Medialoper

We're Not Who You Think We Are

Kassia Krozser

The LAT Wakes Up, Realizes It Missed A Decade

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To wit:

“We’re great about putting out a paper; we’re getting a lot better at putting up a Web site,” [Russ Stanton, editor of the Los Angeles Times] said. “We’re not very good on TV or radio, and we don’t do mobile at all. We need to do all of those things going forward.”

I don’t know about you, but if you’re the editor of a major metropolitan newspaper in mid-2008 and you’re saying any that you’re “getting a lot better an putting up a web site”, then, wow, can we look forward to a 2018 quote to the effect of hey, lookee here, it’s the Facebook!

Newspapers have known for a long time now that the audience is changing. Fifteen years at least; that’s a good amount of notice. Fifteen years ago should have been the start of “what are we going to do next?” conversation. Ten years ago, a time of great experimentation (this period, we recall, was dominated by pointless registration tactics). Five years ago, the online team should have been seamlessly integrated into the editorial team and strong forays into blending the social web with solid news begun.
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Saving Newspapers The Practical Way

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When I was a mere pre-blogger, one of my life’s fantasies was to become a journalist. I still remember my first published article, written when I was a high school freshman. I did a story on teenage mothers who were finishing school while caring for their babies. They were doing this in what was my former elementary school, previously closed due to budget cuts.

I still remember how weird that felt, talking to girls my age who were learning algebra and how to raise babies in the place I learned to read.

Time went on and I became co-editor of my school paper, together with one my best friends. Around then, I realized that, to be honest, I was more of an opinion columnist than journalist. Sometimes facts get in the way of the story. This might be why I also write fiction. But I’ve always loved newspapers, more for what they represent than what they are.
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Cable Is Killing The Motion Picture Business

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Last week, the news was filled with news that companies like AT&T and Time Warner are looking to cap (or cap and charge) customer use of the Internet. This week, the Los Angeles Times is talking about Hollywood studios and their online plans for success. Note: if the first thing happens, the second thing won’t.

As part of our failed cable experiment, we were lucky enough to receive a single bill for service. While we didn’t get credit for the lousy service or a little cash back for dealing with the incessant dinner-time marketing calls, we did get to see that we, the customer, were being billed back for the “franchise fee” the cable company pays the City of Pasadena.

How cool is that? We don’t have a choice when it comes to cable service (meaning only one cable company serves this jurisdiction; DirecTV, we’re comin’ home to you soon!), and we get to pay extra on our bill for that dubious privilege? Talk about your racket. Even the oil companies aren’t that brazen about passing taxes back to the customer.
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Monopolizing Reading

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Books, physical, printed books, are incredibly democratic devices. They can be acquired anywhere — retail outlets, libraries, thrift stores, and even on subway cars (some folks intentionally leave books behind for the next reader) — and they can be read anywhere. Within reason: you cannot read while underwater, unless you and the book are wholly encased in a waterproof device.

Books, physical, printed books, can be shared. If I like a book very much, so much that I want Jim to read it, I can hand my copy of the book over to Jim and he can do the same with Tim. While the author and publisher lose some money because of the practice, they are gaining readers, readers who might fork over cash for future books.

At Book Expo America 2008, Dave Hanley of Shelfari said something startling — startling because I realized how absolutely true and sad his words were, not startling because I didn’t know the fact on the ground — readers who engage in Shelfari’s online community often face the desire to acquire a book being discussed right there, right now. Can’t do it. There is very little instant satisfaction when it comes to books.
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Hulu: Two Steps Back

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I’m sure I’ve mentioned that, due to the fact that Charter Cable Is Lame With Lousy DVR Technology, we are living these few months without television. While I long for the days when I can return to DirecTV and TiVo (generation uno, still going strong and remarkably reliable), our household is making do, watching the handful of programs we watch — and we really don’t watch that many shows — via the various online services.

So far, and much to my surprise, Hulu has been a fairly reliable source of good programming. Except, well, they’ve managed to prove my initial thesis: they don’t really care about the viewer. For some reason, they’ve chosen to delay programming by 24-hours. Mostly this means a lot of telling Jim and Roxanne that we’re on tape delay so no spoilers. Generally this is fine with Jim as he’s often on tape delay as well. We don’t worry about Tim because, well, you have to know Tim.

But now the Hulu has gone and put Battlestar Galactica on an eight-day lag. You read that right: eight frackin’ days. Kirk theorizes that it has something to do with the Zune deal — really, NBC, are you antagonizing loyal viewers seeking a legal option for watching your program to protect a device that nobody owns?
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Why Net Neutrality Matters

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In China, and other nations, the government decides what can and cannot be accessed on the Internet. Government censors work very hard to make sure citizens are not exposed to any information that the government deems to be inappropriate. Sure, clever hackers can and do get around the censors, but it’s a bit like whack-a-mole.

Recently, a U.S. government-funded medical information repository had the word “abortion” removed from search results. Meaning, if a medical professional used that word — no matter what the context — zero results were returned. Now, for some “abortion” is a political standard to bear; for medical professionals, it carries many different meanings, some of which require, oh, immediate and scientifically sound results.

Comcast had a bit of a brouhaha when it was discovered to be putting the brakes on traffic coming via BitTorrent. Comcast backed off from this practice in the face of legislative attention, but still retains the right to decide the speed of traffic that travels over its network.
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Hulu: An Olive Branch

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Dear Hulu,

I don’t have much time today, but wanted to extend an olive branch of sorts. Don’t get me wrong: we still have some fundamental disagreements to work through. For example, I cannot buy into your business model, and I hope you understand why you’re wrong to consider Hulu.com as a rival to your regular channels instead a complement.

However, you have been very good to me during these weeks without a regular television option, and I feel I should return the favor. You have made a tiny tactical error that I believe can be quickly remedied. It’s just my way of saying thank you.
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ABC: More Lost Than You Think

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Okay, I really don’t like the ABC video player. As we continue our living-without-cable/satellite/rabbit ears experiment, we’re trying out all the video services being offered by the major players. I’ve grudgingly conceded that Hulu does a good job, though it still has problems.

The CBS Innertube, while cleverly named, was a rank disappointment. Friends have assured us that you can pause without reverting to the beginning of a show (or a middle that makes no sense), so we might give it another go. I simply wasn’t that fond of the experience beginning to end.

Last week, in honor of the return of Lost, we decided to check out ABC’s version of free online video service. Like the others, this does what it does in an okay manner. Streaming video, especially across a cable connection, isn’t going to be perfect. We are in the nascency of this technology.
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Hulu: The Consumer View

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As some you might know, we are sadly (and temporarily) separated from our DirecTV (and TiVo). We had planned to use this separation as a chance to revisit cable, see what was new, and, maybe re-evaluate our television viewing options. Cable failed on every possible level.

While there isn’t much of it to watch, the television that is available right now is good. We have our household favorites lined up like happy brain-busters: Battlestar Galactica, The Office, Lost. Given the fact that the Charter Cable DVR had a 75% failure rate (amazing!), we sought and found alternatives.

Yes, kids, I’m talkin’ about the Hulu.
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CBS: The Never-Ending Saga

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Last week, Leslie Moonves — the man we can’t decide if we love or loathe here — received a 29% pay raise with compensation totaling about $36.8 million. Of course, the headlines were filled with chatter about the fate of well-compensated news anchor Katie Couric, so it’s understandable that most of you missed this news.

CBS news is faltering. CBS programming is faltering. Other divisions are doing okay, but if I were the type to own CBS stock, I’d be fuming at the chief executive’s compensation. But that’s neither here nor there…I want to talk about Katie Couric.
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