Relax …newspapers safe from blog.
G’day reader,
Let’s look first, re media, at the plight of traditional media in the face of incursions or alleged incursions, by thingos like say, blogs.
So …
Here is an interesting response to the latest Corporation-Head Blog (CHB?) that was written and posted by Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems on 21st May:
The post is from reader journo Rick Merritt, and he says:
“As a print and Web trade journalist–who covers Sun–I was particualrly interested )sic) to see that while you promote the move to open software and online user-generated news, you also read two print newspapers. I won’t call you a dinosaur. But I will call BS on anyone who uses black and white thinking to say newspapers will die. TV didn’t kill radio and the Web won’t kill TV and print media. Each media will find its appropriate level as things settle out. Whatever the media, people will value reading reports both from peers and from talented experts weaving a story. Likewise I assume people will always value both free software and stuff they have to pay for, even from large monopolistic companies, when it gets some significant job done for them. So let’s stop hyping the Web and open source and start being realistic about finding where these new opportunities fit and where they don’t. BTW, what’s the other newspaper you read?
Posted by Rick Merritt on May 22, 2007 at 08:32 AM PDT # “
And what was it, pray, that young Richard the CEO had said, that set journo Rick into a-firing?
Here’s an excerpt:
the Head was..
Censoring Free Media (Or… Fighting Letters to the Editor)
I read two daily newspapers.
I know the world is moving away from printed media, and this admission marks me as a bit of a dinosaur – but there are all kinds of interesting parallels between the newspaper industry and the software industry. Both are undergoing tremendous change, creating havoc for some and opportunity for others.
The industries have much in common – minimally, they’re both rooted in creative writers (journalists and developers).
Traditional newspapers publish content produced by their employees. Writers and journalists have degrees and credentials, even awards for quality and integrity, like the Pulitzer Prize. To the extent editors allow the unwashed masses to contribute content to their publications, they host “Letters to the Editor,” typically limited to a single page, and heavily filtered. Non-professionals can apply for longer opinion or “OpEd” pieces, but those column inches are more frequently reserved for former prime ministers or (former) world bank presidents. Simplisitically, in the world of traditional print media, >99% of the content comes from employees, less than 1% comes from the community they serve. The editor is in control. ” quote endsbild-499.jpg
And so on. (John uses Arial and I like Verdana).
As an ex radio and print writer myself, all I can say is I use all the media I can get,
Der Zeit and The NewYorker for instance (“effete impudent snob”,yeah) even though it keeps me up late. At my age I need my kip.
Email, Net, Internet radio, Blogs, IQ, etcetera …. yummy.
Relax, Jonathan: Multimedia is/are safe for a while yet, as is the smell of a printed page.
Of course the Schwartz blog (a goodie) was heading slowly and steadily towards a none-too-suble reprize of the virtues of open source media; to wit, Sun Systems’ product X.
That’s corporate blogging for you.
But I subscribe to this one of Sun’s because, although I don’t know an alpha from a beta or a bit from a byte, I want to know what people are saying and am about to start saying just a wee bit myself, as and when the urge strikes.
I read such a Blog because maybe some future new-clients of mine will get the idea into their wee heads that I too, am “cool.”…. That would be BONZER!)
AND after ALL : COOL…(Like Greed) IS GOOD!
Now, to learn how to shape this blog: how to insert pix, caps indents colours etc
Have no idea. Second blog ever.
Best to you reader..
Lonewordsmith
Germany
email:info@professionalword.com
Johnathan Schwartz’ Blog, which I recommend as an example of corporate blogging (along with Debbie Weiss and others) is at http://www.sunmicrosystems@sun.chtah.com Enjoy …and “Getoutathhway, dopey!
My new site should be up by Friday of next week. It is an online resource centre about innovation – for Business Communication writers and other creatives; based on my thirty-plus years in that sort of business. http//:www.professionalword.com
