future of online

Been a couple of interesting days with the start of the postgrad online journalism course and visits by Bobbie Johnson, Technology Reporter, The Guardian and Dominic Tuohy formerly of the Editors forum.

Both were illuminating in assessing the future of online and providing fibre for a secondary debate about the role of Universities in supplying talent to the market.

Bobbie spoke about how important blogs were, particularly for any one wanting a look in at The Guardian. We looked at a future where journalists would earn their crust by acess per view. If you're a good reporter you'll attract a constituent in the same way a DJ can move with his/her fanbase, we'll get to a point when the question asked by the editor is: how many readers do you have?
Dominique spoke about the bottom up approach. Newspapers may not likely go under now but they were under threat. That whilst the buzz words are web 2.0 - share, talk, distribute - this was sloganeering for a raft of newspaper who hadn't yet made any decision to embrace new habits and tools.

The threat of change is something which attacks a basic human condition and a once predictable livelihood. Bobbie has a firm grip and utterly refreshing outlook as both a newspaper reporter and online writer and rolls together points often ignored, overlooked by many.

We should do this again I mused. Next time havee a whole class and become one of our visiting lectureres. I hope he accepts.

Post Armani

So I told what happened to me to the conference. They laughed. perhapes it was my histrionics.
Back home and i have had two interesting requests to become a panelist. Now putting the final toouches to the two programmes I'll be lecturing in at Uni.
Grrr Was supposed to have met Howard Rheingold, but we missed other. However, good news. Global Voices won the batten Awards. fab site, you really should take a peak. So who gets to spend the 10,000 USD and who keeps the award??
Feeling a bit restless at the mo. So much I should be doing that I'm not. Ho hum

Armani tragedy

So I'm asked" "anything in your bag, liquids etc
er, no
And then just as I'm turning into the departure gate I remember. I open my bag and in there, a 50 ukp bottle of Armani.
I pace up and down, realising the inevitable.
"Is there anyway I can get this on board", I ask the airline personnel.
No.
So what do you do. For 15 minutes I walk the length of the concourse looking out into the car park. Is there somewhere I can hide this and pick it up later. C'mon my niece bought this for me as a birthday pressie.
10 minutes to boarding and I still haven't found a solution and with all the scare over recent terror incident, my actions I fear may even arise suspicion.
Damn it. I'm about to throw a perfectly full bottle of expensive, sentimental eau de toilette away.
That's it. I storm outside to departures and home in on a 6 footer - a teenager.
His mum and brother eye me suspiciously.
"Dyou see this" I say. "I don't know you from a bar of soap", I add spraying myself, "but this here is about to go in the bin. Do you want it". I spray myself again. He nods vigorously and breaks into a smile. I have parted with my gift. As I turn way, I look back at him.
"what's you name? At least I have got to know your name?"
PJ.
And that was that.

10 things about Denmark - Arhus

Touched down at Billund airport - an airport unwrapped from a catalogue - pine and chrome - did someone say ikea
Roads very clean
Having dark hair def makes you stand out
The traffic lights count down to when its safe to cross
Everyone stops at the lights - no j-walking
The cheapest deoderant cost 16 ukp equivalent
Is everything so dear here.
The people are nice - they don't so that yikes you're invading my space when you go up to ask a question
The hotel I'm staying in apparently Madonna and her crew stayed here. No I haven't arrived.
The resturaunt where we had dinner serves food as if it were art, Delicious but you half feel guilty at destroying this culinary architecture
Tomorrow -

10 things I should have done before coming to Denmark

Good Will Hunting

confucius say. . . Perhaps I needed reminding. In one corner today's activity, a meeting with a high powered chinese delegation, which I intend to publish the VJ piece about this soon. In another corner, the good people in Denmark, whom I;ll be addressing next week on the onset of video journalism.

I'm currently putting the power point presentation together, and am quite enjoying. I went scurryng across the net looking for articles on video journalism only to find, er very little. So like Victor kaem, the bloke who likes razors so much he bought the company, I have written my own opus.

But then to another corner and this is something that I find difficult to keep mum about. You know, the person who puts pressure on you to attend a meeting. The result of which you're a bit ambiguous. Then calls another meeting, which you again break hell and high water to attend. Makes promises and then asks you to attend another meeting. You once again oblige. Then then make some nice-to-the-ear comments, pledge support for that which you discussed then Nada, nilch, none, zero, the big cahoot, raspery.

At this point you're searching around for some good will, cuz you're being stretched. Then the lights go one. You take a big pen and rub them out of your contacts book, and your karma is restored. Confucius' say.. should learn self-discipline, now that's good will hunting

The rise of the broadbandcaster

Day two at the Broadcast Live show and I'm looking forward to enjoying this.

The previous day I overloaded the presentation - amateur! But this time I'm adressing simple premises. What is videojournalism? Why it's day has come and how does it work.

Figuring this out means I can slow down abd enjoy the company of those present. Byron (Apple supremo) has lent me his PDA to record audio for a pod. Hopefully I'll get that soon to post.

But in essence the whole presentation revolves around the idea that anyone can be, and will be a broadbandcaster, vlogger or videocaster.

The obvious examples are rocketboom, currenttv, heavy.com and for social sharing: you tube and metacafe. Yep I'm aware there are lots more e.g. blinx, but I'm limited by time.

As far as my very limited knowledge goes, barring the networks, there appears to be no real beast of a videocast dealing with news. That's not withstanding the likes of Geek TV (tech news). But I mean news of the network TV stuff, so videojournalism, plus broadcasting on broadband is ripe for the picking.

The previous day I bumped into the managing director of Channel One - the first videojournalism outfit in the UK; it was modelled on New York One. The UK wasn't ready back then in 1994, so C1 suffered a slow atrophy, but judging from what Julian hinted, the next year could be interesting.

Got the chance at this years conf to talk to a number of people; sometimes these conf can max you out. www.bluloop.com are interesting: ads in a moving image way. And then I had quite a superb 10 minute cranium massage. The practitioner, a slight attractive woman with the grip of a gladiator said I had lots of knots in me.

Quite!

And with that time to head home and prepare dinner, influenced by watching the tale end of a day time television programme Richard and Judy. And now its time to hit the sack. Early rise tomorrow 5 ish tp catch a two hour journey train to preston.

An apple a day

Being asked by Apple UK to present my views on creativity and videojournalism has its downside.
there are many ups as well. But presenting to an audience who are fluid: walking in and oout of your talk, can be daunting. That didn't worry me that much, but had i guaged the length and substance of my talk properly. Perhaps not, Byron, Apple's uber creative and the person responsible for pulling me in, seems to think I did a good job. Perhaps he was being nice. I rambled and on various ocassions lamented at the lack of time available.
So I thought I'd streamline the talk for the next day. Fat chance. I cricked my neck on my way home carrying all my gear, so even writing this has become a bind. And then, at 10 my son has an accident. The toilet lid.. yes.. and he's in pain, so off to casualty I go. THree hours of non-event I emerge. The doctor says we should monitor his progress. I'm reminded that whilst I believe doctors and nurses are exceptional, the flow of information is like waading in treacle. You've got to pull it out begrudgingly.. so I guess I never got to change the site after all. Wish me well for tomorrow. I may very well need it

Site and sight

Had breakfast.
Marked Uni papers
Online to look at Uni news stories
refined content on broadband site
ate light lunch
back to site
film former students now producers in India and Lithuania talking about their time at Uni
Answered emails -
took a call fom a friend .. wants to work at GMTV
Get ready to go over for Chat at Channel 4
Good chat with Mark Roberts about citizen journalism
Friend rings up for meeting with futher education group wanting to set up bridging programme for students with
Think about whether I should go to the gym - I do. Not much energy in me, buut get through aerobics programme.
More film cutting to be posted to the American Institute, grr Drive goes down. Order new extreme drive.
more emails. Rob Chiu has just met and talked on the same platform as Kyle Cooper and Neville Brody
Oh invite to New Media do.
Missed Dinner.....
Veg out on some ITV prog about celebrirties crowing
Time to hit the sack
zzzzzzzzzz

TV isn't dead: Apple's broadcasting future

Driving to visit a friend in Four Ways, a Northern Joburg surburb in South Africa, I'm struck by what I see.

A security check point at the mouth of his well-to-do address controls the flow of traffic and people into his street, which breaks into a small town, furnished with all the necessary amenities for the community.

The analogy is not so far fetched for Apple.

Having staked its logoed flag in the terrain of desk top publisher, I-Movie auters and I-Tunes twisters, to name a few, the company has now become neighbourly to a new community.

The public delivered brand loyalty and a mass movement uptake to its poduct range, but this one consisting of professional broadcasters delivers a relevance of how television is shaping here, now and the future.

Oh yes, the Internet may have a radical transformative effect on what we watch, but television, says conference attendant Adrian Scott, from The Bakewell consultancy, will still be a force for the future.
So Apple's executive briefing to broadcasters reveals how well it's set up store in Media "Four ways" with other partners offering everything to all.

The gathering in corporate surroundings, just off its Regent's Street store, was an opportunity to see new work flows - the taking in and putting out of media.

And by default, the chance to oggle at some new professional toys.
The buzz word appears to be "partnerships" with the likes of Sony, Norcom, and Popwire all bringing a dish to the tech table.

"The real challenge though is getting broadcasters to understand what the technology can do for them", says Mr Scott.

The big beasts of broadcasting, with a strong foot in news, have until now included AVID Newscutter, BASYS, Quantel and ENPS.
But Apple's broadcast solution and new partners seeks to offer alternatives across the board.

A couple that stood out include the multiple window play-to- edit application on Final Cut. Live editing using multiple source cameras just got easier.

Whilst Norcom's add-on to Final Cut allows broadcasters to match scripts to pictures without physically counting three words to the second for a match.

Then there's Popwire, which boasts on its goody take home - a software CD - that its Compression Master 4 delivers industrial strength media encoding. I'm yet to try it out.

Whilst these innovations are specifically targeted at professionals, hence their price range; the Sony XDCam cost about 50,000 Euros, there could be a long tail benefit.

If Apple's record in the low entry level market is anything to go by, then perhaps at some point, consumers may well sample some of these broadcast solutions at tiered market prices.

Now that would be neighbourly.

comment

Damn if anyone knows

Isn't that it really? A digital reformation with eyes wide open. So we're all media makers. Granted some are better than others. Some people have spent a life time and earned serious gong power. So that's no way to treat the profession. But if you look back to Addison and Steele 17th and later scraps with parliament. The law makers forgot to issue licenses and it ebcae a free for all, wev've been here before.

So the trick is safeguarding a profession but embracing the market place. Now for once the idea of Sach's free market forces doesn't sound like a good idea. But film makera have been wrestling and taming those same, albeit slightly different data, forces.

If you build it and it better damn well be good they will come. If you're good, I guess we can all go home safe in the knowledge that we'll make it. For lurking in the wings are youth so clued up on the latest immersive media that frankly, yes, I did consider this, a worth trade such as plumming ( 60 p/hr plus) comes to mind.

We hate change, but that's exactly where we find ourselves and whether a broadcaster embraces this or not, change is a happening. It happened/ is happening in the music industry, manufacturing (c.f China's trade deficit - electronic goods) and is having a good go in print. cf You and Yours today - the e-screen or the program I'm doing with The Press Association

So buzzers at the ready for five what was teh name of the institution that showed the rest of the wrold how to produce quality programmes. The year in question 2050. Somehow forces are trying to prevent this, but how well can they see the future?

Citizen wotsitsname - that film (wemedia

)

Everyone knows the film, even if they can't remember the talented director. The film has become part of our visual landscape and set a standard for those who would follow.

And the film was. . . the one that showed the beating of Rodney King, the film showing the botched landing of a plane on the sea off the coast of East Africa, images from London's tube, from 911, Hurricane Katrina and there are countless many more.

These were films made by Citizen Joe and Josephine. Citizen Journalism has been here as long as we've told stories. In the late 1600s leading to 1700s in the UK, story telling turned professional. Addison and Steele, famed for Tatler and the Spectator, both of whom had different professions, could loosely count as early flag bearers of a name that today is a red flag to many.

So citizen journos are not a new phenomenon, but like an army has been professionalised. And on the theme of the army, we might count it's citizen contributors as members of the Territorial Army - citizens who have their day job, but enlist all the same. No one gets heated about that. Oh, I'm being naive.

It's not whether we embrace CJ or not. It's here, has been here, and ain't going anywhere. In fact the digital economy will ensure CJs increase in number. Some organisations have welcomed blogs, but that's just one facet of the digital journalist.

There is more we could do, much much more. Not because we're compelled to, but because we're interested and need to facilitate greater understanding, education, entertainment and participation amongst ourselves. CJ adds to that. Listen to the CJ podcast and to panelist Rachel North - one of the survivors of July 7th bombing.

So to my one contribution - a perhaps nonsensical idea. Emily Bell ( Guardian ) said this morning, most of the UK's TV talent is in reality TV. So the programme is this. Broadcasters who claim to have the CJ firmly in site should set up a CJ model news made by guess who to compete with their own bulletins.

The broadcasters facilitate the making of the programme offering support but the editorial comes from we the people. If YouTube and Metacafe are anything to go by, it should make an interesting programme. It may even have a shelf life on broadband.

The best film ever, Citzen Kane? Or was that made by you.

p.s I'll blog my thoughts on what I thought of the Citizen Journalist debate , as one of the panelists later

Interactive news: long live news

So just why are we so bound in convention when it comes to embracing innovation? It's a comfort blanket. Charlie Brown's sleeping friend: we do because we know it worked. But as was said in fight club. "Jut leg go".

Here are a few things that have risen out of wise men and women in the media saying let it be so.

1. A presenter must sit behind a huge desk. In your home, it would invite comments of the inferior complex
2. Why do they happy talk on air?
3. Why are news outlets so limiting in their output: 70 perecent of accessible news on the day doesn;t get shown
4. Why can't we choose our own news as we do with content on Sky+?
5. Why do you have to go to an Ivy league or Oxbridge to stand as near hope as possible to get into the media?
6. Why is video news confined to designated news outlets only. Why can't, say, any organisation create its own news based on firm journalistic principles?

7. Ok I have some idea of (1) &(2). Social blogging may go some way to addressing the aforementioned.

And finally, why couldn't you present a news value show with film-style contextualisation and make the text interactive? You can. Got o the view to have a look.

What do you think about 1-7?

What's on your mind?

Training programme, marking work, final projects, dinner with company tomorrow, interview with programme maker, Unis changing servers, fresh News stories from Uni page, final project dissertations for masters students. . . oh it was my birthday. . Cake and that was it. . . Fixed a few things on viewmagazine.tv . . now heading outside, So what's on your mind?

The power of dreams

I believe a division of labour has its place, but don't understand why we cant be a jack of many other trades and try and master them as well.

I believe that information and its governance should not be marked out by a set or class of people.

I beleive we all have the capacity to be good at something.

I believe in the bell curve and that there are few who are naturally gifted, the majority find that gift through the hard graft.

Nato vlog day 2

Why would anyone want to do this! In part it's the thrill, the rush, but it's also the mental process of understanding conflict reportage is nothing glamorous

Yannis Photographer

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Redux: Tribute to PhotoJournalist Yannis Kontos who attends ceremony for his award next month. A simplified production of Yanni's Amputee, Sierra Leone, with a score produced within 24 hours from award winning Gospel composer, Michael Donkor.

Amazing stuff. Let us know what you think?

Tornados don;t you hate em

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This one weights a couple of hundred tons and has the capacity to pack a real punch. What d you think

trust no one

Trust everyone and no one - So who can you trust? Clip from interview with Director of UK's oldest think tank, Chatham House explaining intial media coverage over the 7/7 London bombings.

listen to what the director has to say on viewmagazine.tv what do you thinK?

Mobile News

The ubiquitous mobile phone has an even richer future. True or false?

Two years ago as part of a project with the BBC's Interactive department, we, myself and handpicked students mapped out a world where the future would collide with the present.

Here the mobile phone is transformed, not merely from the shoot and edit capabilities some devices can handle now, but a fully fledged HD quality camera with sophisticated editing bay and fast network publishing. More coming

Mike Smartt ex- BBC Online Chief

An example of a video hyperlink, which I'm working on to refine so the transition is seamless, but what do you make of what Mike says. Pretty Candid really! No you won't get that from an existing BBC Manager.