Archives for the month of: April, 2008
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Clinton, Obama Throw Down in Pa.; Public to Call the Slugfest

April 16, 2008 //
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The two big national stories today have been Pope Benedict XVI’s public event in Washington and the Democratic candidates’ debate in Philadelphia.


(Photos by jurvetson/Flickr, Nrbelex/Flickr)

TV and cable coverage of the pope has overshadowed almost everything else. But looking at Google Trends, it appears the debate is the more popular topic nationwide.

Tonight’s hotly anticipated faceoff between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama airs on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. The local station will have a live webcast of the debate and a chatroom going. CBS 3 will also host a chatroom. ABC News will have a live blog. If NBC and Fox are planning to do more than post stories and video, they’re not making it obvious.

Sites driven by newspaper content are live blogging. This includes Philly.com, the very funny Philadelphia Will Do blog on Philadelphia Weekly, and possibly The Triangle, the Drexel University student newspaper.

But the most interesting discussions will likely be the ones outside the media spotlight. There are chatrooms on Webchattr and Culturekitchen, and of course, there’s the tweet stream.

Let tonight’s battle royale begin!

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Categories General Journalism, Social Media

ONA Conference Info Now on Facebook Group

April 16, 2008 //
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If you’re on Facebook and you’re interested in the Online News Association conference in September, join the growing Facebook group.

This year’s conference promises to have more hands-on workshops, more networking opportunities, a backchat channel, and more discussions about the business side of the news business.

Full conference details can be found on the conference website.

By the way, if you like the logo above, kudos go to Scott Johnson, Associated Press Multimedia art director.

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Categories General Journalism, Social Media

ACES Winner to Judge Hed to Hed Competition

April 16, 2008 //
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Las Vegas Review-Journal copy editor Matthew Crowley has graciously agreed to judge Ricochet’s headline writing competition.

Crowley won the American Copy Editors Society “Best Headlines of the Year” contest in the newspapers with circulations between 100,001 and 250,000 category.

Judges gave his work special citation, saying:

In a time when newspapers need more than ever to shake off the stiff, stentorian conventions of the past and work harder to connect with readers, Crowley’s heads make the reader feel as if he or she is dropping into the middle of a coffee-shop conversation. And they make the reader want to dive into the stories and continue the conversation.

See Crowley’s winning portfolio and take your own crack and headline writing in the Hed to Hed competition.

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Categories General Journalism, One For Fun

One for Fun: Hed to Hed Competition – Deadline Extended

April 11, 2008 //
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The American Copy Editors Society doled out awards for best headlines of the year Thursday, highlighting what peers deemed exemplars of “the quality of copy editing amid dwindling resources, tighter deadlines and more work.”

In the spirit of copyediting greatness, this week’s One for Fun is a headline contest.

April 15 Update: In the spirit of Tax Day (in the U.S.) the entry deadline has been extended to April 18.

The rules:

  • Entries must be posted in comments by April 16 April 18, 9 p.m. Pacific Time.
  • Write one headline per story. (Hit Ricochet with your best shot.)
  • Entries with fewer (or more) than three headlines will be disqualified.
  • Headlines must make sense on their own — no relying on a dek/drophed/subhed for additional context. If you’re having trouble visualizing why, look at this.
  • Headlines must be no more than 60 characters long. (Use this to check your character count.)
  • The usual standards of news-appropriate language apply. No obscenities.
  • One entry per person.

The instructions:

  • Post your entry in comments and include your email. I need a way to contact you if you win.
  • Use the format:
    1. (headline)
    2. (headline)
    3. (headline)

The judging: Entries will be evaluated on appropriateness, understandability, keywordiness and clickability (interesting beats boring). Additional details on how judging will be conducted TBA.

The prize: A $25 gift certificate for Threadless, ’cause who doesn’t want a really cool T-shirt?

The stories:

  1. Several conservative groups, including the American Family Association, are asking Marriott International Inc. to stop giving hotel guests the option of ordering pay-per-view movies with strong sexual content. (full text)

  2. Six Maasai warriors in London for Sunday’s marathon saw the city from 450 feet yesterday and could not resist the chance to show their appreciation with a song. (full text)

  3. If you have recently seen a petite woman, 162 centimetres tall and 50 kilograms, trying to pile on the pounds by pulling a makeshift sled of tyres across the soft sands of Sydney’s beaches, you have probably met Flip Byrnes, great-granddaughter of Frank Hurley, the legendary Antarctic photographer. (full text)

Good luck to all entrants!

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Categories General Journalism, One For Fun

L.A. Times’ Audacity of Hope

April 11, 2008 //
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Senior editors at the Los Angeles Times met earlier this week to decide in three days what three years will hold in store.

Kevin Roderick at L.A. Observed posted an email from Editor in Chief Russ Stanton that outlines the roadmap cooked up during the conference.

Though the proof will be in the execution, it looks like the Times is laying the right path for becoming a new kind of media organization. The question, of course, is will these changes bring in badly needed revenue?

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Categories General Journalism, Making Money
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