On May 17^th, I’ll be at the regional Online News Association Conference in Madison participating in a panel discussion on how to prepare reporters and students for a changing media landscape.  Among the things we’ll be talking about are how to adapt news rooms to produce a constantly updated, online product and what skills journalists need to develop to produce dynamic material that can reach audiences through a variety of platforms.

I’ll try and get a post up right after the conference with a summary of the discussion and reactions to the other presentations.

Also at the conference will be The Politico’s Ben Smith, CNN producer Scott Anderson, and Democratic consultant Joe Trippi.  For more information, see the press release on the event at wispolitics.com.

There have been tons of articles over the last year written about how politicians are using Facebook, but it has yet to be determined whether the social networking site is an effective tool for political communication or just another way for college kids to find out about this weekend’s kegger. There are tons of questions that have yet to be answered, including:

• Do Facebook members really engage in politics or are they just putting the equivalent of cyberspace bumper stickers on their profiles?
• Will Barack Obama’s superstar status on the Internet translating into real grassroots support?
• Does Mitt Romney even know that he has a Facebook profile?

The paper, “Expanding the Public Sphere: The Impact of Facebook on Political Communication,” examines these questions and focuses on the ability of Facebook to facilitate political communication between members and extend the messages of political campaigns to a younger audience.

Below is an excerpt from the analysis. Read the full paper here.

Beneva Schulte, a spokesperson for Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd’s Democratic presidential campaign, said, “We’re not waiting for them to come to us; we’re finding them where they live. College students, unless they’re overtly political, don’t go to political Web sites and attend political rallies, so we’re meeting them on college campuses at Harvard and Howard — on Facebook and YouTube.” Facebook’s ability to integrate political communication into a broader social network is what separates it from a campaign web site or Howard Dean’s online organizing efforts. If a candidate’s Web site is like a campaign rally that college students can drive to, then a candidate’s Facebook page is like a campaign rally held right in the middle of campus. The campaigns are bringing their message to where college students live and an increasing portion of the general population is already interacting online.

Even if millions of young Americans are identifying themselves with political groups and taking their political discussions online, none of it matters if they do not take the next step and participate in the real world. Real world political participation can include making financial contributions, participating in political rallies, and, most importantly, voting. Historically, young Americans are the least likely to vote. In 2004, only 46.7 percent of eligible voters ages 18-24 cast ballots, compared with 63.8 percent of all eligible voters. [1] Whether increased political communication on Facebook will actually increase voting rates among younger demographics remains to be seen.

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[1] Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau, November 2004, http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf.

With more polling data coming out on the 2008 campaign coming out every day, I though it’d be useful to post summary of what it takes to accurately report on poll results:

A news report about a public opinion poll needs to have several qualities in order to serve both the public interest and that of the news organization.[1]

The report must be interesting enough to attract general readers and simple enough for general readers to understand. Polls make attractive topics for journalists because the most common results show either 1) a fairly clear winner and loser or 2) a close race. Both make for interesting, easy to write stories. It is rarer to see a journalist tackle in-depth analysis of a poll that takes on multiple aspects of an issue, such as the recent poll of Iraqis done by ABC News, USA Today, the BBC and ARD[2]. If a journalist were to write a story on that poll, he would likely pick out one or two poll questions to focus on.

This simplification is not necessarily a problem. In fact, it can be desirable. If a journalist were to include details on every question in a lengthy poll with careful attention to potential wording bias, sampling size, and methodology, few people would ever read the story. When writing for a general audience, it is better for a journalist to glean the most important facts and relay them with enough detail to assure readers that the poll is credible. While their job is to simplify complex data, it is essential that journalists be educated in statistics and polling methodology. With knowledge of how polling works, a journalist can determine whether the results are valid and whether the story should be on polling results alone or, in rare cases, the motives or shoddy practices of those conducting the poll.

Beyond being straightforward, the report should provide enough detail about the polling methodology for the reader to assess the validity of the results. There are several technical questions that the article should answer:

1) What is the margin of error and confidence interval?

2) What is the sample size?

3) Who is the population being sampled?

4) During what time span was the poll conducted?

Continue reading How to report poll results…

I was just skimming the New York Times Web site and they’ve changed their policy so that anyone with a .edu e-mail account can gain free access to their subscriber-only content online.

Sign up here

There’s some extra incentive to go to grad school right there.

This “Get Fuzzy” strip from November 2005 has taken on a whole new meaning:

I don’t usually write about advertisements, but this one’s too good to ignore.

I’ve seen plenty of Web sites that try really hard to be “viral” advertisement for some product.  They usually have flash animations or games that are usually pretty poorly produced.

www.clearification.com centers around the random, hilarious musings of comedian Dimitri Martin.  It’s fairly basic - just a simple animated Dimitri rambling on.  It features a few videos and plugs Dimitri’s upcoming comedy tour.

The most interesting thing is that the whole site is really an ad for Windows Vista.  There’s a small, but noticable Vista logo at the bottom of the screen and Vista is featured in each of the video shorts.

Or maybe I just like it because I think Dimitri Martin is funny.

NBC has teamed up with AOL to put the pilot episode of Aaron Sorkin’s new show, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” up, commercial free, on the Internet a week before it first airs on the peacock.

The pilot was solid… combining the movie-style production and idealism of The West Wing with the quick wit of Sports Night.
It’s pretty bold of NBC to pick up the show, both because it draws it’s schtick from Saturday Night Live and a new show written by and starring Tina Fey will air on the same network.

And the show ends with “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie.  Could it get much better?

With the midterms fast approaching, both NBC and ABC have begun blogs devoted to providing daily political updates from their respective pools of reporters.

NBC’s “First Read” is a new take on what used to be their morning on-line update of the day in politics.  “First Read” no longer exists in its previous and has been completely folded into the continually updated blog.

ABC has retained their version of the morning update, “The Note”, and added a blog,”Political Radar“, that will allow for continual updates throughout the day.

We’ll see which one proves to be more popular, but it’s interesting that NBC has conceded the battle for the long-form morning update.

CBS may have Katie Couric… but they’re still lacking the comprehensive political reporting teams of NBC and ABC.

On my way back from Chicago today, I stopped by a bar with a couple friends to watch the end of the World Cup final between Italy and France. We had missed all of regulation, but made it in time for both overtime periods.

Towards the end of the 2nd overtime, France’s superstar veteran Zinédine Zidane exchanged heated words with Italian defender Marco Materazzi and then head-butted him in the chest, sending him flying into the turf!

(According to the NY Times World Cup Blog, Materazzi apparently twisted Zidane’s nipple, egging him on.)

The NY Times quickly posted the story detailing Italy’s win and Zidane’s misconduct and included a link to a YouTube clip featuring the incident. (Unfortunately, the NY Times doesn’t credit YouTube in the link)
It’s an odd, but perfect example of how video can and should be integrated into online print articles. The NY Times has plenty of random video clips featuring interviews and other short bits, but few actually relate to the major print stories or add anything valuable to the stories that sit on the front page.

A visual like this is something that just can’t be described fully in a newspaper article, but also shouldn’t be the focus of a story about Italy winning the World Cup.

I’m not sure how the NY Times usually integrates links to outside media sources in their stories, but this is (with the exception of the failure to acknowledge YouTube) exactly how it should be done.

Facebook, the extremely popular social-networking Website for college (and now high-school) students is looking to cash in on its success. Having turned down an offer of $750 million from Viacom, the Harvard students-turned-entrepreneurs are hoping for a cool $2 billion.

Even at $750 million, the deal would make Rupert Murdoch’s recent acquisition of MySpace for $580 million look even smarter.

Fortune magazine:

MySpace has simply exploded since the deal was done last July. Measured in terms of page views, MySpace has become the second-most popular site on the Internet — behind Yahoo!, but ahead of MSN, AOL, and Google. It has 66 million members, and about 250,000 new ones sign up each day. That’s a mind-boggling growth trajectory for an Internet site that was launched less than three years ago.

Bonus: The Daily Show’s Demetri Martin takes an in-depth look into the world of MySpace

Props: Lost Remote

Zelda, one of the most successful video game franchises ever, will finally become a feature-length film this fall. They don’t have a King-Kong-sized budget, but an independent group of film makers called BMB Finishes is putting the final touches on The Legend of Zelda: The Hero of Time. The trailer (up on YouTube), shows that the film is features a large cast, detailed sets, and even CGI.

The theme music devolves into the now-cliché theme from Requiem for a Dream, but hey, Peter Jackson did it.

It’s no Lord of the Rings, but you’ve got to admire the effort these guys put into creating this extremely geeky piece of cinema.

Coming soon to a basement near you.

From Slate:

Why Do Giant Tortoises Live So Long?

They’re big, they’ve got armor, and they live on an island.

Done and done.

Aaron Sorkin’s handiwork will be back on NBC this fall with a new series that goes behind the scenes of a fictional SNL-type show set in LA.   I’ve seen every episode of Aaron Sorkin’s previous tv efforts, Sports Night and West Wing and I’m hoping this effort lives up to the bar Sorkin has set for himself.

He really hasn’t penned that many scripts (just a couple movies, two seasons of Sports Night, and the first  four seasons of The West Wing), but everything he touches turns into gold.

The cast for the new series, titled “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip“, includes Matthew Perry, D.L. Hughley, and Madison native, Bradley Whitford (Josh in The West Wing).

Whitford should be good (I’m not sure about his performance in The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, I haven’t seen it), but I’m dissapointed that Josh Malina, who has appeared in every project Sorkin has ever written or produced, isn’t included.

Source: AICN

“The Senate seems like the place where smart people go to die.” - Jon Stewart on Larry King Live

First, the East Coast dudes from The Lonely Island collaborated with Chris Parnell to create Lazy Sunday. Then, the West Coast responded with Lazy Monday.

It may take the Midwest a while to catch onto the latest trends, but when they do, expect it to come full force. Muncie, Indiana natives and Elks Club Mack Daddies Kirby Heyborne and Chris Cox have produced the Midwest’s rap battle response: Lazy Muncie.
And these boys have Jim Davis. Yeah, that Jim Davis.
Midwest Represent!

A Google search for “Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious” brings The New Vernacular up at #9.  It also happens to be where the majority of my traffic has been coming from lately.

Looks like my evil plan to drive people toward my Web site using pop culture references is working.  I wonder what would happen if I wrote posts about Jon Stewart hosting the Oscars or Project Runway.

Self-proclaimed “Sports Guy” and ESPN.com Scribe Bill Simmons live-blogged Super Bowl XL, with extremely witty and insightful (ok, maybe not that insightful) thoughts.

Highlights:

6:50 — Another three-and-out for the Steelers … followed by the game being halted for 75 seconds when Al Michaels realized he accidentally put on an NBC blazer.

6:54 — All right, who was more available this week: Dr. John for the national anthem or Jay Mohr for Diet Pepsi? Is he supposed to be playing Jay Mohr in the commercial? Is he playing Bob Sugar from “Jerry Maguire”? Is he playing another character? Will this be explained later in the game? I’m confused.

8:58 — Random question: Have you ever seen John Madden’s arms dangling by his sides? Has it ever happened? Would he tip over? Watch for this. Meanwhile, three-and-out for the Steelers. There hasn’t been a momentum swing this damaging since Britney Spears met Kevin Federline.

9:11 — I think Madden is trying to combine tonight’s announcing with his recording session for “Madden 2007.” Here’s what he said as Seattle took the field with two minutes left in the third: “This is where adrenaline comes, everything you have, your whole season comes down to this, everyone knows the winners, but forgets the losers.”

(And … cut! Great take, John! Now, do the spiel about how you shouldn’t go for it on fourth down in your own territory, that’s why you have a defense and special teams.)

9:27 — The old gadget play: A reverse to Randle El, who throws a 43-yard pass to Ward for a TD. 21-10, Steelers. Nobody uses those gadget plays better than Pittsburgh. And yes, it’s pretty sad that Randle El was the best QB on the field tonight.

I think my new favorite art form is the movie trailer mashup. I dare you to watch this and not smile.

Brokeback to the Future:

So Wal-Mart is taking over the world and Craig’s List is putting local newspapers out of business… May it’s not all so bad.

Posted as a comment over on BuzzMachine, the following is one guy’s story of how Wal-Mart, Craig’s List, his credit card, and e-mail helped him get on his feet after Katrina:

So Wal Mart sucks. And Craig is a dirty capitalist. Bravo guys.

As a New Orleans native and Katrina victim all I can say is thank God for Wal Mart, Craig’s list, Google, credit cards, and e-mail.

After sitting on my roof for 8 hours and getting totally drenched by the 14 feet of water under me it was remarkably edifying to get to a Wal Mart in Baton Rouge, take out my credit card (most places did not want the wet money in my wallet) and buy some dry clothes. I could even change in the men’s room. Seemed there were no local haberdasheries open after 10pm, and most of the locals were price gouging anyway. Wal Mart had sales on essentials, and had them in stock. Guess there’s always time for dumpster diving.

I used Craig’s list and Google to find apartments in BR, Lafayette, Seattle (for my son), St. Louis (another son), and Houston (yet another). Exactly how would the fabled print media have helped with that. By the time any print ad could be processed the places were gone….

So wake up, pull the head out of that dark place, and join the 21st century. Just because other people are now making the money you used to make does not mean society is jeopardized. Believe me, someone will go to the freaking zoning meeting. To quote my youngest, “You guys are just so OVER.”

Thanks Wal Mart, and Craig, and Bill Gates, and AOL, and Steve jobs, and all of the other folks who were innovating for a better future while the old guard was sitting on their hands and collecting self generated awards for stories of the past. I cannot imagine what it would have been like without you. I would have had to read a newspaper; in a shelter.

I’ll take the net, Craigs list, and the blogs. You take FEMA, the local daily, and the hard wired phone. Best of luck. You may find yourself dumpster diving.

In the last 18 years, The Onion has grown and moved to New York, but it’s roots remain in Madison, WI. According to a NY Times article about the Satire of Record, Wisconsinites still dominate the editorial staff six years after the move to West Chelsea, and, more recently, SoHo.

(Joe Garden, features editor,) lives in Windsor Terrace, near several other Onion writers, who say that the neighborhoods around Prospect Park, with their greenery and college-town pace, remind them of Madison.

There are other reminders of their roots. “I have clogged arteries and a bad heart from all the cheese I ate living in Wisconsin, all the fat that I crammed down my throat,” Mr. Garden said, tapping his chest. “So that’s part of me. You can’t remove it, or it will destroy me.”

In fact, the absence of solid Midwestern comfort food has posed a challenge for the paper’s art department, which requires a certain girthiness of many of the people who pose for the fake news photos.

“Some of our writers, who we would use as body doubles of older Congress people, have started losing weight since we’ve been here,” Chad Nackers, the associate graphics editor, said one afternoon. “That killed us. We used to be able to do Dennis Hastert if we wanted.” And Mike Loew, the graphics editor, chimed in, “Oh, yeah, we had all the options, before everyone started eating sushi and getting all svelte.”

In response, the two have resorted to photographing visiting Wisconsin relatives when they need, say, a woman with a certain hairdo, or a burly man with a large mustache.

NY Times: An Onion uprooted, without tears