Media news digest archive for March 2005

Media in for dramatic change – IBM (March 30)
IBM has made a public a study on how the media business will change over coming years. The summary says: “This paper, a collaborative discussion by thought leaders from the IBM media and entertainment practice, discusses why industry and market forces will propel media businesses to become more open to business partners, customers and consumers -- opening content reserves and formatting, production processes, packaging and sales options without opening the company to increased vulnerability.” Click here.

Product placement under scrutiny (March 30)
From the Benton news service: Branded entertainment involves embedding advertising inside the content of television and radio programs and movies by placing products in important scenes or making brands intrinsic elements of plot lines. The goal of such ploys is to regain the attention of consumers who can avoid advertising by using digital video recorders, satellite radio and digital juke boxes. PQ Media, a research company, plans to release a report today that summarizes spending on product placement for the last three decades. The report predicts that spending this year will total a record $4.25 billion, an increase of 22.8 percent from the $3.46 billion spent in 2004. As recently as 1999, the spending totaled just $1.63 billion. [SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]

Chinese crack down on student web (March 29)
From the Benton news service: Universities across China are tightening controls on student-run Internet discussion forums as part of a Communist Party campaign to strengthen what it calls "ideological education" on campuses. The crackdown has caused widespread resentment among students and prompted at least two demonstrations in recent days. [SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Philip P. Pan]

The art of manufactured news (March 29)
From the Benton news service: If Professor Noam Chomsky was dead, he'd be spinning in his grave. As the media world assesses new ground rules, producer Medialink Worldwide says “branded journalism” is the best way to advertise in a splintered market. Instead of sending out video news releases in hopes that stations and cable networks will air them, PR firms are actually creating the newscast, then buying spots on networks the way a Madison Avenue firm would. If viewers were confused before, they'll certainly have a hard time discerning news updates from mini-infomercials now. Critics say the most troubling aspect of the latest VNR product from Medialink-a paid ad spot-is that the news content is genuine but serves as a conduit for a brand or corporate mention. Moskowitz says Medialink is exploring a wide range of similar formats in what he calls “marketing public relations” and what other PR-industry insiders dub “secured placements.” By secured, they mean that the media time was purchased and guaranteed to air unlike conventional VNR or B-roll footage. Moreover, Medialink Chairman/CEO Laurence says he is creating a new genre of television that blends news, PR and conventional Madison Avenue media-buying practices. In effect, he is competing with both Madison Avenue and the TV news industry, while blurring the lines between them. Moskowitz sees the distinctions between ad agencies and PR companies fading fast. Ad agencies spend millions producing commercials, buying media time or negotiating branded content deals; their PR counterparts are accomplishing the same for pennies on the marketing dollar. [SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable, AUTHOR: Joe Mandese]

On demand is on the march (March 29)
From the Benton news service: One in 10 Americans show a heavy preference to control their media and entertainment, according to the latest study from Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research - Internet and Multimedia 2005: The On-Demand Media Consumer. The study focuses on new devices and services that allow Americans to exercise more control over the media they consume. Topics include DVRs, portable MP3 players and other on-demand technologies. [SOURCE: Arbitron]

Explosive editorial (March 28)
Proof that terrorists will target anyone, anywhere, is the news that middle-east TV network Al-Jazeera has been threatened with bombing by a disgruntled viewer. Reuters' Alertnet reports the Qatar-based channel says it and a number of other media outlets had their base in Beirut threatened because someone was unhappy with the coverage given a to a car bombing in that city. According to Reuters: “Al Jazeera had given extensive coverage to the attack in Christian east Beirut on Saturday, broadcasting an interview with leading anti-Syrian figure Walid Jumblatt who blamed the Damascus-backed Lebanese security authorities.” Al Jazeera's nearest competitor, Al Arabiya, says its staff has also been threatened over another issue which may have displeased Syrian groups. See this link.

Should lawyers talk to media? (March 27)
Justice Murray Gleeson, the Chief Justice of the High Court, has found support in the legal profession for setting guidelines on how lawyers should engage with the media, according to News Ltd. There is disquiet that the media is increasingly being used to fight cases and is unfairly reviewing court decisions. However opinion is divided. Stephen Hopper, a lawyer who has represented people in dispute with the Federal Government, including former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib, told the Daily Telegraph: "Once a government comes out and attacks a client it is appropriate that their lawyer defends them against the might of the government, otherwise we would be heading down the path of tyranny." See this link for the story.

Bowling for coverage (March 27)
There is a debate in USA media at the moment over the modest coverage received by the recent Red Lake school massacre, compared to that for Columbine High School shootings in 1999. Star Tribune asks is it because we’ve become used to school shootings, the lower casualty numbers, or the fact it was a poor native American neighborhood rather than Columbine’s middle class white district? See this link.

(March 30) In a later development of this story, USA Today revealed: “The father and sister of a Red Lake school shooting victim on March 23 criticized officials on this Indian reservation for the strict limits they initially placed on journalists trying to cover the story. A day earlier, police with guns drawn arrested two photographers and confiscated camera equipment. Reporters and photographers were held in a parking lot at the reservation jail and told not to leave Minnesota 1, the main highway, as they enter and exit the reservation.” See this link

Battle over defamation (March 26)
The Federal and state governments are shaping up for a battle over defamation, according to the Australian newspaper. Some time ago the feds said the states needed to come up with common defamation rules or face intervention, and it seems they’re attempting to comply. In the meantime, however, the Federal Government appears to have developed an interest in setting its own rules and taking this responsibility away form the states – which could be seen as part of a wider agenda to make state governments either redundant or considerably less influential than they are today. There are two main sticking points in the feds versus states debate: whether courts should be able to dictate any correction run by media; And what redress corporations might be able to seek through defamation law. See this link for the article.

Digital generates hit topix(March 25)
From Information Week (USA): “People are exercising greater control over media and entertainment nowadays by accessing content through a variety of digital channels and devices, according to a survey by market researchers Arbitron and Edison Media Research.” It adds: “About 37 million people listened to Internet radio in the past month, and more consumers are familiar with Internet radio providers, the study found.” See this link.

From the same source: "Three major newspaper companies are investing in Topix.net, a startup technology company that collects and sorts news stories from various sources on the Internet...instead of searching articles for keywords such as 'Chicago' or 'Madonna', Topix uses a computer program that its founders designed to separate news stories into very specific categories and geographical reasons. Thus a user can type in a zip code and get local news from that area, or go to one of the 300,000 pages that contains specific categories of news." See this link.

Benton update (March 24)
We finally got around to a major (two-month!) update of the Benton articles section, which you can see by clicking this link. Here are a couple of examples:
PROFESSOR'S ONLINE PUBLISHING EXPERIMENT: Further nudging outward the boundaries of online publishing, Stanford University Professor Larry Lessig will put his 1999 book "Code'' online today and invite Internet users to help him write an updated version. A noted copyright expert and proponent of free software, Prof Lessig is putting the 297-page treatise about technology, culture and regulation on the Web in the form of a ``wiki,'' a site that can allow people to freely edit its contents. The law professor will take the contributions at http://codebook.jot.com and edit them into a printed version of the book. [SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Michael Bazeley] http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/11148136.htm

BBC GETS NEW LEASE ON LIFE, BUT GOVERNMENT CALLS FOR OVERHAUL: After months of rancorous debate over its status and standards, the venerable British Broadcasting Corporation won a reprieve on Wednesday when the government approved a further 10-year Royal Charter guaranteeing compulsory public financing. But for the first time in the 83 years that the BBC has been the country's prime public service broadcaster, the government called for a radical overhaul of its top management. It also urged the institution to desist from "copycat" programming intended to "chase ratings for ratings sake." [SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Alan Cowell] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/international/europe/03bbc.html (requires registration)
The ABC in Australia had this to say: The BBC says it will axe another 2050 jobs, including large numbers from its regional and news operations, paring total staff by 19 per cent when taking into account earlier moves. The latest round of cuts is expected to save 221 million pounds ($533.9 million), which BBC director general Mark Thompson says will be spent to develop new programs…The broadcaster dominates the UK media sector, pulling in about half of the country's TV and radio audiences. It is funded with about 2 billion pounds raised by a licence fee on every UK household with a television set. See this link.

In a comment on the BBC story, Mary Debrett of La Trobe University writes (April 7): "The BBC's Charter and Agreement has not yet
been signed off.  It's only the Green Paper that has been published.  There is still the White Paper to come -- not sure of the process here but the date for signing off, as I understand it from various websites, is sometime in 2006.

Here, kitty kitty! (March 23)
This week's Bulletin magazine – which celebrates 125 years of publishing – is so far the front-runner for the marketing ploy of the year award, with its offer of a $1.25 million prize for anyone who can rustle up a live Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine). According to the editorial: “We know the myth is out there. But what about the truth? Over the past 70 years more than 4000 alleged sightings of the believed-to-be-extinct Tasmanian tiger have been reported. Yet not one solid shred of evidence – not a bone, a hair, much less a body – has ever been put forward to prove that the thylacine is the greatest escape artist in the animal kingdom…We're offering a total reward of $1.25m for conclusive proof of the tiger's existence in the Tasmanian wild…Our terms and conditions are strict and unbending. A live, uninjured animal must be produced. All government regulations and provisions must be adhered to.” It seems to be having the desired effect, with assorted commentators raking over the practical and ethical challenges of trapping an extinct or severely endangered species, while expressing outrage that this might be a cynical grab for publicity. Well thanks for that, Sherlock… See this link.

Would the real journo please blogg up? (March 23)
From the Online Publishers Association (USA): Who's a journalist and who's a blogger? Are bloggers part of a political campaign? These are the legal debates swirling in the media world as Apple Computer is taking on three online news sites for publishing trade secrets, and the Federal Election Commission considers the place of bloggers in politics. Apple won an early ruling in its case against PowerPage and Apple Insider, with a judge ruling that the sites had to turn over inside sources on leaked products in development. Dan Gillmor writes that the judge ducked the question over whether bloggers are journalists (not to mention whether these sites are even blogs), but his ruling could make it harder for any journalist to get a scoop on any product under development. News.com reported that trade secrets lawyers were thrilled, while First Amendment advocates were angered with the ruling.
Apple Computer Wins Ruling on Trade Secrets Case (SJ Mercury News)
Apple's "Trade Secrets" (Dan Gillmor)
Cheers, jeers for ruling on Apple bloggers (News.com)
It's not whether bloggers are journalists, it's which are (SF Chronicle)
The coming crackdown on blogging (News.com)
Bloggers, chill out already! (News.com)
Hands Off the Web, Bloggers and Lawmakers Say (Reuters)

Mugabe a predator: RSF (March 22)
Reporters sans Frontiers has attacked the Mugabe government in Zimbabwe for a series of assaults on media freedoms, with the latest involving jamming the signal of an opposition radio station in the run-up to elections. The site claims: Thanks to support from China, which exports its repressive expertise, Robert Mugabe's government has yet again just proved itself to be one of the most active predators of press freedom. Although in the middle of an electoral campaign, Zimbabwe has not only flouted the Southern African Development Community's democratic principles, it is now also displaying open contempt for its undertakings towards the ITU and the UN conventions it has signed. See this link.

Journo, where is thy sting? (March 17)
The Australian newspaper today reports that journalists setting up a sting to trap wrong-doers has become a national sport in India. It says: Sting journalism has become a staple of India's news networks anxious to scoop a growing number of competitors. The trend began in 2001 when a website called Tehelka.com, then little known, ran footage showing generals being bribed in the house of the then defence minister. A television station recently caught 90 tax officials taking bribes on camera. Click here for the story.

Comms regs to tighten up (March 16)
The federal government was recently in the news for proposing rules which would make it an offence to supply or create information that could assist a suicide, via the internet. However the alteration of the code is somewhat broader. According to government documents: The major part of the Bill introduces new offences under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (the 'Criminal Code') involving use of a telecommunications network or 'carriage service' (the internet, emails, mobile and fixed telephones, faxes, radio and TV). Proposed new offences include the use of such a network or service:
for a 'serious offence'
to make a threat
to menace, harass or 'cause offence'
for child pornography or child abuse material
to procure or 'groom' a person under 16 years of age for a sexual purpose, and
for suicide related material. See this link.

Cecil B DeBush (March 14)
From the New York Times, via SFGate.com: Under the Bush administration, the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the prepackaged, ready-to- serve news report that major corporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least 20 different federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgment of the government's role in their production. Click here for the story.

Ad spending goes up (March 9)
From Media Week in the USA: Advertising spending totaled $141.1 billion last year, an increase of 9.8 percent over the previous year, according to figures released Tuesday by TNS Media Intelligence, which tracks ad spending across individual media segments. With the exception of national spot radio, 16 of the 17 media tracked by TNSMI experienced growth with the Internet, outdoor, cable TV and national TV syndication showing the biggest increases. See this link.

Muzzling is a bad idea (March 8)
From the Sun Star in the Phillipines: Top officials of media organizations in Negros Occidental tagged as "stupid and preposterous" the proposal of the armed forces of the Philippines to penalize media for interviewing identified terrorists. The piece argues that driving dissenting voices underground only strengthens them. Click here.

Online news consumption grows (March 7)
From the Online Publishers Association: While the growth in the number of Net users seems to have stabilized, the growth in Net usage – particularly for news and information – is still growing by leaps and bounds. According to research conducted by Nielsen//Netratings for washingtonpost.com, 47% of online respondents said they spent more time online than a year before, while 20% said they spend less time watching TV. In hours spent per week, the Internet topped other media at 21.2 hours (excluding email), followed by 15.8 hours of TV, 9 hours of radio, 2.9 hours of newspaper reading, and 2.2 hours of magazine reading. Ironically, the study came out just as the Washington Post newspaper was running a front page story about how print newspapers were losing circulation while Net usage was growing (see quotable, below).
»Study: Web Users Turn Away From Broadcast News (MediaPost)
»Rapid Growth in Online News Consumption (KSBI-TV)
»Hard News (Washington Post)
» Full Presentation on Study (washingtonpost.com; IE browser required)

No protection for bloggers (March 5)
From the Mercury News (USA): In a case with implications for the freedom to blog, a San Jose judge tentatively ruled Thursday that Apple Computer can force three online publishers to surrender the names of confidential sources who disclosed information about the company's upcoming products. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg refused to extend to the Web sites a protection that shields journalists from revealing the names of unidentified sources or turning over unpublished material. Click here.

Minority report (March 3)
From the ABC's Media Report, on Radio National: “Accurate, objective and independent. Controversial former head of the ABA – David Flint – doesn't think the Australian media is any of that. Instead, he contends, journalists have become unelected and unaccountable participants in the political process, who use the papers and airwaves to advance their minority agenda.” See this link.

Media – according to the Vatican (March 1)
The Vatican has released an extensive Apostolic letter expressing its views on how the media should operate and be dealt with by Christians. It says, in part, “The mass media can and must promote justice and solidarity according to an organic and correct vision of human development, by reporting events accurately and truthfully, analyzing situations and problems completely, and providing a forum for different opinions. An authentically ethical approach to using the powerful communication media must be situated within the context of a mature exercise of freedom and responsibility, founded upon the supreme criteria of truth and justice.” See this link.

Return to top

Return to our newsdigest archive

WWW Guidomedia.com