Quotable: May 2008 Archives

This Old House,a Time Inc. magazine, is changing the name of its June issue to "Your Old House," because it will consist entirely of user-submitted content. Time magazine managing editor Richard Stengel says that:

the future of journalists is "to be more curators and less creators."

(via I Want Media and The Power of Interactive Magazines)

Meet Norman Naysayer ... wait, you know each other?

Quotes that reveal you're dealing with a "Norman"

For as it is written, the last shall be first and the geek shall inherit the earth.

-- David Brooks in The New York Times.

(via Rex Hammock)

Charles Warner, who teaches at The New School in New York, and is the Goldenson Chair Emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, has an explanation at his Media Curmudgeon blog of Hillary Clinton's wins in West Virginia and Kentucky:  

I can't imagine the folks in Appalachia grooving to iWilli's "Yes We Can" video. They are probably watching re-runs of "I Love Lucy" on TV sets with rabbit-ear antennae and listening to "The Grand Ole Opry" on Saturday nights on WSM-AM radio - the king of Appalachia media.

And they more than likely won't watch Obama's inauguration speech, which is sure to be a humdinger. But I can imagine that the majority of Obama's ardent young, post-racial, post-Appalachia supporters watching their president's inauguration address on their computers - the media of choice of a new, young, educated generation -- not the media of choice in Appalachia.

If the moonshine wears off and I can find my shoes, I might respond. Better yet, I extend an invitation to Mr. Warner to visit Knoxville and Appalachia.

Photo: Mountaineers and farmers trading mules and horses on "Jockey St.," near the Court House, Campton, Wolfe County, Ky. (Library of Congress photo taken by Marion Post Wolcott in 1940.)

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Craig Newmark is one of those people gutsy enough to "wing it" as a major college commencement speaker.

From the coverage I've read of his "change the world" speech to UC Berkeley graduates on Tuesday, he passed on at least one big idea, which likely will be ignored by most of the graduates, and several rules to live by that, while not novel, are worthy goals for people of any stage of life.

The big idea:

"It's the boring stuff, the stuff we take for granted, that's actually the important stuff."

He's been quoted as saying he's "all about boring" and I think I get what he means, but I'd love to see him blog on "in praise of boring."

The rules to live by:

"Live and let live."

"Treat people like you want to be treated."

"Give the other person a break now and then."

"Include everybody."

"Guys you are not as funny as you think you are."

"Articulate what your company or non profit is about in 45 seconds."

"Focus on the things that can be done."

Homilies maybe, but not bad.

See his thoughts (he posted some photos, too) and more coverage here and here. Of course, a few didn't get it.

Photo from UC Berkeley News Center.

Surely in an era of desperation and experimentation, the wacky idea of actually respecting your audience has to be worth a try by someone.

-- Aaron Swartz in "How to Fix News"

The three things he found that engaged him about a news story are pretty good tests, I think, for excellence in journalism.

Barry Diller on media consolidation:

"The conglomerates are like the Rothschilds funding both sides in the Napoleonic wars, They are on both sides of virtually every transaction."

-- Forbes "Landscape of Giants," May 8, 2008