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The beginnings of celebrity news

Posted by: | September 10, 2012 | No Comment |

Gossip! Gossip! Read all about it!

Today we live in a fame obsessed culture where everyone wants to look like the celebrities they read about, or at least enjoy some of the same luxuries that they do. So we purchase magazines like PEOPLE and US Weekly read them religiously and reference celebrity gossip apps and websites to get any additional information that the magazines may have missed.  I admit it, I have a slight obsession. I aspire to have the closet that Blake Lively does and I do extra squats to get Beyonce’s behind!

Did this obsession come out of nowhere or has history always had a slight obsession with celebrity gossip?

Well it seems that history’s always had a thing for celebrities, in 1509 they found the marriage of a 12 year old and 8 year old worth publishing in a printed newsbook. The wedding of Mary, daughter of English King Henry VII, and Prince Charles of Austria, heir to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire was the first printed example of celebrity news.

In today’s world, celebrities are paid lots of money for their wedding pictures, however I highly doubt Mary and Charles were paid a lot in 1509. It’s not the money that was paid or lack thereof that makes this wedding a significant part of print journalism history. The importance lies in the fact that it is one of the first types of news that was not highlighting a topic like the government or war.

If there was only news on the government and war would you read it? Probably not. I know I wouldn’t. Celebrity news provides an outlet for people to get their mind off of their own life and that’s a positive thing.

Courtesy of history.com

under: Comm 455
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William Randolph Hearst goes to war, goes to Congress, and takes on FDR (unsuccessfully)

Posted by: | September 10, 2012 | No Comment |

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), dropped out of Harvard in his senior year and took control of one of his father’s business interests: the San Francisco Examiner. Eventually Hearst would go shopping for a paper in New York City, and purchased the New York Journal in 1895.

Turn of the century New York was a battlefield of newspapers warring over advertisements and circulation. To boost sales, Hearst started printing sensational stories, flashy comic strips, and cut the price of the paper to a penny.

The events leading up the Spanish-American War (1898) provided Hearst with ample material for an increase in circulation. The war hungry American public lapped up the articles posted in the Journal, which had reporters in Cuba who went out looking for (and making) news in order to give the Journal a further edge. Hearst is credited today of seemingly starting the war single handedly with issues like these, as well as making liberal use of Yellow Journalism. The American people at the time, however, were just as ready as the Journal to gallantly go to war.

Following the war, the Hearst empire continued to grow, and Hearst started to become political. He ran for Congress in 1903, having behind him not only the support of Tammany Hall but also his own papers. He won handily, serving two terms in office as a Democrat. Hearst, however, was unable to attain any other office, narrowly losing elections for both mayor of New York City, and governor of New York.

As time went on, however, the initially progressive Hearst became increasingly conservative. With the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hearst, who at first rejoiced at the prospect of a Roosevelt Administration, was taken aback by

William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst, http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/willh.html

the New Deal. Hearst, who at this time owned an extensive array of print publications and other sources of media, issued a succession of newsreels going after the president and his policies.

William Randolph Hearst is a textbook case of the power of the press. Through his dozens of news holdings, as well as his extensive syndication network, Hearst pushed forward his agenda on the American people. It is estimated that one in four American’s subscribed to a Hearst publication at the peak of his power, which was right before the Depression. Using this as a platform, Hearst extended his own agenda in regards to himself and his ideals. What a luxury that must’ve been.

under: Comm 455
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The beginning of baseball reporting

Posted by: | September 10, 2012 | No Comment |

The earliest sports reports date back to 1470 when the Italians wrote about tournaments.  Books, reports, and writing for America’s pastime did not start until 1837 when Henry Chadwick invented the game.

The father of baseball they called him.

Chadwick wrote the first rule book along with inventing all the rules himself.  Surprisingly, he never actually played the game.  During that time Chadwick reported every play in every game.  He went on to publish many books on the game including Beadle’s Dime Baseball Player in 1860, Hane’s Base Ball Book of Records in 1867, and Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide in 1881.

American Baseball Manual

 

Unfortunately his death came while doing what he loves, reporting baseball.  In 1908 he got pneumonia while attending two opening day games in bad weather.  He created and reported on one of America’s favorite games and left a lot of great history.

under: Comm 455
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Not that trivial?

Posted by: | July 18, 2012 | No Comment |

This may seem trivial, but it’s all about trivia. Maybe good for a discussion in my “History of Journalism: From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg” class this fall.
Filmmmaker Jeremiah Warren created this animated video that explores the trivia behind trivia.

under: Comm 455
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‘Gutenberg the Geek’

Posted by: | April 28, 2012 | No Comment |

One of the major points I make in History of Journalism: From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg (Comm455, fall semester, T/R 10:30 a.m.) is the connection between the invention of the printing press and the social media revolution today. Here’s a video about Jeff Jarvis’s new Kindle Single, “Gutenberg the Geek,” and an interview with Jarvis on Big Think about his essay.

under: Comm 455, social media
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The Web: Connecting us all

Posted by: | December 15, 2011 | No Comment |

I recently read a post on Mashable about a new film that is set to be released on YouTube. The film is the product of Ron Howard and his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard. It is inspired by 8 photos selected by Ron from a photography contest sponsored by Canon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D52bdmsMtYI

This whole concept — the film’s inspiration, the way it is being released — is so interactive and really shows how the Internet can be used in incredibly creative and thoughtful ways. The photography contest, Imagina8ion, had 100,000 entries from photographers of all ages and skill levels. Today it is possible to enter a contest, and thanks to the power of the Internet, be in a Ron Howard film.

The film is being released on YouTube for a weekend only, but completely free. I think this is a great way to reach a huge audience and generate good buzz about the film. Howard is using the Internet to his advantage and to the film’s advantage, since it probably wouldn’t have gotten as much publicity otherwise.

Another cool tidbit about the film — it was shot using only Canon cameras and DSLRs! It is amazing to think, but DSLRs today can record cinema-quality video. More and more movies are being shot like this, as the cameras are smaller and easier to maneuver.

under: Comm 455
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Siri, a Sit Down Drag Out Review

Posted by: | December 11, 2011 | No Comment |

In the wake of the death of Steve Jobs, many investors, enthusiasts, and simple consumers have voiced their concerns over the direction that Apple will take after the Sultan of Silicone Valley has passed. The new CEO of the multimedia giant, Tim Cook, is now the new name behind the devices in your hand. There are even rumors that the iPhone 4S, actually stands for “For Steve”.

In this age of the decay of printed paper, and truly instant velocity of fnews, the newly loaded software Siri seemingly fulfills all of our sci fi instant gratification fantasies. The premise behind Siri is that given any simple vocal command, your iPhone is able to answer intelligently, and with personality. As a ramification of news, the software is a complete breakthrough in disguise. From now on one need not read through a whole paper to find the story they are looking for but just tell Siri what they heard and wait for it to be found.

This new technology, like all innovations that came before it, is of course rumored to have glitches. With such an interesting and intuitive technology, though, I needed to find out just how big of a splash this tech was likely to make, inspiring me to have a seat in my girlfriend’s apartment with her new iPhone and get my hands on it.

Siri’s interface, like so many more of Apple’s, is built to be simple, easy to get your head around, and intuitive. The basic programs that Siri uses are (ironically) Google interfaces to find things that you want found

under: Uncategorized

The partisan press then and now

Posted by: | December 8, 2011 | No Comment |

George Washington's official presidential portrait. (Courtesy of warfilm.wikia.com)

George Washington did not have to appeal to PETA for votes.

PETA, one of the largest animal rights groups in the United States, is just one of many interest groups or parties that can have press influence.  However, the party press comes from much simpler roots.

Read More…

under: Comm 455
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The Life and Times of the Newspaper

Posted by: | December 7, 2011 | No Comment |

Remember the newspaper?

It used to come knocking at the door around six in the morning. It kept Dad busy for the first hour of the day. It made great wrapping paper and cushion for fragile pottery. Most of all, however, the newspaper did the most important job of keeping its readers informed.

“A newspaper owner gets a place at every table, access to all the top politicians’ ears, and the power to impose his worldview on his readers,” writes Jack Shafer in a 2009 article for Slate titled, “The Great Newspaper Crackup of 1918.”

The newspaper has recently suffered a few setbacks — namely, the Internet — and alas, it’s finally on its way out. Most journalist mourn the death of the newspaper, but I say, why not celebrate it?

The truth is while the newspaper is dying, journalism isn’t. In fact, I happen to believe that journalism is in a period of renaissance. The rebirth of word-of-mouth journalism in the form of blogging and micro-blogging has made way to a whole new wave of journalists that exert more creativity than any writer, editor or distributor of old news.

At the same time, we shouldn’t forget to celebrate the life of the newspaper, which, if you think about it, lasted an extremely long time. To be exact, if you include the tipao and the acta, the newspaper lived for well over 1,000 years. I’d say that’s a reason for praise.

One setback, however, of the rapid popularity and velocity of the Internet, is the cheapened state of journalism that the web has perpetuated. In a 2007 Wall Street Journal article titled, “Read All About It: How newspapers got into such a fix, and where they go from here,” Paul E. Steiger discusses the many implications of the death of newspapers and the rise of online journalism.

“Anyone with a fact, a comment, a snapshot or a video clip can self-publish and instantly compete with the professionals,” Steiger states.

With the opportunity to be a journalist being given to anyone and everyone, there is the fear that it will lead to a less-informed public. I happen to believe that the mass boom of online bloggers and word-of-mouth news will be more reliable than network news and newspapers. The reasoning is that social media is self-correcting. If an inaccuracy is published, someone else will come along and correct it. This domino effect will take place until the truth is out. The real danger (in my opinion) lies in trusting a single gatekeeper (or a select few) to keep the public informed.

under: Comm 455, Uncategorized
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Book Report: “Googled”

Posted by: | December 7, 2011 | No Comment |

Ever since its inception in the late 1990s, Google has been the issue of much debate in politics, economics and overall public welfare. From its humble beginnings as a PhD dissertation project to its current state as one of the United States’ most successful corporations, the little company that could is standing at the apex of what some may call the most revolutionary displays of entrepreneurship in decades.

Ken Auletta’s tell-all book, “Googled: The End of the World as We Know It,” is a product of countless hours put into researching the company’s inner workings after being granted full access to the executives, engineers and all the resources he needed to write a fair and balanced analysis of Google’s past, present and future.

After kicking it off with an anecdotal chapter about a Viacom executive who visits Google’s Mountain View campus to talk business with the company’s higher-ups only to realize that Google was not a company he wanted to associate with, Auletta delves into Google’s beginnings with a history of its birth.

While “Googled” does a great job highlighting the innovative aspect of the company’s efforts and their many areas of success, it also expresses Google’s many fallacies and flaws, one main one being their attachment to the concept of a utopian corporation. The company seemed to be made up of engineers, and the engineers answered to no one. This hindered their abilities to make crucial decisions about design, for example.

Another sensitive subject that the book addresses is the idea of Google creating an evil empire, sometimes accused of operating outside of the law, breaking copyright laws and angering publishers.

The chapter about Google Books highlights this aspect eloquently. The concern is that by making copyrighted material available for free, Google will drive writers and publishers out of business. The same concern holds true with Google News, which compiles articles from hundreds of sources and posts them right to the site. This makes Google News the powerful “middle man” between people and the news.

The most fascinating aspect of this book is Auletta’s account of Google’s impact on the advertising industry. Before Google, advertisers took a significant risk when purchasing ad space somewhere, not knowing exactly which part of their effort will succeed. Google targeted key words and search results to cater to advertisers so they would know exactly what worked. This allowed Google to charge them much less, and therefore make more business.

Whether Google is good or evil is still a question many people like to debate, but the real answer is subjective. Auletta’s book is a wonderful guide to forming an educated decision as to whether you want to think of Google as a world-dominating  monster who’s set out to drive writers, publishers and advertisers out of business or just a free-thinking group of engineers who always have the consumers’ needs in mind.

under: Comm 455, Uncategorized
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One last post to share..

Posted by: | December 7, 2011 | No Comment |

I just wanted to share one more thing.

This video is a depiction of how the story of Christmas would be different if it were happening today. It uses social media and the internet in a clever way.

I realize that it is religious and not all of us are of the same religion, but it is relevant to our class and the season.

Enjoy 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZrf0PbAGSk
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Death of the newspaper: what is killing it?

Posted by: | December 7, 2011 | No Comment |

Newspapers are dying, but the news lives on. Not only does the news live, but it thrives.

How? Newspapers have been the most mainstream news outlet for decades. If it is dying, how are people staying informed? What happened?

There are many factors that have contributed to newspaper’s demise. A lot of it has to do with the invention and popularity of the internet. Just as the invention of the printing press was influential in the distribution of the newspaper, the internet is a vehicle for news to travel. It has proved to be a much faster, more immediate way to reach consumers.

This happens to technology all the time. It’s not long before a new and improved something comes along to replace a gadget that used to be cutting edge.

According to L. Gordon Crovitz of The Wall Street Journal, this isn’t the first and only time something like this has happened. A lot of media tools have evolved from other forms of communication. The development of the early telegraph is a prime example. The biggest fact about it is that we don’t use the telegraph today. The telephone come along and replaced it. Crovitz did mention that nothing has seen a disruption (like the one to newspapers) happen at this rate.

Samuel Morse's telegraph (Source: Wikipedia)

However, there is much to say to the fact that newspapers have lasted through some of the inventions that have been introduced during its reign. Newspapers were widely accepted before televisions were mainstream. The television newscast came along and has threatened the newspaper as its top competition. They seemed to form some sort of a partnership as of late. They work hand in hand and feed off each other.

Like with the printing press, the right equipment is required to participate and contribute to the news. When the printing press was new, they were hard to come by. They weren’t available to everyone. You had to be rich to have one, but if you did, you were the gatekeeper for anything that press printed. Now, anybody with a computer and internet connection can add to the information that is out there.

People have always felt the need to know what is going on around them and how it will impact their lives. With the internet and all of its tools, it is surprisingly easy. The emergence of the “Twitterverse” and “Blogosphere” have allowed news consumers to not only have that immediacy, but share and react with each other in a way that newspapers hinder.

So to answer the question I posed in the beginning of this post, I think time is killing newspapers. Time contributed to it’s invention and it was only a matter of time before something (and in this case somethings) has come to replace it. It is not possible to point a finger at any ONE electronic media outlet. It’s the combination of every new way to get the news faster.

Another way to look at this time answer is to call newspapers slow. Classic newspapers are the slowest outlet to produce the news. With Blogs and Twitter, there is no deadline. The news is ever-changing. And if there IS a deadline, blogs can be updated and a new Tweet can be written. Print is print. Ink cannot be erased.

RACING TIME

(Photo courtesy of www.esquire.com)

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