http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/bloggers_might_be_excluded_fro.html
"Lake Oswego is considering defining media organizations as 'institutionalized,' 'well-established' and producing at least 25 percent news content," explained Sieon Roux in her Oregonian article. The independent blogging world has become so ingrained in the journalism industry that this potential sanction would be like providing limitations for independent filmmakers trying to distribute their films to a developed movie theater company like Loews. There is a concept in economics known as Barriers to Entry, whereas newcomers to an industry are presented with obstacles that they must overcome in order to get in the game. In the case of Lake Oswego, their barrier of entry is you have to be a developed journalist in order to be granted entry into an executive session meeting. However, the only solution to breaking this 'barrier' would be for a blogger to succumb to the demands of the Lake Oswego government and join a developed newspaper like The Oregonian. That, in my estimation, is completely unreasonable because although, not every blogger should be permitted access to these meetings, there shouldn't be a law in play, that prevents any of them from attending. I guess the worry of allowing a blogger to attend a session is while, the media cannot "directly report on discussions," the government might fear that bloggers would be less likely to respect this rule. Nonetheless, any government shouldn't have this much influence over the media because it hinders a journalist's potential for creative thought.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I can has cheezburger
http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-07-13/bloggers-bring-in-the-big-bucksbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
With the incessant traffic on the Internet every millisecond, it is no surprise that Eric Nakagawa and the mysterious "Tofuburger's" cat appreciation blog receives 500,000 page views daily. However, this element of accidental success is what I find so interesting because Nakagawa and Tofuburger unintentionally found a niche that is so reliable that sustaining existence will never be an issue. It would seem as though ideas men should be less focused on coming up with new ideas and more on experimenting, possibly through crowd-sourcing, to determine what content is desirable enough to attract a large body of people willing to provide financial support in exchange for that content. I'm almost certain this blog doesn't generate revenue through advertisements, however the Smokin' Jay Cutler Tumblr "dedicated to the most apathetic looking athlete in the history of sports," has developed enough of a following that it now sells t-shirts through the website as a means for not only creating more interest in the subject, but also keeping the website in existence. I'm not a football fan so my roommate had to show me that Tumblr, but at this point that blog is attracting more than just football fans because you don't need to be a football enthusiast to appreciate the comedy on that blog. With that said, there are probably millions of niches that have yet to be tackled and accidental success even greater than Nakagawa's could be out there. It's both disheartening and remarkable to think that I've been developing a journalism app that won't have more than half a percent of the 100,000 to 200,000 visitors that Nakagawa's blog gets, but I've been actively trying to pursue this venture and he started this from posting something he thought was amusing. What makes his website more attractive is the fact that anyone can post an image, which can be a very satisfying pursuit for some people. I'm interested to see how far Nakagawa decides to take this business venture and if it will still be as successful as it is five years from now. Will the blogosphere continue to accept I Can Has Cheezburger or decide it's time for the cheeseburger to be eaten?
http://smokinjaycutler.tumblr.com/
With the incessant traffic on the Internet every millisecond, it is no surprise that Eric Nakagawa and the mysterious "Tofuburger's" cat appreciation blog receives 500,000 page views daily. However, this element of accidental success is what I find so interesting because Nakagawa and Tofuburger unintentionally found a niche that is so reliable that sustaining existence will never be an issue. It would seem as though ideas men should be less focused on coming up with new ideas and more on experimenting, possibly through crowd-sourcing, to determine what content is desirable enough to attract a large body of people willing to provide financial support in exchange for that content. I'm almost certain this blog doesn't generate revenue through advertisements, however the Smokin' Jay Cutler Tumblr "dedicated to the most apathetic looking athlete in the history of sports," has developed enough of a following that it now sells t-shirts through the website as a means for not only creating more interest in the subject, but also keeping the website in existence. I'm not a football fan so my roommate had to show me that Tumblr, but at this point that blog is attracting more than just football fans because you don't need to be a football enthusiast to appreciate the comedy on that blog. With that said, there are probably millions of niches that have yet to be tackled and accidental success even greater than Nakagawa's could be out there. It's both disheartening and remarkable to think that I've been developing a journalism app that won't have more than half a percent of the 100,000 to 200,000 visitors that Nakagawa's blog gets, but I've been actively trying to pursue this venture and he started this from posting something he thought was amusing. What makes his website more attractive is the fact that anyone can post an image, which can be a very satisfying pursuit for some people. I'm interested to see how far Nakagawa decides to take this business venture and if it will still be as successful as it is five years from now. Will the blogosphere continue to accept I Can Has Cheezburger or decide it's time for the cheeseburger to be eaten?
http://smokinjaycutler.tumblr.com/
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Izzy Stone
"Before there was an Internet, Izzy Stone was doing the work we associate with today's best bloggers." (Common Dreams, Jeff Cohen)
For this week's blog post, I'm going to attempt to do something that may amuse some and confuse others. I'm going to blog about how Izzy Stone's work could be categorized as blog-like before blogging was even concepted. I guess it's not THAT amusing, but I just thought I'd acknowledge the fact that I'm blogging about how a man that preceded blogging could be compared to some of the most prolific bloggers in journalism. I don't want this post to turn into some long paragraph, where I just Izzy Stone for all of accomplishments and influence on the journalism industry, but I would like to show my appreciation for such a relentless reporter. The Internet is an invaluable tool for journalists not only because it enables them to always be up-to-date on current events, but more importantly because how effective of a research device it can be. Whether it was his consumption of several newspapers daily or the incessant skimming through a number of Congressional Records, Izzy Stone's devotion to uncovering news for the public was unmatched. Especially considering that he didn't have a tool like the Internet, to make his research a bit more bearable. I understand that I'm not a developed journalist, but it is hard to imagine that I'll devote that much time everyday to reading that many newspapers cover to cover. Bloggers are dedicated to uncovering controversial stories, but it is doubtful that they spend as much time as Izzy did analyzing documents. Another aspect that puts Izzy stone in a league of his own was how he would begin articles not blog posts, with quotes like "The American government and the American press have kept the full truth about the Tonkin Bay incidents from the American public." He was not afraid to challenge the government and I know there are tons of bloggers nowadays, who challenge the government left and right, but it reflects one's courage more when they do it through print. Something Izzy shares with current bloggers is how he was a writer, editor and boss, so he governed himself like many bloggers do. He did not have to answer to an advertisers request. Almost every word that he wrote was determined by him and didn't have some worried editor complaining about his work being too controversial. This aspect makes him quite similar to the many bloggers today because obviously bloggers only communicate ideas that they are passionate in.
For this week's blog post, I'm going to attempt to do something that may amuse some and confuse others. I'm going to blog about how Izzy Stone's work could be categorized as blog-like before blogging was even concepted. I guess it's not THAT amusing, but I just thought I'd acknowledge the fact that I'm blogging about how a man that preceded blogging could be compared to some of the most prolific bloggers in journalism. I don't want this post to turn into some long paragraph, where I just Izzy Stone for all of accomplishments and influence on the journalism industry, but I would like to show my appreciation for such a relentless reporter. The Internet is an invaluable tool for journalists not only because it enables them to always be up-to-date on current events, but more importantly because how effective of a research device it can be. Whether it was his consumption of several newspapers daily or the incessant skimming through a number of Congressional Records, Izzy Stone's devotion to uncovering news for the public was unmatched. Especially considering that he didn't have a tool like the Internet, to make his research a bit more bearable. I understand that I'm not a developed journalist, but it is hard to imagine that I'll devote that much time everyday to reading that many newspapers cover to cover. Bloggers are dedicated to uncovering controversial stories, but it is doubtful that they spend as much time as Izzy did analyzing documents. Another aspect that puts Izzy stone in a league of his own was how he would begin articles not blog posts, with quotes like "The American government and the American press have kept the full truth about the Tonkin Bay incidents from the American public." He was not afraid to challenge the government and I know there are tons of bloggers nowadays, who challenge the government left and right, but it reflects one's courage more when they do it through print. Something Izzy shares with current bloggers is how he was a writer, editor and boss, so he governed himself like many bloggers do. He did not have to answer to an advertisers request. Almost every word that he wrote was determined by him and didn't have some worried editor complaining about his work being too controversial. This aspect makes him quite similar to the many bloggers today because obviously bloggers only communicate ideas that they are passionate in.
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