LINKS | Down With the AP?
- Image via CrunchBase
There's been a growing feeling that the AP is not our friend in the media industry, but this week, that feeling seemed to bubble over. We've got some rough numbers to show that they're not helping us, and with the rise of ESPN local sites, the AP is rapidly loosing it's marketplace.
I don't know if I'm ready to sign their death sentence yet, they do seem to have some smart people working for 'em (I look to the New Model for News study and their iPhone app). Yet, it's painfully obvious (after the youtube fiasco) that the AP is a classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing.
These are my links for April 14th through April 18th:
The AP is outdated and increasingly irrelevant; so are Printies
AP thinking of future:http://www.ap.org/newmodel.pdf - Interesting 'atomization of news' but still top-down publishing model. –@GregElin on March 23
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- Image via Wikipedia
Daily Kos: State of the Nation: Newspapers make up 20% of the sources for The Daily Kos, but blogs make up near 13%, the second most. The AP? Less than 1%.
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“On the other hand, I will be gleeful when the AP goes out of business. I’m actually shocked at how little we depend on those jerks.”- Daily Kos: State of the Nation
- Hanging Tough: Financial Page: The New Yorker: This is the mindset the media industry needs to have: take risks, experiment. Either you’re going to fail, or come out on top. Non-risk isn’t gonna make you succeed.
- Why top-down syndication is broken: This is it: the newswire isn’t going to be top down, but bottom up. We’re crowdsourcing news, that means you can’t control abundancy. Take that AP.
- Garca Interactive: How ESPN Chicago sticks another nail in the newspaper coffin 26 and what to do about it: Common sense on what to do about saving your niche before someone scoops it up from under you. My favorite: fire the management. They’ve failed, bring someone new in.
- Journalism Online Just in case you were wondering what a plan for failure looks like…
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“A strategy is a product of a big vision of the market and where it’s going. It’s about abandoning some markets to concentrate on others. Newspaper companies don’t have a strategy. Newspaper companies have tactics, things they do to respond to other people’s strategies. Until newspapers get a strategy of their own that helps them decide what to do and what not to do, they are doomed to see all the high-potential market strategies owned by everyone else. Which leaves newspaper companies to grumble about unfair everything is and not much more.”- García Interactive: How ESPN Chicago sticks another nail in the newspaper coffin … and what to do about it
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“Let me be the first to tell you that saying you aim to be a “world-class platform-neutral news information provider” just tells me you haven’t got a clue about the future, are too scared to make a guess and are hoping someone else will get it right so you can copy them.”- García Interactive: How ESPN Chicago sticks another nail in the newspaper coffin … and what to do about it
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"Instead of feeling diminished by the Huff Post's excerpts, more publications might want to pre-empt the site by serving distilled versions of their own articles. That's right: Even the Post and the Times and the Journal can learn something about how to serve readers from the Huffington Post." –Hey, journalists! Stop getting all huffy about the Huffington Post's "lifting" of stories. - By Jack Shafer - Slate Magazine
Numbers
- Measuring user engagement: Lessons from BusinessWeek: It’s a good breakdown of how to measure user engagement on a story. This is a valuable metric, that we really need.
Engagement is high, now we just need to harness it.
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Lest there be any doubt, the internet is used by all age groups.
LINKS | Generation Y Takes on the World
Things our grandkids will never understand.
Last week has lead me this generalization: Generation Y fundamentally understands the internet, and therefore the current state of the world, in a way that older generations just never will.
It's a generalization and not a maxim, because as folks like John Bryne, Bryan Murley, and even Steve Jobs remind me that us youngin's aren't the only ones who get it, we're just in the majority.
These are my links for March 21st through March 27th:
Generation Y, X, BB…
The following are excerpts from #editorchat from John Bryne of Business Week. I'm throughly impressed with his insight. It gives me much hope for the older generations.
“There will be many Born to the Web enterprises over the next few years that will teach the mainstream media a thing or two. #editorchat”- Twitter / JOHNABYRNE
“They think that some day online advertising will offset the print decline and help support a broken print model. #editorchat”- Twitter / JOHNABYRNE
“Online readers also earn more than print readers and are more likely to be female. #editorchat”- Twitter / JOHNABYRNE
“Of our total audience, about 38% are online only; 31% magazine only & 31% are both online and print. #editorchat”- Twitter / JOHNABYRNE
“There’s overlap in our print and online readers3 but generally our online users are 10 years younger and more highly educated. #editorchat”- Twitter / JOHNABYRNE
- On the other hand, the following is a tweet sent by a Syracuse University student during a lecture by Ryan Sholin on 'new media.'
“@ryansholin I’d prefer that we have fewer citizen journalists. You don’t see me trying to be a citizen software engineer or citizen waiter.”-
Twitter / benjgcPut this up there as Generation Y not “getting it”
- 2020 vision: What's next for news: A fantastic bit of futurism on the journalism business.
• Industry will shrink/re-make itself
• The semantic web plays a huge role and datamining becomes key
• Collaboration among local news sites for ads and info
• New business models like endowments, non-profit, etc
• copyright law needs a re-think
• The idealist unbiased journalist dies, starts reporting for interest groups - Newspaper ownership and the fourth generation syndrome | yelvington.com: Steve argues that the current generation of newspaper owners are more interested in spending money than their own business.
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“When I got my first computer back in 1984 or 1985, it was a Mac and there was this program called Hypercard by Bill Atkinson. In a very basic way, Hypercard teaches you the basics of how computers [and software development on them] work.” Being who I am, this obviously struck a chord. I wondered if he has hit upon a simple truth about the evolution of computers… and their users. Early on, the software and tools that were available to users were more about working with the capabilities of the machine than what you could get done with it. That lead to every computer user innately understanding the architecture of the machine. Of course, it also lead to scaring many people off, but for those that stuck around, to this day we all have a very true understanding of the what, why and — most importantly — how a computer can (and can’t!) do the things it does.”- At SXSW Michael Penn Talks iTunes, Film, Music, and Hypercard! - The Mac Observer
- Newspaper Execs: Still Sleepless in Seattle - ClickZ: Vin speaks from personal experience about the staff and history of the Seattle PI. In Vin’s opinion, the staff is top notch, but the Hearst Corp. has shackled them.
Journalism Business Models
- Nonprofit journalism: It's in the numbers: Presents numbers dating back to 2006 on the average number of bylines, pages, and sections in the local paper. It’s not really good news.
- Md. Senator Proposes Nonprofit Status For Newspapers - Baltimore News Story - WBAL Baltimore: Current rules don’t allow print media to report on political issues (apparently). A senator has stepped forward and suggested that we allow them to do so.
- A scenario for news BuzzMachine: Think of this one more like a “Jarvis Manifesto”
- “The most profitable newspapers have tended to be monopoly markets with circulation of 20,000 to 100,000 readers. These are not sexy papers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which have historically have significantly low margins.”- One Banker’s Plan to Save the Newspaper Industry - Deal Journal - WSJ
- Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet: Controversial post by a UPenn Prof. He refers to his own research on how people interact with ads. Most interesting: the break downs of what and how you can sell online.
“The problem is not the medium, the problem is the message, and the fact that it is not trusted, not wanted, and not needed.”- Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet
- A fantastic quote from rev2oh
“The wonder of the web is that it gives readers more and more control every day over what information they consume. Fighting against that trend is futile. Trying to improve the banner ad is like trying to motorize a horse.”- RevenueTwoPointZero » Advertising on iPhone
Just plain nifty/WTF?
- The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine gets a new data center: Apparently the entire internet can fit into a shipping containter. 4.5 petabytes, 1TB RAM, and 63 servers.
- The 13 Most Essential Plugins for WordPress - Nettuts+: Totally fantastic list.
- What Happened to the Land of the Free?: Very long, very detailed piece arguing that the government has become too powerful. Well researched, well opined.
- BBC NEWS | Americas | US high school 'held cage fights': WTF!? A Dallas school was holding cage fighting matches, with students!?
- Goodbye Google | stopdesign: Google’s top designer quits ostensibly because Google doesn’t understand good design. Here’s the thing: they’re still successful. They don’t have Microsoft levels of shitty design, so what’s the…
For the Photogs in the house…
Amy O'Leary is a multimedia producer at the Times. This interview was taped on March 22, 2009, at the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, where O'Leary was a speaker.
Why the Nikon D3 Sucks (and What the D4 Oughta Be)
I love me the Nikon D3. It's the first camera that I've used where I feel confident going into any situation. The high ISO performance, huge LCD, dual CF card slots, 9 FPS, and 12MP files are amazing. Safe to say, Nikon hit a home run with this camera.
That said, I've got some complaints. Call it a wish list if you will. But after using this camera for about 6 months in a wide variety of situations, it's pretty safe to say that the tool isn't perfect.
With the release of the D3x, I've come to realize that Nikon is advancing technology, but is clearly holding out for the next release to do anything drastic. I might/probably am too late to get into the D4 product cycle, but nonetheless…
What could be fixed for the Nikon D4
The D90 gets the OK button right. Why can't the high ends cameras that came out after it follow suit? (Looking at you D3x)
The OK button is useless. There are two ways to confirm a command in the menu system: hit OK, or hit the center of the 4-way dial. However, most things only require you to hit the 'right' button on the 4-way dial. The OK button, aside from being repetitive, is out of the wa
I'd like to see a repeat of the D90's solution. Replace the 'push the center to confirm' option of the 4-way control with the OK button. This reduces clutter and makes menu navigating a more one-handed operation.
The Power of “the Fourth Effect”
If you haven't seen it yet, take a few minutes of your time to view this amazing example of the "fourth effect".
‘New Media’ Chaos
I have too much going on in my life right now. I'm back at school and shooting a ton. Not only shooting, but I'm back to editing.
I have created/taken the position of "Exponent of the Evolution" at The Daily Orange, my student newspaper. I had previously served a year as the photo editor for the paper, and has sort of assumed that my time there was up.
Little did I know that the opportunity would arise to use a lot of the knowledge that I've linked to and talked about on this blog in the 'real world' (however real an independent daily college paper is).
As the Exponent of the Evolution, I have 3 areas of responsibility:
- Promotion and advocacy of 'new media' at the paper. Blogging, audio slideshows, video, podcasting, video podcasting, etc.
- Establishing and expanding the paper's online precense. This can be simple, like promoting the website in print, or publishing headlines on twitter, to more complicated things like the creation of a new CMS for college papers.
- Monetizing. I serve as an advisor to the business side of the paper for online ads. Best online ad practices, new revenue streams, etc
The good news is this: this job has never existed before, and it desperately has needed to. It is critical for the survival of newspapers in the internet age to adapt to the new, online world. At this point, no newspaper has done it successfully.
Papers like The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, have made leaps in the online realm, but none of them are able to sustain their operation entirely off revenue from the online side of the business. If print is dead, it is critical that newspapers, as the sole remaining journalists, figure out a revenue and distribution model that can maintain them.
Since this is already a bit of a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness post written at 6am out of pent up guilt for not writing a real post for so long. Let me provide a list of what I have done for the DO:
- Twittering of all headlines @dailyorange. Our popular sports blog gets special designation for it's posts (as do videos).
- Establishment of Final Cut Pro as our go-to video and audio slideshow editor. The result, as a movie, has a superior quality over soundslides or slideshowpro.
- Our sports section has been publishing 'graphics' prior to games that give details on players, what to look forward to, who to watch, etc. We're trying to move this to an interactive, online, format.
- I've developed a hypothesis: the lone reporter/photojournalist is dead. Instead, reporting will be done in teams that function like (pardon the analogy) terrorist cells. They will be largely autonomous, have a mission (a beat), and be comprised of a small group of people who have unique skills.
TV media has been doing this for a long time – they always send out at least a camera man and a reporter.
These teams will consist of 2-3 people (with an editor back in the office) who need to have 5 skills between them. Those skills are: 1) video 2) audio 3) photo 4) writing 5) 'personality. The last is a poor term for describing the person who is the 'on camera personality' – the person who is the front man for the team – recognizable to the public. These skills can be divided in any manner among the 2-3 members of the team.
I've been working on this 'hypothesis' for months now, recognizing that in this new world it is impractical to expect a single reporter/photog to be able to deliver a complete multimedia piece. Non only is it impossible to shoot video, sound, and photos at the same time, but it cannot all be complied on deadline. Having a team of people working on the same project allows them to deliver a complete multimedia package for every story – on deadline.
The point: I've decided to test the hypothesis: I have a 3 person team (who's beat has yet to be determined). At this point, they're producing a video a week on a chosen topic. We'll see where this goes. - Our sports section now has 2 video podcasts: On the Beat and Just Le Jus. Publishing 3 times a week, I'm hoping that this sort of thing will spread to other sections of the paper (working on Opinion).
- I'm the front man for the DO at coPress, a collective of college newspapers who are developing an opensource, custom, content management system for college newspapers. I've written the first blog post of coPress here. This is a move to get our paper off College Publisher, and onto a more workable CMS – a critical goal for the long-term sustainability of our paper.
- I've hired a couple of web developers (well, had hired, looks like I'm going to have to fight the board on this one) to help develop our CMS. This marks the first time the DO has hired someone specifically to develop code for our site. The sports graphics are a good example of the power that this brings.
- We are now using vimeo for all of our videos. It's a flexible system that allows HD content hosting. We'll have our own branded player eventually, but for now, this is a great, turn-key solution.
- Google ads don't make a ton of money, but they are something, and provide great filler for when we can't sell local ads.
- In order to figure out who is visiting our site (and how), it's critical to have a good suite of analytics software. We're now using Google Analytics.
- Our sports section has been live blogging for about a year now from games. I'm trying to get this work ethic expanded to other sections.
I think that's the list for now. We're/I'm working on doing more. I was just approved as a full time hire, but I'm still doing the job of more than one person, and could really use additional staff to make this all work. I'll end by sharing a very rough audio slideshow I did for a local walk for cancer.
Light the Night from Daily Orange on Vimeo.
Drooling: RED DSLR?
I'd really like a Nikon D3
. It's a shame my budget can't afford it right now. The D3 is an amazing, break through camera – for a variety of reasons. It's the camera that has some photogs regretting their switch to Canon (translation: Folks not shooting Nikon are kinda jealous right now).
As amazing as the D3 is, I'm starting to feel pretty good about not having one right now.
See, if I owned a D3, then I wouldn't have a justification for purchasing a newly rumored RED DSLR.
I'm literally drooling over the prospect. If RED can do for the still camera industry what it's done for the video, we've got a heckuva camera on our hands
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Reading between the lines, and applying a little RED history 101, we expect to see a stripped-down still camera with modular add-ons, a very sensitive and film-like full-frame sensor and some crazy shooting speeds due to the RAW compression.
-RED Takes Aim at DSLR Market, Photographers Salivate | Gadget Lab from Wired.com
My speculations on features:
- 20+ FPS
- 12mp
- video capablities
- able to use the existing RED glass
Following Obama
The New York Times has a really nice piece on Barack Obama's campaign. Check it out here: Photographer’s Journal: Following Obama - The New York Times
I especially like some of the unique perspectives shown – and the interesting insight, that despite his lack of hair, Obama actually has a very unique profile, and is easy to silhouette.
Nikon D90: I Thought This Was at Least 5 Years Out
-Chase Jarvis Blog: Chase Jarvis RAW: Advance Testing the Nikon D90
I'm an happy Nikon fan-boy.
I've been saying privately that still photography will be dead in 10 years. It will simply be easier to shoot video and take a frame from the capture after the fact. Cameras like the Red ONE (and soon, the Red EPIC) are revolutionizing the video capturing field. With 12mp capture at 60fps and really good dynamic range, the stills look fantastic. As soon as storage in the field gets figured out (trust me, 12mp video files are huge) this camera becomes a snap for photojournalists.
But…
Now Nikon has gone and tackled the problem from the still image end. The new D90 shoots video – 720p video, and apparently it does it fairly well. You get all the advantages of the D300 sensor (that's right, it's high ISO video time baby!), and the awesome depth of field of still camera lenses.
This is the revolution! The D90 is a phenomenal camera that every PhotoJ is going to need to have in their bag – though if you're on a budget, I'd wait a while, seems like Nikon's rate of innovation (that seems like it needs an acronym) is increasing – I'd bet we get a higher-end model that shoots video within the next 15 months.
I do have a coupla questions:
• can you attach a mic to the camera? Do we have to wait for a higher end model than that?
• how much does the GPS suck battery life?
• 720p video is huge – how much can you fit on a puny SD card?
• what's the lag time for setting up video on the camera? Can I switch between video and still easily?
• can shutter speed and aperture be adjusted while the camera is shooting?
• how much does shooting video drain the batter?
• Jarvis shows the D90 with a vertical grip – are we getting vert. grips on the prosumer line now too!?
Signing off,
– a very happy New Media photog (and Nikon fan-boy)
Update
Nikon has posted some sample video. Nothing ground breaking but interesting to see. Things worth noting:
• there is no autofocus in movie mode (not too surprising, but a bummer)
• The high ISO performance is outstanding
• I'm excited to see the D400 (with movie mode), heck, the D4 (with movie mode)
• still don't know if attaching an external mic is an option (doubtful)
Some Photogs Can Write
I am a very lucky man. I've spent the last 24 years at the Los Angeles Times as a photographer and a photo editor. I can tell you what it's like in the eye of a typhoon, in a firestorm, under an offshore oil platform or the wrong side of the green line in Mogadishu. I know what a whale feels like and I've buzzed icebergs. I've had lunch with rock stars and seen President's sweat. I've tried to get Carolyn Cole out of jail, even.
When I die, I hope I have a bag of popcorn, because if my life flashes by, it's going to be a hell of a show.
Best of all, I've had the pleasure of your company. I can't imagine a more engaging, talented and dedicated group of people anywhere. Years ago, I was cooling my heals at some news event next to a New York Times reporter who had worked here. She said, "Oh! The Los Angeles Times! The New York Times is warm on the outside but cold on the inside. The Los Angeles Times is warm on the outside and warm on the inside."
Civility. Kindness. Fairness. Intelligence. These are the qualities that pervade the Los Angeles Times. Stay here for a while, and it get's in your blood.
Those folks who pine for the demise of the gatekeeper media don't know squat. What people really want out of the news business is a fair shake. We do that here. We worry about the truth and getting it right the first time.
There were 1,200 of us, but now there are a little more than half of that. I like to think that the Los Angeles Times is not so much diminished as dispersed. All those folks who have left the building still carry the Los Angeles Times spirit around with them. It's my turn to join them.
I am a very lucky man.
Bob Carey
-Laid off LA Times photog, Bob Cary, via Tell Zell: Bye Lines, LA Times
Censorship ➔ Ambivalence
Photo: Stefan Zaklin/European Pressphoto AgencySomething has been bothering me for a long time about my generation (1980-1999~ish): we're ambivalent.
Let me take a moment to explain: I'm not talking about coffee vs. tea, or McDonald's vs. Burger King. It's not even an issue of Obama vs. McCain – we're just as clueless as the rest of the country when it comes to politics.
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Our parents we're one of the greatest generation(pun intended) of upstarts the US ever saw – they were responsible for protesting the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and Watergate. The Baby Boomers, they knew how to protest. We, just don't seem to care.
There are tons of issues that the youth of this country could get riled up about. My top three: We've got a president that's blatantly broken the law with a do-nothing congress to boot. We're involved in not one, but two, failing wars that kill more of our generation every week. We've broken the prison system with more inmates than it can handle – largely due to the failed War on Drugs.
And what do we do? Do we write petitions? Vote out our congress? March on the Capitol? Riot? Demand that the troops come home? Do we do anything even remotely radical?
Bring back the 70s.
At least the hippies, blacks, and press knew when they were getting screwed. They stood up and did something about it. They marched, protested, investigated, demanded, pursued, and were otherwise activists!
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So, all that's been on my mind for about a year. Obviously, I'm perturbed by what I see to be a failing of my peers. Which is why when I read an article about the lack of true war photography in the New York Times, I felt both more perturbed and a little relieved.
Obviously, preventing pictures of dead soldiers from appearing in the press is yet another example of the Bush Administration's efforts at censorship.
…military commanders worry about security in publishing images of the American dead as well as an affront to the dignity of fallen comrades. Most newspapers refuse to publish such pictures as a matter of policy.
-4,000 U.S. Deaths, and a Handful of Images - NYTimes.com
Yet, as the article points out, during the Vietnam War, the press published photos of dead soldiers, civilians, and whatever else they please. This, in part, got the folks back home disgusted with the war. It got them out in the streets protesting the war. Perhaps this dumbing down of our media coverage has caused the American people to forget these wars. To forget their responsibility to tell the government when it has strayed down the wrong path.
I'm satisfied that I've found part of the explanation, but I'm more troubled by what the slow decay of the media is causing.
War in Georgia
Georgian soldiers race past an apartment block in Gori after Russian warplanes dropped bombs on the city. GLEB GARANICH / REUTERSFor whatever reason, the US was caught unawares when Georgia attacked Russia last week. We've been slow dealing with the situation.
First off, we don't really understand it. Most Americans still don't understand the difference between Sunnis and Shiites – that's been seven years now. This conflict came out of nowhere, and the average American (myself included) really doesn't understand the reason for the fighting, or even who's really involved.
Update
The NYT has an article explaining some of the background.
To make matters worse, we've got a juicy political sex scandal in Edwards, a tight presidential campaign, and the Olympics going on right now. Needless to say, our sex-crazed media is on top of all that instead of a war that no one understands.
Reuters has done a remarkably good job of doing what they do best – keeping foreign agencies so that they can respond to something just like this. Right now, this is a bigger story than Afghanistan and Iraq. In my opinion, it beats out another sex scandal, a tired presidential campaign, and a sporting event. This is about a war between two countries who's people don't live in the Bronze Age.
When I first looked at TIME's collection of photos my first reaction was: "meh, more war photographs."
But here's what's different: this is a modern war. Fought with modern tanks, modern armies where both sides are uniformed, and civilian casualties that no one is apologizing for. This is a big deal. Once you get past your seven-year familiarity with war photos, these photos reflect their own importance.
Update
The Denver Post also as a rather good collection of AP photos.
‘Olympicpix’
©Vincent Laforet for Newsweek-Visions of China: A 2008 Olympics Picture Blog
Newsweek has their photographer's blogging their experiences at the Olympics. Very cool for photo junkies (like me). There are some interesting photography anecdotes, and a lot of the stories give you a glimpse into how China is running their Olympics.
Read the blogs here.
War Photographer: Aftermath
Casualties: In March 2003, photographer Warren Zinn took this photo of Army medic Joseph Dwyer with wounded 4-year-old Iraqi Ali Sattar. Dwyer struggled with PTSD and died June 28 of substance abuse. (Warren Zinn - (AP Photo/Warren Zinn, The Army Times Co.))The WaPo has a rather touching article about the aftermath of being a war photog. I'd highly recommend the read.
I thought I'd put photojournalism and war behind me four and a half years ago when I traded in the dusty battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan for law school in Miami. But those words reminded me that you never truly leave the battlefield behind.
Disembedded: Marines Send a War Photographer Packing
The audio slideshow is fantastic. The story is good. And it's another example of the Fourth Estate getting screwed. Keep shooting Zoriah (and by the way - I love your quote).
"They embedded a war photographer, and when I took a photo of war, they disembedded me," Zoriah says. "It's as if it's okay to take pictures of them handing lollipops to kids on the street and providing medical care, but photographing the actual war is unacceptable."
Ed Kashi: Nigerian Oil
Trans Amadi Slaughter is the largest abattior in the delta. They kill thousands of animals a day, roast them, cut them up and prepare the meat for sale throughout Rivers State and the rest of the delta. Nearly all of the workers here, especially the meat handlers, are Hausa and Yoruba, mostly muslim too. In the delta fish was traditionally the main source of protein, but as fish stocks have dwindled due to pollution from oil and over fishing, meat is becoming more common in the delta.
-Ed Kashi and the Importance of Advocacy Journalism - PopPhoto - July 2008
Don’t Get Caught Photoshopping, We’ll Laugh at You
-Iran: You Suck At Photoshop (updated) - Boing Boing
This week, the Iranian National Guard photoshopped a picture of their missile test to make it look like a missile the presumably failed to launch had taken to the air successfully.
Needless to say, when the Media Industry found out, they were outraged. Several top papers had already run the image on their front pages, and their corrections were necessarily harsh on Iran.
Boing Boing had a different take. They asked their readers to submit a funny photoshopped version of the same phone. My (and their) favorite above. (click for more)
Why Pro Photographers Are Hired
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| John Shinkle - Politico.com | Evan Vucci - AP |
Both of these photos are part of similar articles about Senator Kennedy returning to the Senate for the first time after being diagnosed with brain cancer to vote on a new Medicare bill.
Of course, there's also this:
Lauren Victoria Burke - API’m OK With Cops
The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.
-Bruce Schneier: Are photographers really a threat? | Technology | The Guardian
What an interesting and valid point: terrorists aren't photographers.
Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that photographers aren't terrorists. Bruce Schneier's main point is that, "If we spend a zillion dollars defending Wimbledon and terrorists blow up a different sporting event, that's money wasted." There's an obvious flaw in this logic: the money isn't wasted, it worked. No attack on Wimbledon meant the protection put in place did the job it was there to do.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a photographer. I've been stopped numerous times (by both public and private security) and asked to stop photographing. In every case, I was within my rights, and the officer had no right to stop me (though UK stop-and-search laws are rather annoying).
I'm no terrorist, and I do often struggle to see how pictures that I'm taking when I'm stopped could have helped a terrorist, nonetheless, if security experts think that photographs might stop an attack, then I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to question people taking photographs. It seems to be a reasonable approach. As long as that remains their limit, then I am willing to continue being annoyed in the name of security.
In the Jungle With FARC – Alvaro Ybarra Zavala
In the Jungle with FARC - Photo Essays - TIME
…and it is still possible to spend months in the jungle and come back with amazing photos. See here for more.
Washington Post Wins 6 Pulitzer Prizes – New York Times
Washington Post Wins 6 Pulitzer Prizes - New York Times
Congrats to the Post and the NY times. The Post has done a magnificent job – especially with the Walter Reed stories. They are a fantastic example of investigative journalism and leveraging the name of a powerful newspaper for the 'public good.' Reports on the political power of Dick Cheney and the importance and use of military contractors also took the prestigious prize.
I'm very happy to see that the prize is still being given to the deserving. Granted I know none of the 'behind-the-scenes' story here (overt reference to The Wire), but these are, in my opinion, the top stories of the year. The Pulitzers are no Oscars – the really do matter.
Cheers all.
The News Business: Out of Print: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker
The News Business: Out of Print: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker
I've been sitting on this article for a while, meaning to respond to the many points it makes, both good and bad. It was published last week. In short, it's an excellent review of the current state of the newspaper industry.
Like I suggest, there are points that I agree with, and points that I don't. I will try to write that post in the near future, but if you have any interest in the current state of f the industry, read this (very long) article.
I will be traveling (in Dublin) this weekend, and will have limited internet access.
Photography ➔ Video
"The model for the future is somebody who can go out and capture content, the imagery that tells the story correctly in a narrative, and then on the back end produce it -- put it together in a program like FinalCutPro," says Pancho Bernasconi, director of photography for Getty's worldwide news division. "That's key, to have that quick turnaround. Time is always an issue, so if you have someone who can do it all themselves, that's a really attractive thing."
The Photographer As Director – American Photo
This is a really great article to read if you're considering or are in a career in photography. Mark my words. Within 10 years, the professions of photography and videography will be so fused, it will be hard to tell the difference.
Proof? Well, first off there's the progression of major news outlets towards multimedia. It's slowly becoming expected that photographers know something about audio if not video too.
Second, there's that inevitable increase in technology. The still sort of new Red One Camera, has the potential to revolutionize the way small budget films are shot – which is to say higher than HD quailty. 12mp, as a matter of fact. Yea, 12mp, that's good enough for me for stills. Once these guys figure out how to make this camera portable (as in you can record for hours without the need for a bunch of hard drive arrays tethered to the camera), there's almost no reason to shoot stills. Just shoot this sucker (the Red Five or so?) at full res at the already available 60FPS and life is good.
Lastly, I'll blame the internet. Thanks to youtube, people are so used to seeing video online, that looking at a simple photo is the least they expect. They want to be entertained, and amazed by moving pictures. It's easy enough to understand why too. There's something about movement that you just can't get from a still frame. (Visa versa is true too of course, but why have only one when you can have both?)
Right. Not too sure where to end this, except to say that this is an argument/discussion that I've been having with many people for a while now and this has really only been a splurge of thought onto the keyboard.
Behind the Lens With John Moore – Pop Photo
No matter how long you're in this business of conflict photography you will always feel fear. When you no longer feel it, then it's time to get out.
- John Moore
Election Day – The Digital Journalist
Election Day - The Digital Journalist A very cool dispatch that of the election in Pakistan – uneventful and remarkable for being so.
