DISQUS

And you thought press conferences were slow *now.*

PS: The guy in the middle looks like what Jeff Jarvis will look like in about 15 years.

Carol: Why is it we need to choose? We have all of the above.

Diane Ackerman also said "When we think of the sky, we tend to look up, but the sky actually begins at the earth."

Reporting doesn't start at the top - it starts with the earth, the basics, the roots of the tree. The concept of "Good Enough" isn't that "And so you'll never get better," it's that "We brought you this level of information at this speed with these resources." The marvelous thing about the Web is the number of choices.

We used to have a commenter on LR always run down debates (not that you're doing that) on Internet video, saying "I'd rather watch 1080p HD video on my 60 inch plasma, thank you very much." Finally, one commenter wisely observed "We can't all afford a 60 inch plasma."

Not all news organizations can be the 60 inch plasmas of journalism. But not all news events are Hi-Definition. Some are low, and reporting on their "start at the earth" is perfectly valid.

Good Debate.

That looks like one of those "you all have 3 minutes to clear out your desk" announcements.

DeRushaaaaaa!!!! (Said as Kirk to Khan, cursing his name...)

Yes, bad idea. On the other hand, if I could get 16% of a market to pay for anything, that's not necessarily a bad number. Don't support it, but a higher number than I would have guessed.

Stunning. And I bet the Federal Gov't follows with some similar subsidy. Using our money to prop up failing businesses is the American way.

You really should stop doing work on Next Door Media and spend your remaining money on lawyers and lobbyists.

Good luck with the new format. As with all changes, there will be plenty who voice their opposition. But they probably don't know the history is rife with change - from newsletter to site to (was it 3 blogging platforms) blog, and now on to this. I fail to understand those who criticize this always free, always prescient site, but LR preaches change and must live up to that mission.

If anything, this will add new and interesting value to the conversation of news. I hope to be worthy of the occasional mention.

This is an excellent point. Further, there has been crap that has been quite surprisingly let through. If anything, the iApp police are being lenient. There is a reason PCs have a long and sordid history of hanging up and crashing - there is no central command for the software. Apple is doing quality control. Now, I disagree with some of their policies (No Skype), but they cut the deals they have to. DISCLOSURE: I am an insane Machead who would buy a tin monkey from Apple if Steve Jobs told me it "changed everything."

A. I'm Jewish.
B. I have found this to be one of the funniest memes the Web has yet to produce.
C. It is precisely because of its absurdity and tastelessness that makes it so.

Well, here we have the interesting question of "what's a blog?" followed by the more interesting "does it really matter, anyway?" PC is a blog, insofar as it constantly updates itself in the blog format, invites comments, has trackbacks and other features bloggy. So I don't see arguing that it's not a blog, simply because it lacks opinion.

However, I think the more interesting debate is "What's a blog?" and "What does it matter?" PC uses the blog format... to deliver news. Unlike most blogs, it doesn't use news as a starting point for discussion. More news websites should be like this - they should feature a constant river of information as it happens, rather than waiting to post a finished product.

It's my guess that MSM will adopt blog style more and more.

Good one, Matthew.

It really smacks of trying to have it both ways. If you're gonna pull a prank, say "Hey, we pulled a prank. Deal with it. Discuss." I'd respect that, even if I didn't think the prank was funny, which is subjective and can be argued to death.

It's bad logic to argue you are "A" because at least you didn't do "B." So? Argue "A" on its own merits.

The way to prove you're not "in bed" with companies is to report on them fairly, question their products and review their work in an unbiased manner. Agreed that these things can be a wank - but what's the message? Gizmodo is at least a wee bit guilty of biting the hand that feeds it. Agreed?

In any case, I certainly wouldn't give you s**t for bringing it up in the first place. Do people not understand basic reporting?

Chris - thanks!

I just finished writing Cory a note about how I think this may be my favorite posting ever. Not because my daughter wrote it - but because of the reaction.

A 10-year-old writes an open letter to Fox. She makes her points, IMHO, reasonably well. AND STRANGERS DEFEND FOX AGAINST HER! To wit:

"The bigger picture wasn’t there."

(Touche!)

"You have failed to see how the ratings system actually works..."

(Putting her in the company of every TV executive in America.)

"A 10-year-old understand the economics of television, and the cost of skipping commercials? Ratings?"

(Yes, when her Dad has had his salary paid by those numbers and she has grown up hearing him rant about them. Of course.)

"Can your daughter 1) Name any of the commercials aired in AI, and 2) Ask herself if any of them realistically apply to her demographic?"

(Uh, no. Can you? I know she downloads songs from the shows and ringtones, though.)

I'm in agreement with you. This is an astonishingly wonderful thread because it reveals more about old-school TV ad thinking than a hundred of my LR posts ever could.

Thanks for the shoutout. I agree, the "limited ambition" wording could be more clear.

But here's my interpretation: stations still look at the web as a necessary evil. They reluctantly have a website, but few have a web business. They have a brand-extension site, but nobody wants to innovate.

So, there's no investing going on for the web.

At the same time, there is a lot of "woe is me"-ing going on. Why won't people watch us? We're the #1 Doppler! Local TV is now truly trapped in magic thinking.

The limited ambition comes when you do something because you have to, not because you want to and you're passionate about doing so. As for "diminished capacity" - I don't but it. There is plenty of money spent in newsrooms. What they need to do - now - is reallocate resources and become 24/7 news and information operations instead of 1/2 hour news sausage factories.

The funny thing is that nobody really doubts this anymore. It's that - as is the classic dilemma of local news - nobody wants to be different.

That's how I read it. You?

We're honored to be on your list. Thanks, Bob!

The Lost Remote Guys

Thanks for the kind words and the link! Keep commenting at LR. Happy New Year.