2009 Monaco Media Forum: 2007

The media's ability to keep track of people - whether they are covering them or servinv them - is astounding. Putting that capability to smart use is one of the media's most difficult challenges in the months ahead.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

"Report looks at citizen journalism during Burma crackdown" - European Journalism Centre - Media News

While this applies to only a small number of countries in the world today, it is useful to understand how this was done and to preserve all options to get around government attempts to squelch access to information and ideas.

"CNN launches bureau on Second Life" - European Journalism Centre

One could argue persuasively that this represents "over the top" antics by an organization that tries to make people believe it is a professional news operation.

"Campaign Coverage That Is Raw and Fresh" - New York Times

I still worry about the gap between the alleged "wisdom of crowds" and accuracy, but it looks as though we'll have plenty of chances to learn if there is a gap and, if so, how big it is.

"Amnesty Calls For Probe In Kyrgyz Reporter Murder" - New York Times

More developments on this tragic case....

"FEMA Aide Loses New Job Over Fake News Conference" - New York Times

Why should we just have to "swallow hard" and accept apparent deception? When people are misled about the conduct of the people's business, there ought to be retribution of far greater significance.

Monday, October 29, 2007

"Murdoch, a Folk Hero in Silicon" - New York Times

The Monaco Media Forum will have a chance to ask more about this when James MURDOCH joins the event starting 8 November.

"An Advocate for TV That Viewers Create" - New York Times

They can create it but will anyone watch it?

"Financial News Web Site Remains Unruffled by Murdoch’s Foray on Its Turf" - New York Times

Competition usually turns out to be a great things for most, but not all.

"Europe Proposes Warnings for Auto Ads" - New York Times

It seems inevitable that advertising will be subjected to more requirements and restrictions as environmental change initiatives continue to advance rapidly.

"Hulu Readies Online TV, Dodging Jabs" - New York Times

Who knows, maybe we'll look back at this someday and see it as a a major breakthrough. Imagine .....presenting video programs to people with commercial messages making it profitable for the presenter. What a radical 60 or 70 year-old idea it is!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

"Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury awarded 2007 Monaco Award for Courage in Journalism" - CFP

This has not yet been confirmed by the MMForum organizers.

"Kazakh Web Sites Blocked in Leader’s Family Feud" - New York Times

Family dynasties often lead to this sort of thing, even in the world of digital media.

After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again - New York Times

Have people like this guy replaced accomplished professionals as those admired most, or is there still a place in the digital media world for people whose priorities don't all start with dollar signs?

Friday, October 26, 2007

"Chicago's Video Surveillance Gets Sneakier" - Nationa Public Radio

The bigger issue raised here is this - who really is going to watch all the crumby content that digital media technology is recording? It applies to surveillance videso as much as it does to what euphemistically some refer to as "user-generated content".

"On the Internet, Is Everyone an Expert?" - National Public Radio

This surely goes to a core issue that keep eluding those people more focused on counting revenue and eyeballs than on the impact they are having.

"FEMA Apologizes for Phony Fire Briefing" - National Public Radio

You have to wonder whether this even gets noticed by most "digital media" executives or so-called professionals today. Or is this just something for "old" media to worry about? Is it an issue that somehow automatically gets itself worked out by a computer program of some sort? Are "digital media" talking about this the way that some number of "traditoinal" reporters are talking about it? Do we just not care anymore?

"Parent and Teen Internet Use" - Pew Internet and American Life Project

More critically important information from the Pew Center.

"Céline Dion dans la légende aux 18èmes World Music Awards" - RivieraBiz.com

Prince Albert will be handing out at least one more award during the days leading up to the Monaco Media Forum.

"The worst jobs for the 21st Century" - Forbes.com - MSNBC.com

Note the predictions for journalists.

"AP Board Approves New Pricing Structure" - Forbes.com

Putting a value on news for people who want to reuse it is more challenging than ever.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

"Diller: Big Media is Late to Internet" - Mediaweek

How interesting to see Barry DILLER described as a "former entertainmentmogul".

"Kazakhstan shuts down opposition Web sites" - European Journalism Centre

This is the same country that puts on a big media conference every year that many western media leaders have attended in the past. I would wonder why anyone would want to participate in something that the same government wants to do, such as the media conference. Rather this strikes me as an opportunity if not a responsibility for those same media leaders to speak up in opposition. If they do not, was there a price for their silence? Some of the sponsors of the Eurasian Media Forum appear here.

"OSCE media freedom representative condemns murder of independent journalist in Kyrgyzstan" - OSCE

Any media death is sad, but when something like this happens, it is really disappointing. The question we must all ask ourselves is what, if anything, we can do - individually and collectively - to respond and to make one more death just a little bit less horrible.

"The Sound, Not of Music, but of Control" - New York Times

There sure are an increasing number of ways that a government that chooses to do so can use media of all kinds to try to shape the thinking and attitudes of its population. This is not a radically new idea, but the technologies used are a combination of old and new.

"Mobile entertainment not quite kids' stuff yet" - Hollywood Reporter

As with so many media offerings, someone ultimately has to pay the bill. She or he who pays the bills does get to make a lot of decisions.

"Microsoft Buys Stake in Facebook" - New York Times

Will Facebook be around in 10 years?

"Whistle-Blower Finds a Finger Pointing Back" - New York Times

Disclosing information is almost always a complicated matter, whether or not the disclosure primarily involves the media.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

"Guardian rolls out US website" - European Journalism Centre

In crossing lots of borders, media companies have to appreciate more - and play to - the differences between someone sitting at her or his computer in the US vs the UK, or any other country. It is surprising that it has taken so long to get this sort of thing started. Today, for the most part, only some of the served ads change depending on the country in which you find yourself, but seldome do you see a different page or different contents. It only seems logical that the closer you can position yourself to your customer, the better the relationship and the more loyal customer you are going to have.

"U.S. panel endorses bill to stop online repression" - European Journalism Centre

Media companies of all kinds, for legal and moral reasons, need to pay a lot of attention to this.

"Espagne: le deuxième congrès mondial des agences de presse débute mercredi" - TV5.org

Even in a digital world, the work of national and international press agencies remains critical. In some respects because of staffing cutbacks at many media organizations, press agencies have become even more important. For this organization, however, there appears to be a wide variety of participants, in geography and in regard for accuracy as opposed to promotion to governmental points of view.

"Now You Can Send E-Mail to Your Dash" - New York Times

Where is the media content here? Which media company is doing what?

"In Foray Into TV, Google Is to Track Ad Audiences" - New York Times

Google-watching has become a full-tme necessity for many media companies for good reason as this example illustrates.

"To Be a Journalist in Iraq" - New York Times

Being a journalist can be incredibly tough work. There are few better examples of where and why it can become so critical than in this piece from an Iraqi journalist.

"Garden’s Gloves Are Off in Digital Fight" - New York Times

Are web sites a matter of fundamental rights, or mere contractual possessions? As more and more people and organizations invest more and more in their web presence, their rights to own a site - or just space in the web - become much more important. This applies to stand-alone sites, as here, and especially to content placed on a site owned clearly by someone else.

"German Border Threat: Cheap Books " - New York Times

The cross-border transport of media content - digitally or driven by other means - is both inevitable and fraught with all sorts of problems. The hockey puck is surely headed toward more movement of more content and the smart media organizaitons and policy makers understand this and are planning for this inevitability.

"U.P.S. Earnings Beat Expectations" - New York Times

Ultimately, people buy and sell "things". They could be bits and bytes and they could be cardboard and crates. And, yes, they will come also from local merchants who hide the bits, bytes, cardboard and crates in the backroom. That's why what happens to companies like UPS is so important to the media.

"Advertising on the web: How content affects the buying and selling of ad links" - INSEAD

How different is advertising in the internet than in other media? What are we adding to what people really DO when it comes to advertising messages wherever found? And where are we in the evolution of how ostensible advertising content relates to equally ostensibly independent editorial content?

"Writing books at the push of a button" - INSEAD

Is it not inevitable that we will see more and more automated content creation tools and applications? How do we draw a societal line between that automation that is acceptable in feeding our information diet and that which we only trust to human beings?

"Automated Phone System Warns San Diego" - New York Times

Alerting and informing people is a big part of the traditional responsibility of the media. Can the media do an even better job of informing people in a situation such as this? Is there a complementary role? If so, what is it? These sorts of communications initiatives cannot be thought of as simply "what the government is doing". In the minds of the people who need accurate information, the premium is on that accuracy and its currency. That sounds to me like what responsible media organizations ought to be best at doing. How have they done in Southern California with this emergency?

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

"Earnings Show Amazon Is Back on Top" - New York Times

Media companies need to pay attention to this for lots of reasons. It's not just another dot com company when it comes to how people relate to the media they consume and especially the media for which they pay something.

"Metro International passe dans le rouge au troisième trimestre" - TV5.org

It must be very discouraging when a media company that gives away its product cannot make a profit from advertising alone.

"If It Bleeds, It Leads" - WSJ.com

The Wall Street Journal provides an on screen translation of one of the Apple Daily front pages.......(see previous post).

"News Magnate Baits Beijing By Pairing Politics and Sex" - WSJ.com

A fascinating reminder of how different journalism and media organizations can be in other parts of the world - and the choices and problems they face to do things others might regard as being mere routine.

"MySpace va créer une chaîne de jeux en ligne" - Reuters/Le Monde

Are there some powerful ways in which MySpace's new games network could be put to use for journalism, for education and/or for other social benefits?

"Guide helps journalists get past Internet censorship" - European Journalism Centre

There are two important applicaitons for this. One is, of course, for news media organizations operating wholly within a country or focused primarily on serving it. The other is for news media organizations who are simply trying to cover better a country in which there are restrictions on what and who can go into the internet.

"Nokia and Reuters team up to transform how journalists file stories in the field" - European Journalism Centre

This is a perfect example of putting some of the new digital - and other - tools to good use on behalf of quality journalsim. How can other news organization participate now?

Privacy Lost: These Phones Can Find You - New York Times

News organizations need to focus on how to harness the seemingly perpetual explosion of new tools so that they can contribute to, and not distract from, practicing good journalism. What are the best ways that a news organization focused on quality can use this burgeoning capability?

"Iraqi Journalist Reported Missing After Driver’s Body Found" - The New York Times

Covering Iraq for the US and the rest of the world is one of the most important news assignments in the world today. As we talk about bits, bytes, and digital strategy, let's not lose sight of the fact that covering the news is not done by machines. It's real people who do it, and too many really wonderful people die in the process.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Monday, November 05, 2007

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Friday, November 02, 2007

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Monday, October 29, 2007

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Friday, October 26, 2007

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Monday, October 22, 2007

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Friday, October 19, 2007

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Wednesday, October 17, 2007