Tight limits on War Photographers

A NYTimes story about Iraq War photojournalism coverage. The trend is if a photo is made of injured soldiers or especially those killed in action, the photog is removed from their embed. There's a good gallery of images as well.

Inspirational Photog Interview

Found via MediaStorm

New Media Douchebags

Simplicity from the Muppets

Found via andydickinson.net

Parting Thoughts

The Columbia Journalism Review has set up a place for those that have left or pushed out the door of journalism to reflect. After reading Jim Spencer's piece, I'm looking forward to reading a few more in hopes of finding some solace. Solace in knowing that once I walk out the door of a newspaper in several weeks I'm not alone in feeling like I'm walking away from one of the most important and passionate aspects of my career.

AMEN!! Can this be done last month?

The first notion of reader comments at the bottom of newspaper.com stories I had was it would be a good thing. Maybe people would chime in and figure out a way to solve problems or illuminate other problems. Thus a wiser and stronger community. After watching the constant attacks and childish games in the comments of the Camera, I have to say it's time to pull the plug.

After three comments the story is thrown to the gutter so that only a small number of people scratch, claw and bludgeon each other with poorly chosen words accelerating the downward spiral of humanity. And that's after the really horrific spiteful "comments" are removed by our lone web editor. Once more reason to dump them is not paying someone to babysit the comments.

I guess they didn't learn that lesson from Grandma: "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all."

Pew's stinky report

"Another diminishing skill set, interestingly, is photographers," the report says. "Overall, 31% of newspapers say they have cut back on photographers in the last three years, vs. 12% that had made net increases. At the biggest papers, this trend is more pronounced, with the majority reporting cutbacks on photographers (52%) and just 6% saying they had made net additions."

The underwhelming conclusion of the report is that as papers cut staff so goes the content. BRILLIANT!! Great idea, make a less desirable product for an already shrinking audience. That'll make all those greedy investors happy. I'm sure of it.

Ok, time to go get a tow truck to remove the tongue from my cheek.

Vanishing Americana

This website predicts that film cameras are at #13 of 25 things that will vanish from America.

At #23 is Newspaper Classifieds

The classifieds thing, I can see. Given some of the scary numbers the last few days from the newspaper industry, a few papers all together will cease to exist. The film camera on the other hand, will shrink and in time become a coveted form of art because of the limited number of people that know how to use film and traditional printing well.

Social Media: What the...

A great slide presentation about what social media is, can be and might become. Pay attention to trends and try to predict for potentials.

Found via Danny Holland

What's after convergence? Mobile Media

1 million iPhones sold over the weekend. I'm planning on picking one up myself in September. Too bad Apple went with AT&T, but I can't wait until 2011 for the market to open up. The media landscape will be vastly different by that time.

Interactive Narratives

The site has been re-launched with a new design and easier ways to search for content. Haven't had a chance to peruse too much, but will be a good source to find good ideas to borrow and use.

Video-journalism site funded by donations

Don't know if it will work or not, but hell it's worth a shot. Especially if they are doing coverage of very important issues that people "need" and "want" to be informed about. Time will tell.

Disney and the interactive Blu-ray

Looks like Disney is seeing an opportunity to be innovative with some technology to use the Internet with Blu-ray DVDs. Further evidence of the impending convergence. I like the line from Mr. Chapek – “We don’t rely on the consumer to have our vision for us.”

Open letter to Craigslist

Some good ideas in this one asking Craigslist to help keep local professional journalism alive. We can only hope that Craig and Jim actually read it.

Foreshadowing your own demise

A designer at the Mercury News shot a series of carnage photos after a few rounds of layofffs at the paper and posted them on Flickr. Everyone found solace and some humor in the midst of all the chaos. Well, the ax felled his job as well.

This made me throw up a little in my mouth

Alan Mutter figures the companies have lost a cumulative $49.7 billion in market capitalization in 3 1/2 years, vaporizing 51% of shareholder value since Dec. 31. 2004.

Found via Romenesko

Why doesn't this guy live here?!

A group of private investors is still very interested in buying the Baltimore Sun, adding that they would take less of a profit and –GET THIS!!!– invest in newsgathering.

Sweet Jesus! What a concept! Maybe there are a few people smart enough to make some newspapers work. God knows that most of the clowns running around buying up everything on a maxed out credit card are not doing the worker bees any favors.

The dying Two-Newspaper-Town

A business columnist at the Rocky Mountain News talks about how the News gets a bad rap concerning circulation numbers in Denver and that the landscape of the biz will not allow for the JOA papers to continue.

MediaNews is in the hurt locker with the collection agencies (financial backers that are already reeling from the housing debacle) as we speak. The completion of the Scripps split is final but there is not nearly the debt burden if any at all for the newspaper side. So the notion that The Denver Post will outlive the News could be a losing bet.

Sue happy in the US, but funny

A former journalist turned lawyer is suing the newspaper he subscribed to because the layoffs and cutbacks will create an inferior product and he would not have renewed his subscription if that had been disclosed.

Go get 'em!!

Found via Fading to Black

A J-skool graduate thinking smart

"Fight the war, don't sweat the battle." That's her approach to the deluge of negative news (especially in the last week) about the newspaper biz.