A print paper that looks like an online paper

A few days ago, I decided to start up my own blog on journalism today and the effects of new media. I'm having fun with it and already learning a ton.

With that, I found a story from a Swiss paper that was looking to redesign their paper. One of the five groups was Information Architects, who streamlined the paper to look a lot like the print paper.


The company, iA, wasn't awarded the redesign, but they had two "controversial" ideas in their pitch:

1. Blue words. These words are meant to be scanned easily, so somebody could read the front page in 20 seconds. If somebody wanted to learn more about the story, they could type the blue words into the paper’s website search function and get more information. “Links in print obviously doesn’t mean that you can click it, it means linking the paper to the online edition.”

2. Reader comments. Next to a story that appears in print is a reader’s comment that appeared online. The goal is to further the connection between writer and reader.

If you check out my blog post, you can read a little more about it and six of their main pitches to the Swiss paper (as well as a link to iA's post about their redesign). It's a really cool read, especially if you've ever worked in layout with a paper or magazine.

And it makes you think, isn't it time for newspapers to start catering the "user"?

Esquire infuses print magazine with interactive media

So I was in the library today and happened to pick up the current issue of Esquire sitting on one of the coffee tables between reading chairs on the first floor. The cover was an image of Robert Downey Jr., legs spread, hands pointing to a mysterious box between his feet. On his left was the headline: "WTF?! A living, breathing, moving, talking magazine? For instructions on how to use that thing Downey's sitting on, see pg. 21 and visit esquire.com/ar."

I promptly followed both sets of directions, and upon turning to the aforementioned page, a quick article described the strides Esquire is taking to "Augment" their rag. "It's the gateway to experiencing a magazine - this magazine - in an entirely new way" says the article. Author David Granger describes the new technology of "augmented reality" to "take the experience of Esquire into a new realm - a little world that comes to life in the space between this magazine and your computer screen."

So I tried it out.

The website directed me to download a program unique to Esquire that utilizes the webcam on your computer to recognize the odd, pixelated box that seemingly opens up brand new horizons. After five minutes of downloading I was underway. Program open and symbol presented to my Macbook iSight, Mr. Downey Jr. pops up and begins to explain, in a most Downey-esque fashion, what I have just unlocked. He then prompts a quick trailer for his upcoming Sherlock Holmes film.

A further article in Esquire explains that there are other symbols in other articles that will prompt further "augmented" bits of reality. There is even a Lexus ad containing a indecipherable (by the naked-eye) pixel-box. I will neglect to give away all the secrets of this digital existence and urge you to seek out the truths that lay locked away in the box that Downey holds between his legs.

Shit My Dad Says

Here's a link to an article on PasteMagazine.com about Shit My Dad Says and the book and TV deals he got. Maybe the future's not so bleak. Or maybe we just need our dads to hurry up and get senile and ornery so we can exploit them for material.

My favorite from his Twitter feed:

"A mule kicked Uncle Bob once. Broke his ribs. He punched it in the face.. My point? You have an ingrown fucking toenail. Stop bitching."

Article of Blogging Interest

Scientist announces that she is call girl and blogger Belle de Jour
Paul Gallagher
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 November 2009 01.51 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/15/belle-de-jour-blogger-prostitute

Relevant Film

Wondering if anyone has seen the film Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, directed by Frank Capra. (1939) Capra also did Its a Wonderful Life. Anyways, its a great film and it highlights the importance of print news... in 1939.

Yinz Luv ... Jim Shearer

I first put this together for my blog, but I posted it here because it's relevant to our class in some sense.


For those of you who have checked out my blog in the past will know I'm a big fan of the low-budget, no-budget Yinz Luv Da Stillers web show. I'm also gaining a lot of respect for Jim Shearer, the creator of the show. So much so that I wanted to write a feature story on him for the Post-Gazette. Unfortunately, the editors there didn't show interest (because, I think, they don't get the importance of the revolution going on online). So instead, I asked him to do a Q&A session with me regarding the world of web shows and web journalism in general.

Jim is 34 yars old, grew up in Pittsburgh, attended Shaler Area High School, and now lives with his wife in New York City. His day job is with VH1 hosting Top 20 Video Countdown. He started Yinz Luv 'Da Guins during the 2008 playoffs and had so much fun doing it, he started Yinz Luv 'Da Stillers when their season kicked off later in the year. He has been working in television since 2001 when he started with MTV, and his dream is to come back to Pittsburgh if he had the opportunity to do a show here.

I got hooked on YLDS when I was in Iraq and couldn't catch all the games because of the time difference. So, onto the Q&A:

Q: Most journalistic reporters are not allowed to be “fans” of the team they cover. Your web show allows you the freedom to also be a fan. How would YLDS be different if you had to remain “objective”?

A: I don't think YLDS could exist if I had to remain objective. The easiest thing about doing YLDS every week is that there is always a good guy and a bad guy, a protagonist and an antagonist. The story curve is already written for me. The show takes a Pittsburgh fan's perspective, instead of an x's and o's approach, and as a Pittsburgh fan I can only be so objective to the opposing team.


Q: You’ve already done a two-part episode interview with Jack Ham for your show. What has that interview taught you about the direction of your show? Are there any other ambitions or projects you would like to take on?

A: I would love to interview more Steelers and people associated with the team (beat writers, training staff, ex-Steelers, dedicated fans, etc.), but living in New York makes that very difficult. If I could ever find my way back to Pittsburgh, you'd find more episodes like the one with Jack Ham--instead of me just sitting in my bedroom all the time. As for ambitions, my main is goal to to eventually find some type of media work in Pittsburgh; the reason I started the series in the first place.


Q: What motivated you to record and put together this weekly web-show in the first place?

A: Oops, looks like I already answered this question. After my contract ended with MTV I began looking for work in Pittsburgh. The consensus was I didn't have enough on-air sports experience (although I had interviewed a slew of athletes and worked on many a sports show while at MTV). I started the Yinz Luv series to create a make-shift sports reel and to gain the sports experience that I apparently lacked for the Pittsburgh market.

Q: You also have a career on actual television and experience with both VH1 and MTV. How is the production of YLDS different from your television work?

A: Instead of working with a team of many people, it's just me. Also, the equipment I use isn't nearly as expensive as the stuff we use on VH1. My eight years of professional production experience has helped me out a ton though. Conversely, Yinz Luv has helped me on the professional side of things. Since YLDS doesn't have a budget for a teleprompter (obviously), I'll memorize the script in my head, a technique that has helped me out on many a VH1 Top 20 shoot.


Q: If somebody approached you and said, we want to pay you and take YLDS to television, and they offered you a half-hour weekly show, what would you do to make the show fill that half hour?

A: Oooh, that would be the dream. Believe it or not, content-wise it might be easier to do a 22-minute show (can't forget about those commercials) than a 10-minute YouTube show. There's a lot of stuff I end up cutting out for time constraints. With highlights, the gratuitous comedy skit, analysis, the occasional song parody, and interviews, I'd have no problem piecing together an awesome half-hour weekly show.


Q: What opportunities has the world of the web provided you in show production that regular media could not allow you?

A: An audience and not having a chain of command saying "no" to me for whatever reason.

Q: Do you ever run into people who recognize you from YLDS but have no clue you’ve ever been on regular television?

A: It's funny, I've been on VH1 for nearly a year now, was on MTV and MTV2 for six years, and every time I'm noticed out in public, it's for YLDG and YLDS. I don't even get a monstrous amount of views, so it's odd that I'm noticed more for a low budget web-show I run out of my bedroom.


Q: How is your television fanbase different from your web shows fanbase?

A: On YLDS and YLDG it feels like I'm part of the team, part of one big Pittsburgh family. On TV, it's a crap shoot. People will like or hate me depending on my music tastes, how my hair looks, or how well I did when interviewing their favorite artist.

Q: How do you push yourself to record a show after a Steelers loss?

A: I try to make a loss as entertaining as possible, and try to make the next game feel as hopeful as possible.


Q: Do you have any crazy pre-game rituals?

A: Whenever there's a big Steelers or Penguins game, I'll make a Roethlisweiner sandwich (smoked sausage, onions, tomatoes, hot mustard, saurkraut, salt-and-pepper). The Steelers and Pens have never lost when I made them; that's why I don't press my luck and eat them before every game.


Q: You have a degree in Journalism from Waynesburg College, so I’m sure you’ve noticed how, because of blogging and the web, many of the news industries are dying out or are forced to strategize new ways of delivering their information. Do you envision television shows ever having to face that sort of crisis in the future? Do you ever feel like YLDS is ahead of the curve in that sense (having established a web base)?

A: We're in such a weird place right now. I think, eventually, TV and the web will mold/evolve into one entity. When I was younger we had 13 television channels, then 50, now I have well over a thousand. Think of all the blogs and web-shows on the internet, there's the same number of eyes with a gazillion more outlets to choose from. Although it'll be easier to reach niche audiences, it's going to be tougher to reach the mass audience. Because everything is becoming so scattered, media professionals are going to have to know how to do it all, so in that respect, I may be a wee bit ahead of the curve, since I'm an on-air host, who can produce, write, shoot, direct, and edit.


Q: You’ve said (in a Pittsburgh City Paper interview) that the local sports media are sort of “missing the big picture” when it comes to sports shows. What is that “big picture” in your mind?

A: Whenever I've heard back from the Pittsburgh sports market, it's always comments like, "We could never do a skit with copyright material." The "big picture" is that I can handle myself in front of and behind a camera, fully capable of hosting any type of sports program coming out of Pittsburgh. Half of the stuff I do on YLDS couldn't fly on TV, I realize that, but I wish someone would say, "Eight years of national TV experience, three years of making sports web-shows in his bedroom, this guy's got more than enough professional tools to work on-air in the 'burgh."

Pittsburgh Bloggers - BlogFest

Check out opinyinz for more information and Pittsburgh Bloggers for even more information, but the gist is that this site is a congregate of all types of blogs with Pittsburgh authors as the main thread. The blogs don't even have to be about Pittsburgh - simply Pittsburghers blogging. The event (BlogFest) is a meet-n-greet for all the bloggers and blogger enthusiasts to see what's going on in the community. Learn some tips, offer a few that you have learned as an amateur blogger, or get some drinks at Finnegan's Wake if you're in need of some social lubrication to get the gears turning.

ALSO: Submit your blog to the site so they can include you in the "New Blogs" section to get a headline and attract some traffic. The requirements seem pretty broad: blogger fulfills the need for an RSS/ATOM feed and all of you being students residing in Pittsburgh fulfill the residence requirement - there, you're in. Just fill out the form and you're golden (::knocks on wood::).