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Nov
14
Pre-season special on toys for wonks
Filed Under Blogging, Politics, Resources, Tech, Tools | 2 Comments
From Ohio Valley Politics, THOMAS goes beta for now.
From Plunderbund, ProgressOhio gets a makeover.
From the Toledo Blade, anyone seems to be able to get access to public school student records.
From C-Notes, Michael Symon, the new Iron Chef, starts a blog but the site doesn’t seem to be there at the moment. (okay – so wonks have to eat too) (thanks, Jim)
From the Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 16 libraries offer free access to PACER records. This is huge because is a pita.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:05 pm November 14th, 2007 in Blogging, Politics, Resources, Tech, Tools | 2 Comments
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Nov
14
Join in tomorrow’s call: Raise Your Voice, Advocating for Better Working Family Policy
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I’ll be on it with many others. Official site here at Working Mother magazine.
Details I’m copying from Deep Muck Big Rake:
- Who: You. You, too, dads. This is about families.
- What: Raise Your Voice: Advocating for Better Working Family Policy teleconference.
- When: Nov. 15, noon-1 p.m. (EST).
- Where: Wherever your telephone takes you.
- Why1: Hear what Working Mother magazine and Corporate Voices for Working Families say to policymakers on behalf of working families.
- Why2: Win a book! I’m giving away another autographed copy of Tracy Thompson’s book, The Ghost in the House.
Here’s what you do.
There have been many working family-related bills tossed into the Ohio statehouse ring (sick leave, mandatory maternity leave, minimum wage just to name three). Listen in and hear more, from a national perspective.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:47 pm November 14th, 2007 in Announcements, Parenting | Comments Off
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Nov
14
Open Wide for Wide Open; National Union of J’lists admits first full-time blogger; Feagler feedback
Filed Under Blogging, Media, Ohio, Politics, Wide Open | Comments Off
I wanted to use a palindrome. At the end of this day, not the best, but kind of works. I’m not the best at headlines.
Jan and Lew Katz, fellow Pepper Pike Democratic Club members and Lew, the beneficiary of that gargantuan donation from Jeff Coryell, wrote this letter to the PD.
John Kelly, the WaPo reporter at Oxford studying cit j’lism left this comment on the “Are Reporters Doomed? cont’d” post.
Null Space has two posts from last week about Wide Open – not sure how I missed them. The first one is Blog-freedom in Cleveland and the second is Follow that story: Cleveland Blog Freedom.
How Much Do Journalists Rely on Blogs isn’t exactly about Wide Open, but the issue arises frequently in the Ohio sphere and it did arise during Wide Open’s run. The post is worth a few minutes – even if just to confirm what many of us could have guessed.
The National Union of Journalists (in England) “…has admitted its first full-time freelance professional blogger as a member” according to Journalism.co.uk. The blogger is a regular contributor to the well-trafficked technology blog, Endgadget. How’d it happen?
“I may be the first person to apply as a new member with the vast majority of my experience being at a blog — that has always been a blog, and will always be a blog – but that doesn’t mean I’m the first blogger member of the NUJ,” wrote [Conrad] Quilty-Harper.
He added that his blog’s affiliation with a mainstream media company – Engadget is a member of the AOL-owned Weblogs, Inc. network – could have been a contributing factor to the NUJ approving his application.
I see.
Last but not least, Dick Feagler on bloggers and journalists.
Feedback:
Kellie Patterson Cuyahoga Falls School Board Member
Tim Russo on Buckeye State Blog
Now, what did I think of Feagler’s column? Well, I really can’t write anything without disclosing that I’ve been on his show twice now, both times with at least one reporter or editor from the PD (Elizabeth Sullivan and Mark Naymik). He was very kind to me, very inclusive and frankly, not the least bit derisive of the fact that I probably came to his attention primarily because of my blogging, even though the producer of his show, Paul Cox, knew me from the WCPN regional roundtable. But even there, Dan Moulthrop I’m pretty sure only really had me on the radar because of my blogging. That, or someone else suggested my name to them. And all that, about a year ago now, and more than four years after I’d started freelance writing.
So – what do I think?
All the feedback has legitimate complaints (and kudos in the case of Bad American).
Feagler may really believe that he really feels that way. But based on my experience, I am convinced that he really wants us to give him a reason to take us “off the hook” as he calls it. The hook being that we didn’t pay dues, or something along those lines.
I say, “something along those lines” because nearly all the bloggers with whom I associate do an enormous amount of primary source work – riding in cars with candidates and so on. Blogs make people who weren’t active, active. I’m a prime example.
I do not believe Feagler is against that – but he isn’t recognizing that either, and he should. He should work to devote one column to the positives of blogs – so many others do that on a daily basis: Jay Rosen for one but there are many, many others – many of whom are exactly the educated, experienced journalists Feagler praises.
Life is not fair. It just isn’t.
And so I would say, write to Dick Feagler: Please realize that many of us know your sentiments have validity – real validity, not just lip service validity. But what you say about all bloggers, because of all the negativity many blogs perpetuate, doesn’t represent the reality – the real reality.
And moreover, Ohio possesses an inordinate number of exceptional blogs that are the exception.
Dick, if Joe Hallett could say that he’s a convert – or at least more than accepting of the good work several Ohio political blogs do – whatever it is we want to call what it is that blogs do (journalism or not), I know you can too.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:29 pm November 14th, 2007 in Blogging, Media, Ohio, Politics, Wide Open | Comments Off
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Nov
14
How many rounds will they go: Mulready, Naymik, Zimon on WCPN roundtable
Filed Under Announcements, Blogging, Ohio, Politics, WCPN/SOI | 3 Comments
Politics and Prisons: The Regional Roundtable
Aired Thursday, November 15, 2007
Recent polls show the majority of Ohioans are pretty happy with the way Governor Strickland is doing his job and they’d like to see him continue doing it. They don’t want him to be the vice-presidential nominee on a Democratic ticket. Ohio prisons are stuffed with more than 50,000 convicts and there’s every indication the population will rise. Cleveland police netted a big pile of weapons in their recent gun buyback program. College presidents in Ohio are making a small mountain of money for running our institutions of higher learning. A new poll shows little inclination to share the benefits of citizenship with illegal immigrants and C.C. Sabathia is named the American League’s best pitcher. Join us for the roundtable Thursday 9 a.m.Guests: Jill Miller Zimon, blogger, Writes Like She Talks
Mark Naymik, politics reporter, The Plain Dealer
Thomas Mulready, Cool Cleveland.com
Get your speed dial ready (216-578-0903) and your saved as drafts e-mails queued up (news@wcpn.org). Don’t forget to listen live or by download later.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:20 pm November 14th, 2007 in Announcements, Blogging, Ohio, Politics, WCPN/SOI | 3 Comments
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Nov
14
Carnival of Ohio Politics #91 now posted
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Thanks to everyone who contributed and please, folks who haven’t submitted entries before – I hope you’ll consider it. I have a personal goal to see at least one new blog contribute each week.
Enjoy your afternoon reading at Carnival of Ohio Politics #91 everybody.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:34 pm November 14th, 2007 in Carnivals | Comments Off
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Nov
14
Top 30 newspaper sites for 10/07: cleveland.com, PD no where in sight, or list
Filed Under Blogging, Media, Wide Open | 13 Comments
Or any news publication in Ohio, at all. Not. One. We’re what – the 9th largest state, population-wise? We’re the political bellwether for the presidential race?
Seriously. We need to be very, very embarrassed and angered by this poor showing.
From Editor & Publisher (which did a custom-made list from Nielsen):
Top 30 Newspaper Websites, October 2007
Brand or Channel — Unique Audience (000) — Time per Person (hh:mm:ss)
NYTimes.com — 17,502 — 0:34:53
USATODAY.com — 9,469 — 0:16:13
washingtonpost.com — 8,681 — 0:17:22
Wall Street Journal Online — 5,867 — 0:14:19
LA Times — 5,812 — 0:09:51
Boston.com — 5,506 — 0:14:17
New York Post — 3,796 — 0:12:36
Chicago Tribune — 3,640 — 0:08:35
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle — 3,609 — 0:11:55
Daily News Online Edition — 3,502 — 0:06:21
The Houston Chronicle — 2,825 — 0:15:36
Atlanta Journal-Constitution — 2,592 — 0:21:27
Newsday — 2,577 — 0:06:49
Chicago Sun-Times — 2,570 — 0:08:18
Village Voice Media — 2,378 — 0:04:23
The San Diego Union-Tribune — 2,292 — 0:13:33
NJ.com — 2,153 — 0:11:22
Azcentral.com — 2,115 — 0:39:16
Seattle Post-Intelligencer — 2,109 — 0:07:21
DallasNews.com – The Dallas Morning News — 2,044 — 0:04:00
The Seattle Times — 1,969 — 0:07:03
International Herald Tribune — 1,899 — 0:02:20
MercuryNews.com — 1,825 — 0:04:44
The Politico — 1,645 — 0:08:59
Sun-Sentinel — 1,597 — 0:07:53
Star Tribune — 1,564 — 0:27:40
MiamiHerald.com — 1,549 — 0:03:05
Philly.com — 1,492 — 0:08:04
The Washington Times — 1,454 — 0:03:04
Baltimore Sun — 1,324 — 0:07:13
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:26 pm November 14th, 2007 in Blogging, Media, Wide Open | 13 Comments
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Nov
14
Traditional journalists team w/live social network to form beats in Beatblogging.org
Filed Under Blogging, Media, Tech, Wide Open, Writing | Comments Off
I’m not going to say too much about Beatblogging.org (here for the home site of the project) a new experiment steered by Jay Rosen of PressThink, except that it’s another innovative approach to giving readers what they want, and keeping our ears to the ground to learn about what’s going on in our world that we might not otherwise hear about.
The premise:
My idea was to run parallel experiments to see whether “beat reporting with a social network” is a viable pro-am method in journalism— or just an attractive concept.
I said I was trying to recruit at least 12 beat reporters and get their editors on board with a simple proposition…
Maybe a beat reporter could do a way better job if there was a “live” social network connected to the beat, made up of people who know the territory the beat covers, and want the reporting on that beat to be better.
I felt the only way to find out was to try it for a year, with different beats in different locales and different editorial settings. Now I’m back to announce that twelve beat reporters—and their editors, plus the bosses above them—have agreed to do just that. (I’m attempting to wrap up agreements for a few more to join in. If I can do so, they’ll be announced after Thanksgiving.)
Since education is important to me, I’m highlighting the info on one of the twelve starter participants:
- Education Week’s Digital Directions (Editorial Projects in Education Inc.) Beat: Technology in the classroom.
Education Week is a specialty site covering the K-12 landscape for teachers, administrators and other professionals who deal with the nation’s schools. It recently launched a new magazine about educational technology, Digital Directions (“trends and advice for K-12 technology leaders.”) Michelle Davis is the lead reporter for Digital Directions and will be developing a networked approach that can feed the site and the print magazine. “I envision this group of people feeling as though they have a stake in what I write,” says Davis. “The idea that district information technology directors might try new projects they picked up from our online discussion—and be able to bypass pitfalls using advice from others on the site—is something I’d love to see happen.” The team includes Davis, a veteran beat reporter for EdWeek; plus Kevin Bushweller, assistant managing editor for online news; and Jeanne McCann, managing editor of edweek.org. (See letter.)
Background: “Education Week has been searching for ways to use social networking to improve the quality of our news gathering,” writes Bushweller. He said the company is hiring Pluck to help integrate social networking tools throughout edweek.org. (Austin-based Pluck has also worked with washingtonpost.com on similar tools.) “It is likely that the work we are doing with Pluck will feed us ideas for the work we would do in partnership with you on Digital Directions.”
And an Ohio-based participant:
- Cincinnati Enquirer (Gannett.) Beat: Covering Procter & Gamble.
Keith Reed, staff writer for the Enquirer, is moving to Cincinnati from the Boston Globe to cover Procter & Gamble, a local powerhouse and one of the largest consumer products companies in the world. He’s going to build the social network approach in from the start of his beat, and also use the network to introduce himself to Cincinnati. “P & G’s reach in this region is broad and deep,” writes business editor Carolyn Pione. “Their business hits our economy on many levels, from vendor relationships to shareholders, former employees who are now entrepreneurs, retirees volunteering in the community, spin-off industries and community development organizations.” (See letter.) Pione, Reed and new media director Chris Graves make up the Enquirer team.
Background: As part of Gannett’s new media push, the Enquirer has also been experimenting with crowdsourcing; this project seemed to fit right in. (See Jeff Howe’s piece for Wired.) Reed was a Newspaper Association of America New Media Fellow.
Oh, okay, and PD editor Susan Goldberg’s old office:
- San Jose Mercury News (Media News.) Beat: Green Technology.
Reporter Matt Nauman, with 20 years at the paper, is new to the beat, which covers energy and clean tech— a rising industry in the region. (Al Gore just signed up with a venture capital firm in the Valley; Nauman covered it. ) “Silicon Valley is a hub of commercial and civic activity around ‘green’ energy technology, from solar and wind power to bio-fuels and sustainable development, and the social networking movement has deep roots here,” writes Katharine Fong, deputy managing editor for convergence and new media. “Our reporter can tap into this engaged, local base of knowledge and innovation as well as cultivate contacts and sources worldwide who can help shape the issues and discussion and inform our audience.” Nauman adds that “green” tech is “rapidly joining the Prius and the iPhone as the local obsession.” The Merc already has a green energy page that it will adapt for this project. The team is Nauman, Fong, Rebecca Salner, executive business editor, and Steve Trousdale, her deputy. (See their full letter.)
Background: The Merc—with a staff about half the size it had in 2001—recently launched Rethinking the Mercury News, an effort to go to the community for ideas on what the newspaper should become. (See this report.) It says it’s prepared to question everything in the wake of a deep shift in newspaper economics— and even “blow up the newsroom.” According to Chris O’Brien, a technology reporter who is working on the re-think, this project fits right in.
Good luck to everyone.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:40 am November 14th, 2007 in Blogging, Media, Tech, Wide Open, Writing | Comments Off
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Nov
14
Matchmaker, matchmaker: Kos & Newsweek sitting in a tree
Filed Under Blogging, Media, WH2008, Wide Open | Comments Off
But did they sign disclosure requirements? And will money be exchanged (I bet he’ll be getting more than our nominal sum)? And will he have to not write about people, or disclose what he has given to those people or issues or parties?
Newsweek press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, November 13, 2007MARKOS MOULITSAS, FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER OF DAILYKOS.COM,
TO BECOME NEWSWEEK CONTRIBUTOR FOR 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNNew York — Markos Moulitsas, the founder and publisher of dailykos.com, will become a Newsweek contributor for the 2008 presidential campaign, offering occasional opinion pieces to the pages of the magazine and to Newsweek.com.
“We have always sought to represent a diversity of views in Newsweek, and we think Markos will be a great part of that tradition,” said Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham. “He will give our readers in print and online a unique perspective. As always, our job is to create the most energetic and illuminating magazine possible, and Markos will help us do that as the campaign unfolds.”
You’d think if Newsweek could find a way with Kos, the Plain Dealer could find a way with four local yokels.
Maybe it’s because we’re too small?
Or they want to keep us small?
Or – any one of how many possibilities?
Sigh.
It so didn’t have to be this way.
Hattip to former co-Wide Open mate, Dave at NixGuy.
I saw it last night on Beltway Blogroll but was working on the carnival, which will be up later this morning.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:44 am November 14th, 2007 in Blogging, Media, WH2008, Wide Open | Comments Off
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