Kentucky student journalists, adviser among media arrested in St. Paul

Two Kentucky Kernel journalists and their photo adviser were among people -- including several others representing media -- who were arrested outside the Republican convention in St. Paul. A story is here. They are charged with felony trespass and face a minimum of a year in jail.

While not taking sides on whether the students were "rioting" or reporting, I am reminded of my experiences covering riots in 1968 at Greencastle, Indiana when the police made sure their tear gas blanketed the media covering a demonstration even though none of it hit the demonstrators. As their boss said at the time "We were attempting to break up the demonstration, and the media got in the way."

Interesting question though, why has so little been reported on arrests at any of the conventions this year even though New York paid big bucks to settle lawsuits for its policy four years ago of arresting great masses of people without actually filing any charges. I would expect the "liberal" media to question whether we have an official policy of jailing people without actually filing charges merely to keep them from protesting. Whatever you think, it seems to me that it should be a story.

Magazines also struggle for an identity

In case you thought it was just newspapers going through dramatic changes, MediaPost offers details on the latest moves in the consumer magazine field as three more publications move to expand their digital offerings.

Magazines face different problems than newspapers. The fundamental question all publishers must decide, I believe, is what consumers are getting out of their publications. Are they reading them for information (news is a form of information), for entertainment (well-written stories, such as in the New Yorker), just to pass the time (crossword puzzles, sudoku), or other reasons. It seems to me that the reason a reader is attracted to a publication will dictate how that reader (and, although it seems many media managers often forget this, Internet consumers are generally reading) can be most effectively served. For example, I am a very heavy media consumer. I scan certain Internet sites for news several times a day. But I read the New Yorker not only for information but for pleasure. I can't imagine reading it on line.

The problem U.S. media managers face, of course, is that their advertisers are seeking reader eyes, and don't care why I read something and notice their ads; just that I do. So publications need to keep our eyes while convincing advertisers they can best reach their audience by advertising in the publication, whether it be printed on paper or on line. It's several tough jobs at once, and it's ongoing.

"Newspapers are not going anywhere"

Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager, NYTimes.com, while answering questions online today stated flatly that "Newspapers are not going anywhere. Advertising revenue may be in decline, but publishing newspapers is still a very profitable business and we intend to keep our presses running for a long time to come." The rest of her responses to questions about the Times, newspapers in general and the Internet are online. (You may have to register to read.)

She offers a lot of information about the thinking of online executives, including some analysis of revenue streams, online video and the various digital forms the Times is offering. All in all, it's a very useful story that should be read by anyone serious about our business.

Possible cracks in the new media model

A couple of Internet technical decisions recently have demonstrated the volitality of the new media home. Like with much of what's happening elsewhere in the media world, no one seems to know exactly what these moves will mean in the long term, but it's clear that there are possibilities both positive and negative for the media world.

For example, the decision by Comcast, a major Internet provider, to put a ceiling on Internet usage along with trial balloons from others about usage caps or charges. Time-Warner, for example, is experimenting with charging more for more usage, as is AT&T (no surprise there; the monoply is back as anyone with AT&T service knows). PC World magazine has a story explaining some of the concerns raised about the Comcast decision. One thing is clear: There is no way anyone can predict Internet usage demands for the future.

Another was reported by John Markoff in the New York Times. His report says that Internet traffic is beginning to flow around the U.S. due to both technology and concern with our government snooping.

Does it all mean that the new media model commonly accepted -- the one where print media is replaced by digital -- is wrong? Who knows? I believe it means everything is still in flux, which is why student journalists should continue to be trained first as good journalists, versed in the practices of reporting and writing, but that digital forms of communication skills be taught as necessary tools of the trade.

Will the Chicago Tribune really become just the Trib?

At right is one of the redesign proposals for the Chicago Tribune, according to this story on the Editor & Publisher web site. The Trib, as we've always called the Tribune, will be redesigned officially during September (no date has been announced). Even more dramatic, I hear, are planned content changes prompted by new owner Sam Zell's management team, which is dominated by television folks. 

Look in archives at Romenesko, Editor & Publisher, and newsdesigner.com for other comments and insights into the redesign. I expect the designers at newsdesigner.com to offer solid professional comment after the final design is unveiled. Currently, newsdesigner.com demonstrates the redesign of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, another Tribune newspaper, and a lot of comment on the company's redesign of the Orlando Sentinel.

What closing Washington bureaus means

Jonathan E. Kaplan, a former Washington reporter for Maine newspapers; now another unemployed, laid-off journalist, explains in today's Washington Post how today's leaner press is also a meaner press, as in less important since it's not doing its reporting job. 

It's interesting if you think about the reason for the press and believe along with the likes of Thomas Jefferson and others who gave our country a free press that the media has a responsibility for an educated populace, and plays a big role in the success of democracy. Kaplan explains exactly what Maine lost with the closing of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram's Washington bureau. It's also what we will lose when the Journal Sentinel follows through with its plans to eliminate its Washington bureau.

5 ways newspapers lost their way

Interesting blog theory lists five earlier web ventures that newspapers abandoned too soon. It's an interesting thought. It shares the new media conceit that only Internet publishing can make it (tell that to community newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio, etc.), but it's worth reading.

Paying for online content; what a concept

A new website is offering to pay for content, which is a good thing. (It's hard to think of yourself as a professional journalist if you're working for free.) A story on portfolio.com reports that allvoices.com is planning to pay writers based on number of page views they generate. It's not perfect, but it's a good start.

All the news that fits . . . on your cell phone

The Newspaper Association of America offers a new report that looks at the potential of news being delivered on cell phones. How widespread it will be is problematic, but the report indicates that it is relatively cheap and easy (two words that sing to today's media managers), and certainly some will be using it. I noticed two colleagues today checking their email on their cell phones during a break in a meeting with some envy. It's not much of a stretch to see them checking news sites.

Pew breaks down U.S. news consumers

Pew Research Institute's latest report on the news industry outlines a nation still searching for a news identity. Increases in those getting news online and decreases in those reading traditional newspaper -- but the latter form is still the most popular. Very interesting breakdowns of various types of news consumers. Worst news is that "a third of those younger than 25 (34%) say they get no news on a typical day, up from 25% in 1998." Somehow the news industry must figure out a way to produce a product popular to more Americans.

Student editors take note -- and the heat

The Seattle Times reports on an ongoing struggle between an attorney and the student newspaper at Seattle Pacific University over the newspaper's archives. Seems the attorney was arrested a decade ago, but never charged. Still the newspaper's archives post a story about it online, and, the Times story says, it's among the first things that pop up when the attorney's name is Googled. Finally, the attorney and University struck a deal to expunge the story. But the student editors refuse. That's where it sits now.

This situation is far from unusual, and it's been the subject of extensive debate among members of the College Media Advisers association (I'm a member). The consensus by a large margin is that what's been published has been published just as if it's on paper, and it should remain in the archives. It's a subject that will continue to come up as more and more former students are going to find themselves haunted by their past, just as they are with Facebook or MySpace photos and unseemly posts.

Where newspapers are thriving (Germany)

Too short to be a good analysis, this Business Week story teases us by pointing out that German newspapers continue to be successes. Still, it does offer some suggestions. OK, we can move past the nude pictures on Page 1 and racy stories (I don't think American readers are ready for that), but there is good advice in the story about adapting to readers, embracing the Internet, and providing exclusive material. Frankly, one unstated conclusion is that newspapers should be adding reporters and getting them out on the street instead of rewriting their earlier efforts several times a day to make it appear that websites are fresh. Exclusives are exclusives.

The author's conclusion that German newspapers are successeding because of "their embrace of competition" is interesting. As a journalism historian, I spend a lot of time looking at newspapers from a hundred years ago when they certainly embraced competition. You can't look at the Hearst-Pulitzer-other New York newspapers of the era without being startled at their push against the competition. Frankly, what was their business model? Offer exclusive news, comment, features. That sounds like a winning combination.