media Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Author JD Lasica

The Engadget Interview: Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVo

For this week’s Engadget Interview, veteran journalist and Engadget correspondent J.D. Lasica cornered TiVo CEO Mike Ramsay in a hallway at the Web 2.0 conference, where the head of the pioneering digital video recorder company talked about TiVo DVD recorders, government meddling in new technologies and what the future of television holds. Talk to me about TiVo not as a company, but as an idea. TiVo owners are passionate about their TiVos. Why does the cult of TiVo command such power? The insider language around this is, Oh my God, we’ve created a monster. It’s apparent we’ve got this compelling consumer proposition. At the end of the day, it has to do with fact that people are discovering they can

Digital editions: Friend or foe to new media?

In some markets, electronic replicas may replace free news sites A different version of this article appeared in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. In the sprawling terrain of eastern Washington, the era of free local news on the Web is drawing to a close. The Spokane Spokesman-Review, long known for its innovative new media operation, plans to launch a digital edition this summer in tandem with closing off large portions of its Web site to non-subscribers. “Simply put, we’re tired of giving away today’s news for free,” says Shaun Higgins, the paper’s director of marketing. “We can’t afford free riders on our service. Otherwise, we’ll have to stop paying our staff.”

When bloggers practice journalism

Journalists & bloggers discuss what’s ahead for the expanding media ecosystem The following exchange took place Sept. 17, 2002, at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and appeared a week later in OJR. Note: I’ve left original terms like “webloggers” intact, even though the language now seems outdated. By J.D. Lasica Online Journalism Review When do webloggers practice journalism? What do informed amateurs and niche experts bring to the media ecosystem? Should journalists blog? And should they rely on weblogs as news sources? Should bloggers and those in traditional media engage in a dance of fear and loathing, or do both sides stand to gain from the other? Should blogging be taught in journalism classes? Those were some of

The second coming of personalized news

Online news media’s new mantra: building user loyalty This column appeared Aug. 2, 2001, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. For an in-depth backgrounder on personalized news services and a look at the industry’s rocky track record, see the companion article, The Promise of the Daily Me. Personalized news — a dream that has greatly exceeded online media’s grasp over the past five years — is getting a second look at major news organizations. The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times unveiled ambitious new customized news features during the past two months. CBS SportsLine has introduced a slick set of personalization tools. The New York Times and Better Homes & Gardens are planning significant

The Promise of the Daily Me

From My News to digital butlers: An in-depth look at the different flavors of personalization This in-depth report appeared Aug. 2, 2001, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. It was republished in the Law Library Resource Xchange. An earlier version was commissioned for inclusion in an online journalism textbook by McGraw-Hill. ti For a look at the latest developments in personalization at media outlets, see the companion column, The second coming of personalized news. No trend threatens the guardians of old media more than personalization. The very notion challenges the philosophical underpinnings of traditional media: We, the gatekeepers, gather the news and tell you what’s important. Under this chiseled-in-stone setup, editors sort through and

Michael Eisner memo to staff of Walt Disney Co.

Following is Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner’s internal memo to employees of Walt Disney Co. early in the week of May 21, 2001: Dear Fellow Cast Members: This Friday, the Touchstone film “Pearl Harbor” will open in the United States and Canada, followed quickly by its release in most parts of the world. Because the awareness of this film is so incredibly high, this e-mail will be brief. I don’t need to list the cast or give you the synopsis of the plot. I will just give you the synopsis of the film’s significance for our company: Enormous (enough said).

High anxiety, new realities at LA Times Online

Staffers are having a hard time adjusting to new marching orders from the Tribune Co. This column appeared Jan. 25, 2001, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. What a difference a merger makes. A year ago the 100-person online staff at the Los Angeles Times was riding high in the digital saddle. New media director Leah Gentry, widely admired in online news circles, called her team “the hardest working band in show business.” On one occasion, she brought in bottles of champagne and toasted her staff when the site blasted through another traffic milestone. The partying stopped on March 13, when the Tribune Co. acquired Times Mirror Co. for $8 billion. The takeover became

Soul-searching time for online news units

Dotcom downturn leads to rethinking of strategies, investments This column appeared Jan. 25, 2001, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. Madeline Baro was thrilled last April when she became the first online reporter dedicated to the Miami Herald’s Web site. The experiment proved short-lived. Eight months later she was among the casualties when KnightRidder.com scaled back its online operations, laying off 68 people. Patricia Marroquin, fresh off a new media fellowship from the Newspaper Association of America, was startled to learn she was one of three online editors let go at latimes.com last October. Within days she was offered her old job back as copy editor on the newspaper’s business desk, but she and

CNN Memo to Staff

CNN Newsgathering President Eason Jordan’s memo to CNN staff: To: CNN colleagues From: Eason Jordan The CNN News Group will undergo a radical transformation in the weeks ahead as we strive to make our great news organization better than ever, heightening CNN’s competitive edge. I am an outspoken advocate of revolutionary change within CNN and am the architect of many of the initiatives we are implementing across the News Group, especially in Newsgathering. In this note I provide details of the coming Newsgathering changes and explain why I believe these innovations are not only desirable but essential.

Dotcom content sites try some new tricks

Inside.com, Salon and others look for new formulas in the online content game This column appeared Jan. 25, 2001, in the Online Journalism Review. Here’s the version on the OJR site. The new media divisions of The New York Times, Knight Ridder, the Tribune Co. and other traditional media companies don’t hold a monopoly on online journalism. In fact, a strong case can be made that most of the innovations taking place in the field have their origins in the dotcom world.