And the VJ drum beats on ...

[Another side]

I thought some of you might be interested in an email I received from a friend, who is a managing-editor on a mid-sized daily owned by MediaNews Group, a 57-daily newspaper chain headed by The Denver Post:

I no longer work for a newspaper. I now work for a "news and information source in which the Internet is king." The edict came down from Denver, and is to apply to every newspaper in the chain, starting with the Denver Post. All of our coverage is to be tailored to the Web. Reporters will eventually be given Web cams to take with them to post streming video of whatever it is they are covering. It's not like we haven't seen this coming, but when the owner of the Denver Post raises the white flag and essentially declares newspapers to be an outdated medium, it sort of brings it home. I give newspapers dropped on the doorstep another 10 years, tops.

[slipstream]

"People change, hairstyles change, interest rates fluctuate."

[Bureau Chief]

Well, with the net being what it is, newspapers SHOULD disappear. Its about time that we stopped smashing trees flat, printing on them, and then throwing it all out at the end of the day.

[Another side]

But if that's true for newspapers (disappearing) what does that mean for local TV news?

[cameragod]

I can’t help thinking that if TV companies concentrated on making their core business better i.e. “good quality Television” then the web wouldn’t hold much terror. Yes there are a lot of people clicking away on the net but nobody has come up with an actual way to turn that aimless clicking into cash… except maybe spammers so why not milk the bird in the hand instead of panicking about the two virtual birds in the bush?

[The Thrill]

Originally posted by Bureau Chief:
Well, with the net being what it is, newspapers SHOULD disappear. Its about time that we stopped smashing trees flat, printing on them, and then throwing it all out at the end of the day.

And then line your birdcages with old flat-screen monitors. Wrap fish in old Usenet posts. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[The Mockingbird]

Is that really a problem, not enough material for lining bird cages?

We're probably about 10 or 15 years away from low-cost flexible thin screens that will take the place of paper.

Enjoy that, because it means your frigging cereal box will have moving ads on it.

But I would imagine paper would become the province of the rich, or artists, and possibly for legal documents.

[Clubbeat]

Unfortunately for local TV news as with newspapers, the audience is shrinking. Many reasons for it but the main one is that we're on our way to raising the second generation of computer/web savvy kids who will become adults and think the norm for them to get their information is from the web/cell phone etc.

Newsprint and magazines will last another 15-20 years as the rest of the boomers pass on (the last signifigant group to grow up using newspapers and magazines for information).

As for local TV news, unless station find a way, like newspapers have, to connect with the gizmo savvy generation, then they're done. In 15-30 years or less, most local news stations will be down to a staff of 3-5 people who will send the 6 & 11 product directly to the web.

[Fake Post]

Originally posted by Clubbeat:
Unfortunately for local TV news as with newspapers, the audience is shrinking. Many reasons for it but the main one is that we're on our way to raising the second generation of computer/web savvy kids who will become adults and think the norm for them to get their information is from the web/cell phone etc.

Newsprint and magazines will last another 15-20 years as the rest of the boomers pass on (the last signifigant group to grow up using newspapers and magazines for information).

As for local TV news, unless station find a way, like newspapers have, to connect with the gizmo savvy generation, then they're done. In 15-30 years or less, most local news stations will be down to a staff of 3-5 people who will send the 6 & 11 product directly to the web.

Do you think those few people who will be working in tv news at the nets and in major markets will still command huge salaries or will it revert to the paydays of early tv news?

[Ralphie the buffalo]

Originally posted by Clubbeat:
In 15-30 years or less, most local news stations will be down to a staff of 3-5 people who will send the 6 & 11 product directly to the web.

Are you high? Three to five people will do all the news for the internet? Perhaps in Rapid City. Who will gather the news? The same 3 to 5 people?

We already have double that now on the internet part of our operation. And number is just going to grow more with time and eventually blur with the broadcast side.

Internet delivery on demand is where broadcast news is going. Anchors have the most to lose the way this industry is heading.

[markminn]

There is still plenty of news in most markets to cover where having only 3-5 people in the news department just won't work. Sure, you could get some news on the web with 3-5 people, but all you need is a competitor who has a bigger and better staff putting out higher quality stories and a higher volume of stories, and the viewers will go there.

Doing news with just the bottom line in mind will do a manager well for a quarter or two, but when the people go elsewhere, that manager will get the boot...unless it is a Young station. Then, they may just keep him.

[Bureau Chief]

Originally posted by The Mockingbird:
We're probably about 10 or 15 years away from low-cost flexible thin screens that will take the place of paper.

Enjoy that, because it means your frigging cereal box will have moving ads on it.

Funny you should mention this thin screen technology. Im waiting for a certain company to work out a few details and then I am gonna sink some money into them. They are perfecting this stuff that can be made into wallpaper and the entire wall becomes a computer monitor. Taken to the extreme, the entire room can become a monitor. Imagine a tropical screen saver that is displayed all around you, complete with sound effects...all the while, theres a snow storm raging outside in the real world. Closest thing to a holodeck!

[Chicago Dog]

Originally posted by Bureau Chief:
They are perfecting this stuff that can be made into wallpaper and the entire wall becomes a computer monitor. Taken to the extreme, the entire room can become a monitor. Imagine a tropical screen saver that is displayed all around you, complete with sound effects...all the while, theres a snow storm raging outside in the real world. Closest thing to a holodeck!

And when you come across a station dumb enough to air a OMB/VJ story, you'll know exactly what being in an earthquake looks like.

Migraines abound!

[Rosenblum]

Just finished another VJ bootcamp at KGTV in San Diego.

You might want to take a look at the kind of work they are doing:

KGTV samples

[Diplomat]

Having seen the work of VJs on one of our local affiliates in my city, I am not impressed. AFter the VJ thing came to town, that station had video and reportage of a lesser quality, not to mention the little ethical issue with their "ethics" reporter.
The station had good people on staff; it was the management, particularly a psychotic news director (who thankfully was booted), causing the problem.

[Chicago Dog]

Originally posted by Diplomat:
The station had good people on staff; it was the management, particularly a psychotic news director (who thankfully was booted), causing the problem.

Question: what is the WKRN management crew that brought in the VJ system doing now?

Answer: no longer managing WKRN.

But what does Michael Rosenblum care? The check's written, he's gone. Ask him what became of the Young Broadcasting/OMB/VJ experiment, and he merely shrugs his shoulders.

[ July 01, 2007, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: Chicago Dog ]

[Rosenblum]

Despite the change in management, WKRN is still a VJ station. Others are coming along nicely as well.
http://www.wkrn.com/vjs

[Chicago Dog]

Originally posted by Rosenblum:
Despite the change in management, WKRN is still a VJ station.

Typical consultant: doesn't see past the bad advice and deposit of the check.

Originally posted by Rosenblum:
Others are coming along nicely as well.

See, you always make it sound like there's a landslide of OMB/VJ about to hit -- yet, it never does. You can't even produce any "successful" OMB/VJs you've trained in your "boot camps." How sad. How long has it been since you gave Young Broadcasting bad advice? How many stations have you "converted" since then?

Your talk-to-product ratio is astoundingly bad, for as loud as the talk is.

I see you've yet to take my advice. No wonder you're a loud talker -- you sure as hell ain't a writer.

By the way, why do you absolutely refuse to answer the question in my signature? Could it be that -- like so many other problems -- you have no way to back up your own claim?

I think so!

[ July 01, 2007, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: Chicago Dog ]

[Rosenblum]

Write when you get work.

[Ralphie the buffalo]

Perhaps you could hire Chicago Dog, Rosie. That would keep him quiet -- just like that "psychotic news director" who blindly followed your ideas and wrecked the news department in Nashville. Hiring him was a brilliant way to keep him quiet.

If you don't want to hear the Dog barking throw him a big bone!

Ruff
Ruff
Ruff

[Chicago Dog]

Originally posted by Rosenblum:
Write when you get work.

I think that's the closest you've ever been to a complete, coherent sentence.

However, it still doesn't answer the question in my signature below. Seriously, if you're too candy-assed to write a response, I'll be happy to discuss your shortcomings and transcribe the ensuing conversation here for all to see.

Go ahead and throw me a number. I know you won't, but it's fun to point it out.

[ July 01, 2007, 07:40 PM: Message edited by: Chicago Dog ]

[Rosenblum]

OK
$7.25 an hour
but you gotta wear the uniform...
can you say "do you want fries with that?"

[Chicago Dog]

Hmm... no phone number in that response.

No phone number in my private message folder, either.

I'm led to believe you don't want to discuss why you incorrectly accused me of being anti-semitic because you know you were wrong. It's too bad you don't mind attaching your title of "educator" at NYU to your irresponsible behavior. I'm sure your bosses there love your behavior on the internet and, thusly, the poor-light portrayal of NYU.

I feel sorry for you, Mike. What a sad, empty, unfulfilling personal life you must lead, even with all that bad-advice money you've collected.

[ July 02, 2007, 05:57 AM: Message edited by: Chicago Dog ]

While I believe the alleged VJ movement is bad for viewers and for newsrooms, there are quite successful storytellers out there who happen to shoot their own stuff. Note, they should be the exception and not the mandate.

I know of a couple myself who do very, very well with both their photography and writing. ONE even runs his own bureau out of a live truck!

That said, it takes a serious amount of experience to do both well, and one element of storytelling will always be a little weaker (either photography or reporting) as compared to an experienced two person team.

Back in the day when I used to be a OMB, I got my start basically because the reporters were sucky interns, and I knew I could do better. So I did. But I was already an experienced photog, so I could almost do it without thinking. Almost.

[Consider This]

Originally posted by Chicago Dog:
I feel sorry for you, Mike. What a sad, empty, unfulfilling personal life you must lead, even with all that bad-advice money you've collected.

Your life can't be much better judging from your obsession with him.