“Journalists everywhere are using it to get ideas for features,” Benji Lanyado, a freelance writer based in London, told me recently. “Stories appear on Reddit, then half a day later they’re on Buzzfeed and Gawker, then they’re on the Washington Post, The Guardian and the New York Times. It’s a pretty established pattern.”
Much of the “inspiration” is simple: journalists trawling Reddit and simply lifting ideas, photos or quotes: sometimes with credit, oftentimes without. But it’s more than just a source of material for aggregators, copycats and rip-off artists. Look a little deeper and Reddit’s news filter is also influential in other, less visible ways.
The site’s huge traffic (now more than three billion page views a month) means that it pushes through a lot of attention. Stories that rise to the top of the site can suddenly get propelled into the stratosphere — meaning that other media outlets, including TV news, have a greater chance of spotting them. The voracious, skeptical approach of many redditors also acts as a sort of built-in fact checking service for journalists too lazy or time-poor to do the legwork themselves:
And then there’s the site’s original content — things like the AMA sub-section, which has turned into an interview slot and confessional all in one. These real-life stories have helped turn Reddit from a simple link machine into something that creates its own stories, with the result that it’s constantly driving headlines.
The utility of Reddit for journalists is such that Lanyado has decided to build The Reddit Edit, a skinned version of the site. It’s aimed, at least in part, at that diminishing cadre of media workers who still shy away from the site. It looks more presentable than its parent, and puts forward only the hottest stories across a variety of topics: if Reddit calls itself “the front page of the internet”, then The Reddit Edit would be the 60 second news bulletin.
Read more here
Saturday, September 15
Taking the E-Book Revolution to Africa
Worldreader is shipping Amazon’s single-purpose Kindle reader to schools and communities in sub-Saharan Africa with a near-term goal of providing 1 million e-books to children in the largely English-speaking countries of Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya in the next year.
(It) persuaded Amazon’s hardware engineers to work on reinforcing the casing of the donated devices so they don’t succumb to the harsh environmental conditions of the region. Worldreader also uses special software so that every few weeks free e-books can be wirelessly delivered over cellular networks to kid’s devices. The U.S. Department of State (announced) in June a pilot program to purchase 2,500 Kindles as part of its own global e-reader program. But the initiative, which had not been opened to other e-reader makers, wilted under criticism that it didn’t take into account the needs of sight-impaired people and the government was playing favorites in the competitive e-reading market.
Read more here
(It) persuaded Amazon’s hardware engineers to work on reinforcing the casing of the donated devices so they don’t succumb to the harsh environmental conditions of the region. Worldreader also uses special software so that every few weeks free e-books can be wirelessly delivered over cellular networks to kid’s devices. The U.S. Department of State (announced) in June a pilot program to purchase 2,500 Kindles as part of its own global e-reader program. But the initiative, which had not been opened to other e-reader makers, wilted under criticism that it didn’t take into account the needs of sight-impaired people and the government was playing favorites in the competitive e-reading market.
Read more here
Video games dominate Kickstarter’s list of biggest projects.
SINCE its launch three years ago, Kickstarter, a website on which people who want to make things can ask other people to pay for their projects, has offered hope to penniless musicians, artists and designers. But what the world’s modern Medicis really want to bankroll is new video games. Of the ten most-funded Kickstarter projects, five are related to video games
One reason that games get financed is that gamers are tech-savvy. With an average age in America of 37, they also have plenty of disposable income. They expect no return on their money, save a free or cut-price copy of the game itself.
There are structural reasons within the games industry for Kickstarter’s popularity, too. As development budgets for games have risen, says Aubrey Hesselgren, a games-industry programmer, big publishers such as Electronic Arts and Activision have become risk-averse. Like Hollywood studios before them, they have taken the safe option of churning out endless sequels to already-popular titles in big-selling genres, such as military-themed shooting games. That leaves a long tail of disgruntled fans who can’t find new games they enjoy. The three biggest Kickstarter games are all from underserved genres.
Read more here
One reason that games get financed is that gamers are tech-savvy. With an average age in America of 37, they also have plenty of disposable income. They expect no return on their money, save a free or cut-price copy of the game itself.
There are structural reasons within the games industry for Kickstarter’s popularity, too. As development budgets for games have risen, says Aubrey Hesselgren, a games-industry programmer, big publishers such as Electronic Arts and Activision have become risk-averse. Like Hollywood studios before them, they have taken the safe option of churning out endless sequels to already-popular titles in big-selling genres, such as military-themed shooting games. That leaves a long tail of disgruntled fans who can’t find new games they enjoy. The three biggest Kickstarter games are all from underserved genres.
Read more here
Friday, September 14
Multiscreen TV-Tablet Viewing Soars
Almost two-thirds of tablet owners, 63%, watch TV while using their tablets, per a study from GfK MRI. The research says this is significantly more than any other activity done concurrent with tablet usage.
Read more here
Read more here
Thursday, September 13
Newspaper that plays audio
A print version of the Lancashire Evening Post has been created with a button to allow readers to press the newspaper and play audio. The "smart" newspaper is the latest prototype from an 18-month research project led by the University of Central Lancashire.
Called Interactive Newsprint, the project aims to find a way of connecting a print newspaper to the internet. The newspaper sends a signal to a server to play the audio and gathers data on how many people have clicked to listen.
Read more here
Called Interactive Newsprint, the project aims to find a way of connecting a print newspaper to the internet. The newspaper sends a signal to a server to play the audio and gathers data on how many people have clicked to listen.
Read more here
Wednesday, September 12
People use TV differently
During the first three months of 2012, the average consumer spent about 2 percent less time watching traditional TV than the previous year, Nielsen said. They more than made up for that by spending more time watching material recorded on DVRs or on the Internet through TVs, computers and mobile devices.
The typical consumer spends 14 minutes a day using gaming consoles, although it's more for owners of Wii, XBox and PlayStation 3, Nielsen said. Many of these devices are also popular sites for accessing video, Turrill said.
"The gaming devices are becoming entertainment hubs," she said.
People over age 65 spend nearly 48 hours, on average, watching television each week, Nielsen said. At the other end of the spectrum are teenagers aged 12 to 17, who spend an average of 22 hours per week watching TV.
Read more here
The typical consumer spends 14 minutes a day using gaming consoles, although it's more for owners of Wii, XBox and PlayStation 3, Nielsen said. Many of these devices are also popular sites for accessing video, Turrill said.
"The gaming devices are becoming entertainment hubs," she said.
People over age 65 spend nearly 48 hours, on average, watching television each week, Nielsen said. At the other end of the spectrum are teenagers aged 12 to 17, who spend an average of 22 hours per week watching TV.
Read more here
Local News Trumps Cable In Viewer Numbers
Despite all the big brand awareness of the major cable news networks, the TV station community would like you to know that local TV news programs still deliver much bigger numbers in the respective major markets.
Read more here
Read more here
Tuesday, September 11
A New Language of Journalism
OLD LANGUAGE OF JOURNALISM
Editors, reporters, stories, readers, anchors, viewers, advertisers, church, state, page one, column inches, rating points, photos, op-ed, sound bite, rewrite, correction, rim, slot, copy, blue line, press run, bull pen, bull dog edition, cover, picas, pages, broadcast, networks, broadsheet, bound, full bleed, register, takeout, ahed, lede story, copydesk, overnight, typeset, plate, inverted pyramid, wire, transmit, press time, stringer, “special to,” foreign correspondent, bureau, phoner, spike, kill, presses, stet, double truck, dateline, notebook, file, night editor, copy boy, jump page, in depth, breaking, paid circ.
NEW LANGUAGE OF JOURNALISM
Content creators, posts, participants, comments, marketers, transparency, RSS feeds, authenticity, context, monetize, platform, CMS, video, engagement, data, brands, accountability, aggregation, self-correcting, search, social, friends, curate, distribution, promotion, product manager, project manager, impressions, screens, pixels, galleries, writer, blogger, blog, voice, update, conversation, dialogue, flow, streams, producer, slideshow, terminal, unique visitors, repeat visitors, time spent, page views, tweets, likes, check in, yield, apps, swipe, delete, scroll, timely, relevant, engaging, pay, free, UI, UX, algorithm, SEO, SMO.
THE OLD AND NEW MEET
Old or new, much of the language talks about journalism’s need to observe, interpret and select, with all the biases that entails, conscious or not. The old language of journalism speaks to a moment in history, one defined by technology and social change that bestowed upon reporters and editors the power (often arrogantly perceived as authority) to be the sole collectors and decision-makers of worthy news. The new language of journalism speaks to new technologies and societal upheavals that democratize the journalistic processes of covering and distributing the news.
Read more here
Editors, reporters, stories, readers, anchors, viewers, advertisers, church, state, page one, column inches, rating points, photos, op-ed, sound bite, rewrite, correction, rim, slot, copy, blue line, press run, bull pen, bull dog edition, cover, picas, pages, broadcast, networks, broadsheet, bound, full bleed, register, takeout, ahed, lede story, copydesk, overnight, typeset, plate, inverted pyramid, wire, transmit, press time, stringer, “special to,” foreign correspondent, bureau, phoner, spike, kill, presses, stet, double truck, dateline, notebook, file, night editor, copy boy, jump page, in depth, breaking, paid circ.
NEW LANGUAGE OF JOURNALISM
Content creators, posts, participants, comments, marketers, transparency, RSS feeds, authenticity, context, monetize, platform, CMS, video, engagement, data, brands, accountability, aggregation, self-correcting, search, social, friends, curate, distribution, promotion, product manager, project manager, impressions, screens, pixels, galleries, writer, blogger, blog, voice, update, conversation, dialogue, flow, streams, producer, slideshow, terminal, unique visitors, repeat visitors, time spent, page views, tweets, likes, check in, yield, apps, swipe, delete, scroll, timely, relevant, engaging, pay, free, UI, UX, algorithm, SEO, SMO.
THE OLD AND NEW MEET
Old or new, much of the language talks about journalism’s need to observe, interpret and select, with all the biases that entails, conscious or not. The old language of journalism speaks to a moment in history, one defined by technology and social change that bestowed upon reporters and editors the power (often arrogantly perceived as authority) to be the sole collectors and decision-makers of worthy news. The new language of journalism speaks to new technologies and societal upheavals that democratize the journalistic processes of covering and distributing the news.
Read more here
Monday, September 10
Instagram Gaining Ground On Facebook
A recent study by app analytics firm found Instagram has become the second-most-popular app behind Facebook globally. It was the most downloaded social app in July across the 10 largest markets it tracks. While the report acknowledged a panel of six (five females, one male) is only a tiny sample, it believes more young people are discussing shifting away from Facebook to Instagram. Facebook acquired Instagram in April for $1 billion, partly to neutralize a fast-rising rival.
Read more here
Read more here
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