“Quick decisions based on the smallest scraps of data. It’s not fair but it’s true. Your blog, your outfit, the typeface you choose, the tone of your voice, the expression on your face, the location of your office, the way you rank on a Google search, the look of your Facebook page… We all jump to conclusions and we do it every day. Where do you want me to jump?”
I got a few minutes with Missouri State Senator Charlie Shields this morning. Senator Shields –the Majority Floor Leader– was kind enough to let me ask a few questions at a very busy time for the legislature. I wanted his take on how the Senate uses –or doesn’t– use technologies like laptops, the web, smart phones, Blackberry’s, blogs and podcasting.
The House allows laptops in the chamber but the Senate doesn’t. The concern seems to be that senators would be surfing the web or checking email and not paying attention to debate and the business of the senate. Senator Shields does not agree with that position and feels it’s just a matter of time until laptops are allowed.
I asked about Blackberry’s and smart phones, which are allowed. He said you don’t have to look hard to find a Senator checking his email.
The media can have laptops in the press gallery at the press table. I didn’t ask but assume there is wifi access for the media because I could get it in the hallway waiting to talk with the senator.
I asked if any bloggers had requested permission to cover the senate. He said not to his knowledge. I wasn’t entirely clear on his answer to the question, would bloggers be allowed to cover the proceedings. I think both the House and Senate make a pretty clear distinction between the “real” media and bloggers.
Senator Shields was unaware of any of his senate colleagues blogging. It surprises me a bit that some of the more clued-in haven’t discovered the power of this tool.
As for personal tech gadgets, Senator Shields has a Blackberry and an iPod on which he sometimes listens to jazz podcasts and NPR’s Car Talk.
He concluded with the prediction that the role of technology in the Senate will increase dramatically in coming years. No doubt.
Update: Missourinet News Director Bob Priddy –who has been covering the Missouri legislature since the early 70’s– adds and clarifies:
“We actually don’t have a press gallery as the House does. We have a press table which is on the Senate floor. The senate, of course, has had its sessions on the internet, first on our site, then on others, and then on its own site for many years.
The irony of the idea that Senators will be at their desks checking email or playing games or bidding on ebay is that most senators don’t stay on the floor unless the legislation being considered is really big or unless they have a specific role with any bill. They can be in their offices checking their email or playing games or shopping on ebay.
The use of blackberries and smart phones on the Senate floor is a mixed blessing. It does enable the senators to get information from their office or their staff without leaving their desks. But it also enables lobbyists to send them messages from the hallways, giving lobbyists access to the Senate floor although the rules don’t allow them in the chamber in person. For some folks, that’s not a comfortable relationship but nobody has figured out a way to control that access, nor do they seem to want to.
The use of the computer has helped the amendment process. Senate staff sits at the other table at the front side of the chamber and can prepare amendments on the computer and run them into a printer pretty quickly. It’s been several years since I’ve seen a Senator write an amendment at the desk. In fact, debate is often slowed or stopped so a Senator can go to the staff table and have the staff write an amendment.
Of course the computer has made it a whole lot easier for the people in the clerk’s office to compile the journal, prepare copies of bills with amendments included in them before the bill goes up for final passage—-and just generally manage the flow of documents that go through the place.”
PS: If you’re wondering why I didn’t just post the audio of the interview… I hit the wrong button on my new fancy-pants digital recorder and erased the interview. Please don’t take my car keys.
Lost Remote’s Cory Bergman explains –again– why TV station websites lag behind newspaper sites. He identifies two root problems:
“The first is the fact that broadcast scripts are not appropriate to read online. They must be rewritten, usually by a web producer because the reporter A) “doesn’t have time” or B) can’t write. From a financial perspective, the time rewriting this script is a wasted cost. Reporters should write their own web stories — multiple updates throughout the day if needed — following AP style.
The second is the misguided notion that a TV station’s web staff is there just to repurpose TV stories with a few extras here and there. As a result, TV sites are oppressively heavy on crime/fires/accidents and feature thin TV versions of newspaper and AP stories.”
I read countless stories and posts like this and the thing that always gnaws at me is the the complete absence of any mention of radio station websites. Zip. Nada.
“Americans without a landline are increasingly the Achilles Heel of research. The most recent government statistics show 13% of the population (18+) no longer has a landline. Arbitron SVP of marketing Bill Rose says “It’s getting tougher and tougher for us.” So their researchers have begun testing a new methodology to reach out to those consumers, who are protected by strict government guidelines on calling mobile phones. It works like this: Arbitron compares addresses against a list of known landline phone numbers. When they find an address without a number, they mail a survey that encourages consumers to share their cell number for future contact. ” — INSIDE RADIO:
Oh yeah, sign me up for that.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” I shrieked, as I opened yesterday’s birthday present. The only way Barb could have known I wanted the Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Field Recorder is… I told her.
I’ve been using the larger PMD660 for a year to two but found that a nice home with Jamie. So far I like almost everything I’ve seen and heard about the 620. The built-in mics are just so-so but I’ll plug in an external mic for most work.
The size is what appealed to me. About the size of a deck of cards. And the display is easier for me to read than with the previous model. Download this short MP3 file if you want to hear what it sounds like. I’m using a Heil PR-20 mic.
I’ve posted a couple of times on the restrictive policies of the NFL and the MLB regarding audio, video, still images and other content on websites.
Green Bay Packer QB Brett Favre is holding a news conference to officially announce he’s hanging it up. First words out of the Packer media guy’s mouth: You can broadcast on radio and TV, but no streaming from websites. Except for one: Packers.com.
Hardly a mystery. The Packers do not –as far as I know– own radio or TV stations. But they DO have a website and and it’s got lots of sponsors. Just one more example of how the web is changing –if you’ll forgive me– the playing field. Once upon a time, the teams and the leagues needed the media to reach their fans. They still need them, but maybe not as much and not for everything. As more and more fans –and advertisers– move to the web, this will be a big issue.
Update: Lost remote reports that traffic at Packers.com was so heavy, they had to switch to a breaking-news layout.
Once again, Mark Ramsey asks the right question:
"So the question your (radio) station must ask itself is this: What would we be and do if we didn’t have a broadcast tower at all and only had a website? How would we build this thing?"
Doc Searls is on a panel (Public Media 2008) titled Technology and Trends: What’s Around the Bend? From his list of ten, here are three I found interesting:
I couldn’t begin to guess the number of hours I’ve spent archiving material (I think Doc hates the term “content”). MissouriDeathRow.com; Legislature.com; Missouri Supreme Court oral arguments; and –once upon a time– Missouri State Highway Patrol accident reports. We saved damn near everything but I can’t say that I noticed a huge appetite for that archived material and I was never smart enough to make any serious money with it. But we’ve got it.
“Last week, a Broadcasting & Cable editorial warned that TV newscasts could follow the way of the newspaper. This week, B&C’s Jennifer Yarter asks, “What happens when the web starts to replace the television?” Yarter said the catalyst of her column was a dinner with a group of tech-savvy 20-somethings who said they don’t watch TV or even subscribe to cable or satellite. They just watch whatever they want online. Yarter writes, “Most of these young adults are falling into a new territory of media consumption that could potentially eliminate the need for local television stations.”
“Absolutely, and consider this: the only thing that most local TV stations produce is local news. Local TV news in its current form, when translated online, looks very similar to everyone else’s news. If it’s not truly original or unique, it’s a commodity (especially in aggregated environments). And as more people get their local news online instead of making an appointment to watch it on TV, revenue loss will accelerate. A solution here is to start producing original content that bridges platforms — that’s unique enough to not only to attract an audience but create fans. Fans are people who accept no substitutes. Can local TV news, by itself, create this kind of online loyalty? I don’t believe so. It will require new, innovative, locally-produced niche programming that spans TV, mobile and the web. In other words, a whole new approach. Similar to the newspapers, it will be a matter of survival.”
— Lost Remote
I keep asking myself why nobody in a position to do so, is tackling this. The answer I keep coming up with, time after time is that reinventing your TV station (or your radio station) for the new world we’re in is –in the short term– risky and expensive. And the decision makers are close enough to retirement (or have their fuck-you money put aside) that they have decided (even if they haven’t admitted it aloud) to manage their stations to “a profitable demise.” Milk the cash cow until Bossie goes dry.
The Generation Iowa Commission, with help from the Iowa Department of Economic Development, has launched a website designed –among other things– "to keep young people from leaving the state."
GenerationIowa.com will eventually include written material, photos and videos submitted by young Iowans. "We really wanted to make it a user generated content site. We want young folks across Iowa to send their stories, their photos, their videos…and really make it their own website," Rolland said. "We don’t want it to just be a state marketing website." [More on the story at RadioIowa.com]
One of the stories on the site ("High Life, Low Price") describes the advantages of living in Iowa compared to Manhattan. Amanda Brend cautions:
"Don’t let the bright lights of New York City blind you — the city is fabulous when you have a New York City-size paycheck. Here’s the download on my life as a New York City intern versus my current gig as a Des Moines entrepreneur."
"Here’s the download?" "My current gig?" Hmmm. I smell older person trying to write hip.
But wait. One of the comments displayed on the home page reads:
"Hi, This is Amanda Brend from Indianola. While I would like to take credit for such a well written article, I can’t, because I did not write this. I have never lived in NYC. I’m not sure why my name is posted on here, but I did not write this. I am, however, a huge advocate for Iowa and maybe someday I’ll be able to post MY story. Amanda"
Oops.
Here’s a screen shot of the home page and the story in question.
I like Iowa. But if you want to keep young people from leaving, you’re gonna need razor wire. Lots and lots of razor wire.