More to Pew poll than headlines

"Most Americans believe media biased" was a common headline two weeks ago when the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released its updated survey on people's attitude about the news media. However, the survey is deeper than a headline and isn't all bad news for journalists -- or conscientious news consumers

For one thing, the survey doesn't differentiate between journalists and media advocates such as Rush Limbaugh, Amy Goodman or Walter Williams. They all have fans, but they're much more entertainers or opinionated writers than reporters who strive to offer stories that are complete, fair and accurate. Further, only indirectly considered is human nature -- appreciating contents that reinforce one's existing beliefs and discounting material that disputes or disagrees with beliefs as biased.

Finally, buried in the Pew study are tidbits of positives or surprises amid the conventional-wisdom blather:

*"For more than two decades, majorities have expressed the view that a critical press keeps leaders from doing things that should not be done,"

*"Even among those younger than 30, substantially more say they get most local news from newspapers (39%) than from the Internet (21%)," and

*"Young people are actually more likely to say it would be an inportant loss if national news sources such as network TV evening news, cable news and large ntional newspapers shut down.

Elsewhere, the Newspaper Project <http://news.newspaperproject.org/> is less than a year old in its mission to "support a productive exchange of information and ideas about the future of newspapers," but its public-service ads are gaining some attention. Here's one --

WIU J grad signs comic for White

Western Journalism alum Chris Ward signed a first edition of his new comic, Bluewater Productions' Political Power: Barack Obama, which was sent to John H. White, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who visited the Macomb campus on Sept. 17 -- along with Ed Komenda's nice story about the appearance from the Sept. 21 Western Courier.

A friend of the Obama family, White covered much of the Obama campaign, plus the Grant Park victory celebration on Election Night and the Inauguration.

Rolling Stone profiles Fanning from 'Frontline'

The September 17 issue of Rolling Stone has a short but solid snapshot of TV journalist David Fanning (shown at right), the creator and producer of Frontline, the PBS-TV show that's earned Fanning 40 Emmy Awards in 28 years.

This week he won his most recent, for Frontline's episode Bush's War in the category of "Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - Long Form."

"David takes on big subjects that require real, painstaking reporting and produces work that is smart, gripping and subtle," says competitor Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times.

Having produced more than 500 investigative documentaries, Fanning also led a team of journalists in uncovering what was going on in the economic meltdown that resulted in what's being called the Great Recession -- last winter, in the midst of the crisis.

The RS piece is not available online, but it's definitely worth checking out at a library or a pal's stack of magazines.

Multi-media producer wants news background

The executive producer of Seattlepi.com, the news-site spinoff from Seattle's Post-Intelligencer, says even the so-called Web 2.0 needs journalists with solid skills in the fundamentals.

"We're leaning toward candidates with strong news background who are not tech-phobic and don't belong in that small class of people who seem to be unable to pick up new technology," Michelle Nicolosi said in a post by Renay San Miguel of TechNewsWorld. "Our experience at Seattlepi.com has been that most people with a news background can learn basic HTML, pick up our CMS fairly easily, grasp the basics of SEO [search engine optimization] and learn fairly quickly all the other skillls they need to produce the site."

Kid reporter shows the zeal

National Public Radio reports, "Rupert Murdoch, get ready for Brennan LaBrie! LaBrie is 9 years old, lives in Washington State, and puts out a newspaper called The Spruce Street Weekly. Learn how he puts out a newspaper without having to fall back on stories about John and Kate and Brittany. Host Scott Simon talks with LaBrie, Time For Kids magazine's 2009-2010 reporter finalist — one of 12 young journalists chosen from across the nation.

Check out this talented young journalist from a video on his blog --

Newspapers still strong: Inland Press Assn.

Adolfo Mendez in the new issue of Inland Press Association's Inlander has a news feature with some perspective on the newspaper industry's health and future.

Titled "Stop the presses: Newspapers have a future," the piece puts into context the strengths of newspapers even in financially challenging times.

"Although our industry is evolving, the foundation of our business is very strong,” Mendez quotes Illinois newspaperman Larry Maynard. A newspaper has “one of, if not the, strongest brand equity” in its local market, Maynard continued. “More often than not, nobody is more familiar with the name of any media than they are with your company.”

Newspapers "have the strongest and longest relationships with advertisers — some of those go back 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years,” he said. “Nobody has longer advertising relationships than the newspapers do.”

Other media don’t come close, he added.

Journalism jobs: Advertising is still hiring storytellers

The Huffingtonpost entry's headline is eye-catching: "Where are the journalism jobs? The answer is ..."

The answer is a little surprising -- and a lot more reassuring that most employment news in what's being called the Great Recession.

Advertising.

That's right, according to Mark Pasetsky, editorial director for CoverAwards.com, advertising agencies and even big brands are starting to appreciate how valuable solid editorial content is in communicating theuir messages.

Pasetsky, who's also an editorial consultant for OK! Magazine and editorial director for Taraci.com, leads CoverAwards.com analyses of magazine and catalog covers.

The comnplete story is here -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-pasetsky/where-are-the-journalist_b_273626.html

College pays off: BLS

Buried down in Table 4 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' report on "usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers" through the second quarter of this year are numbers that can be reassuring or chilling to students, depending on their attitudes toward school.

The Educational Attainment breakdown shows that Americans who've earned a Bachelor's degree earn 63% higher pay than high school graduates on average.

High school only -- $630/week.
Bachelor's degree -- $1,031/week.

The report also has breakdowns based on gender, age and race. See it at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t04.htm

Rather advocates for top-level panel on news media

Former CBS correspondent and anchor Dan Rather recently editorialized in the Washington Post that only the participation of President Obama can draw adequate attention to the state of the nation's news media.

"This is the only way I could think of to generate the sort of attention this subject deserves," Rather wrote. "Academia and think tanks generate study after study, yet their findings don't reach the people who need to be reached."

Rather doesn't favor a government bailout for, much less control of, news media, he said. But without wide-ranging and grassroots attention, what's bad could get worse.

For the country.

"We need news that breeds understanding, not contempt; news that fosters a healthy skepticism of the workings of power rather than a paralyzing cynicism. We need the basic information that a self-governing people requires," said Rather, who's now global correspondent and managing editor of HDNet's Dan Rather Reports.

"This is a crisis that, with no exaggeration, threatens our democratic republic at its core," he added. "But you won't hear about it on your evening news."

Read his entire essaya here-- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080703183.html

Bing & Twitter could help journalism

Microsoft's Bing search engine is partnering with Yahoo! and Twitter upgraded itself, which not only will challenge Google's hegemonym but help journalaism, according to an interesting post by Causecast contributor Maegan Carberry.

It's search optimization, she says.

Check it out -- http://www.causecast.org/news_items/8807-why-searching-with-bing-and-twitter-will-save-journalism

Student Journalists Must Create a Personal Brand Name

This isn't an entirely new concept but Alfred Hermida, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Journalism, the University of British Columbia makes a compelling case for student journalists to create their own personal brand.

He notes "personal branding is becoming increasingly central to the prospects of a young person starting out on a life of reporting." He points out the shift away from big journalism institutions, such as major newspapers and new organizations, toward individual writers and voices.

Check out his essay at http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/08/journalism-students-need-to-develop-their-personal-brand231.html.

Toot, Toot, Sammy-- Goodbye

Billionaire Sam Zell, who leveraged the Chicago Tribune group of media properties and other subsidiaries into bankruptcy, is being forced out, according to its equally beleaguered competitor, the Chicago Sun-Times.

Tribune creditors are working out a reorganization plan that ousts the real estate mogul, according to reporter David Roeder.

Elsewhere, Crain's reports that the Trib's net revenues for July increased to $508 million from $491 million last July. [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=9830]

Read the Sun-Times story on Zell's bye-bye here -- http://www.suntimes.com/business/1715945,CST-NWS-zell14.article

Lee Enterprises launching newspaper promo campaign

The parent company of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Quad City Times aims to fight the "irrational negativity about the future of newspapers," according to Lee Enterprises CEO Mary Junck, with a campaign promoting the medium as "First. Best. Today. Tomorrow."

"Audiences are huge and growing," says Junck, who notes papers' appeal to younger readers, too.

"We reach 60% or more of 18 to 29 year olds," she says. "Our newspapers alone reach more than 50%."

Lee is weathering the economic downturn, too. Its stock price was recently $1.50 a share -- up from a 24 cents in the last year.

The entire article from E&P is here -- http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/ad_circ/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003999655

Some magazines prospering in Great Recession

Some periodicals that target specialty or affluent audiences did well in the last year, a time when the magazine industry suffered a significant loss of ad revenue -- and a few titles went out of business.

Organic Gardening, Scholastic Parent & Child and Fitness were a few that benefited from redesigns, stunts and just plain luck, reports Joan Voight.

Read the complete MediaPost news piece here -- http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=111510

Ease up on PR 'flacks,' newsroom 'hacks'!

Public relations professionals are good ethical thinkers, according to research done at Penn State -- contradicting the stereotype of PR practitioners as untrustworthy manipulators who'd do anything for a client.

Check out the news story at the e! Science News blog -- http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/08/12/pr.pros.are.good.ethical.thinkers.study.finds

Interestingly, among 20 groups of people, PR folks finished 7th. Journalists finished 5th -- after seminarians, ophilosophers, medical students and physicians. Ranking last were junior high school students, who scored lower than prison inmates.

Cronkite wanted to defer to newspapers

Among various anecdotes about the late CBS-TV anchor Walter Cronkite, who died in July at the age of 92, were stories about his lifelong appreciation of newspapers.

On CNN, Tom Watkins reported that Cronkite did not end his first broadcast at the CBS Evening News with what would become his signature goodbye -- "... that's the way it is."

"The first night up, he ended the show by saying -- I'm paraphrasing -- 'That's the news. Be sure to check your local newspapers tomorrow to get all the details on the headlines we are delivering to you'," according to Sanford "Sandy" Socolow, a CBS colleague who spoke to CNN.

But the comment angered CBS brass, who prohibited the remark in the future, reports Editor and Publisher magazine.

Another Cronkite nod to the detail and resources newspapers bring to communications was a widely distributed essay he wrote for Ogilvy & Mather's 1983 advertising campaign for International Paper: "How to read a Newspaper."

Check out this pdf copy from Newspapers In Education --
http://www.nieonline.com/austin/downloads/2008how_to_read_a_newspaper.pdf

TV's disappointing digital

It's been a month now since the digital conversion of all U.S. television stations, so it's awfully early to be crying, cautiously optimistic or critical of the consequences. However, many stations went digital long enough back that their efforts are creating some consternation after the hype that preceded what some see as a government giveaway of chunks of the broadcast spectrum to appease commercial interests with little regard for the public interest.

Business Week magazine senior writer Tom Lowry did a good roundup piece about the overall disappointing results from local stations' digital spinoffs.

"Most of the country's 1,700 TV stations have created them," he writes. "But only the 10% of U.S. households that receive digital TV over the air can watch the new programming because the cable, phone and satellite companies so far are usually disinclined to carry it."

That ties to disappointing ad sales linked to the new programming, he says.

"Local TV advertising fell 28% in the first quarter from the same period in 2008," Lowry writes. "[So] local broadcasters seem prepared to do an end run around the cable and phone companies. They are pinning their hopes on the next generation of cell phones, which will be able to receive digital TV signals."

(It must have been discomfiting for Lowry to see this published around the same time that Business Week owner McGraw-Hill announced it was losing money on the excellent periodical and would consider a buyer.)

WIU alum covering high-profile murder in Florida

Kris Wernowsky, WIU J grad (2003?), is doing a bang-up job covering the Billings murders in Florida's panhandle.

In fact, he handled CNN host Don Lemon's shallow inquiries effectively Saturday night.

Check it out --
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/07/19/nr.billings.murder.update.cnn?iref=24hours

Ex-Clear Channel morning host still connects with people

Connecting with people was generally more important than specific skill sets when Michelle Maloney was coping with getting laid off from hosting a morning radio talk show in Cleveland by media giant Clear Channel, according to a short news feature broadcast on WCPN-FM 90.3 in Cleveland.

The story by the National Public Radio affiliate touches on the experience of three people from TV, a magazine and a daily newspaper -- all now pursuing other opportunities made possible by their talents.

Here's a portion of a transcript dealing with Maloney --

MALONEY: You can’t be worrying about, “Ohmygod, ohmygod, am I going to get fired?" Because that’s no way to live. And then, of course, it happens to you, and you’re blown out of the water. It was hard.

Maloney sent out hundreds of resumes --- to radio stations, ad agencies, public relations firms. Nothing seemed to be working. But, [a Cleveland] Plain Dealer story about her prompted a response that came out of left field. The manager of a local car dealership sent an e-mail, offering her a sales position.

MALONEY: I e-mailed him back and said, “That’s really sweet of you. I appreciate it, but I know nothing about selling cars.” And he said, “That’s okay, you don’t have to, we’ll teach you that. The big thing is connecting with people. And you’ve been doing that for 18 years, in radio”

SOUND : (PA system at Lexus dealership “Bob, pick-up line 7 please.")

The waiting room of the Classic Lexus store in Willoughby Hills looks like the lobby of a posh hotel, with comfortable couches and a big plasma screen playing the afternoon soaps. To the right and left, new model cars glisten in the showroom. This is Michelle Maloney’s new workplace.

MALONEY: My first month I sold five cars, (laughs) which they say, in this economy, isn’t bad.

She says she misses radio, but finds it hard to listen to her old station any more. It’s just not the same. Right now, she’s cautiously optimistic about her new circumstances.

MALONEY: Somebody said, “What are you driving?” And I said, a pick-up truck. And I’m going to drive it into the ground. I make my last payment in August. So…that will be nice to have a little relief for awhile.

Ex-J Day speaker wins national award

A Springfield editorial cartoonist who spoke at WIU's Spring 2005 Journalism Day has won the 2008 Sigma Delta Chi national award for editorial cartooning, SPJ announced this week.

Chris Britt, who works out of the State Journal-Register and syndicates his work through GateHouse Media, was described as "fearless" by judges.

"Britt invariably presents points of view that are simultaneously contrarian and obvious," judges said.

Britt commented, "I love my job."

Here's a link to a pdf file of Quill magazine's page 41, showcasaing Britt and his work -- http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/spj/quill_20090607/#/42