Cross-ownership means better TV?

Here’s the headline: The audience gets more news from TV stations owned by companies that also own a newspaper in the same market. According to an article in Broadcasting & Cable, research done at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that “cross-ownership of broadcast outlets and daily newspapers in the same town has a [...]

Suspended for what?

Two high-profile anchors were taken off the air temporarily this month after making offensive comments–one on the air and one off air. Now their employers’ actions in suspending them are drawing criticism, too.
Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman said during a tournament that the only way to beat Tiger Woods was to “lynch him in [...]

Quit yer complainin’!

Two recent developments in the print world are worth a closer look. The Newspaper Association of America says online audiences for newspapers grew by about six percent in 2007. According to an Associated Press article:
Web sites run by newspapers had an average of 60 million unique U.S. visitors per month in 2007, up [...]

Pros and cons of social network reporting

The list of online tools you can use in reporting keeps growing, along with the benefits and pitfalls of relying on social networks for information. Jennifer Woodard Mazerazo, associate editor of PBS MediaShift, says her latest favorite tool is Twitter:
The service acts as what some call a “gate jumper.” Because of the way it’s [...]

Who’s watching what online

According to a new study by Burst Media, Web users would rather watch professional video than user-generated content.  And the most popular type of online video is news.  The study found that almost 60% of users view online video at least once a week, and almost half of them (44%) cite news clips as their [...]

Flash map brings story to life

The Times Herald-Record posted an amazing investigative package this week that combines excellent use of Flash with top-notch video to bring a compelling story to life online. Multimedia producer John Pertel and investigative reporter Christine Young collaborated on the story of Lebrew Jones, a man who may have been wrongfully convicted of murder 20 [...]

NBC’s “digital correspondent” makes air

Twice this week, NBC Nightly News has aired reports from Mara Schiavocampo, a 28-year-old solo journalist who’s just back from reporting in India. Hired last October, Schiavocampo’s primary responsibility is to produce content exclusively for the Web. But last night she was live on the set with Brian Williams, introducing her [...]

A young journalist’s to-do list

Learn Arcview. Refresh statistics knowledge. Produce more multimedia. Just three of the ambitious goals on newbie reporter Shannan Bowen’s list. Bowen’s been out of college a little more than a year and works for a small paper in North Carolina, the Wilmington Star-News. On her personal blog, she’s tracking [...]

Web jobs open at TV stations

Broadcasting & Cable has a compelling article about TV stations and station owners re-thinking their Web strategies. The article points to multiple examples of news organizations shifting resources to the Web through new hires and job restructuring.
To find ample resources for the Web, some managers are converting broadcast positions to Web ones. When [...]

Primary colors

Here’s a new wrinkle on an old dilemma. When Michigan voters go to the polls in their state primary today, they can vote in either the Republican or Democratic race. But under the law setting up the primary, voters have to write down which ballot they want and that list will be [...]