Author: Angelo Fernando

Tim Russert’s style

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The sad news today for journalism –and NBC –of Tim Russert’s death makes us appreciate the kind of journalists we so often take for granted. You could watch Tim, and see his genuine curiosity seep out of his eyes, and you could almost feel he was asking the question you would have if you were in the studio/oval office.

I didn’t realize he had been hosting Meet The Press for so long. That word, the ‘Press,’ has gone through many incarnations, but the type of reporting, analysis and perspective Russert brought to journalism never wavered. He never seemed happy with the glib, half-hearted or spun answer.(see how doesn’t get Clinton and Obama off the hook) which gave him the notion of being “tough.” But I like to think of him as being something else: honest to his audience.

Jon Stewart blurs journalism. So what?

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A Pew Research story this week based on research into The Daily Show by Jon Stewart says that he blurs the line between comedy and journalism, but also followed the agenda of the news media, albeit selectively.

However they also note that:

  • “The Daily Show performs a function that is close to journalistic in nature — getting people to think critically about the public square.”
  • “its use of news footage to deconstruct the manipulations by public figure … performs a function that is close to journalistic in nature — getting people to think critically about the public square.”

Maybe controversial. May it’s pushing the envelope, but when all other envelopes are being pushed, bent out of shape and torn to shreds, Stewart could be setting the stage –or reflecting a shift– in the new journalism.

Coke side of the Olympics through arty microsite

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Coke’s move before the the activity ramps up in China next month for the Olympics, includes this wonderful microsite tied to collaboration.

The site and the project is called we8 –uniting 8 of Chinas musicians and design firms with 8 musicians of the West -as the pitch goes.

A very slick site, with a design your own bottle invitation. But what’s up with the eight themes such as optimism and healthy world? By the way, very clever we8 logo, based on east-meets-west.

Britannica could reposition Wikipedia

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The gap between the dusty reference book on your desk and the wiki you could pull up on your smart phone is being bridged as Encyclopedia Britannica appears poised to change the game.

I have been tracking wiki development for years, using wikis, and writing about them (here and more recently here), and always wondered why a third player hasn’t emerged. Wikipedia rules the roost, warts and all. It has lodged itself into the lexicon of knowledge. To “Wikipedia” something is to poke around and be somewhat informed. Other encyclopedias have not engaged us as much.

If a third player IS emerging, it’s from within the bowels of Encyclopedia Britannica. Many have been quick to suggest that Britannica is biting the bullet and going all wiki. I think this is too simplistic. Maybe Britannica is responding to pressure and facing up to the reality that on-demand knowledge has to be more collaborative and accessible. But they seem to be moving in new directions, too.

Let’s take Collaboration. Britannica is making a very interesting point of differentiation, because it forces people to look at the back room edit wars that go on in Wikipedia (that Wikipedia calls a ‘breach of wikiquette’) as confrontation, not collaboration. Britannica plans to put contributors in touch with its ‘community of scholars’ and still allow individuals to retain control of their work.

Access. As far as following Wikipedia’s open source model, access isn’t the only value up for grabs–it’s accuracy. Britannica puts it this way:

Encyclopaedia Britannica itself will continue to be edited according to the most rigorous standards and will bear the imprimatur “Britannica Checked” to distinguish it from material on the site for which Britannica editors are not responsible.

Trust. This week I interviewed Tom Panelas, Encyclopedia Britannica’s director of corporate communications for an upcoming article, and he stresses the value of “editorial stewardship.” While reaching out to a wider audience it will not compromise on trust.

The battle over knowledge platforms has always been bitter and not so easy to predict. Think of how Google dethroned Yahoo, and Intranets are being made obsolete by internal blogs. How we access these knowledge repositories could determine how much we value accuracy and trust. Done right and delivered right Britannica could quickly reposition Wikipedia.

Wikipedia, now in Search

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As the news breaks that Encyclopedia Britannica is moving into a Wiki platform (over and beyond WebShare) Wikipedia is now taking aim at search, with Wikia Search.

Resting on four words, Transparency, Community, Quality and Privacy, it’s a very different experience. There’s an odd but enticing feature –in the area where you expect to see paid ads– that allows you to add a URL to the search results. Results are not very accurate, but these are early days.

Wikia Search lets you register a “social profile” adding the social network ingredient to search. “Search requires a strong social and community focus,” they say, and they are building it through collaboration –much like Wikipedia. Worth watching.

Courtesy Chevrolet’s 650 URLs pay off

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It is notorious for the giant arrow pointing to the dealership. Sort of an old world billboard made with its logo to cut through the forest of signs in a busy part of Phoenix.

But Courtesy Chevrolet, the Chevy dealership in Phoenix was featured in last week’s Advertising Age about its other innovative ways of attracting customers.

“Courtesy Chevrolet is an internet pioneer,” says the article. It was one of the first U.S. dealerships to set up an online division 12 years ago, and today owns 650 URLs, and even uses live chats.

Granted, they have awful, old-world radio ads -the screaming DJ format– that makes me reach for the dial, but it seems like they have really tapped into new media to connect with customers.

They website is called “House of Courtesy”

Read article here.

What you say could come back to bite into your book tour!

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This is a statement disparaging a former White House insider who wrote a book criticizing the White House. But there’s a catch.

“Well, why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner? This is one-and-a-half years after he left the administration. And now, all of a sudden, he’s raising these grave concerns that he claims he had. And I think you have to look at some of the facts. One, he is bringing this up in the heat of a presidential campaign. He has written a book and he certainly wants to go out there and promote that book. Certainly let’s look at the politics of it.”

It sounds a LOT like the person being attacked is Scott McClellan, former White House press secretary. The problem is, the person saying it is McClellan! He is talking about another tell-all book by Richard Clark! On March 22nd, 2004.

“And now, all of a sudden, he’s raising these grave concerns that he claims he had.”

Public records are a brilliant thing. But in this age of access, and the ability to drill into search engines and databases that capture history, what you say from a public or private podium feeds your data cloud.

Quotes for the week ending 7 June, 2008

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“Marketers are horrible at getting close to customers …they say they want it, but they don’t”

Charlene Li, VP-Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, in Advertising Age which picked here as one of the Women to Watch

“But neutrality and readability are two vastly different things; neutrality doesn’t make an article inherently understandable. That’s what an editor does.”

Shel Holtz on the value of good editing, and the role of professionally produced encyclopedias.

“Additive or Core Ingredient? Putting Social Media in the Mix”

Topic at “OMMA Social” a one-day event on social media, on June 23rd.

“Copy gets in the way.”

Seth Godin, on why it is important to use the discipline of the classified ad –paying by the word- when crafting ad copy.

“It’s hard to imagine a public confession more extraordinarily frustrating or profoundly unsatisfying.

Leonard Pitts, syndicated columnist, on Scott McClellan’s book What Happened dealing with White House deception.

“We’re getting treated like air freight.”

Robert Mann, aviation consultant, on the possibility that airlines may adjust ticket prices according to a passenger’s weight.

“When a newspaper moves online, the bundle falls apart.”

Nicolas Carr, writer and member of Britannica’s Editorial Board on the economics of culture and media.