“Do your own media or by done by it” – Citizens Media, creating new horizons?

Ten years ago Daniel Meadows joined JOMEC but his reputation as an innovative photojournalist soon landed him his current vocation and the golden title of ‘Creative Director of Digital Storytelling’ for the Beeb. His work was scouted back in 2001 and so began the financing of BBC Wales current project – ‘Capture Wales’. There are now over 400 digital stories showcasing at the BBC website.

Early days and work…

‘The Bus’: a 2003 documentary by Meadows. He had travelled around England on board the ‘Free Photographic Omnibus’ in his younger days taking picture of 958 people but keeping no recollection of their names or addresses. The documentary went about rediscovering the faces and lives of those people Meadows had captured in his art. The Daily Mirror called it ‘The Great Ordinary Show’.

‘Spit’: an ‘insight’ into his boarding school days presented in a ‘scrapbook aesthetic’ style.

Inspiration…

Charles Parker – ‘a generous man’ says Meadows affectionately. Parker’s ‘radio-ballad’ was before its time and the digital age.

The Welfare State International

What are digital stories?
- Histories of our time in new forms of story-telling through multi-media forms.
- The roles of Broadcaster and ‘Broadcasted’ are interchangeable as the tools for editing are handed to the budding creative minds of the ordinary people.
- A medium to bring communities closer together.
- “The democratization of the media … a shelter from the hierarchical domination of the media with a focus on the human and the social”
- therapeutic, oral testimonies, realising people’s originality + footage/materials.

Take a look at…
1) ‘A dog’s life’ – Allan Jeffreys
2) ‘Two Families’ – Dai Evans
3) ‘Inspiration’ – Steve Thomas

“…being creative is for all of us, like being educated…”

“The grand mission of digital storytelling:- to shame those wanting to keep the tools of production to themselves.”

Further Information…

- Capture Wales/ Cipolwg ar Gymru
- the Echo Project
- www.current.tv

“To infinity and beyond: the great empire of BBC Interactive…”

Pete Clifton has earned his place as the Head of BBC Interactive having worked his way up through the journalistic ranks. From his early days as a cricket correspondent for his local paper, through to a post he took on ten years ago as Editor of BBC’s Ceefax service, he now oversees the whole of BBC’s online and digital empire. This ‘interactive god’ as he has affectionately been called, drew his audience into a kaleidoscopic vision of the future and possibilities that lie in wait for the BBC in a lecture entitled ‘What’s it all about?’ [24/11/05]

A few facts:

-BBC Interactive employs over 400 people; just 200 of these are journalists.
-The interactive budget sits at £26million a year and is funded by the licensing fee.
-The BBC is way ahead of its rival news companies on an international and UK level.
-The online system is able to deal with a huge traffic of daily viewers and is updated constantly 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
-20million people are also regular Ceefax viewers and its digital successor on BBCNews24
-Ceefax and the web version of the news are now able to work in tandem – headlines from both are now identical
-The BBC are currently embarking on a new project based on the WAP surfing system on most mobile phones
-Headlines from the BBC are also available on screens across a huge number of train stations in the UK

Clifton spoke of the huge opportunities that the BBC was hoping to embrace within the next few years. The most significant and recent development he hopes to lasso is the increased use of ‘user – generated content’, or in other words the active use of the resources and voices of the general public. He cited pictures, videos and testimonies of July7th witnesses as crucial in presenting the reality of that situation and added that the speed with which the BBC had received these had changed the face of news reporting across all the corporations broadcasting mediums from television and radio to web. Quality broadband now also allows more and more videos to be viewed online.

Some Future Plans:

-December 6th 2005 – Nick Robinson begins his ‘blog’ on BBC News online. He will be able to reflect on recent parliamentary developments, and the crucial stage of the Tory elections whilst also answering comments posted by viewers.

-Next month – the new ‘desktop ticker’ is to be launched. Viewers will be able to choose their own headlines from their favourite categories.

-Next year – a new phase in the design of the BBC News page set-up. A personalised front page can be constructed to suit the tastes of the user. Real-time news stats will allow BBC departments to see which stories are most popular and may in turn influence future coverage.

Clifton also cited five key areas of development he argued that the BBC needed to target in the near future:

a) The BBC needs to be the leader in on-demand 24/7 journalism.
b) The content of the online and digital forums need to be relevant and accessible for hard to reach audiences. (he stated that the increased use of WAP on mobiles was pivotal for this to happen)
c) The BBC should help its audiences share their content and views.
d) The BBC must make its content have a bigger impact.
e) Overall, a stronger culture of openness, collaboration and coverage (particularly across different BBC News departments) is vital.

Finally…the BBC needs to be the flagship for Investigative Journalism and re-structuring its News24 service will need to be implemented for this to be achieved.

PR Demystified

Quentin Langley’s lecture entitled ‘Public Relations in a Wired World’ not surprisingly caused rather a stir with its sceptical audience of Journalism students. Of the people I have chatted to or overheard, Langley’s lecture seems to have split its listeners. He has acquired some sympathisers to the PR cause but in others he has simply intensified feelings of ambivalence towards journalism’s sister-industry.

Langley is an expert in the field and a veteran of Jomec. He has extensive experience in the PR industry having practised it for over 15 years and now currently chairs CPR and PR International.

He began the discussion by broadly outlining what the essentials of PR are.

‘Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you’

http://www.cipr.co.uk/ [link to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations]

An industry’s competitors, he said, are not the only people trying to influence the public’s view of a company. “Planning PR is then of the utmost importance.”

The media affects not only PR but also the company’s relationship with its staff similarly to how bad coverage in the Financial Times might affect an investor’s perspective.

What is PR then?

‘It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics’. [CIPR]

What is PR not? [a few eyebrows raised in unison]
‘Spin, lying and distortion’ [Langley]

Langley went on to discuss the changes facing PR and journalism alike, particularly in the online world. He cited http://www.microsoft.com/ as an example where the two seem to interact. PR he said had stopped trying to chase journalists for attention but was now able to lay bait for journalists.

“The fisherman has replaced the hunter” [Terence Fane-Saunders, chelgate.com]

Communication between journalists and PR officers has undoubtedly become easier. New technology means that working to sharper, shorter deadlines is possible and that the transfer of information in multi-media forms is now an option.

The value of PR however is still rather hazy in my view however although as Langley put it, “Good journalists rely on dependable PR officers.” I’ve yet to test his wisdom!

Good magazine links

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/default.stm

http://www.ipcmedia.com/websites

http://www.uk250.co.uk

http://www.fipp.com

http://ivillage.co.uk

http://www.vogue.co.uk

Online or Print? The magazine industry's Guru speaks out.

On Tuesday November 10th, Kim Hollamby, the Head of IPC media gave a thought-provoking lecture entitled ‘Magazine and Website: Friend or Foe?’. He spoke of the radical developments in magazine reading culture over the last few years. Having started out working in specialist magazines like ‘Motor Cruiser’, Mr Hollamby has seen the effect of the internet on the industry from its early beginnings. He now oversees 84 different magazines and 65 corresponding websites.

IPC Media – some facts:
Biggest selling magazine – ‘What’s on Tv’, 1,673,790 copies sold per week
Smallest selling magazine – ‘International Boat Industry’, 11,000 sold per week
Largest website – www.nme.com, 3.8million visits per month
Smallest website – www.amateurgardening.co.uk, 1,049 visits per month

He began his talk by outlining a serial feature he wrote for motorboatsmonthly.co.uk, for both print and online versions. ‘I overwrote terribly’, he said, and went on to discuss what, in his view, made a successful website and why it should compliment, not compete with, its magazine counterpart.

‘The internet is good for immediacy but magazines are ideal for getting a longer perspective on a feature’.

So, why do magazines need to run websites in 2005 according to Kim Hollamby?

1) To generate magazine subscription orders and newsagent sales (newsagents are unlikely to stock a smaller magazine against big competitors that draw in more money)
2) To increase revenue
3) To find new readers – marketing strategy
4) To nurture reader loyalty
5) To appeal to international readers
6) To gather data
7) To offer the reader a broader range of information – for instance, a website could allow more access to pictures, photos and a link to further information.
8) Interaction with the reader is made much stronger

An example he cites of a magazine in an ideal partnership with its online team is www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk which is currently developing an integrated team of web and magazine writers and designers.

Golden Rules for writing online:

ü The content needs to be valuable – shouldn’t offer a ‘soundbite’ of the magazine’s current issue.
ü Little updates and often are better than irregular ones
ü ‘Poster’ sites with little information will be unpopular
ü Need to have ‘keyword rich content’ and will therefore rank highly on search engines
ü ‘co-operative content’ is the buzzword, magazines and website could benefit from each others material ‘cross-media’.
ü Forums allow for more reader comment and interaction which should benefit the magazine in turn. This ‘high brand loyalty’ should ensure a dedicate readership of both mediums.

So, what does the future hold for journalism in Hollamby’s crystal ball?

• Websites are definitly here to stay
• Fully integrated editorial teams will be the norm
• Better content management tools are required
• Websites will influence magazine content
• The role of emerging technologies will be clearer, for example the mobile phone culture
• Future coding standards will lead to more obvious divisions between online journalism and code development

Big Brother at Broad Haven

Last week saw the MAIJ crew travel from the bright lights of Cardiff on a jaunt to the Pembrokeshire coast. For two nights, our motley band stayed at the local youth hostel, a bungalow perched just on the edge of Broad Haven's beach and exposed to the elemental extremeties we have come to associate with Wales.

Day 1.
The group arrive at their destination armed with wellingtons, kagouls and a array of boardgames to keep them entertained on those cold, wet evenings. For some reason, four of the students have come armed with swimming gear. The 'Baywatch Brigade' as they have come to be known- or Eoin, Peter, Jon and Rachel - quite literally took to Broad Haven like fish to water. As the rest of ur looked on aghast from the sand, the Little Mermaid and co launched themselves theatrically into the waves.

Post supper, a parachute debate was laid on for the entertainment of the troops. Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Condaleeza Rice, Madonna, David Beckham and Michael Jackson were transported into the dining room and captured on camera by our resident Big Brother accomplice - Ewelina.

Day2.
Waking up to the cries of seagulls, residents of the ranch prepared for a day of 'thought-showering' in search for a dissertation topic. Several hours later, the queues for Gary's attentions ever growing, I laid out some basic dissertation ideas. These include: the state of minority languages internationally, most especially the growth of Celtic strains - Welsh and Breton in particular, and the media's influence upon them. We'll see how that develops!

Later, celebrity guest Peter Wilby, the ex-editor of the New Statesman arrived to give the housemates an inspiring insight into the world of Journalism and imparted a few tips from the top.

A few bottles of wine later and the Broad Haven inmates were released on to the town's local pub -lucky for us, it was quiz night. Then back to base for the drunken chess championships.

Day 3.
A rather dishevelled band of merry men began packing and photographing as we prepared to leave the idyllic retreat. A final dissertation meeting with Thor - yes the prospect of 20,000 words just become a reality, and we were off - back to the city.

'On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog'.
- cartoon in The New Yorker, July 5, 1993 by Peter Steiner.

Let's blog ...