A Quote for All Time

by Roger Pynn

New York Times Media Writer David Carr ends a story on the gathering storm that seems sure to wreak fatal havoc on the newspaper industry with this quote:

“… great journalism, on any platform, is the one sure hedge against irrelevancy.”

Sure, people are watching movies at home that they’ve downloaded from Netflix, but after frightening declines in 2011 box-office attendance was reportedly up nearly 15 percent early this year. Domestic movie revenue is at an all-time high of $5.86 billion, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Do you think just maybe it was because of good movies released?

It is and always will be about content.

A Comparison of Quality Through the Generations

by Ashley Pinder
As we reach the end of 2009, I’d like to leave you with a thought comparing music and the media: two industries that continue to change the way their products are distributed to the consumer.

Imagine the difference between the experiences of …

… listening to a downloaded MP3 version of a new song compared with what you could hear when it is played on a vinyl record player.

and

… learning about a breaking world news story reported in a typo-ridden brief on a newspaper’s homepage compared with reading the headline and full exposé from a fresh-off-the-press paper being pitched by a newsboy on the street corner.

You may be able to get things earlier and faster these days – but maybe the sound quality just isn’t as good.

As a reminder to all marketers in 2010, let’s focus on content, accuracy and delivering nothing but a quality product.

Do We Want Watchdogs Any More?

by Dan Ward

Roger Pynn blogged yesterday about the mistakes by national media outlets that allowed a six-year-old story to nearly destroy United Airlines, questioning where all the “watchdogs” have gone.

After reading his post, and the story that led to it, I have another question to ask: Do readers even want watchdogs anymore? If one uses reader comments as a gauge, then perhaps hard news is just no longer of interest.

Three hours after the United Airlines story appeared online, only 27 reader comments had been posted. In the same time frame, readers had taken the time to post 1,600 comments regarding a breaking news story … Casey Anthony Meets With Home Confinement Manager.

Where have the watchdogs gone, Roger might ask? Apparently, they have been invited indoors, where they can sit comfortably by the fireplace as the world watches Nancy Grace.

Unfortunately, those of us who see the importance of a watchdog are no longer the target at which media arrows are aimed.