• <I>Good</i> CEO: 'We're Just Getting Started' - mediabistro.com: FishbowlNY
  "A lot of my focus has been to help the company as we have evolved from what was once a magazine [Good with a complementary Web site and some media events to a more diversified media company, to go from start-up to scale-up," he said. In the coming months, Good Worldwide will drastically "scale up" various branches of the media company."
  (tags: buildtheecho business_models)
• Chicago gets its very own HuffPo site -- chicagotribune.com
  It's my town!!! Very interesting to watch how this works and if it will fill in a gap. Personally, I follow local news through Chicagoist and Beachwood Reporter--who act as both aggregators, cultural afficianados (much more in tune w/my tastes than the tribune) and commentators on news provided by the MSM here including the Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times, local television, etc...
  I also wonder how this builds out on the biz side, if it's going to increase advertising.
  One last note--as much as I appreciate what HuffPo is trying to do--unpaid writers/reporters is not a sustainable model for the individuals that contribute. You're going to either have a set of opinions/reporting from individuals who can afford to give their time/resources for free which will only give a certain range of perspectives and people spending time reporting/opining for free because it's an important way to build their career, but not their pocketbooks.
  (tags: buildtheecho huffington_post)
• The HuffPo Effect: Everyone Wants Their Own Online News Brand - mediabistro.com: FishbowlNY
  (tags: buildtheecho huffington_post)
• Black Blogosphere Proves Potent Force in Story of Race in the New South
  Archive: For Book re: Jena 6. Howard Witt of The Chicago Tribune discusses role and growth of black blogosphere.

  "But what I find in the black blogosphere you have people who don't profess to be political professionals. They're just ordinary folks coming from a range of interests and professions but they have these very thoughtful takes on the civil rights issues of the day. They bring to bear their own experience and they give voice to a lot of stuff that just doesn't get aired either in the mainstream media or in the kind of liberal blogs. Plus the black blogosphere is not distinguished by a particular political orthodoxy.....

  Interestingly, what the black blogs proved [with Jena] is they don't need for the "white blogs" to pay attention to them for these to become big national stories, to get their story out. They get a lot of attention. They get a lot of results. "

  (tags: buildtheecho jena_6 impact blogging blogging_infrastructure)

• Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits—How Bloggers Become Bureaucratized
  Interesting summary of research that shows how bloggers begin to pick up journalistic routines and concerns as their audience grows
  (tags: rebirth_of_journalism csm buildtheecho)

• News Leadership 3.0: Don't forget the audience
  "Building on the idea of product differentiation, I want to underscore a second critical factor—how people use media. A lot of news organizations are still thinking about content and presentation in terms of medium and technology (or worse, in terms of tradition and comfort level) when they should be thinking about content and presentation in terms of audiences—in which I include people who read of print newspapers and people who read their news online or go there for more interactive experiences.

  For an example of this, look no farther than your spiffy new iPhone and then check out what content your organization is providing to users there or on other mobile devices. The news industry’s capacity to deliver news, information and interactivity to mobile seriously lags audience adoption and use."

  (tags: media buildtheecho web_20 audience)
• The Media Equation - All of Us, the Arbiters of News - NYTimes.com
  How much more powerful is that networked intelligence than a reporter with a phone, a Rolodex and the space between his or her ears? As the former newspaperman and Web evangelist Jeff Jarvis (who has also consulted for The New York Times) has been saying since before broadband, the Web is not just a way to shout, it is a way to listen, one that can lead to deeper, more effective journalism. (His response to the Philly injunction against early Web publishing was predictably measured and careful: “It is suicide. It is murder. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”)

  For the last few years, the locus of control has been shifting and consumers not only expect to customize their media experience, they demand it as a condition of engagement. The horizon line for when a newspaper on the street is serving as a kind of brochure of a rich online product does not seem far off.

  (tags: media buildtheecho web_20 impact echo_chamber)

• What will tomorrow’s newspaper look like? | AspenTimes.com
  As befitting a conference focused on the state of media, the conference had reported on itself in at least a three ways before lunch: GroundReport streamed video for the Aspen Institute, the Knight Commission blogged the event, and Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, blogged a series of short videos he had made.

Once again my delicious integration with this site has gone all wonky (where is the tech goddess when I need her?). So I thought I’d do a quick round up of some of my favorite links over the last couple days. You can also always look at the right hand side bar as they do appear there–just without my pithy comments or pulling out the most juicy parts of the post. What’s been some of your favorite media-related articles of the last couple days?

Aug. 12 Salon Launches Blogger Tipping System - CNET
“Tipping” a paid journalist for their online content hasn’t even caught on quite yet, but Salon.com is taking it a step further. Audience members can now “tip” each other for good content and drive that story to Salon’s front page. It’s putting the publishing power in the audience’s hands, from editorial control to actually paying for good content. (I wonder if this is a not-so-subtle lesson for audience members about the pains of not having enough money to pay your really great writers???)

Highlight: “Salon’s micropayments are handled through technology from Revolution MoneyExchange, a member of the Revolution corporation founded by former AOL czar Steve Case. Each Open Salon member who registers for Revolution MoneyExchange is given a complimentary $10 with which to start rewarding other bloggers for their stories, images, and videos uploaded to the site. But those would-be recipients can only accept the compensation if they’ve registered for MoneyExchange accounts themselves. “Open Salon eliminates the gatekeepers,” editor-in-chief Joan Walsh said in a statement. “It makes our smart, creative audience full partners in Salon’s publishing future.”

Don’t Forget The Audience - News Leadership 3.0
Highlight: “Building on the idea of product differentiation, I want to underscore a second critical factor—how people use media. A lot of news organizations are still thinking about content and presentation in terms of medium and technology (or worse, in terms of tradition and comfort level) when they should be thinking about content and presentation in terms of audiences—in which I include people who read of print newspapers and people who read their news online or go there for more interactive experiences. For an example of this, look no farther than your spiffy new iPhone and then check out what content your organization is providing to users there or on other mobile devices. The news industry’s capacity to deliver news, information and interactivity to mobile seriously lags audience adoption and use.”

The Media Equation-All of Us, The Arbiters of News - NY Times
Highlight: “How much more powerful is that networked intelligence than a reporter with a phone, a Rolodex and the space between his or her ears? As the former newspaperman and Web evangelist Jeff Jarvis (who has also consulted for The New York Times) has been saying since before broadband, the Web is not just a way to shout, it is a way to listen, one that can lead to deeper, more effective journalism. (His response to the Philly injunction against early Web publishing was predictably measured and careful: “It is suicide. It is murder. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”) For the last few years, the locus of control has been shifting and consumers not only expect to customize their media experience, they demand it as a condition of engagement. The horizon line for when a newspaper on the street is serving as a kind of brochure of a rich online product does not seem far off.”

How Newsrooms Throw Away Value By Not Linking to Sources on the Web-Publishing 2.0
Highlight: “The problem is that the editorial workflow for most newsrooms doesn’t include a process whereby journalists can collect source links as part of their research process and provide them as work product to be published on the web along with the article. As Jay Rosen explains in this video, understanding the value of links, and how they connect content, ideas, and people, is fundamental to understanding the value of the web. And understanding the value of the web is the key to unlocking the new business models that journalism needs to survive and thrive in the digital age:” [CLICK IN TO WATCH VIDEO.]

So a couple weeks ago, I was in DC and spoke on a panel with Ali Savino of the Center for Independent Media at the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s monthly Internet Advocacy Round Table (whew! that was long). The topic was “The Rise of Online Independent Media.”

I also happened to be deathly ill–I had lost my voice that morning and was coughing half the time–ok more than half the time. None the less, I thought it was a pretty interesting discussion and Q&A. If you can handle the coughing and me sounding like a troll (thank you Jessica for that lovely description), I encourage you to watch for a bit (that’s me in the middle!)

You can scroll down under the the brief description of the event here here to download the video. (Also–feel free to skip the first minute or so–just long intros and our bios…)

In today’s Salon, Rick Perlstein (fellow Chicagoan and author of Nixonland) has a fascinating interview with Thomas Frank–author of the hit (and great example of high impact) What’s the Matter With Kansas? and the new, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule. The interview hones in on specific stories from Frank’s new book on the rise of conservative power over the last 100 years, including examples of how the right economically benefits from both fighting the left AND (ironically) subsidies and some interesting tidbits about Jack Abramoff’s ties to South Africa apartheid.

At the end of the interview, Frank has his own take on the ways of the MSM as they fight the “liberal bias” label falsely foisted upon them by the right. Frank notes some MSM journalists run for the caves to hide from the label by speaking in equal measures about the two parties. To me, it’s not about equal time with either party (although that clearly doesn’t happen), it’s about journalists rooting out the systematic development, power and corruption by or of either party. This is also what Frank alludes to in the quote below.

What they prefer instead is to talk about “both parties,” and always to assume that everything in American politics is done simultaneously and in precisely equal measure by both sides. Believing this closes off all kinds of inquiry to you, blinds you to all sorts of not-so-subtle nuances and imbalances in the system.

There’s also the problem that the things I focus on — for example, that conservatism tends to be an organic product of business interests — are things that disturb them. Journalists might be social liberals, but there are damned few of them who are ready to scrutinize the power of business or the benevolence of markets. Or the motives of entrepreneurs, even when they call themselves “political entrepreneurs.”

• We Media Game Changers Awards
  Oooohhh, I like! We've been talking about "gamechangers" for months at The Media Consortium… Any ideas for nominations?

  "The We Media Awards recognize Game Changers: people, projects, ideas and organizations leading change and inspiring a better world through media.
  Game Changers lead society to knowledge. They inspire involvement and action through media, and we’ll celebrate their achievement at We Media Miami, where their stories become the content of the conference. They provide example, insight and inspiration for participants from all fields by demonstrating how to navigate and lead the connected society."

  (tags: buildtheecho impact)

• Media Outlets Are Seeking a Campaign Bounce of Their Own - NYTimes.com
  The Politico has benefited from profound changes in the way people get news, according to Jim VandeHei, the executive editor and co-founder. People look for news far more often during the day, they are far more likely to seek multiple sources as well as favorite bloggers and writers, and they are far more interested in watching video online.
  “The difference between ’04 and ’08 is like walking into a different century,” he said. “Virtually everybody who comes to us also goes to The Post or The Times or Drudge or Yahoo or Google. Having a sole source of news — those days are over.”
  (tags: buildtheecho media_politics business_models)

• tipjoy Adds Auto-Twitter Integration So You Can Tweet Your Tips
  tipjoy launched earlier this year with the hopes of creating a better tipping community, and subsequently a better online marketplace for earning money and expressing your support of a particular site you like (somewhat similar to TipIt). While sites have been accepting donations for some time now, and this process has been simplified with payment gateways like PayPal, tipjoy has sought to simplify the process even further by offering things like a bookmarklet that allows you to tip sites as you surf the Web.
  (tags: buildtheecho business_models web_20 fundraising)