Public Media 2007

by Brian Reich | 25 Feb 2007, 2:00am

I spoke  on a panel Friday morning at  Public Media 2007, the Interactive Media Association’s annual conference.   The conference brings together the folks from the public broadcasting (radio and TV) communities who are focused on interactive (read: online) communications.   While the public broadcasting community has been an innovator in many ways online, the  conference  was appropriately focused on figuring out how NPR, PBS, and all their member stations and partner groups could make the  leap from being public broadcasters who have operations online to being leaders in the  broader public media  space, and leveraging technology to do that.

Here is a quick  excerpt from  the conference overview  on what was driving this discussion:

For one thing, all media is taking a digital form and “public service publishing” has expanded dramatically–if you extend the definition of public media to any individual or organization creating and distributing media “in the public interest.”   Technical advances and innovations have eliminated barriers to entry. The cost of audio and video production has spiraled downward. Podcasting and media aggregation sites, where you don’t need a license to distribute audio and video, now reach millions of desktops and iPods.   With ubiquitous blogging software, everybody can be a journalist, a critic, a pundit at a cost of no more than $20 a month.  

The speed of this change has been nothing short of revolutionary.

I sat on a panel entitled “Leveraging Social Networks” which promised to answer the burning question: “How can public broadcasting stations can leverage social networks to increase engagement and build audience?”   The panel was moderated by Vinay Bhagat, the Founder and Chief Strategist of Convio and featured Dick McPherson, a consultant to the public broadcasting community, Heather Holdridge from Care2 and David Woodrow from Gather.com.

I  was generally disappointed with how the conversation was framed.   The easy way to think about social networks is to look at the existing technologies in the field and  figure out how to use them.   In other words, since MySpace has  more than 50 million users, they must be a place we can go looking  to engage our audience.   Or, since more than 65,000 videos are uploaded to YouTube  every day, we should be uploading our shows because that’s where the marketplace is headed.   There is not enough consideration about why these properties may or may not be valuable and not enough thought about what makes online social networking function successfully.

I kicked things off with a presentation (here is my iMA Presentation) that framed social networking and new media in a broader format.   My point was simply that social interaction online, and social networking more specifically, has been happening for a long time in many different formats — and innovations in technology will only expand on that.    Successful communities are built and fostered online not because of the technology that facilitates the interaction, but rather its the content and experience that people create and share that drives interest.    Public media organizations need to think strategically and creatively about  what they produce, how if they want to truly  engage their target audience.   I think I resonated with the audience, but honestly am not sure.

Dick McPherson followed me and challenging the audience to focus on specific goals they wanted to achieve online (i.e. build community and membership, not raise money) and broadly about how to creatively execute on those efforts.   Heather and David offered case studies about what works within their networks.  

Now, I do not mean to disrespect either Care2 or Gather.com, both of which  I think are terrific organizations and both of whom were well represented  by my fellow panelists, but they are only two of the dozens of options currently available to consider.   I am not a big fan of presenting personal case studies on panels because it should be obvious that I would biased towards the things that I have done.   That was the case with both Gather.com and Care2, who have been working with public  broadcasting groups  to build out social networking efforts.    It just  seemed to me that the message of the panel was too much about how public media groups could use those two platforms and succeed.   Maybe they are the best two networks for public media.   Or, maybe the public radio community should be looking at more examples, and more opportunities.   I don’t know, but most people probably left that room thinking about launching Gather.com groups or launching petitions through Care2 and not enough of them were considering all the other venues available to them.

I did make one point at the end that was good, and I think resonated.   A woman in the audience asked for our opinions on how many social networks should a station target and what kinds of resources should they put into the effort.   A good question.   However, in asking the question, she referenced ‘us’ (meaning the station) and ‘them’ (referring to the audience members who would be part of the community).   After everyone else had offered specific answers to her questions, I  jumped in, adding  something to the effect of: Its very important for you as an organization, for your staff, your talent, whoever, to see themselves as a part of these communities.   You are not separate.   It cannot be us vs. them.   Most likely, the reason that your audience might be intererested in joining and contributing to a community that you organiz is the same reason that you, as a staff person at one of those stations, work so hard to make it successful.   Its about the content, its about the experience, its about your contribution to our society.   If you see yourself as separate from that community instead of as a part of it, you are missing the boat.

I got a lot of nods, and a pat on the back from one of my fellow panelists for making the point.   I probably sounded a little righteous, but maybe that helped get the point across more effectively.    I enjoyed being on the panel and would love to help the public media conversation move forward to where it desperately needs to be, but  I am not sure I was able to broaden the perspectives of anyone in attendance with respect to the framing of a conversation about social networking.

Thank you to Teri Lamitie of WGBH in Boston for the invitation.    I very much enjoyed the conversation and I hope that I was able to contribute some interesting thoughts to the discussion.   Please invite me back to do it again.

TAGS : Citizen Journalism Event Coverage Free Advice From the Trenches Journalism Public Media Radio Social Networks TV
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Citizen Media’s Breakthrough Moment(s)

by Brian Reich | 15 Feb 2007, 2:00am

When we look back and try to identify the breakthrough moment(s) when citizen generated media found its way into the American consciousness, the credentialing of bloggers to cover the perjury trial of Scooter Libby, and the subsequent recognition by traditional media of their efforts, should be right  near the top of the list.  

The New York Times  profiled the bloggers at  firedoglake, the liberal collective that has been providing online coverage of the trial since it began in today’s paper.   There is actually nothing new about bloggers covering trials  – there was terrific newspaper blogging of the Enron trials by the Houston Chronicle for example –  but the independence of these bloggers has made it very different.   The firedoglake bloggers, and their conservative counterparts, are introducing a whole new perspective and new  energy to otherwise traditional coverage.  From the article:

Even as they exploit the newest technologies, the Libby trial bloggers are a throwback to a journalistic style of decades ago, when many reporters made no pretense of political neutrality. Compared with the sober, neutral drudges of the establishment press, the bloggers are class clowns and crusaders, satirists and scolds.

“They’re putting in a lot more opinion and a lot more color than the traditional reporters,” said Mr. Cox, adding that the bloggers were challenging “the theory of objective journalism.”

While I think that including independent bloggers in the coverage  of federal trials  is a tremendous step forward — and a necessary one — for both the legal and news industries, I worry that critics will seize on the fact that the bloggers are partisan (or worse, in the case of firedoglake, liberal) to diminish their contribution.     I also worry that all citizen media will be framed by this one, high-profile situation and that the non-traditional conventions of the contributors to  firedoglake (such as nicknaming Vice President Cheney “Shooter”) will give other organization pause when considering  granting bloggers full access  to cover events in the future.   Everyone, most importantly the traditional media folks (newspapers, TV, radio, and established online journalism sites) should fight these stereotypes with all their energy.

There is such tremendous opportunity for citizen media practitioners (read: people) to provide  perspective and color to the coverage of all sorts of events that furthers the cause of journalism and helps to inform society.   The work that firedoglake and others are doing at the Libby trial is just one example of how this can work, but its a great model and a huge step forward for the cause of citizen media.

TAGS : Citizen Journalism Journalism New York Times
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SRI In the Rockies: The Big Picture

by Brian Reich | 30 Oct 2006, 2:00am

I spent the weekend in Colorado Springs, CO attending SRI in the Rockies, the annual gathering of the socially responsible investment industry in the United States.   I was there to  participate in a panel about online marketing and host a  topic table at lunch on the same topic.   I also had an opportunity to attend some of the speeches and sessions — and learned some new things about climate change its impact on disease, micro-finance and, perhaps most interestingly, the future of the internet.

Bob Veres, an author, speaker, and one of the most influential people in the financial services industry (socially responsible or otherwise) gave a talk entitled ”The Next Society.’   The focus of his talk was how the world of sustainable investments has changed, and continues to evolve, and how the world is now following the lead of SRI - for the better.   He noted that a decade ago, social screens were seen as a depressant on fund performance while today, social screens are the very best way to evaluate corporate character and avoid surprises in your portfolio.  

Then he launched into a commentary on the changing nature of communications and how it relates to the tough work of changing the world.   Here are my (rough) notes:

- The media industry is in crisis.   Stories are covered and then disappear.   Stories are covered by people who don’t know much about the subject and who have a very short attention span.   The future of news will be an environment where you can access a lot more information, a lot better information, from people who know a lot more than reporters.   And it will make everything more focused, more meaningful, and more actionable.

- The web has created a hostile world for advertising.   As we move towards the web as a content delivery vehicle, corporate america will not be able to artificially create demand for their products and services.   It is harder and harder for advertisers to gain interest and traction.   That is why TV advertising is suffering and that is why the future of communications will be information/content-centric, and not marketer driven.

- We are experiencing the death of the consumer economic system.   Why?   It doesn’t relate to the issues that people actually care about most.   That has also given rise to the concept of “Life Planning.”   People are finding they don’t want more stuff.   They want more fulfillment from their lives.   How do they know?  

Ask yourself, if you had one day left to live, what would be your biggest regret?   Write down 30 goals you want to achieve this year (the first ten will be easy, the second ten more difficult, the third ten will make you did deep).   If you had all the money in the world, what would you want to do?      

- How can we change the world?   He offered two directives:

1) Operate in your zone of personal genius.   Imagine a circle, with a circle inside that, and a circle in side that.   At the center of that innermost circle is a   blue dot  that represents your greatest energy, focus, and passion.   That is where we must all operate - get rid of the distractions and just work within our blue dot.

2) Hire a coach to help you get there.   They will help you put aside all of the work you do for others and help you focus on just what you need.   The coach will nag you because they will present your own goals back to you in such a compelling way that you will do for them what you can’t seem to find a way to do for yourself.

- The way we work is changing.   You are going to see most of the world’s work being done by ad hoc teams who are experts in their field and who are operating within their blue dot.   You will see corporations (who right now have office buildings filled with generalists and inefficient information flow based in hierarchy not expertise) “melt like sugar cubes in the rain.” The people who own the assets will control them - you won’t need marketers, etc.

- The internet will become the superconductor of human and financial capital.
The speech made  me think.   Not sure quite yet what it all means, but rarely does a conference speech make me think like this one did, so that must mean something.

TAGS : Advertising Citizen Journalism Citizen Marketing Conferences/Events Event Coverage From the Trenches Journalism Marketing News
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We Media Global Forum

by Brian Reich | 2 May 2006, 2:00am

I am in London this week for the We Media Global Forum, a two-day conference (May 3 - May 4) exploring the impact of technology and the internet on media and society.   The event is co-sponsored by the BBC and Reuters and hosted by The Media Center.

I will be moderating the online  conversation at the Forum  – helping to make sure the opinions and insights of  the media, organizations, bloggers, and others who are watching  and participating from near and far are heard as a part of the conference.    I will also be  helping to lead a wiki-storm, the outcome of which will be a call-to-action for conference participants, and others who are interested,  to support bottom-up media.   More on that later.

More information about the conference - and a link to the online chat - are available online at http://www.mediacenterblog.org/events/06/wemedialondon/home/.

TAGS : Blogging Citizen Journalism Conferences/Events From the Trenches Journalism Shameless Self Promotion Technology
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Who’s Reading the Newspaper?

by Brian Reich | 18 Apr 2006, 2:00am

The Center for Media Research reports new data about the readership of newspapers and online news  (taken from a study released by the Newspaper Association of America).   The topilines:

• 116 million adults are reading the newspaper over the course of a week and 55 million Internet users visit a newspaper Web site over the course of a month.
• Unique visitors to newspaper Web sites jumped 21 percent in 2005 and page views increased by 43 percent over that same period.  
• Newspaper web sites attracted 14 percent more 25- to 34-year-olds and 9 percent more 18- to 24-year-olds.
• 78 percent of the 149 million adults who live in the top 50 markets read a newspaper over the course of five weekdays and one Sunday.  
• 69 percent of 18- to 24-year olds in the these markets are reading a newspaper during the course of a week.
• 65.7 percent of consumers with household incomes of $150,000 or more read the newspaper on an average weekday, and more than 71.7 percent on an average Sunday.

And in the least surprising, yet likely to attract the most attention TAGS:

• Newspapers own 11 of the top 25 national news and information Web sites, and locally, newspapers provide the dominant information site in most of the top 75 markets.

The newspaper industry still has a lot of work to do before it completely transforms itself from a print-only news medium to the propriters of highly interactive information centers.   I’m still not entirely sure they will succeed in their transformation  – it is  entirely possible that when we look at similar data in five or ten years that the newspaper industry will barely be represented in these studies and that the new information providers will be individual citizens, full-time information aggregators, or some new category we haven’t thought of yet.   I hope newspaper companies do find success online because the history and knowledge of how good journalism must be conducted is wrapped up in them and it would be a loss for us all if that wasn’t carried over to new and developing mediums.

TAGS : Citizen Journalism Journalism News Research
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Spending on User Generated Media Going Up

by Brian Reich | 15 Apr 2006, 2:00am

The Center for Media Research reported this week that spending on user-generated media has is growing — and fast!

The first installment in PQ Media’s Alternative Media Research Series, the Blog, Podcast and RSS Advertising Outlook, reports that advertising spending on user-generated online media - blogs, podcasts and RSS - did not begin until 2002, but this combined spending has grown to $20.4 million by the end or 2005, a 198.4% increase over the 2004 level. Spending on blog, podcast and RSS advertising is projected to climb another 144.9% in 2006 to $49.8 million.

Jeff Jarvis has some thoughts on this over at BuzzMachine.

TAGS : Advertising Blogging Citizen Journalism Podcasts Research
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