Cit Media

With newspaper circulation continuing its near free-fall, Alan Mutter suggests that

a significant portion of the decline results directly from the industry’s long-term, and arguably long-overdue, initiative to eliminate inefficient vanity and promotional circulation.

Interesting take on the situation. We’ll see if the predicted flattening of the numbers does occur before too much longer.

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Many thanks to Dan Kennedy for his long and kind article in the current Commonwealth Magazine, in which he accurately captures my main goal: “to help the nascent citizen-journalism movement raise its standards and boost its influence, while also helping mainstream media organizations use technology to reach out to what he likes to call the ‘former audience.’”

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Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal: Radio station may build public media center. Preliminary plans call for the center to have and develop forums, Web sites, conferences and other training sessions for public-radio and television journalists, students of Wake Forest University and members of the community. The preliminary plan also calls for it to teach ethics, mechanics and responsibilities of digital media.

An excellent idea. Traditional media organizations have a special role in the evolving media world — to help citizens use, create and understand it.

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AP: Daily Circulation Falls at U.S. Papers. Circulation declines accelerated at major U.S. newspapers for the six-month period ending in September, according to figures released Monday, in the latest sign of struggle for an industry that is continually grappling with changing reader habits.

This news is not just bad. It’s the grimmest yet.

We’re seeing a not-so-slow-motion undermining of a business that has been central to the functioning of our republic in recent decades. Newspapers are flawed, sometimes terrible and venal. But when they do their jobs they are essential.

What will replace them if — when? — they go down entirely?

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Daniel Glover (National Journal): A Guide To Enterprise Blogging.

The great thing about FOIA is that it’s not just for journalists. Any citizen can use it, and that includes bloggers.

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Greg Verdino reports that the Nielsen BuzzMetrics Consumer Generated Media Summit is a no blog zone:

“Off The Record: the CGM Summit is off the record, so please no blogging, reporting, recording or broadcasting.”

If this was television, it would deserve a laugh track. Good grief.

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Vox has launched with a fair amount of hype but also real promise. The key change is that the software easily enables private (or at least semi-private) conversations, a good idea.

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The Berkman Center at Harvard invites local political bloggers to

join us for a celebration of bloggers, honoring the citizen journalists chronicling the Massachusetts 2006 governor’s race.

What: Blogging the Vote in 2006: A Celebration of Political Bloggers
When: Monday, October 30, 5pm
Where: Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, Cambridge, Second Floor

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NY Times: A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data.

If things go as planned for liberal bloggers in the next few weeks, searching Google for “Jon Kyl,” the Republican senator from Arizona now running for re-election, will produce high among the returns a link to an April 13 article from The Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly.

This kind of tactic leaves a sour taste. But it’ll be a common one in the future.

This phenomenon is about the nature of Google as much as the nature of politics. Pious “wish they wouldn’t” statements from the company don’t carry much weight when Google itself makes such things possible.

The Google-bomber in question is being disingenuous in the extreme about what he’s doing, however. From the end of the story:

“I think Internet users are very smart and most are aware of what a Google bomb is,” he said, “and they will be aware that results can be massaged a bit.”

Please. If most people using search engines are aware of this, the Democrats will nominate Jeb Bush as their next presidential candidate.

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Somewhat related to the posting below, the Video the Vote project says it wants to:

protect the vote by being the eyes and ears where ballots are cast and counted on Election Day. We will document and report any irregularities that occur at polling places and boards of elections while they are happening, enabling the media and public to watch-dog the electoral process across our country.

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