he does use charts, maps, and graphs, he has to decide what type they will be and for what purpose--will they represent chronological information showing change over time? Will they show spatial relationships or perspectives? He does try to make everything he does visually appealing, but clarity and truth are more important. Long uses a variety of tools, from Google Earth to ArcInfo to 3d modeling to just sketching. Technology has changed the way newspapers use and see the role of the artist. Humans first began to tell their stories visually and are doing so again. The rule is to show, rather than tell. One example he showed us was very compelling--4 pictures of the govenor, dated 2003-2006, with different sized bubbles around her representing the number of times she addressed certain issues in her speeches. In 2003, for example, the bubble with the word 'education' was very big and 'immigration' very small. In 2006, the sizes were reversed. Mr. Long gave us an assignment in class--to visually tell a story about the Grand Canyon Skywalk. We first had to decide on the story. The quantitative elements (i.e. how much weight can it hold) were only facts--we had to make a real, human story--and then represent it using almost no words. It was hard!! Some of his pointers that would be helpful for any visual reporting are to create a library of images and a list of experts. Also he said the Republic doesn't use Wikipedia as a direct source, but double checks the information with experts. Here are some links he gave the class:
snd.org
newsartists.org
He also has made some great stuff for the web, which you can see by going to AZ Central and looking for Sunscard and municipal indicators.

Writers' Strike

The Writers Guild of America is preparing to strike after they were not able to reach a deal with the studios over compensation from DVD sales and "new media" distribution. The writers feel that the studios are making money through other distribution channels and are not receiving an adequate payout for their work. It is a sign of the change in the media landscape. Movie and TV studios have been trying to gain a foothold on the internet and mobile phones, and have seen a sharp increase in revenues over the last few years. The money that they have brought in has been substantial, but small in comparison to the older forms of distribution. They are hoping that the money that they bring can compensate for various losses in shares in older media, and do not what to share any of the profits yet that they have received through web and mobile distribution.

In the mean time, certain shows will halt production, such as the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, Leno, Letterman, Conan and Kimmel. Then daytime shows like the View, Regis will halt production in the next week or so. Other scripted shows will run into the beginning of next year, but then will be forced to stop production if a deal isn't settled in the next few months.

Hollywood is taking a big chance by allowing this to happen. With declining audiences to begin with, people may turn away from the TV and find other forms of entertainment to fill their time, and may not come back in the same numbers. Look no further than the National Hockey League, who went on strike 3 years ago. The sport is now an afterthought because people found other things to do with their time. You take something away, and sometimes people won't come back.

Carve Your Own Pumpkin

Katie was kind enough to share this with me. Have fun carving your own pumpkin!

YouTube Video Influences Presidential Campaign

Last time around the television adds of the Swift Boat Veterans influenced the presidential campaign. Now, a YouTube video made about Hillary Clinton is been viewed more than 1.5 million times. The video is a preview of a longer film made by Peter Paul, a convicted fellon a nd a former fundraiser for Hillary.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071030/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_video

Postman Reading

I kinda have a bone to pick with this week's reading, "The Judgment of Thamus" by Neil Postman. Towards the end he writes about a "psychic battle" that will take place within students, who must make sudden shifts from the "world of television" to the "world of the printed word". Maybe I have too lofty an idea of what education should be, but wouldn't a good teacher use all mediums to teach a lesson? Teachers are professionals in the business of education. Just like any other business, technologies change and old business practices must adapt. Reading from a textbook and copying notes isn't going to cut it with today's student population, which is bombarded with fast paced imagery. Teachers need to adapt, which is a viewpoint I think Postman would support. However, he concludes that discussion by stating that the printed word need not always be so highly valued. I completely disagree with that. Just because students are growing up in an world of constant entertainment, doesn't mean that education shouldn't stress print knowledge. Television should not replace reading, or primary sources for example. In my opinion, the printed word should be valued even more highly in the classroom as a means of achievement. If a 10 year old video game addict can sit for 30 minutes and read a grade-level biography of Abraham Lincoln, isn't that an accomplishment? Not only is he gaining knowledge, but learning how to create mental imagery, practicing deduction and arriving at his own conclusions about Abraham Lincoln's life. Television isn't going to teach a student how to do that.

The Joy of Footbridges

I found this slideshow on Slate that displays some of the most extravagant bridges in the world. Just thought I'd share.

p.s. How many of these have you walked on? Me: 3

Mindy

Dane Cook

Does anyone know Dane Cook, a stand- up comedian who does all kinds of stuff with multimedia. www.danecook.com. He's hilarious.

Here's a YouTube cartoon called Handshake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYY1-ZggEqw

funny parking videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnVHX_Pez6o Last Space in the Car Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ry5cc0COhc California State University at Northridge

print following the web

In the Oct. 21st Points of View page in the Arizona Republic, the layout is very web-like. In fact, the main article, on global warming, has an enormous photo, then the print, and under that is a box called "from the blogs"--and the box looks like a web box with tabs. There are 2 quotes from Undernews blog and Samizdata.net. The sides of the page also look more web-like than print-like because they have large numbered graphics and photos. The left is the top 5 books Professor Sharpes would recommend about Islam and the West. The layout sows the book covers, large type titles of the books and the large numbers as graphics and the left side of the page is stats on global warming with large number graphics and images.

Collection of parking videos

This is the Illinois State horror film we saw Monday. Following are some of the other examples I found on YouTube. Please add more if you have them (consider this part of our new-age lit review).
At Columbia University, looking for parking 2:18
Parking Services: The Movie The heartwarming story of Richard, a Parking Services employee, as he learns the value of spreading good instead of evil (parking tickets). University of Georgia
5:49
Parallel parking device Senior capstone project, University of Toledo
Parking problems at San Jose State University 2:24 (audio problems, but some interview ideas)
You suck at parking, Part 3
Parking Services, University of Toledo 42 seconds
Getting the boot at University of Kentucky(newspaper video; see who comes to the rescue)
CSUN parking problems (money machine won't take money) 44 seconds
DPS at Iowa State(problems getting it to run) 2:20 Poking fun.

Grad student's video ruffles Edwards campaign feathers

UNC masters student Carla Babb produced a video for a campus TV broadcast as well as for an MTV contest, for which she uploaded it to YouTube. In the video, she interviewed Edwards campaign workers and others about Edwards' choice of HQ location -- in a lovely, upscale, area of Chapel Hill. Did it conflict with his goal of representing the poor and disenfranchised? she asked. After the video was seen on YouTube, a campaign rep called her and asked her to take it down. Babb referred the spokeswoman to Charlie Tuggle, the UNC prof who oversees the newscast and who is her adviser. Tuggle refused. He reported that the campaign threatened to cut off student access to Edwards news. A campaign spokeswoman says this has gotten silly but had no comment on Tuggle's allegations. Since then, the story has bloomed in distribution and the video is approaching 100,000 views at this writing. The NYTimes, Washpost, AP, News&Observer and a host of other sites have done stories on it. What do you think?

Put your money where your mouth is...

Intrade is a website that allows you to invest - not only in the financial market, but also the political market. The chances are 50/50 for a recession, but those numbers would be a step up for Barak Obama... He closed at 12.3 today on Intrade.

"Intrade isn't just an entertaining Web site. It is the latest iteration of one of the most important economic developments of modern times."

David Leonhardt, Economics Reporter, The New York Times

Obama, Jan '05 - Present:

What are Santa Ana winds?

This is pretty much what I'd call a video version of a print infobox.

ASU Parking Statisitics

Here are some parking statisitics I was able to get from ASU...

1-3 are from a 2007 survey (I am working on getting the survey)
1. Total number of parking spaces on the Tempe campus: 21,316
2. Total number of metered spaces on Tempe campus: 389
3. Total number of visitor spaces on the Tempe campus: 1,130

4-6 are current as of today.
4. Approximate number of citations issued a semester: From Aug. 06 – May 07 we issued 110, 990 citations (including warning citations)
5. Approximate number of ‘give me a break’ vouchers issued: 3,000
6. Numbers of U-Pass (free buss pass) users: Employees: 2,722
Students: 11,586

Maybe we could get the same statistics for some universities that are somewhat comparible in size?

I am working on getting the 2007 survey. Supposedly they are doing another survey, but I am trying to find out if it will be out before our project is due.

Can anyone think of anything else I should get some facts on?

2329 years

That's how long Aristotle has been dead. I think it may be safe to remove any restrictions on his work. But maybe it's better to be safe than sorry. Let's push any copyrighting to 3,000 years.

YouTube Debate Posting

Finally here is my YouTube debate contribution.

Beat you to it (see JibJab, below)

Oakland Tribune leads ONA awards

From OJR: The Oakland Tribune was the only multiple winner in the 2007 Online Journalism Awards, presented this evening in Toronto by the Online News Association and the USC Annenberg School for Communication. The Tribune collected the Knight Foundation Award for Public Service for its feature Not Just a Number on homicide in Oakland. The Tribune also won the award for Service Journalism (small traffic sites) for the same feature.
This year's general excellence winners were USA Today (large), The Denver Post (medium) and the Ventura County Star (small).

Other winners:
Outstanding Use of Digital Media, small: Wisconsin State Journal, Hip Hop 101
Outstanding Use of Digital Media, large: Discovery Channel, Everest Beyond the Limit
Beat reporting, small: Florida Today, Space Beat
Beat reporting, large: Wired.com
Breaking News, small: The Roanoke Times
Breaking News, large: Associated Press
Investigative journalism, large: ABC News, Brian Ross Investigates: "The Mark Foley Investigation"
Investigative Journalism, small: Center for Investigative Reporting, Danger On Your Plate
Service journalism, large: Toronto Star
Specialty Journalism, large: Livescience.com
Specialty Journalism, small: Council on Foreign Relations
Commentary, small: Wild Bill, NewWest.net
Commentary, medium: Walt Handelsman, Newsday
Commentary, large: William Saletan, Slate
Student Journalism: Border Beat (University of Arizona) and Our Tahoe (University of Nevada, Reno) [tie]

Comment and question about the New Producers

Anderson seems to be saying that the current technology is cheap enough (and good enough) for anyone to make hit movies. This is just false. Movies are shown on huge screens, so the starting format has to have enough information in it to be blown up that big. And decent audio gear (as well as audio sweetening hardware and software, are necessities. Rodriguez may have shot El Mariachi for $3,000, but it cost over $250, 000 to get it screen-ready. The Anniversary party, shot on digital video, cost $50,000 to shoot and 3 times that for post. Just having lights isn't enough, either. You have to understand how lighting works, how cameras work, and good actors usually want to get paid--plus you have to feed them. Most independent filmmakers use a different route--they interest an investor. Filmmakers call it "the triangle"--you can have it good, you have it fast, and you can have it cheap--but not all at the same time. Thoughts?

Have you been JibJabbed?

Now you can create your own JibJab cartoon starring yourself, your friends, or your favorite professor! Endless hours of interactive fun!

ASU Parking Podcast Part II

Here is the second podcast of the two-part series with Theresa Fletcher. It isn't as interesting, but does talk about this new flexcar deal they are offering. Maybe we could do a story following someone through the process of taking part of the flexcar deal and see how easy and inexpensive it really is. Enjoy!

ASU Parking Podcast

I found this when I was researching parking information for our upcoming project. It is the first part of a two-part series interviewing Theresa Fletcher, the director of parking and transit. I tried emailing Theresa to get some more facts, but she has not returned my emails yet. I will post the second part as well.

These are very recent. Just happened end of September. It mostly talks about solutions, but there is interesting information about ASU's long term plan and how parking will be incorporated, or not incorporated for that matter.

Relevant to this week's reading

This book and recently released DVD have a lot of do with the copyright and pro-am movement in this weeks Chris Anderson reading. Check it out.

'Hear you are'

[murmur]is a collection of audio stories about specific geographic locations. They are available on a Web site, but more interestingly, they are also available in designated places at the sites themselves. In situ, interested murmurers can call a posted mobile cell number and hear the recording. Online, there are maps of several Toronto areas (one of these is above). On the maps are circles indicating the story locations. They are, of course, clickable to bring up the audio. I'm thinking of lots of applications for something like this... FYI: I was reminded of this project by Danny Sanchez' Journalistopia blog, which has been covering the ONA conference this past week (sob -- I couldn't go this year because of other commitments so I'm living vicariously).

Web 2.0 Summit

Several New Media leaders are meeting in San Francisco for the 3-day Web 2.0 Summit. This is the 4th summit for Web 2.0 and its clear that Facebook is the talk of the summit so far. Facebook has made large strides this year in users, technology, and business. This summer, Facebook decided to let 3rd party developers build applications for the website, making Facebook more of a platform than a social networking site. In just a few short months, there have been nearly 10,000 applications built for Facebook, some by other companies and some by the users themselves. It is the newest trend in Web 2.0 development. Even Apple is going to allow third parties to develop applications for the I-Phone.

Here is a link to news from the summit: CNET News /Web 2.0 Summit

More about Facebook: www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9799850-2.html

washingtonpost.com and online video

And here's Part 2

National Geographic

National Geographic magazine is know the world over for its amazing and rare photographs. Having pictures published by National Geographic is consider a career accomplishment by most photographers. So when I visited NG's website for their show "Taboo", I expected a visually stimulating site with multiple mediums for which I could interact. I was shocked to discover that the site had only 7 pictures on a slideshow and short video segments from the show. I was left wanting and wondering how such an esteemed visual magazine would not have developed their website in the same form.

Pro Publica

Dr. Thornton mentioned this at the end of our last class, so here is a link to an NPR interview with Paul Steiger, former managing editor of the WSJ. He is starting up an investigative reporting non-profit group called Pro Publica.

A Kentucky mother's struggle through drug court

Al Tompkins, of Poynter, has a full writeup of a weeklong project by the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader that will, in his words, "consume 18 inside pages, 15 minutes of online multimedia and more than 130 photos." Tompkins explores how the project came together -- it took four years.

del.icio.us SNDies 2007

Okay, if you can figure out what that means, you're definitely in the right class. Joe Weiss, who created Soundslides and helped revolutionize journalism, was a judge in the most recent multimedia competition run by the Society for News Design (hence: the SNDies). He's linked and tagged nearly all of the entries on his del.icio.us account -- and has categorized them into gold, silver and bronze categories.
Let me call particular attention to:
OnBeing, washingtonpost.com
A People Torn: Liberians in Minnesota (this has been cited before in Cronkbyte)
Exploring Antarctica, washingtonpost.com
American Diversity Project: Mississippi Delta
Atacama Stories, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
On the Line: Stories of Economic Hardship in North Carolina, UNC Chapel Hill
The Metropolitan Museum's new galleries, The New York Times
The Fight for Iraq: A Regional Power Play, MSNBC

Train Jumping: A Desperate Journey, PalmBeachPost.com
Events Leading to an Accident, newyorktimes.com
Crisis in Darfur Expands, washingtonpost.com
Is it better to buy or rent?, newyorktimes.com

These were chosen more by my preference than by award, although there are golds, silvers and bronzes among the above. To view by winning category, try these: Gold, Silver, Bronze.
We'll be talking about these in class -- feel free to add more links-of-note from the almost-full list Joe provides.

Our YouTube Debate Vids -- So Far

I found these three so far by searching on "debate question." Did anyone file with different tags or title? Let me know so I can add you!

UPDATE: One more... Sam's quick fill-in.


ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's Mike's:

Growing, shrinking, fading... Oh my word.

Okay. I couldn't get enough of Final Cut Express tonight (also, that coffee really kicked in). Here's a tutorial I found on YouTube about working with text.

Students to LiveBlog from ONA conference

Twenty-one students from universities in the United States and Canada will be coming to the conference armed with laptops, digital cameras and video cameras. Students will be providing multi-dimensional coverage of the conference, including:

* Blogging about panels as they occur.
* Providing video clips and video features.
* Writing traditional news stories and features.

Starting on Thursday, please visit
http://www.journalists.org/2007conference/

Time's ticking; days left for $5 million challenge

Bringing Myanmar home

Myanmar, the former Burma, has been in the top news for months now -- but how many of us know why, much less the context? Part of that I'd chalk up to infoglut (too much information bombarding us all the time; too little prioritization of incoming facts). But a large part is due to a lack of what beginning reporters used to learn early in their careers: localization. Multimedia offers journalists new ways to connect with people. Video's forte is visual interest and emotional connections. In this video, Roanoke.com takes a local connection -- a family of Burmese refugees -- and lets the "experts" do the talking. The result: greater awareness of the world around us and our place in it. This is the kind of "hyperlocal" I'd be proud to produce.

How Youtube Has Changed Everything

We have seen over the last 2 years how much Youtube has changed the world. It has given us a peak into some things that were once local. Here is a Youtube clip of a high school teacher in Gilbert, AZ who was suspended after she performed this cheer in front of class. This story became a national story, all due to Youtube and the importance of cell phone video.

Former Senator George Allen must not be the only one who wishes there wasn't viral video.

4,091 hits and counting

This is one of the YouTube debate questions from Dr. Carpenter's class. Posted last week! UPDATE Oct. 12: 5,742 hits.

The Shock factor - Dramamentaries

After September 11th, I remember Ebaums World and college humor releasing chilling homemade soundslides/videos claiming that the attacks were carried out by the U.S. military. The videos were quickly removed due to extreme outrage over the disturbing images and content. When I think about these videos, it made me wonder what category something like that would fit into. I did some research and located links discussing drama documentaries, videos made with the specific purpose to shock and disturb. The first one made was created in 1965, during the Cold War. "The War Game" acts like a news broadcast, but covers a fictional nuclear war that begins between NATO and Soviet forces invading West Germany. The broadcast was so controversial that it was not actually shown on the BBC until 1985. Check it out the wikipedia entry, and complete video.

Video part of WP report on upcoming Iowa vote

Another example of the growing "norm" of multimedia reporting with multiple points of entry. The text story, "Iowa a key test for Democrats," is packaged with the video and reader comments and is well larded with hypertext links throughout. ADDED: And you can see the same story run on a CBS News Web page -- no video, though. Guess CBS welcomes the writing but keeps the video production to itself?

You're all one step closer to qualifying...

The Florida Times-Union
Multimedia Anchor/Reporter
Jacksonville
Application deadline: None specified
Posted: October 1, 2007

New Media posting

Are you entrepreneurial and creative? Are you Web savvy?
Are you confident in front of a camera?
Can you report the news?
Do watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? Do you cruise YouTube?
Have you ever seen Joanne Colan of Rocketboom?
If you said, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yea!, we may have a great job for you. We are looking for someone who can anchor and host a daily news/features segment on Jacksonville.com (the web site for The Florida Times-Union) and who can handle a variety of daily reporting assignments. We’re not talking about replicating TV on the Internet. We are looking for someone who can report the news with a little attitude and a lot of personality.

For additional information, including details on how to apply, see:
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/jobs/details.php?cat=newmed&ID=5999

File under cool blogs

Ever since Mindy asked in class if she could bring cupcakes to the last day, I haven't been able to get cupcakes out of my mind. Well, one link led to another and a few minutes ago I found myself looking at this on a cooking blog:

How cute is that? They're called "knit night cupcakes." Now. Think anyone can design one for online media? Obviously, chips should be involved...

Crowdsourcing for a Billionaire

When billionaire Steve Fossett went missing in September, friends and colleagues used online "crowdsourcing" as part of their coordinated search efforts. Through Amazon Mechanical Turk, the public was paid to look at high resolution areal photos in hopes of spotting Fossett's wreckage.

Amazon Mechanical Turk is described as tool used to "complete simple tasks that people do better than computers. And, get paid for it." Although Fossett's wreckage has yet to be found, many other companies are using crowdsourcing to carry out different projects and reshape makes group projects go global with the click of a mouse.

Amazon Mechanical Turk: http://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome
WIRED: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html

Free Photoshop.

For all of those tech savvy journalists out there, Adobe Systems has previewed its free, online version of Photoshop: http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9790734-12.html?tag=bubble

Flashing Tom Lehrer

Lehrer was perhaps most famous in the 1950s and '60s but he's been rediscovered. Here's one of his trademark recordings treated to a Flash/video presentation. I was going to save it for class but couldn't restrain myself from posting. Enjoy.

Links from class (video interviews)

From Mike: Hillary Clinton - Conversation interview
Time - Jerry Seinfeld
From Katie: Example from YouTube and Syria has right to retaliate from the BBC.
From Martha:
Why I live in Arizona
Interview with Steve Wozniak
Interview with Aaron Russo

And the "Internet People" video was posted to Cronkbyte on Monday.

Kotecki joins Politico: 'I haven't sold out; I bought in'

Check out the announcement and take note of Politico's political coverage. It's one of the hottest sites around and has great potential. Excerpt:

Kotecki has already begun producing a daily video version of Mike Allen’s "Playbook," and will soon be hitting the trail to offer Politico.com readers a different way to view the election.
The Economist hailed Kotecki as “probably the world's foremost expert on YouTube videos posted by presidential candidates."

Fun vid interview here if the embedded one doesn't work well.

FYI: Equipment sign-out crackdown

Greetings to all,

As you all know, we have a new electronic equipment program that tracks equipment check-out, return and inventory.

This is a quick note to let you know that we have reached the point in the semester where students should not be turning in their equipment late. We have given reminders and been patient with the implementation of our new equipment tracking program. Please reiterate to your students that equipment is due on the date and time they have on their reservations. If they neglect to turn their equipment in on time their privileges will be revoked for the remainder of the semester - per Dean Callahan’s directive and the contract the students signed at the beginning of this semester.

Below is just a small, recent example of two unnamed students who have turned their equipment in late.

Equipment: Electro-Voice 635A Handheld Mic
Due In: 9/27/07 9:00:00 PM
Returned: 10/1/07 12:08:48 PM

Equipment: Panasonic AG-DVX100BP DV Camera
Due In: 10/2/07 12:00:00 PM
Returned: 10/3/07 9:33:11 AM

Thanks for your assistance in this matter,

Jim

---
Jim Dove
Chief Engineer
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Stauffer Hall, Room 231

Cooper, Corwin, and Gupta save the planet through interactive storytelling

An impressive advertisement for a CNN special report that includes interactive elements, podcasting, opportunities for citizen journalism, and video clips.

Digi-reporters staff new bureaus

On Romenesko this morning:

ABC News opens mini-bureaus in India, Africa, other places
Hollywood Reporter
The small offices in Seoul; Rio de Janeiro; Dubai; New Delhi and Mumbai, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Nairobi, Kenya are staffed by a reporter-producer with the latest in hand-held digital technology. They cost a fraction of what it takes to run a full-time bureau.

In honor of Sputnik

Here's the sound of the beep that started the space race 50 years ago. For a story that talks about a history only recently revealed, check this.

OJR goes daily

The Online Journalism Review publishes M-F, a new move. According to its editor, Robert Niles, "with three additional days a week to fill, we are looking for your story ideas. So if you've got a new site, feature or hot issue you'd like to see us cover, please do not hesitate to let me know. We are especially interested in social media efforts, new publishing technology and online innovations at 'offline media' companies."

Internet People

A tribute to Net personalities -- characters? events? -- of the online world. Animated by Dan Meth with music by Meth and Micah Frank. How many references do you know? Thanks to Susan Keith for pointing me to Doug Fisher's CommonsenseJournalism blog for a look.

Living to the end

The story of Lovelle Svart's death ran in the Oregonian today, the culmination of months chronicling, in multimedia, the last months of a woman who chose to end her life legally under Oregon's Death With Dignity provision -- and who suggested the series. The project incorporates videos -- the last one made about half an hour before Ms. Svart took her final medication -- as well as stories, photographs and document reproductions. Probably the best way into this moving work is through the introduction, although I read the "obit" first then had to know more. UPDATE: Considerations on running the project are in the Editor's Blog.

Late nights and a busy May

I just investigated the "Web History" feature in Google and discovered a great way to rediscover lost links -- as well as a strange sort of diary left by my tracks in cyberspace. The chart here is from clicking on "trends" and it shows the "all time" results of when I searched -- other options are available, like the past seven days, 30 days, etc. These are Google searches only (those I did on other computers or through other engines are not included) and I'm assuming these have only been tracked since I gained a google e-mail address, which I rarely use but which tracks me all the same. May shows a lot of activity because I was working on a book then and in early June. Interesting stuff.

Marketing, branding and more

For those people that are interested in marketing and branding, this blog routinely has great information and insight into the industry. I really enjoy reading it.

http://www.cultureby.com/trilogy/

Election Coverage on the Internet

Google has recently rolled out a new web center for the 2007 Australia Federal Elections. It is complete with different Google tools, such as its maps, and also with Youtube channels for each of the candidates and their parties. If this proves to be successful, they will have something similar to this for the 2008 U.S. elections. It is a potential portal for many people to go to, and avoid other news sources that mix opinion in their news coverage.

Australia Elections Page: www.google.com.au/election2007/

Watch Demo Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxilCZWXyd0

Found us a font poem in an ad

Video of Florida student, Taser, Kerry Forum

I read about this, I tsk-tsked, I moved on. A few minutes ago, though, I watched a video of the student and the Tasering (you don't actually see it, but you hear it and you're close to where it's happening) and I must say, it's very disturbing. Makes me very happy that we're reporting online and with more than words these days. This is both more and less than the buzz that's accompanied it. An article from Editor & Publisher is here. The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun uploaded the video, which was made by one of its freelancers, to YouTube. What's even more fascinating is looking at some of the other videos made at the same time, shot at different angles, and also uploaded. For example, this one. If you're allergic to bad spelling, be warned, though. The errors in the word-overs could put you into a coma. UPDATE: Here's a CBS report (text and video) on the ensuing debate.

no txtng n phx

The Phoenix City Council today approved an ordinance prohibiting the use of text messaging while operating a motor vehicle.
This action comes after recent tragedies that have occurred in Arizona and other states involving drivers text messaging while driving a vehicle.
“Composing, sending or receiving text messages while driving is extremely distracting and dangerous for drivers and puts everyone who is using the roadway at risk,” said Councilman Greg Stanton, who spearheaded the effort.
“This new ordinance will protect those using the road and help prevent further tragedies.”
The ordinance will take effect immediately, however there will be a 30-day warning period from Sept. 20 to Oct. 19.

More here.

Google launches Australian election package

I was clued into this multimedia reporting package by Alan Mutter's Newsosaur. Here's what he has to say:

Google is road-testing a major initiative capable of hijacking a good deal of the web traffic the mainstream media ordinarily would get during the 2008 election in the United States.

There are Google Map mashups of voting districts (with satellite views), collections of YouTube candidate videos, and ready-made search buttons. It makes so much sense. See what you think.

"Newsosaur" Mutter goes "Beyond Web 2.0" in Stauffer tomorrow

Veteran journalist Alan Mutter, creator of the "Newsosaur" blog, is a much-read and respected consultant on new media and technology. You're all invited to hear and speak with him. Tuesday, 3:15, Reading Room. See you there.

Did this deserve to be censored? The Sally Field acceptance speech:

Or is "censored" too strong a word? The clip is from Canadian television via Huffington Post. Here's how CBS2 reported it:

An expletive uttered by Sally Field as she made an antiwar statement during her acceptance speech for outstanding actress in a drama was cut from the telecast, as was part of her statement.

Field, a two-time Oscar winner, Sunday night claimed the Emmy for best actress in a drama series for her role as Nora Walker on ABC's first-season series "Brothers & Sisters."

"But at the heart of Nora Walker, she is a mother, so surely this belongs to all the mothers of the world," said the 60-year-old Field. "May they be seen, may their work be valued and raised, and to especially the mothers who stand with an open heart and wait, wait for their children to come home from danger, from harm's way, and from war."

As the orchestra began playing music, Field continued, "I'm not finished. I have to finish talking. To war -- oh God, I forgot what I was going to say. And to war, I'm proud, I'm proud of to be one of those women -- and let's face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place."

Money in mags?

One of the entries in Romenesko this morning gives that impression:

Wall Street Journal to launch monthly Pursuits magazine
New York Times
The magazine about the lifestyles of the rich debuts next September. Robert Frank, a Journal columnist and author "Richistan," a book about wealthy America, is the leading candidate to become editor of Pursuits. || ALSO: New York Post is introducing Page Six Magazine starting this Sunday.

Wonder how they'll interpret them in their online sites.

1st online-only presidential mashup

Yahoo, Huffington Post and Slate sponsored a forum on Sept. 12, moderated by Charlie Rose, in which Democratic candidates responded to questions about issues of current concern. The videos are gathered on Slate, along with transcripts and commentary. We live in interesting times...

The Amazing Race ... to the moon!

The money is there.
The technology is ready.
Now all we need is the human race to catch up.
Perhaps pretty soon, we will see the launch (pun intended) of "Google Space?"

Mindy

Video letter to the editor?

The New York Times posted its first one today. It introduces it with: "Charles Ferguson, a filmmaker, presents a rebuttal to claims made by L. Paul Bremer III that top American officials approved the decision to disband the Iraqi army."

See anyone you know?

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!JibJab has offered two more "star yourself" cartoon options...

Online Journalism Award finalists...

The ONA and USC Annenberg School for Communication are pleased to announce the finalists in the 2007 Online Journalism Awards. You can find the complete list of finalists on our website at
http://journalist.org/awards/archives/000773.php

Air guitar, funerals and cartoons...

I'm going to post the links you handed in as examples of multimedia types. It'll take up so much room here, though, that I'm going to do it as comments. So click on through... and enjoy! (The image above is from a video report of Pavarotti's memorial services. See Elyse's links.)

The Future of Paper

Several electronic companies have begun to experiment with electronic paper, or e-paper. It combines the convenience of mobile technology and limitless information with the comfort of a larger screen and a more flexible format.

Read more about the technology behind e-paper at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper

For a display by the Phillips Corporation go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeaT62OMi8M

Google cuts right to the news chase

Danny Sanchez, who writes Journalistopia, has a nice package about Google's announcement it will carry AP and other news service material and link directly to pages dedicated to that service. In the past, Google directed searchers to various news Web sites (newspapers, broadcasters) that were AP (etc.) members. As he points out, this is significant.

Believe this?

Slate V has been posting short videos where audience reaction is charted over what they are viewing (see the squiggly lines in the image of Vick's apology). Another Slate video "reports" reaction to Hillary Clinton's first ad. The surveys were done by MediaCurves. Survey info is given at the start of the videos. For the "ad," 450 people were monitored. Enough to generalize? Probably not...

Egyptian blogger wins Knight award

Wael Abbas' Misrdigital, which he refers to as a weekly e-newspaper, was recognized for its hard-hitting journalistic style.

Dubai: Whether people realise its influence or not, acknowledge it or not, internet has not only became a vital instrument in communication, but also a field of competition for journalists in 'traditional' media outlets. ...

Last Friday, Abbas, a blogger, received an e-mail message notifying him of being the first blogger ever winning an award for the blog he began in mid- 2004.

Abbas was named, along with a Myanmarese investigative reporter, as the 2007 Knight International Journalism Award winners - an award which recognises individuals who have raised the standards of media excellence in their countries. ... -- Gulfnews.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Gillmor to speak at Cronkite/ASU

If you have any chance to attend this, do. (If you can't read the image, click on it to see it larger.) For a bit more about Gillmor, see his home page. I'd already planned to hand out a reading from "We the Media" in class, but I'll move it forward so you can have it before he arrives.

ASU students send Kucinich vid to YouTube

Charmed by tango video

"Tango in Central Park" is part of a video collection of summer rituals The New York Times is compiling. Great idea for a series. And if you want to share a recollection or read briefs from others, there's a "share" page, too. I'm thinking the theme could spur some class project ideas...

Society's impact on the Internet

The other night we discussed how internet is changing how society gets its news and interprets events. In fact, most discussions in today's communication classes focus on how online media is reshaping the industry. That's why when I heard about Google being accused of being sexist, I had to check it out. This story surfaced a couple of months ago, so it may be old news to some of you. However, I hadn't read Google's official response. Basically, the story goes that if you type "she invents" into Google's search engine, Google suggests "he invents" as an alternative. On the other hand, if you type in "she cooks" it does not suggest a male alternative. According to Google, the suggestions are based on "spell-checking algorithms which use cues from from user input" (Nick Denton, Valleywag.com). As Denton so appropriately states in his online post, "It's the world that's sexist; we just index it."

Information collected from an online post by Nick Denton, "Google's Sexism" posted May 15, 2007 on www.valleywag.com

Obama objects to "Obama Girl"

Isn't news wonderful? With perfect timing with regard to last night's discussion, a story is out about unintended effects of the OG video. It's not going down so well with the candidate's family. His daughter asks, doesn't Daddy already have a wife?

Welcome to Fall Semester 2007

I'm looking forward to Cronkbyte reigniting with the start of a new grad class. Alums and guests are most welcome to continue their contributions as well. If last night's lively and rich discussion of how Internet video is changing the political environment is any guide, we're in for a rewarding 16 weeks.
As promised, here are the links to videos we watched and talked about:

* Emergency Cheese's latest,
* all of James Kotecki's Emergency Cheese political videos,
* "I got a crush on Obama," Obama Girl,
* Hillary Clinton's "Sopranos" spoof,
* Grey Blackwell's "Law and Order," (Flash animation)
* Two of Slate V's "Damned Spot" episodes,
* The "Dean Scream" as recorded from the audience, and
* The DS as recorded by Fox (similar to recordings from other large news organizations).

After I got home last night, I found an article that lends credence and context to the "audience" recording.

Last, here are some bonus links to videos I held off on last night:
* Hillary Clinton: "Vote Different" ad,
* Apple Computer's 1984 commercial, launched during the Super Bowl.
* "Great moments in presidential speeches"

The Mother Jones Politics 2.0/Fight Different section for the assignment can be found here (or at least you can get to the parts from there).

Thanks for a great opening night. See you next Monday.

Washington Post launches hyperlocal Web site

The Washington Post Co. has launched LoudounExtra.com, an aggressive online push into hyperlocal journalism, combining traditional reporters and photographers with bloggers, videographers and extensive databases on schools, businesses and churches.

If the project is successful, The Post Co. plans to build similar sites for the rest of Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District. The project is part of The Washington Post's strategy to dominate local news and advertising and to enhance its relevance as an information provider...

Your pic on Wired cover!

You, too, can create your own cover through a promotion by Wired magazine and Xerox. The full cover has Xerox's name in the lower right corner -- I couldn't make the screen big enough to get the screen grab to... well, you know. Enjoy.

Myspace tops PCWorld worst Web site list!

I was surprised to say the least at Myspace being up there along with Webvan and Hotmail, although I must say I kinda agree. Its design overload IS a turn-off.

LATimes "trailer sway" infographic

This interactive graphic illustrates a worst-case scenario of what happens when a towed trailer starts to sway. It goes with a serial in-depth story, "Driving with rented risks," that began today.

Up to floor #3

Jim Dove's new Webcam arrangement brings the view in closer. This is, of course, of the new Cronkite/Eight building in downtown PHX.

Maybe CNN/YouTube offer not all it's billed as...

The Opinionator (a New York Times M-F blog)points out that Joshua Levy, in his techPresident blog, questions just how "citizen" and participatory the debates will be since CNN will be the sole arbiter of whose video questions will be asked in the debate. (See the post below if this is leaving you out in the cold.)

Checking in on the Cheese

Emergency Cheese, that is -- James Kotecki. I hadn't tuned in to my YouTube channel, where I subscribe to his political commentary, since around graduation time so I was wondering if he was going to continue after getting his degree. Evidently, yes. Although his apartment appears to have had an upgrade.
In this vid, he talks about the CNN/YouTube invitation to video makers to submit video questions for the upcoming debate. Might want to take a look.