In many ways, traditional filters made it so much easier to find and consume content. Traditional filters also came with the benefit of having a stamp of approval. We knew the content had been, well, filtered. Take newspapers. Newspapers filter news and information for us. Editors and journalists cover news they believed is important [...]
Read moreIs Social Media More Important than Traditional Media?
What is better for a brand? A.) 25 million Facebook fans B.) An article in the New York Times Ideally, you’d like both. But if forced to pick, I’d probably go with A. Facebook fans are a constant – a set of people who have opted into your content. While they don’t all receive your [...]
Read moreA Vanishing Species: Fact-based Journalism
“Well, opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.” – Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry in “Dead Pool” Here is the sad story about FACT. The unfortunate fellow has been thumped on the noggin, hog-tied, and dragged unconscious into a locked closet by OPINION, SPECULATION, and RHETORIC. The big enablers of this Gang of Three? [...]
Read moreThe End of Channel Media
CNN used to be a cable news network. The New York Times used to be a newspaper. The Huffington Post used to be a blog. But that’s not the case anymore. CNN, New York Times and the Huffington Post (like almost every other major news organization) are no longer defined by their channels. This is [...]
Read moreNewspapers Should Replace Reporting with Journalism
Reporting isn’t journalism. This is a distinction that few people understand, including many in the news business. And an inability to distinguish between the two is one reason why newspapers and other traditional media outlets continue to lose paying customers to the Web. We no longer need traditional media and professional reporters to inform us [...]
Read moreIs American Journalism Working Anymore?
Peter Finley Dunn, the late writer and humorist, once described the role of journalism to “comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable.” When I was a journalist, Dunn’s quote was at the heart of how I practiced the craft. I believed deeply in Dunn’s assessment and even scribbled the quote onto my journalism notebooks as a [...]
Read moreThe New York Times Big Gamble: Paywalls (Again)
Starting on March 28, the New York Times will dive headfirst – yet again – into digital subscriptions and… take a deep breath… paywalls. Or should I say the dreaded and much maligned paywalls. The last time the New York Times tried this they dove into the shallow end of the pool and nearly broke [...]
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Why “Balance” Hurts Journalism
Intelligence Squared is a wonderful program on NPR that features Oxford style debating among experts on various topics. This month, the show, hosted by ABC News correspondent John Donovan, featured a debate on whether to repeal “Obamacare.” Arguing for the repeal was former U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Arizona). As Donovan introduced Shadegg they had this [...]
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May 24, 2012


Does Commenting Add Any Value?
Do you read comments? For me the answer is: It depends. I often read the comments on my favorite blogs. The comments on blogs generally add value. Often there are debates breaking out around the issues the blogger has explored in his/her post. I like reading how people are reacting to the content and the [...]
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