Speakers affirm editors'
truth-telling role
By Melissa Deming
HORSESHOE BAY, Texas (BP)--Baptist editors were urged to remain faithful to their calling as truth-tellers for Southern Baptists during the Association of State Baptist Papers annual meeting Feb. 10-13 in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.
Keynote speaker and founder of WORLD magazine, Joel Belz, also called on the editors not to abandon print media, but instead to infuse their work with a Christian worldview.
"Now when we live in a time when the printed page is called an endangered species, I want to say to you don't believe it," said Belz, who writes a weekly column for WORLD and is co-author of "Whirled Views," a collection of columns with the magazine's editor-in-chief, Marvin Olasky. "It is still a powerful, powerful tool once you learn to make it useful."
WORLD magazine's roots draw from the Presbyterian Journal, a North Carolina newspaper founded by Nelson Bell, the father-in-law of Billy Graham, and God's World, a weekly series for children that is still published today. Although WORLD faced a rocky start, the "senior version" of the kids magazine recently surpassed the circulation of Christianity Today.
But even with a strong subscription list, Belz said he still has difficulty finding qualified writers to evaluate movies, books, music and art for the magazine's review section. He eventually developed three criteria: Reporters must "see" accurately what is going on in any piece of art; they must report with interest what they have seen; and they must write from a shepherd's heart.
Belz said came to realize that those qualifications applied to the entire magazine, whether covering the federal stimulus bill or international issues.
"The basic premise of WORLD is from 1 John 1:3, which states, 'What we have seen and heard we declare to you.' We are not there to simply warm over other people's reports. [We] ask questions and see it for ourselves," Belz said, adding that the magazine recently sent a reporter to Baghdad for a week. "I'm not sure how many of you have done reporting in other countries. I like to be where I am safe, but if I am safe, will I see what's true?"
The tension between reporting from a position of safety and truly engaging the truth of a story is felt by every reporter, Belz said. The tension also can be seen in a church setting as editors seek to discern issues in a local church, region or denomination.
The call to be a truth-teller also applies to a believer's personal walk with God, Belz said.
"It is incumbent on you as a disciple of Jesus to work harder and harder to see the world the way He sees it. That is what Christian worldview thinking is -- you see the world the way God sees it," Belz said. "That is your task, not just as an editor, publisher or church person, but as a disciple of Jesus to see the world in crisper and crisper terms the way God sees it. And then to bear witness to what you've seen...."
In the same way a reporter tries to draw a reader into a story, Belz said believers should seek to draw the lost into the Gospel message.
"You don't want to be Jesus' witness with boring language -- you want to put it in sparkling terms [to those] who may have never heard."
The meeting of Baptist state paper editors, hosted by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the State Convention Executive Directors.
During the editors' sessions, representatives from several SBC entities relayed updates, including North American Mission Board President Geoff Hammond, who spoke about the SBC's unfolding National Evangelism Initiative, also known as God's Plan for Sharing, or GPS.
At the invitation of Gary Ledbetter, president of the Association of State Baptist Papers and editor of the Southern Baptist TEXAN, two SBC entities gave reports to the editors for the first time in decades: the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, represented by Barrett Duke from the Washington, D.C., office; and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, with President Paige Patterson responding to editors' questions on the record.
Patterson, fielding editors' questions over lunch, made a plea for local churches to recover their Baptist identity, believing it to be an impending crisis in the Southern Baptist Convention already evident in various congregations dropping "Baptist" from their names.
"With the postmodern ethos in the country, it is no longer good to be anything.... And more and more churches are dropping the Baptist name saying, 'If we call ourselves Baptist, they won't like us now,'" Patterson mused. "It is manifestly a mistake to me because I happen to believe if you can find four Baptist churches on four corners of the same two cross streets and if you pray like you ought to pray, witness like you ought to witness and faithfully proclaim the Word of God, all four churches will grow."
While dropping the Baptist name might not impact churches today, Patterson voiced concern about Baptist churches of tomorrow.
The Baptist identity crisis also will manifest itself in a declining number of pastors, particularly for smaller churches, produced by Southern Baptists' six seminaries, Patterson said.
"As pastors begin to retire and all us old cats die off, beware of what is happening," Patterson said. "We have so emphasized church planting -- and we've been pretty successful with that -- that what we don't have in our seminaries are people who are interested in going into FBC Navasota, Texas, or wherever it may be and see that those too are God's sheep and that they need a pastor also."
Ledbetter, in his president's address, urged editors to remain steadfast to their calling of "proclamation ministry" in the face of rising postal rates, decreased advertising and the assertion that print is a dead medium.
"We have a lot to distract us," Ledbetter said, encouraging editors to return to their primary task of building up the body of Christ and supporting the Gospel work of the churches. "The content of our paper is of primary importance. It is our ministry message -- our prioritizing of news and opinion according to God's leadership."
Ledbetter, who also served as editor of the Indiana Baptist newspaper from 1989-95, urged editors to act as "informed observers," giving context and perspective to denominational action.
"I'm also convinced our convention and our various conventions need us," Ledbetter said. "The tendency of bureaucracies to lose their edge and devalue accountability is quite apart from their theology and regardless of their motives. If we are vigorous in our work and genuinely curious about the people who lead and serve us, we can be a benefit to the cooperative work of Southern Baptists."
Both in reporting good news and holding SBC entities accountable, Ledbetter said state Baptist papers should be a positive service to the local church.
"Our work of encouragement is much larger than just looking for good news, although that's a vital part of it. We can't do that vital ministry if we are merely dissident. The work of our papers, newsletters and magazines will be of no use if we treat our leaders and institutions as prejudged adversaries. We've gone through that phase and it harmed our ministries and that of the Southern Baptist Convention.
"Neither are we of positive service if we treat our leaders and institutions as if they are there to exalt us or even hire us. That careerist track presupposes that men place us in our roles rather than God," Ledbetter said. "Our first commitment is not to our rabbis, and we all have them, nor to the First Amendment. Our first commitment is to God's Kingdom and righteousness."
Although disagreement with institutional leaders is inevitable, Ledbetter said, "I'm convinced, though, that we should be, and mostly are, on the same side -- even with our distinctive viewpoints."
In addition to guest speakers, a Thursday night joint session of state executive directors and editors provided an overview of SBTC ministry, particularly in the areas of missions and church planting. Michael Lewis, pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, reviewed the core values of the newest convention in the SBC.
"SBTC founders determined that the convention would be biblically based," Lewis said, noting that affiliated churches express agreement with the SBTC's statement of faith and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 but are not required to sign either document.
Noting that the SBTC is Kingdom-focused, Lewis said, "Missions and evangelism were prioritized in budgeting and staffing priorities." He noted that the convention uses volunteers, paid consultants and a network of skilled specialists to keep its paid staff small in number.
"Through a vital partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention, the state convention maximizes its own ministry effectiveness," Lewis said. "Through the traditional Cooperative Program, the SBTC truly touches the entire world from Texas. Currently, the SBTC gives 55 percent of undesignated receipts to the SBC allocation budget."
Lewis also recapped several new SBTC missions initiatives, including a missionary/planter program, which recruits and trains missionaries to ethnolinguistic people groups in Texas, and The Ezekiel Project, a ministry that assists pastors of declining churches in implementing a strategy for spiritual renewal and revitalization. Due to the increase in Hispanic population in Texas, Lewis said the SBTC also has begun to launch parallel tracks to major events in Spanish, including retreats and conferences.
In other business, Ledbetter passed the gavel to Bob Simpson, editor of the Maryland-Delaware Baptist Life, as the next president of the editors' association. Illinois Baptist editor Martin King was named president-elect.
--30--
Melissa Deming is a correspondent for the Southern Baptist TEXAN, newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Denver Newspaper Closing
The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last paper tomorrow.
Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Rocky-owner Scripps, broke the news to the staff at noon today, ending nearly three months of speculation over the paper's future.
"People are in grief," Editor John Temple said a noon news conference.
But he was intent on making sure the Rocky's final edition, which would include a 52-page wraparound section, was as special as the paper itself.
"This is our last shot at this," Temple said at a second afternoon gathering at the newsroom. "This morning (someone) said it's like playing music at your own funeral. It's an opportunity to make really sweet sounds or blow it. I'd like to go out really proud."
Boehne told staffers that the Rocky was the victim of a terrible economy and an upheaval in the newspaper industry.
"Denver can't support two newspapers any longer," Boehne told staffers, some of whom cried at the news. "It's certainly not good news for you, and it's certainly not good news for Denver."
To read the rest of the article, click here.
The American Publishing Model is DEAD
From MrMagazine.com:
Once again the American publishing model proves to be DEAD… A new center for innovation to be born soon
What is wrong with this picture? Earlier this month I received the following press release from the folks at Hallmark magazine:
Hallmark Magazine’s February/March ’09 issue, on newsstands beginning today, is up 53% in paging and 37% in revenue when compared with the same 2008 issue. Those numbers are not typos. In this economy, when many publishers are managing layoffs, cutbacks and advertising discounts, Hallmark Magazine’s Carol Campbell Boggs continues to leverage the power of the Hallmark halo to tremendous effect.
New advertisers in the February/March issue include: Pfizer, Sony, Novartis and PBS with new business from P&G, GSK and Hormel. The issue also represents the first with the rate base increase to 800,000 — a 100% increase since the magazine’s fall 2006 launch. This sustained growth is certainly cause for celebration within Hallmark; it’s also a marked success in the publishing industry during a time of major transition.
And, as indicated in the 2008 year-end PIB report, Hallmark Magazine is one of the few to finish the year ahead – and one of only a handful of magazines enjoying double-digit growth!
Today I received the news that Hallmark magazine is no longer going to be published. Folio magazine quoted Hallmark president and CEO Donald J. Hall Jr., saying that
“the decision to stop publishing the magazine was reached after a “comprehensive analysis” of the overall magazine industry.
“Despite favorable consumer acceptance of the publication, we cannot justify continued investment in the magazine at a time when we must focus our efforts and resources only on those projects that will lead to long-term profitable revenue growth for the company,” he said.
The magazine’s 28 employees have been laid off, the company said. In addition, 10 Kansas City, Missouri-based positions in the company’s creative division will be eliminated.
How on earth can you justify a magazine that is growing both in advertising and circulation is being shuttered? Very simple, it means that the magazine was not making any money from circulation and at the same time it brings to question the revenues coming from advertising. Is it heavy discounts or give-a-ways? Who knows?
One thing I know for sure is that the American publishing model is DEAD. It is time to reinvent the publishing model. It is time to charge the readers the price of the magazines. It is time for innovation in print and in the American publishing model. Stop giving away your pages and your content on a silver platter with no real price.
Now is the time for change. A change that will not take us from print to the web, but rather a change that will create a new publishing model incorporating both print and the web. A model that uses content and the concept of selling content as its basic corner stone. We MUST stopping giving our content and our pages for free or close to free.
It is a shame (I can’t think of any other word) when a successful (or so we were told a few weeks ago) magazine like Hallmark is forced to shut down. We need to search for a cure for the ills of our industry. Every venue is sick. An over the counter medicine is not going to be enough. Our illnesses are grave, but they are not terminal if we innovate.
We have to invent new medicines to cure the ills of our industry, all venues of our industry. The publishing model, the distribution model, the pricing model and the staffing model. We have to innovate and to create new ways of doing publishing. If we claim to be creative people (journalists, marketers, analysts, designers) now is the time to put our money where our mouth is.
San Francisco Paper Might Close or Sell
Hearst Could Close or Sell S.F. Paper
Feb 25, 2009
-By Mark Fitzgerald, Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK The San Francisco Chronicle will be sold or closed unless major cost-cutting measures -- including an unspecified "significant reduction in the number of unionized and non-union employees" -- can be realized within weeks, parent company Hearst Corp. said Tuesday evening.
"If these savings cannot be accomplished within weeks ... the company will be forced to sell or close the newspaper," Hearst said in a statement. The company claims the Chronicle lost more than $50 million last year, "and that this year's losses to date are worse." The paper has had "major losses" each year since 2001, the company added.
"Because of the sea change newspapers everywhere are undergoing and these dire economic times, it is essential that our management and the local union leadership work together to implement the changes necessary to bring the cost of producing the Chronicle into line with available revenue," said a joint prepared statement by Frank Bennack, Jr., vice chairman and chief executive officer of Hearst Corp. and Steven Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers.
Hearst said it cannot wait long to implement the cuts at the 144-year-old paper. "Survival is the outcome we all want to achieve," the executives noted. "But without the specific changes we are seeking across the entire Chronicle organization, we will have no choice but to quickly seek a buyer for the Chronicle or, should a buyer not be found, to shut the newspaper down."
Several other big metro dailies are also up for sale, including the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and the San Diego Union-Tribune. As media companies have struggled through the rough economy, newspapers have fared worst of all.
Feb 25, 2009
-By Mark Fitzgerald, Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK The San Francisco Chronicle will be sold or closed unless major cost-cutting measures -- including an unspecified "significant reduction in the number of unionized and non-union employees" -- can be realized within weeks, parent company Hearst Corp. said Tuesday evening.
"If these savings cannot be accomplished within weeks ... the company will be forced to sell or close the newspaper," Hearst said in a statement. The company claims the Chronicle lost more than $50 million last year, "and that this year's losses to date are worse." The paper has had "major losses" each year since 2001, the company added.
"Because of the sea change newspapers everywhere are undergoing and these dire economic times, it is essential that our management and the local union leadership work together to implement the changes necessary to bring the cost of producing the Chronicle into line with available revenue," said a joint prepared statement by Frank Bennack, Jr., vice chairman and chief executive officer of Hearst Corp. and Steven Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers.
Hearst said it cannot wait long to implement the cuts at the 144-year-old paper. "Survival is the outcome we all want to achieve," the executives noted. "But without the specific changes we are seeking across the entire Chronicle organization, we will have no choice but to quickly seek a buyer for the Chronicle or, should a buyer not be found, to shut the newspaper down."
Several other big metro dailies are also up for sale, including the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and the San Diego Union-Tribune. As media companies have struggled through the rough economy, newspapers have fared worst of all.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Another Newspaper Bankruptcy Filing
Journal Register Co. Files for Bankruptcy
The Journal Register Co. has followed Tribune Co. into bankruptcy. Journal Register, which owns 20 daily newspapers, is facing challenges including “increased competition from other forms of media and slumping advertising revenues,” said CEO James Hall in court papers.
The company’s revenue has dropped by more than 20% since 2006, Hall said (via the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Since 2007, the company has been cutting costs by reducing staff, eliminating management bonuses and extras like country club memberships.
The Journal Register Co. also owns 159 non-daily newspapers. It employs about 3,500 people.
The publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer has also filed for bankruptcy.
The Journal Register Co. has followed Tribune Co. into bankruptcy. Journal Register, which owns 20 daily newspapers, is facing challenges including “increased competition from other forms of media and slumping advertising revenues,” said CEO James Hall in court papers.
The company’s revenue has dropped by more than 20% since 2006, Hall said (via the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Since 2007, the company has been cutting costs by reducing staff, eliminating management bonuses and extras like country club memberships.
The Journal Register Co. also owns 159 non-daily newspapers. It employs about 3,500 people.
The publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer has also filed for bankruptcy.
Wanda Brunstetter to Have Indiana Signings
Bestselling Amish Fiction Author Wanda E. Brunstetter to Begin Indiana Book Signing Tour
UHRICHSVILLE, OH—Bestselling Amish fiction author Wanda E. Brunstetter will start an Indiana book signing tour in early March that will include several stops in Indiana’s Amish Country. Brunstetter will appear at Yoder’s Hardware (Shipshewana) on March 4, Forks County Line Store (Topeka) on March 5, E & S Sales (Shipshewana) on March 6, Das Dutchman Essenhaus Restaurant (Middlebury) and Family Christian Stores in Concord Mall (Elkhart) on March 7, Amish Acres Restaurant Barn (Nappanee) on March 8, and J. Farvers in Yoder’s Red Barn Shoppes on March 9.
Brunstetter will be on hand to mingle with customers and sign copies of all her books, including her newest releases The Wisdom of Solomon, her children’s Amish storybook, and A Cousin’s Promise, book one in her Indiana Cousins series.
Wanda E. Brunstetter is nationally recognized as an expert on the Amish community, and her book sales have topped the three million mark. Her books White Christmas Pie, A Sister’s Hope, and Allison’s Journey topped Publishers Weekly Paperback Religion Bestsellers lists in 2008.
Her books have also received other honors, including the 2006 Reader’s Choice Award and the CBD Book of the Week. Brunstetter enjoys an uncommon kinship with the Amish and loves to visit their communities throughout the country.
Brunstetter enjoys writing about the Amish because they live a peaceful, simple life—something she says we all need in this day and age. Using the knowledge her Amish friends have shared with her, Wanda has also produced several children’s titles in the Rachel Yoder—Always Trouble Somewhere series, an Amish cookbook, and a devotional collection entitled The Simple Life, which celebrates the virtues of the Amish way of life.
Wanda and her husband are members of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. Wanda is also a member of the North American Association of Ventriloquists, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Northwest Christian Writers Association.
In A Cousin’s Promise, Brunstetter’s March fiction release, a tragic accident and an old beau complicate the lives of two young lovers in Indiana Amish country. Brunstetter’s new children’s Amish storybook, The Wisdom of Solomon, is filled with colorful illustrations by Phil A. Smouse and finds Amish boy Solomon Lapp and his friends tumbling into mud puddles and mischief in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Get copies of A Cousin’s Promise and The Wisdom of Solomon and meet author Wanda E. Brunstetter during her Indiana book signing tour. See the list below for times and full contact information for each book signing.
WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER INDIANA BOOK SIGNINGS
Wednesday, March 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Yoder’s Hardware
300 B. South Van Buren Street
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Thursday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Forks County Line Store
126 N. Main Street
Topeka, IN 46571
Friday, March 6 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
E & S Sales
1265 N. SR 5
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Saturday, March 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Das Dutchman Essenhaus Restaurant
240 US Hwy 20
Middlebury, IN 46540
Saturday, March 7 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
Concord Mall
3701 S. Main St
Elkhart, IN 46517
Sunday, March 8 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Amish Acres Restaurant Barn
1600 West Market Street
Nappanee, IN 46550
Monday, March 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
J. Farvers
Yoder’s Red Barn Shoppes
455 S. Van Buren St.
Shipshewana, IN 46565
UHRICHSVILLE, OH—Bestselling Amish fiction author Wanda E. Brunstetter will start an Indiana book signing tour in early March that will include several stops in Indiana’s Amish Country. Brunstetter will appear at Yoder’s Hardware (Shipshewana) on March 4, Forks County Line Store (Topeka) on March 5, E & S Sales (Shipshewana) on March 6, Das Dutchman Essenhaus Restaurant (Middlebury) and Family Christian Stores in Concord Mall (Elkhart) on March 7, Amish Acres Restaurant Barn (Nappanee) on March 8, and J. Farvers in Yoder’s Red Barn Shoppes on March 9.
Brunstetter will be on hand to mingle with customers and sign copies of all her books, including her newest releases The Wisdom of Solomon, her children’s Amish storybook, and A Cousin’s Promise, book one in her Indiana Cousins series.
Wanda E. Brunstetter is nationally recognized as an expert on the Amish community, and her book sales have topped the three million mark. Her books White Christmas Pie, A Sister’s Hope, and Allison’s Journey topped Publishers Weekly Paperback Religion Bestsellers lists in 2008.
Her books have also received other honors, including the 2006 Reader’s Choice Award and the CBD Book of the Week. Brunstetter enjoys an uncommon kinship with the Amish and loves to visit their communities throughout the country.
Brunstetter enjoys writing about the Amish because they live a peaceful, simple life—something she says we all need in this day and age. Using the knowledge her Amish friends have shared with her, Wanda has also produced several children’s titles in the Rachel Yoder—Always Trouble Somewhere series, an Amish cookbook, and a devotional collection entitled The Simple Life, which celebrates the virtues of the Amish way of life.
Wanda and her husband are members of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. Wanda is also a member of the North American Association of Ventriloquists, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Northwest Christian Writers Association.
In A Cousin’s Promise, Brunstetter’s March fiction release, a tragic accident and an old beau complicate the lives of two young lovers in Indiana Amish country. Brunstetter’s new children’s Amish storybook, The Wisdom of Solomon, is filled with colorful illustrations by Phil A. Smouse and finds Amish boy Solomon Lapp and his friends tumbling into mud puddles and mischief in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Get copies of A Cousin’s Promise and The Wisdom of Solomon and meet author Wanda E. Brunstetter during her Indiana book signing tour. See the list below for times and full contact information for each book signing.
WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER INDIANA BOOK SIGNINGS
Wednesday, March 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Yoder’s Hardware
300 B. South Van Buren Street
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Thursday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Forks County Line Store
126 N. Main Street
Topeka, IN 46571
Friday, March 6 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
E & S Sales
1265 N. SR 5
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Saturday, March 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Das Dutchman Essenhaus Restaurant
240 US Hwy 20
Middlebury, IN 46540
Saturday, March 7 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
Concord Mall
3701 S. Main St
Elkhart, IN 46517
Sunday, March 8 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Amish Acres Restaurant Barn
1600 West Market Street
Nappanee, IN 46550
Monday, March 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
J. Farvers
Yoder’s Red Barn Shoppes
455 S. Van Buren St.
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Newspapers in Asia Are Doing Fine
This is an excerpt. To read the entire article, click here.
There's a motorcycle-taxi stand near my home in Bangkok, and many of the drivers' hands are dirty. Not from urban grime or motor oil, but from newsprint. Fueled by a growing literacy rate and press reforms in some parts of the continent, Asia is enjoying what may be the world's last great newspaper boom.
Eight of the world's 10 biggest paid-for daily newspapers are printed in Asia, according to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). The largest national newspaper markets? China, India and Japan. (The U.S. is a distant fourth.)
Even as Europeans and North Americans abandon their paid subscriptions — newspaper circulation contracted by 1.84% and 2.14% respectively in 2006-07, according to WAN's most recent figures — Asia's grew by 4.74%. In India alone, 11.5 million new newspaper readers were added in 2008, and ad growth is chugging along at around 10% —less robust than over the past two years but still remarkably strong.
"Many people can't enjoy their morning cup of tea without their newspaper," says Rahul Kansal, chief marketing officer for the Times of India, the world's most read English-language broadsheet and a major player among a whopping 64,998 newspapers registered across India.
There's a motorcycle-taxi stand near my home in Bangkok, and many of the drivers' hands are dirty. Not from urban grime or motor oil, but from newsprint. Fueled by a growing literacy rate and press reforms in some parts of the continent, Asia is enjoying what may be the world's last great newspaper boom.
Eight of the world's 10 biggest paid-for daily newspapers are printed in Asia, according to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). The largest national newspaper markets? China, India and Japan. (The U.S. is a distant fourth.)
Even as Europeans and North Americans abandon their paid subscriptions — newspaper circulation contracted by 1.84% and 2.14% respectively in 2006-07, according to WAN's most recent figures — Asia's grew by 4.74%. In India alone, 11.5 million new newspaper readers were added in 2008, and ad growth is chugging along at around 10% —less robust than over the past two years but still remarkably strong.
"Many people can't enjoy their morning cup of tea without their newspaper," says Rahul Kansal, chief marketing officer for the Times of India, the world's most read English-language broadsheet and a major player among a whopping 64,998 newspapers registered across India.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Newspapers May Have a Future After All
Here's an excerpt. To read the entire article, click here.
Buyers: Newspapers
have years to go
For all their troubles, media people see a future
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 17, 2009
The latest forecast for America's newspapers would suggest that extinction is not too far off. UBS figures newspaper revenues will be down 12.2 percent when the final figures are in for 2008 and tumble another 17.6 percent this year.
Already, a number of papers around the country have cut circulation, or frequency, or both, and others have gone online only, scrapping their print editions entirely.
More of that is widely expected to occur this year as the ad recession deepens.
Yet media planners and buyers don't see print newspapers disappearing, certainly not anytime soon, and they're fairly upbeat about the changes papers could introduce to stem at least some of the declines.
That's the take-away from a recent reader survey on Media Life.
Asked to say how many years before newspapers went totally online, the largest share of respondents, 32 percent, said never.
The next-largest share, 19 percent, thought five years, and the next-largest share after that, 16 percent, thought 10 years.
Readers were then asked to identify the big trend among newspapers and were told they could choose more than one answers.
More than half, 56 percent, agreed with this statement: "Beefing up online operations and phasing out print over time."
Buyers: Newspapers
have years to go
For all their troubles, media people see a future
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 17, 2009
The latest forecast for America's newspapers would suggest that extinction is not too far off. UBS figures newspaper revenues will be down 12.2 percent when the final figures are in for 2008 and tumble another 17.6 percent this year.
Already, a number of papers around the country have cut circulation, or frequency, or both, and others have gone online only, scrapping their print editions entirely.
More of that is widely expected to occur this year as the ad recession deepens.
Yet media planners and buyers don't see print newspapers disappearing, certainly not anytime soon, and they're fairly upbeat about the changes papers could introduce to stem at least some of the declines.
That's the take-away from a recent reader survey on Media Life.
Asked to say how many years before newspapers went totally online, the largest share of respondents, 32 percent, said never.
The next-largest share, 19 percent, thought five years, and the next-largest share after that, 16 percent, thought 10 years.
Readers were then asked to identify the big trend among newspapers and were told they could choose more than one answers.
More than half, 56 percent, agreed with this statement: "Beefing up online operations and phasing out print over time."
New York Times Launches 'Skimmable' Feature
NY Times.com to Launch ‘Skimmable’ Feature
The New York Times has announced the upcoming launch of a new feature, one that aims to mimic - online - the enjoyment of spreading the Sunday Times out over the dining room table and skimming it while eating brunch.
Of course, the digital version of that act will come without “the crinkle of the paper, the circular stain of coffee, and the smell of newsprint,” quips the Times’s FirstLook website.
The feature, called Article Skimmer (see a working prototype here), will see headlines extended across a broad space. It will display as many stories as possible on the screen — like a “giant uncut scroll of paper” — making it easy to navigate through sections and articles with a mouse or keyboard shortcuts. Visually, it is also easier to skim, writes MarketingVOX.
And instead of displaying dates, older articles will gradually fade away, so readers can quickly identify the most recent material.
Financially, it’s been a tough year for the New York Times. Profits plummeted nearly 50% in the fourth quarter, and internet ad revenues for its online properties fell 20% from Nov. ‘07 to Nov. ‘08.
To boost ad revenue, the Times recently began selling ads on its front page, a move that several other papers across the country have adopted as newspaper advertising tanks across the board, plummeting to $8.92 billion in Q3 2008 - an 18% drop of nearly $2 billion from Q3 2007, and a 6.9% drop from Q2 2008 (chart), according to figures released by the Newspaper Association of America.
NY Times front page ads are said to be running at $75,000 for weekdays, $100,000 on weekends. The announcement on FirstLook does not address the subject of how advertising will be incorporated into Article Skimmer, if at all.
Last week media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who owns rival rag the Wall Street Journal, suggested the Times start charging an online subscription fee to compensate for lost revenues.
The New York Times has announced the upcoming launch of a new feature, one that aims to mimic - online - the enjoyment of spreading the Sunday Times out over the dining room table and skimming it while eating brunch.
Of course, the digital version of that act will come without “the crinkle of the paper, the circular stain of coffee, and the smell of newsprint,” quips the Times’s FirstLook website.
The feature, called Article Skimmer (see a working prototype here), will see headlines extended across a broad space. It will display as many stories as possible on the screen — like a “giant uncut scroll of paper” — making it easy to navigate through sections and articles with a mouse or keyboard shortcuts. Visually, it is also easier to skim, writes MarketingVOX.
And instead of displaying dates, older articles will gradually fade away, so readers can quickly identify the most recent material.
Financially, it’s been a tough year for the New York Times. Profits plummeted nearly 50% in the fourth quarter, and internet ad revenues for its online properties fell 20% from Nov. ‘07 to Nov. ‘08.
To boost ad revenue, the Times recently began selling ads on its front page, a move that several other papers across the country have adopted as newspaper advertising tanks across the board, plummeting to $8.92 billion in Q3 2008 - an 18% drop of nearly $2 billion from Q3 2007, and a 6.9% drop from Q2 2008 (chart), according to figures released by the Newspaper Association of America.
NY Times front page ads are said to be running at $75,000 for weekdays, $100,000 on weekends. The announcement on FirstLook does not address the subject of how advertising will be incorporated into Article Skimmer, if at all.
Last week media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who owns rival rag the Wall Street Journal, suggested the Times start charging an online subscription fee to compensate for lost revenues.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Buffalo Paper Staff Pulls All-Nighter on Crash
From Editor & Publisher:
'Buffalo News' Pulls All-Nighter on Plane Crash
By Joe Strupp
NEW YORK Deputy Managing Editor Stanley Evans of The Buffalo News had just had a nice dinner out with his wife and was heading for bed when the first call came to his house at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Newsroom staffers reported a plane had crashed, but likely a small engine model, something they could handle. "Fifteen minutes later, I got another call, it was a plane with 50 people dead," he recalls. That sent him out the door.
Working with dozens of staffers, some on overnight Web duty and others pulled in for the crash work, the paper reworked much of its front page to get the story in to today's editions. With photographer Harry Scull living in the same community where the plane crashed, photos were quick.
Evans and others then spent the rest of the night digging up stories, posting photos and videos and updating regularly. "We had much of our staff up all night," says Editor Margaret Sullivan, who joined them early this morning. "We are going at it pretty hot and heavy."
Sullivan estimated 50 to 75 staffers are on some aspect of the story. "We are using everyone, including our feature staff," she said. "Our art critic is on standby to do profiles." CNN cited updates from the News online reports, starting two hours after the crash.
Along with having Scull near the scene for early photos, a News reporter was the first to confirm the death of Beverly Eckert, the widow of a 9/11 victim, Sean Rooney. She was traveling to Buffalo to help commemorate his 50th birthday.
"She was very well known here," Evans said, noting Eckert's sister talked to the News reporter at the airport.
No extra edition is planned, but the crash will be the subject of a special section in Saturday's paper -- likely 10 to 12 pages. Sullivan said the feature section space will be used. "We are just throwing it away," she said of much of the feature content. But she said daily favorites such as comics and TV listings will remain. "We will find a place for that stuff."
The News has also become a center of coverage for numerous other papers, such as The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., where the doomed flight originated. That paper's Web site is linking to the News coverage.
Other editors are commending The Buffalo News for sharing a large number of photos with other papers through Associated Press.
"I have got to give The Buffalo News a lot of credit," said Karen Magnuson, editor of The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, located about an hour away. "They are sharing their photos and giving a lot of them to AP - a lot of good exclusives."
The News is also one of several sites that posted the tense audio recording of the air traffic controller communications with the plane. It's Web site is www.buffalonews.com
'Buffalo News' Pulls All-Nighter on Plane Crash
By Joe Strupp
NEW YORK Deputy Managing Editor Stanley Evans of The Buffalo News had just had a nice dinner out with his wife and was heading for bed when the first call came to his house at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Newsroom staffers reported a plane had crashed, but likely a small engine model, something they could handle. "Fifteen minutes later, I got another call, it was a plane with 50 people dead," he recalls. That sent him out the door.
Working with dozens of staffers, some on overnight Web duty and others pulled in for the crash work, the paper reworked much of its front page to get the story in to today's editions. With photographer Harry Scull living in the same community where the plane crashed, photos were quick.
Evans and others then spent the rest of the night digging up stories, posting photos and videos and updating regularly. "We had much of our staff up all night," says Editor Margaret Sullivan, who joined them early this morning. "We are going at it pretty hot and heavy."
Sullivan estimated 50 to 75 staffers are on some aspect of the story. "We are using everyone, including our feature staff," she said. "Our art critic is on standby to do profiles." CNN cited updates from the News online reports, starting two hours after the crash.
Along with having Scull near the scene for early photos, a News reporter was the first to confirm the death of Beverly Eckert, the widow of a 9/11 victim, Sean Rooney. She was traveling to Buffalo to help commemorate his 50th birthday.
"She was very well known here," Evans said, noting Eckert's sister talked to the News reporter at the airport.
No extra edition is planned, but the crash will be the subject of a special section in Saturday's paper -- likely 10 to 12 pages. Sullivan said the feature section space will be used. "We are just throwing it away," she said of much of the feature content. But she said daily favorites such as comics and TV listings will remain. "We will find a place for that stuff."
The News has also become a center of coverage for numerous other papers, such as The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., where the doomed flight originated. That paper's Web site is linking to the News coverage.
Other editors are commending The Buffalo News for sharing a large number of photos with other papers through Associated Press.
"I have got to give The Buffalo News a lot of credit," said Karen Magnuson, editor of The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, located about an hour away. "They are sharing their photos and giving a lot of them to AP - a lot of good exclusives."
The News is also one of several sites that posted the tense audio recording of the air traffic controller communications with the plane. It's Web site is www.buffalonews.com
Pres. Obama, There's Another Indiana
Here's an interesting take by columnist Cal Thomas. To read the entire article, click here.The other Indiana
OPINION: Had President Obama met with Gov. Mitch Daniels while in the Hoosier State, he would have seen a different economic picture Cal Thomas
When President Obama visited Elkhart, Ind., on Monday to flog his economic stimulus plan (aka more government spending), he saw a struggling town in the midst of a relatively prosperous state. Had he taken the time to visit Indianapolis and met with Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, he would have seen a different picture.
Indiana has a $1.3 billion surplus and a “rainy day fund” made up of contributions that come from a unique concept these days: government spending less than it receives from taxpayers, without raiding its cash reserves.
Among several things that troubled me about President Obama’s appearance in Elkhart and his news conference that night was the absence of any call for individual initiative to help get us out of our economic funk. The president and the congressional majority party appear to believe that when one gets a job, he should hold that job all his life and retire with a good pension.
Furthermore, that person should never be expected to move (migrate) in the pursuit of better opportunities—and the federal government must address anything that interferes with that scenario.
Opportunities remain in Indiana, despite the difficulties in Elkhart, for those with the vision and initiative to seize them. According to the governor’s office, since January 2005, 647 businesses have committed to creating 80,043 jobs and to investing $18.8 billion in their Indiana operations. In an online search of the Indianapolis Star newspaper on Tuesday, I found links to 2,398 jobs in or within a 30-mile radius of Indianapolis. There are even help wanted postings in the Elkhart newspaper.
Have we become so indolent, so used to others doing for us, that we have lost the initiative so many of our forebears had, initiative that built and sustained this country through much harder times than this? I suspect many of them would have gladly traded their real hard times for what we have now, which is prosperity squared compared to apple selling, dust bowls, and the shanties in which many of them lived.
AP Style Manuals
Pls don't forget to bring your AP Style Manuals to class this Monday evening, 16 February. If schedule allows, we will have a little open-book AP exercise to keep you sharp on AP style.
-tw
-tw
The Best City If You Love to Read Is . . .
The Best City If You Love to Read Is a tie between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington, which have been named the No. 1 U.S. cities for literacy, according to an annual ranking conducted this year by the Center for Public Policy and Social Research at Central Connecticut State University.
At the other end of the scale is El Paso, Texas which is the least literate U.S. city. El Paso isn't alone. Four Texas cities are in the bottom ten.
The ranking was based on local newspaper and magazine circulation, library data, online news readership, book purchases, Internet resources and educational achievement in cities with a population of 250,000 or more. The data for the 2008 analysis came from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Booksellers Association, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Yellow Pages and other sources.
Top 10 U.S. cities for literacy:
1. Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington (tied)
3. Washington, D.C.
4. St. Paul, Minnesota
5. San Francisco, California
6. Atlanta, Georgia
7. Denver, Colorado
8. Boston, Massachusetts
9. St. Louis, Missouri
10. Cincinnati, Ohio and Portland, Oregon (tied)
At the other end of the scale is El Paso, Texas which is the least literate U.S. city. El Paso isn't alone. Four Texas cities are in the bottom ten.
The ranking was based on local newspaper and magazine circulation, library data, online news readership, book purchases, Internet resources and educational achievement in cities with a population of 250,000 or more. The data for the 2008 analysis came from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Booksellers Association, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Yellow Pages and other sources.
Top 10 U.S. cities for literacy:
1. Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington (tied)
3. Washington, D.C.
4. St. Paul, Minnesota
5. San Francisco, California
6. Atlanta, Georgia
7. Denver, Colorado
8. Boston, Massachusetts
9. St. Louis, Missouri
10. Cincinnati, Ohio and Portland, Oregon (tied)
Friday, February 13, 2009
'Fireproof' Continues to Generate Heat
This is an excerpt. To see the entire article click here.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- You don't find many churches making theatrical films. You especially don't find many churches making films starring Kirk Cameron about a firefighter in a crumbling marriage addicted to online porn.
Kirk Cameron stars in "Fireproof," a film he was attracted to for its many themes, he said.
But that's the case for Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. In fact, the film, "Fireproof," was the church's third movie.
It was also an unexpected hit. In September it debuted at No. 4 at the box office, eventually bringing in $33.5 million and spawning two books: a novelization, also called "Fireproof," which is in The New York Times' best-seller list's Top 20; and a companion journal to the movie, "The Love Dare," which has sold more than 2 million copies.
Last week "Fireproof" debuted on DVD and climbed to No. 3 on Billboard's DVD chart, beating out "The Hulk" and "Saw V," among others.
"You don't often see movies made by churches do big numbers," said Billboard's Anthony Colombo. "Having [distributor] Sony behind it helps. Having Kirk Cameron helps, but for it to come out and do 136,000 pieces [DVDs] in its first week is pretty impressive."
"It should not be working," said Alex Kendrick, one of the pastors behind the film. "All I can say is we prayed for months and asked for it to honor God."
Kendrick said that Sherwood's pastors gathered for prayer two years ago and asked God to give them an idea for their next movie. They were just coming off making "Facing the Giants," a movie shot entirely in Albany on a $100,000 budget. It starred no professional actors -- just members of their church -- but made $10.2 million at the box office and sold 250,000 copies on DVD, launching the church into the national spotlight.
The church leaders lit upon the idea of troubled relationships. "Families and marriages are crumbing and we want to do something about it," said Kendrick, recalling the idea's genesis.
"God give us the idea. We had no clue what would happen with it."
World Press Top Photo of the Year Selected
AMSTERDAM - A U.S. photographer won the top prize in the World Press Photo competition Friday with an image of a police officer searching a debris-strewn home in Cleveland, Ohio to ensure evicted residents had left after a mortgage foreclosure.
Anthony Suau's winning photo for Time magazine shows the officer, handgun drawn, peering into an open doorway inside the house, which is filled with overturned furniture and boxes.
The image, shot on March 26, illustrates the economic crisis that began with the U.S. housing market and spread around the globe.
"The strength of the picture is in its opposites. It's a double entendre," said jury chairwoman MaryAnne Golon. "Now war in its classic sense is coming into people's houses because they can't pay their mortgages."
She said that the photo was both excellent and addressed what the jury saw as the most important global issue of 2008.
Other jury members noted that people around the world could identify with the evicted family. Juror Ayperi Ecer said the image "visually is both clear and complex. ... 2008 is the year of the end of a dominant economic system."
Nearly 5,600 photographers of 124 nationalities submitted images for journalism's most prestigious photo contest. The jury spent 13 days this month evaluating more than 96,000 photos.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Ashlea Covers the Winona Town Council
Congratulations to Ashlea, who was the first to turn in her board coverage article. She attended and covered the Winona Lake Town Council meeting Tuesday night, at which the council rejected the fire territory proposal. Here is a little of Ashlea's article, followed by the Times-Union coverage, so you can compare leads and structure:
Winona Lake Town Council Rejects Fire Territory
By Ashlea
The Winona Lake Town Council voted against joining the fire territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township when it met on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. “After much consideration, we could find no benefits in joining the fire territory,” said Fire Chief Mitch Titius.
Although the Town Council voted against joining the fire territory, the Winona Lake Fire Department would still participate in mutual aid agreements with Warsaw and other fire departments. This means other fire departments would still provide assistance to Winona Lake residents, and the Winona Lake Fire Department would still assist in fires outside its territory.
“I’m very pleased with the process,” said Town Council member Sue Gooding. “No one jumped to conclusions.”
Here's how the Times-Union reported the same meeting:
Winona Won't Join Proposed Fire Territory
Jennifer Peryam
Times-Union Staff Writer
WINONA LAKE - Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday voted unanimously not to join a proposed fire territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township.
A public hearing for the proposed territory was previously held Feb. 2 at city hall.
Warsaw and Wayne Township will decide at their meetings Tuesday whether to form the proposed fire territory.
"We did not want to go into this and just make kind of an emotional knee-jerk reaction about whether we should or shouldn't participate in the fire territory," said James Lancaster, Winona Lake Town Council vice president and fire territory liaison.
He said the town for the past three months considered the financial and fire service protection elements and the long-term viability of maintaining the Winona Lake Volunteer Fire Department.
Sue Gooding, Winona Lake town council member, said she has been happy with the council's process in considering entering into the proposed fire territory.
"I feel we all had a good opportunity to examine the different components of the fire territory before we came to a conclusion," Gooding said.
Winona Lake Town Council Rejects Fire Territory
By Ashlea
The Winona Lake Town Council voted against joining the fire territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township when it met on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. “After much consideration, we could find no benefits in joining the fire territory,” said Fire Chief Mitch Titius.
Although the Town Council voted against joining the fire territory, the Winona Lake Fire Department would still participate in mutual aid agreements with Warsaw and other fire departments. This means other fire departments would still provide assistance to Winona Lake residents, and the Winona Lake Fire Department would still assist in fires outside its territory.
“I’m very pleased with the process,” said Town Council member Sue Gooding. “No one jumped to conclusions.”
Here's how the Times-Union reported the same meeting:
Winona Won't Join Proposed Fire Territory
Jennifer Peryam
Times-Union Staff Writer
WINONA LAKE - Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday voted unanimously not to join a proposed fire territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township.
A public hearing for the proposed territory was previously held Feb. 2 at city hall.
Warsaw and Wayne Township will decide at their meetings Tuesday whether to form the proposed fire territory.
"We did not want to go into this and just make kind of an emotional knee-jerk reaction about whether we should or shouldn't participate in the fire territory," said James Lancaster, Winona Lake Town Council vice president and fire territory liaison.
He said the town for the past three months considered the financial and fire service protection elements and the long-term viability of maintaining the Winona Lake Volunteer Fire Department.
Sue Gooding, Winona Lake town council member, said she has been happy with the council's process in considering entering into the proposed fire territory.
"I feel we all had a good opportunity to examine the different components of the fire territory before we came to a conclusion," Gooding said.
Sportscasters Having Spiritual Impact
From New Man magazine:
SPORTS
Prime-Time Faith
Christian sports broadcasters are making a difference in a world that often promotes values contrary to the Bible.
It's hard to say when things changed, but sometime around the Howard Cosell era, sports broadcasters emerged from behind the microphone and into the hearts of sports fans as full-fledged celebrities.
So it shouldn't be a big surprise to learn that sports broadcasters are now facing many of the same temptations as the athletes that they cover. Spencer Tillman has experienced those challenges from multiple angles. As a CBS college-football analyst and former star athlete with the Oklahoma Sooners and Houston Oilers, he is fully aware of the pitfalls of fame.
"Temptation is always going to be out there because people are drawn to some sense of celebrity," Tillman says. "The key is to start off knowing that is the case. When you understand the nature of the business and the nature of people, then you can guard against those things."
For Ernie Johnson, it took some hard lessons as an unsaved journalist before he finally found Christ in 1997. As the popular studio host for Turner Broadcasting's NBA coverage, he too can easily pinpoint the primary culprit that aims to tear down the character of Christian sports broadcasters.
"There are a lot of land mines out there in broadcasting, chiefly to me the recognition and praise and criticism that comes your way," Johnson says. "I really struggled for a long time, and still do from time to time, with pride and arrogance and concern over what viewers and critics think of me. I remind myself that if anybody's going to get any glory out of this thing it's God."
According to TBS college-football announcer Ron Thulin, he first advises new talent to be vigilant while on the road through personal prayer, and devotion time and accountability.
"Traveling affords you many opportunities to fall," Thulin says. "There's a lot of downtime. You're in hotel rooms alone. Females do recognize you. They do come up and want to talk. ... When you're on the road, you have to really be aware that the devil is going to attack you."
Former ESPN and FOX broadcaster Eric Clemons (currently serving as the sports anchor at FOX affiliate WVUE in New Orleans) says Christian reporters need to take a stand for what they believe in, even if it costs them personally.
"There are certain political games that are played that defy truth," Clemons says. "If a higher up at a network tells me something and it opposes my truth, then I'm going to let him know that. ... I truly believe that's why I haven't been a long-standing person at that [national] level."
Christian sports broadcasters are also faced with an onslaught of negative stories that are constantly filling up the airwaves.
"The one thing that really bugs me is how fatherhood is celebrated when the athlete isn't married," Johnson says. "I'm not going to get on my soapbox and debate the point. That's not why I'm there. ... But you will not hear me joining the backslapping and high-fiving for an out-of-wedlock birth. That's not the message I want to send."
Golf Channel reporter Brian Anderson says that it's a natural tendency to dig out the dirt, but feels it is his responsibility as a Christian to dig even deeper for the positives.
"The problem is that we want to know too much about the athletes, especially the troubled ones," Anderson says. "Positive, encouraging, newsworthy stories do exist."
Along with the opportunity to reach into millions of households is the opportunity to be an influence on the many people that work behind the scenes, the people who rarely receive due credit.
"I think I have a responsibility to reflect God," Thulin says. "It's so easy to get caught up in the game. You've got so many things hitting you at once. You have meetings for 14 hours and tapes to watch. But you forget there are 40 other people making me look good. I've always made it a point to treat those people with respect. ... I try to make sure they know that they can come to me when they're going through a tough time. They know that I care."
SPORTS
Prime-Time Faith
Christian sports broadcasters are making a difference in a world that often promotes values contrary to the Bible.
It's hard to say when things changed, but sometime around the Howard Cosell era, sports broadcasters emerged from behind the microphone and into the hearts of sports fans as full-fledged celebrities.
So it shouldn't be a big surprise to learn that sports broadcasters are now facing many of the same temptations as the athletes that they cover. Spencer Tillman has experienced those challenges from multiple angles. As a CBS college-football analyst and former star athlete with the Oklahoma Sooners and Houston Oilers, he is fully aware of the pitfalls of fame.
"Temptation is always going to be out there because people are drawn to some sense of celebrity," Tillman says. "The key is to start off knowing that is the case. When you understand the nature of the business and the nature of people, then you can guard against those things."
For Ernie Johnson, it took some hard lessons as an unsaved journalist before he finally found Christ in 1997. As the popular studio host for Turner Broadcasting's NBA coverage, he too can easily pinpoint the primary culprit that aims to tear down the character of Christian sports broadcasters.
"There are a lot of land mines out there in broadcasting, chiefly to me the recognition and praise and criticism that comes your way," Johnson says. "I really struggled for a long time, and still do from time to time, with pride and arrogance and concern over what viewers and critics think of me. I remind myself that if anybody's going to get any glory out of this thing it's God."
According to TBS college-football announcer Ron Thulin, he first advises new talent to be vigilant while on the road through personal prayer, and devotion time and accountability.
"Traveling affords you many opportunities to fall," Thulin says. "There's a lot of downtime. You're in hotel rooms alone. Females do recognize you. They do come up and want to talk. ... When you're on the road, you have to really be aware that the devil is going to attack you."
Former ESPN and FOX broadcaster Eric Clemons (currently serving as the sports anchor at FOX affiliate WVUE in New Orleans) says Christian reporters need to take a stand for what they believe in, even if it costs them personally.
"There are certain political games that are played that defy truth," Clemons says. "If a higher up at a network tells me something and it opposes my truth, then I'm going to let him know that. ... I truly believe that's why I haven't been a long-standing person at that [national] level."
Christian sports broadcasters are also faced with an onslaught of negative stories that are constantly filling up the airwaves.
"The one thing that really bugs me is how fatherhood is celebrated when the athlete isn't married," Johnson says. "I'm not going to get on my soapbox and debate the point. That's not why I'm there. ... But you will not hear me joining the backslapping and high-fiving for an out-of-wedlock birth. That's not the message I want to send."
Golf Channel reporter Brian Anderson says that it's a natural tendency to dig out the dirt, but feels it is his responsibility as a Christian to dig even deeper for the positives.
"The problem is that we want to know too much about the athletes, especially the troubled ones," Anderson says. "Positive, encouraging, newsworthy stories do exist."
Along with the opportunity to reach into millions of households is the opportunity to be an influence on the many people that work behind the scenes, the people who rarely receive due credit.
"I think I have a responsibility to reflect God," Thulin says. "It's so easy to get caught up in the game. You've got so many things hitting you at once. You have meetings for 14 hours and tapes to watch. But you forget there are 40 other people making me look good. I've always made it a point to treat those people with respect. ... I try to make sure they know that they can come to me when they're going through a tough time. They know that I care."
Monday, February 9, 2009
BP on Launch of Rick Warren Magazine
CULTURE DIGEST: Rick Warren,
Reader's Digest launch
'Purpose Driven Connection'
By Erin Roach
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., has launched a quarterly magazine called "Purpose Driven Connection," along with a bundle of personal growth tools designed for small group implementation.
Warren, in a news release Jan. 27, noted that the timing of the launch coincides with the collapse of the U.S. economy, a time when Americans may most be searching for true hope.
"The hollow hope of materialism has left us disappointed, empty and worried, and the economic collapse has created a hunger for a deeper spiritual connection to God and to each other," Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," said.
"We certainly didn't anticipate our national crisis when we began designing these tools, but we can now see how the Purpose Driven Connection is going to provide urgent and essential spiritual support and encouragement for millions of people in the difficult days ahead," he said. "God's timing is always perfect."
The 146-page magazine is being published by The Reader's Digest Association with an annual subscription rate of $29.99. Also included is a DVD of Warren teaching, along with discussion guides, access to a corresponding online social network, daily e-mail devotions and other tools.
The magazines can be found on newsstands, at bookstores and at national retail outlets including Wal-Mart. A group discount rate also is available for subscribers.
Warren said the idea for the magazine stemmed from a year-long series of conversations he held with groups of pastors across the nation. One of the most common requests was for him to develop a Purpose Driven network for "everyone else," in addition to the ongoing Pastors.com network for pastors.
"We've been providing video curriculum to thousands of small groups for seven years, so we've learned the hard way what works and what doesn't; by using the quarterly PDC magazine to deliver small group video teaching and workbooks, we are reinventing and revolutionizing how content is delivered to small groups and Sunday school classes," Warren said.
"Pastors love this idea because it saves them time, energy and money. All they need do is to have each small group or class get a subscription to Purpose Driven Connection and that class is provided an entire year's worth of group video content, delivered directly to the mailboxes of the small group leaders."
In the premier issue of the magazine, available now, Warren kicks off his newest study, "40 Days of Love," based on 1 Corinthians 13. Churches across the country will join a national 40 Days of Love campaign on Valentine's Day weekend.
For more information, visit www.purposedrivennews.com.
Reader's Digest launch
'Purpose Driven Connection'
By Erin Roach
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., has launched a quarterly magazine called "Purpose Driven Connection," along with a bundle of personal growth tools designed for small group implementation.
Warren, in a news release Jan. 27, noted that the timing of the launch coincides with the collapse of the U.S. economy, a time when Americans may most be searching for true hope.
"The hollow hope of materialism has left us disappointed, empty and worried, and the economic collapse has created a hunger for a deeper spiritual connection to God and to each other," Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," said.
"We certainly didn't anticipate our national crisis when we began designing these tools, but we can now see how the Purpose Driven Connection is going to provide urgent and essential spiritual support and encouragement for millions of people in the difficult days ahead," he said. "God's timing is always perfect."
The 146-page magazine is being published by The Reader's Digest Association with an annual subscription rate of $29.99. Also included is a DVD of Warren teaching, along with discussion guides, access to a corresponding online social network, daily e-mail devotions and other tools.
The magazines can be found on newsstands, at bookstores and at national retail outlets including Wal-Mart. A group discount rate also is available for subscribers.
Warren said the idea for the magazine stemmed from a year-long series of conversations he held with groups of pastors across the nation. One of the most common requests was for him to develop a Purpose Driven network for "everyone else," in addition to the ongoing Pastors.com network for pastors.
"We've been providing video curriculum to thousands of small groups for seven years, so we've learned the hard way what works and what doesn't; by using the quarterly PDC magazine to deliver small group video teaching and workbooks, we are reinventing and revolutionizing how content is delivered to small groups and Sunday school classes," Warren said.
"Pastors love this idea because it saves them time, energy and money. All they need do is to have each small group or class get a subscription to Purpose Driven Connection and that class is provided an entire year's worth of group video content, delivered directly to the mailboxes of the small group leaders."
In the premier issue of the magazine, available now, Warren kicks off his newest study, "40 Days of Love," based on 1 Corinthians 13. Churches across the country will join a national 40 Days of Love campaign on Valentine's Day weekend.
For more information, visit www.purposedrivennews.com.
Amazing What Passes for News These Days!
President Obama bumps his head
Posted: 12:25 PM ET
From CNN White House Producer Xuan Thai
The President bumped his head as he stepped into Marine One Monday morning at the White House.
WHITE HOUSE (CNN) — There was a minor bump on the road — actually a minor bump on the head — as President Barack Obama departed Monday for Elkhart, Indiana to sell his stimulus plan to Americans.
While boarding Marine One on Monday morning, the president turned to wave goodbye and ever so slightly bumped the left side of his head on the doorway to the helicopter. He seemed to recover quickly, then ducked before boarding the helicopter that would take him to Air Force One. Unfortunately for Obama, there were many cameras there to capture the accident.
This isn’t the first time a president’s head has collided with Marine One: President George W. Bush hit his head on the side of the helicopter while boarding shortly after taking office — also in full view of a row of cameras.
Luckily for both men, no visible signs of injury resulted from the minor mishap.
Posted: 12:25 PM ET
From CNN White House Producer Xuan Thai
The President bumped his head as he stepped into Marine One Monday morning at the White House.
WHITE HOUSE (CNN) — There was a minor bump on the road — actually a minor bump on the head — as President Barack Obama departed Monday for Elkhart, Indiana to sell his stimulus plan to Americans.
While boarding Marine One on Monday morning, the president turned to wave goodbye and ever so slightly bumped the left side of his head on the doorway to the helicopter. He seemed to recover quickly, then ducked before boarding the helicopter that would take him to Air Force One. Unfortunately for Obama, there were many cameras there to capture the accident.
This isn’t the first time a president’s head has collided with Marine One: President George W. Bush hit his head on the side of the helicopter while boarding shortly after taking office — also in full view of a row of cameras.
Luckily for both men, no visible signs of injury resulted from the minor mishap.
Publishers Rebel at Distribution Surcharge
Anderson News Suspends “Normal Business Activity”
by Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 2/9/2009 9:09:00 AM
Three weeks after Anderson News threatened that it could cease distributing magazines unless publishers paid a 7¢/per copy surcharge, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based distributor of magazines and books may be forced to exit the business. Not only did publishers refuse to pay the surcharge, but they stopped shipping to it.
On Saturday, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based distributor, which services 40,000 outlets, announced that it had suspended normal business activity, according to the Knoxville News. The suspension affects employees at Anderson News, Prologix East, Anderson Services and Twin Rivers Technology.
We continue to work toward an amicable solution,” said Anderson News CEO Charlie Anderson in a statement released on Saturday. “I have been told by our two largest publishers that any interruption of service should last only a few days. I am not quite sure if they really understand the situation. This is a mess for all of us.”
Last week another wholesaler Source Interlink, which also sought a 7¢ surcharge, was rumored to be in trouble.
by Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 2/9/2009 9:09:00 AM
Three weeks after Anderson News threatened that it could cease distributing magazines unless publishers paid a 7¢/per copy surcharge, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based distributor of magazines and books may be forced to exit the business. Not only did publishers refuse to pay the surcharge, but they stopped shipping to it.
On Saturday, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based distributor, which services 40,000 outlets, announced that it had suspended normal business activity, according to the Knoxville News. The suspension affects employees at Anderson News, Prologix East, Anderson Services and Twin Rivers Technology.
We continue to work toward an amicable solution,” said Anderson News CEO Charlie Anderson in a statement released on Saturday. “I have been told by our two largest publishers that any interruption of service should last only a few days. I am not quite sure if they really understand the situation. This is a mess for all of us.”
Last week another wholesaler Source Interlink, which also sought a 7¢ surcharge, was rumored to be in trouble.
Amazon Set to Release Kindle 2
Live from Kindle-fest II
Kindle 2 is pretty much as advertised and leaked. Thinner ("pencil thin"--a third of an inch); a new five-way controller to improve navigation, which particularly helps for newspaper reading; improved placement of the page-turning buttons; a new E ink display with 16 shades of gray (just like Sony already has); 20 percent faster page turn; 25% longer battery life; seven times more storage (though who knows why); USB-charge capability and a more portable charger; and yes, still apparently designed by Jeff Bezos's brother-in-law in his spare time and priced at $359 and shipping on February 24. (Current Kindle owners get "prioritized in the queue" if they order right now.)
The new Whispersync lets you switch among multiple Kindles and other devices without losing your place, and "experimental" text-to-speech feature lets Kindle read aloud to you in a computerized voice at any time without losing your place in the work.
In other words, no epub support and no radically-new features or changes--an incremental update of the first Kindle. And no new statistics on sales, and no announcement (for now) on their suspected iPhone app.
But they do have Stephen King, just as the WSJ forecast this morning, who wrote a story--"Ur"--that features a Kindle in it. The story will be a Kindle exclusive (at least for now), though it's currently available only for pre-order. It releases the same day as the new Kindle, selling for $2.99 (amusingly discounted from a "digital list price of $3.99"). S&S ceo Carolyn Reidy says there is no current agreement to release the book in traditional print, though she is hopeful that they will be able to make it available that way at some point.
"I'm the entertainment," King said as he took the state. At first he turned Amazon's invitation down, he said, even though he was a satisfied Kindle customer since a year ago December. But then a scene came to him. "I thought I had a chance to say something about reading on the computer" and the supposed crisis in reading.
As King left the stage, he assured, "You're going to like this gadget but you're going to like books, too. It isn't like these things are in conflict."
In other Tools of Change-timed announcements, oversized ereader-in-development Plastic Logic has announced a number of content provider partnerships even though the device is now not expected to hit the market until early 2010. Ingram Digital will serve books to the new device; LibreDigital will provide newspapers and magazines, and Zinio will serve magazines, too. And they have partnered with Fictionwise to run the econtent store.
The company says that "concurrent with the release of its electronic reader, it will launch a content store where users can download a rich variety of business and leisure digital content from newspapers, magazines, trade journals, blogs, ebooks, etc."
Kindle 2 is pretty much as advertised and leaked. Thinner ("pencil thin"--a third of an inch); a new five-way controller to improve navigation, which particularly helps for newspaper reading; improved placement of the page-turning buttons; a new E ink display with 16 shades of gray (just like Sony already has); 20 percent faster page turn; 25% longer battery life; seven times more storage (though who knows why); USB-charge capability and a more portable charger; and yes, still apparently designed by Jeff Bezos's brother-in-law in his spare time and priced at $359 and shipping on February 24. (Current Kindle owners get "prioritized in the queue" if they order right now.)
The new Whispersync lets you switch among multiple Kindles and other devices without losing your place, and "experimental" text-to-speech feature lets Kindle read aloud to you in a computerized voice at any time without losing your place in the work.
In other words, no epub support and no radically-new features or changes--an incremental update of the first Kindle. And no new statistics on sales, and no announcement (for now) on their suspected iPhone app.
But they do have Stephen King, just as the WSJ forecast this morning, who wrote a story--"Ur"--that features a Kindle in it. The story will be a Kindle exclusive (at least for now), though it's currently available only for pre-order. It releases the same day as the new Kindle, selling for $2.99 (amusingly discounted from a "digital list price of $3.99"). S&S ceo Carolyn Reidy says there is no current agreement to release the book in traditional print, though she is hopeful that they will be able to make it available that way at some point.
"I'm the entertainment," King said as he took the state. At first he turned Amazon's invitation down, he said, even though he was a satisfied Kindle customer since a year ago December. But then a scene came to him. "I thought I had a chance to say something about reading on the computer" and the supposed crisis in reading.
As King left the stage, he assured, "You're going to like this gadget but you're going to like books, too. It isn't like these things are in conflict."
In other Tools of Change-timed announcements, oversized ereader-in-development Plastic Logic has announced a number of content provider partnerships even though the device is now not expected to hit the market until early 2010. Ingram Digital will serve books to the new device; LibreDigital will provide newspapers and magazines, and Zinio will serve magazines, too. And they have partnered with Fictionwise to run the econtent store.
The company says that "concurrent with the release of its electronic reader, it will launch a content store where users can download a rich variety of business and leisure digital content from newspapers, magazines, trade journals, blogs, ebooks, etc."
Flashmob Here?
Has anybody done a flashmob event on the Grace campus?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/09/uk.station.flashmob/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/09/uk.station.flashmob/index.html
Friday, February 6, 2009
Jack Cafferty Responds to Isaacson Piece
Here is Jack Cafferty's response to the Walter Isaacson piece I posted yesterday:
How important is saving America’s newspapers?
From CNN’s Jack Cafferty:
“How to Save Your Newspaper: A Modest Proposal.” That’s the cover story of TIME magazine this week. In it, Walter Isaacson – former managing editor of Time and the current CEO of the Aspen Institute – as well as my former boss here at CNN – writes how the crisis in journalism has reached meltdown proportions. He says we can now imagine a time when some big cities will no longer have a newspaper, saying that last year more people in this country got their news online for free than paid for it by buying newspapers and magazines.
News outlets now primarily rely on advertising revenue and not on newsstand sales and subscriptions.
Isaacson describes how news outlets now primarily rely on advertising revenue and not on newsstand sales and subscriptions. He says that in order for newspapers to survive they will have to charge for content by way of subscriptions. He also suggests introducing an easy payment system – like how people buy songs on i-Tunes or use an EZ pass.
It’s clear that with the decline of advertising dollars, newspapers are in deep trouble. Publisher McClatchy reported a $21.7 million loss for the fourth quarter. It says it plans to cut about $100 million this year, it’s unclear how much of that will come in the form of layoffs. Other companies like the New York Times, Gannett and Lee Enterprises have already reported lower profits in that same quarter. And, Rupert Murdoch’s giant media conglomerate News Corp posted its biggest ever quarterly net loss this week, taking a write-down of $8.4 billion.
The CEO of another struggling company, the Sun-Times Media Group, says he’ll resign at the end of the month – after the company announced last month it would close a dozen of its weekly papers and ask union workers to take a pay cut.
Here’s my question to you: How important is it to save America’s newspapers?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Steve from Florida writes:
That’s kind of a tricky question. With the almost instantaneous transfer and availability of information on the internet, a breaking headline is old news before they even turn the press on. Then, of course, that headline becomes a “breaking” story for a week or two on cable news. What I think is important to save is honest, unbiased, in-depth reporting no matter what format. Anybody still doing that?
Jim from Chicago writes:
Essential. There is a huge difference between an informed opinion and just forming an opinion. Newspapers are a critical source of information, particularly about local issues.
Erico writes:
Not too long ago, we used the teletype ticker tape. It was essential for many functions, such as tracking landing and takeoff of aircraft or keeping tabs on the stock market. The teletype is a symbol of what will become of newspapers as we know them now. The electronic media is sweeping across the board, eliminating old technologies and industries. By eliminating my newspaper subscription, I’ve been able to upgrade my internet services and communications.
David in Orlando writes:
Unfortunately our society is leaving behind many of the values that kept us safe and free. With all due respect to the electronic media of all sorts, it is the quick, easy access to info without sufficient standards of accuracy that have helped to get us into this situation. There was a time when a newspaper article was well-researched and fact-checked and was therefore a dependable source of accurate information… Today, TV news has often had its various faces slathered in egg because of the misguided desire to be first rather than right. And the internet is ten times worse than that. But none of it matters; newspapers as we knew them are dinosaurs.
Maurice from Two Rivers, Wisconsin writes:
Absolutely essential to our freedom. No Bias, no Bull.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
WSJ, Fox Parent Corp. Loses $6.4 Billion
Here are some excerpts from a longer AP article:
News Corp. loses $6.4 billion in 2Q
By RYAN NAKASHIMA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - News Corp., the global media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said Thursday it lost $6.4 billion in its most recent quarter because of a massive write-down in the value of its assets.
The New York-based company, which owns The Wall Street Journal and the Fox broadcast network, also forecast a 30 percent drop in operating profits for the fiscal year to June from a year ago, when it earned $5.13 billion. . .
. . . Murdoch, the chief executive who controls more than a third of the company's shares, blamed the bleak outlook on falling advertising revenue and the impact of weak consumer sentiment on DVD and book sales.
He told analysts the results were ``a direct reflection of the recession that is deeper than anyone predicted'' and called it the worst global economic crisis News Corp. had seen since its founding more than 50 years ago.
``We are doing everything we possibly can to position ourselves to emerge stronger when the economy returns to some semblance of normalcy,'' he said.
News Corp. also said it had cut 800 positions across its Fox properties, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, in moves that it expected to save $400 million a year. The Wall Street Journal said Thursday it is cutting about two dozen newsroom positions.
Murdoch added that the company was aiming to save more than $10 million a year by combining the backroom operations of its newspapers in Australia, and at The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, while renegotiating distribution contracts in the U.S.
News Corp. loses $6.4 billion in 2Q
By RYAN NAKASHIMA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - News Corp., the global media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said Thursday it lost $6.4 billion in its most recent quarter because of a massive write-down in the value of its assets.
The New York-based company, which owns The Wall Street Journal and the Fox broadcast network, also forecast a 30 percent drop in operating profits for the fiscal year to June from a year ago, when it earned $5.13 billion. . .
. . . Murdoch, the chief executive who controls more than a third of the company's shares, blamed the bleak outlook on falling advertising revenue and the impact of weak consumer sentiment on DVD and book sales.
He told analysts the results were ``a direct reflection of the recession that is deeper than anyone predicted'' and called it the worst global economic crisis News Corp. had seen since its founding more than 50 years ago.
``We are doing everything we possibly can to position ourselves to emerge stronger when the economy returns to some semblance of normalcy,'' he said.
News Corp. also said it had cut 800 positions across its Fox properties, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, in moves that it expected to save $400 million a year. The Wall Street Journal said Thursday it is cutting about two dozen newsroom positions.
Murdoch added that the company was aiming to save more than $10 million a year by combining the backroom operations of its newspapers in Australia, and at The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, while renegotiating distribution contracts in the U.S.
Rick Warren Magazine Hits Newsstands
Warren's 'Purpose Driven' magazine in stores
A new quarterly magazine by Rick Warren--pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of The Purpose-Driven Life (Zondervan)--was recently released by The Reader's Digest Association.
The premiere issue of the 146-page Purpose Driven Connection hit newsstands and Christian bookstores last week for around $10. The four quarterly issues of the magazine, DVDs and small-group workbooks along with behind-the-scenes access to the interactive Web site, www.PurposeDriven.com, are available to consumers for an annual subscription membership of $29.99.
"With the collapse of our economy, the tools, resources and experiences we've bundled into the Purpose Driven Connection are arriving at the exact moment when Americans need them most," said Warren, who serves as editor-in-chief. "The hollow hope of materialism has left us disappointed, empty and worried, and (it)... has created a hunger for a deeper spiritual connection to God and to each other."
The magazine--which includes stories of people who have found God's purpose for their lives--provides personal spiritual development and support. The multimedia platform venture is also tied to the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a global initiative created by Warren at Saddleback to combat global problems, including spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases and illiteracy.
Facebook--an Entertaining Saboteur?
This is an excerpt from a thoughtful column by the editor of Christianity Today magazine. To read the entire piece, click here.
An Entertaining Saboteur
Facebook promises to connect us to one another. Is that what you are doing right now?
Mark Galli
I don't believe Facebook is intrinsically evil.
This is not a promising way to begin a column, but it must be said upfront so that readers don't think I'm a Luddite. I am actually on Facebook and have a great many "friends." And I actually visit my homepage a couple of times a week. Like many people, I've especially enjoyed connecting with friends I haven't seen in decades.
Connecting is what Facebook promises. Not community as such, or even friendship. Everyone knows that a Facebook friend is not a friend in any meaningful sense, but only another Facebook member with whom one is "connected," meaning you have access to each other's information as compiled on your respective pages, and can, among other things, instantly get short "status updates" about what the other is thinking or doing.
Facebook is part of the larger electronic phenomenon deemed social networking, which includes text messaging, Twitter, e-mail, blogging, and so forth — all of which are said to herald a new day in human interaction. But let's stick to Facebook as the prime example and admit that, in the end, Facebook actually sabotages our ability to genuinely connect with others. But it is an entertaining saboteur.
Really entertaining. I am writing this on the fifth anniversary of Facebook. The social networking phenomenon began on February 4, 2004, at Harvard University, and within a month, over half of the student body was registered. It was quickly introduced to Stanford and Yale and other Ivy League schools, then to all colleges and universities, and finally to everyone on the planet. Today there are some 90 million active users.
While the popularity of Facebook facilitates broad connectivity, I believe it does so at the expense of intimacy. Intimacy is what we really want. But because we are lazy and fearful creatures, we'll settle for connectivity, because connectivity suggests intimacy but without all the bother. It's like fooling around before marriage: lots of fun but without the danger of pregnancy or the psychological commitment of intercourse.
An Entertaining Saboteur
Facebook promises to connect us to one another. Is that what you are doing right now?
Mark Galli
I don't believe Facebook is intrinsically evil.
This is not a promising way to begin a column, but it must be said upfront so that readers don't think I'm a Luddite. I am actually on Facebook and have a great many "friends." And I actually visit my homepage a couple of times a week. Like many people, I've especially enjoyed connecting with friends I haven't seen in decades.
Connecting is what Facebook promises. Not community as such, or even friendship. Everyone knows that a Facebook friend is not a friend in any meaningful sense, but only another Facebook member with whom one is "connected," meaning you have access to each other's information as compiled on your respective pages, and can, among other things, instantly get short "status updates" about what the other is thinking or doing.
Facebook is part of the larger electronic phenomenon deemed social networking, which includes text messaging, Twitter, e-mail, blogging, and so forth — all of which are said to herald a new day in human interaction. But let's stick to Facebook as the prime example and admit that, in the end, Facebook actually sabotages our ability to genuinely connect with others. But it is an entertaining saboteur.
Really entertaining. I am writing this on the fifth anniversary of Facebook. The social networking phenomenon began on February 4, 2004, at Harvard University, and within a month, over half of the student body was registered. It was quickly introduced to Stanford and Yale and other Ivy League schools, then to all colleges and universities, and finally to everyone on the planet. Today there are some 90 million active users.
While the popularity of Facebook facilitates broad connectivity, I believe it does so at the expense of intimacy. Intimacy is what we really want. But because we are lazy and fearful creatures, we'll settle for connectivity, because connectivity suggests intimacy but without all the bother. It's like fooling around before marriage: lots of fun but without the danger of pregnancy or the psychological commitment of intercourse.
Obama Speaks on Faith at Prayer Breakfast
Obama speaks out about religious transformation
Posted: 09:27 AM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Barack Obama spoke out Thursday about his religious transformation. The President's comments came at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Here's what Obama said, according to the prepared remarks.
"I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I’ve ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done.
I didn’t become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck – no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God’s spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose – His purpose. "
Posted: 09:27 AM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Barack Obama spoke out Thursday about his religious transformation. The President's comments came at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Here's what Obama said, according to the prepared remarks.
"I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I’ve ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done.
I didn’t become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck – no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God’s spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose – His purpose. "
How to Save Your Newspaper
Here's a really informative trend article from TIME magazine. This is an excerpt--to read the entire article click here.
During the past few months, the crisis in journalism has reached meltdown proportions. It is now possible to contemplate a time when some major cities will no longer have a newspaper and when magazines and network-news operations will employ no more than a handful of reporters.
There is, however, a striking and somewhat odd fact about this crisis. Newspapers have more readers than ever. Their content, as well as that of newsmagazines and other producers of traditional journalism, is more popular than ever — even (in fact, especially) among young people.
The problem is that fewer of these consumers are paying. Instead, news organizations are merrily giving away their news. According to a Pew Research Center study, a tipping point occurred last year: more people in the U.S. got their news online for free than paid for it by buying newspapers and magazines. Who can blame them? Even an old print junkie like me has quit subscribing to the New York Times, because if it doesn't see fit to charge for its content, I'd feel like a fool paying for it.
This is not a business model that makes sense. Perhaps it appeared to when Web advertising was booming and every half-sentient publisher could pretend to be among the clan who "got it" by chanting the mantra that the ad-supported Web was "the future." But when Web advertising declined in the fourth quarter of 2008, free felt like the future of journalism only in the sense that a steep cliff is the future for a herd of lemmings. (Read who got the world into this financial mess.)
Newspapers and magazines traditionally have had three revenue sources: newsstand sales, subscriptions and advertising. The new business model relies only on the last of these. That makes for a wobbly stool even when the one leg is strong. When it weakens — as countless publishers have seen happen as a result of the recession — the stool can't possibly stand.
During the past few months, the crisis in journalism has reached meltdown proportions. It is now possible to contemplate a time when some major cities will no longer have a newspaper and when magazines and network-news operations will employ no more than a handful of reporters.
There is, however, a striking and somewhat odd fact about this crisis. Newspapers have more readers than ever. Their content, as well as that of newsmagazines and other producers of traditional journalism, is more popular than ever — even (in fact, especially) among young people.
The problem is that fewer of these consumers are paying. Instead, news organizations are merrily giving away their news. According to a Pew Research Center study, a tipping point occurred last year: more people in the U.S. got their news online for free than paid for it by buying newspapers and magazines. Who can blame them? Even an old print junkie like me has quit subscribing to the New York Times, because if it doesn't see fit to charge for its content, I'd feel like a fool paying for it.
This is not a business model that makes sense. Perhaps it appeared to when Web advertising was booming and every half-sentient publisher could pretend to be among the clan who "got it" by chanting the mantra that the ad-supported Web was "the future." But when Web advertising declined in the fourth quarter of 2008, free felt like the future of journalism only in the sense that a steep cliff is the future for a herd of lemmings. (Read who got the world into this financial mess.)
Newspapers and magazines traditionally have had three revenue sources: newsstand sales, subscriptions and advertising. The new business model relies only on the last of these. That makes for a wobbly stool even when the one leg is strong. When it weakens — as countless publishers have seen happen as a result of the recession — the stool can't possibly stand.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Newspaper Circulation Used to Distribute Bibles
Here's an interesting linkage. This is an excerpt--to read the entire article click here.
A local Tampa Bay newspaper distributed a copy of the New Testament along with its Saturday edition this past weekend as part of a national effort to deliver scriptures using a newspaper’s circulation.
The Tampa Tribune delivered 56,500 copies of a paperback New Testament that features retired Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and the Tampa skyline this past Saturday – the day before the city hosted Super Bowl XLIII, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
It became the latest newspaper to be part of International Bible Society’s “City Reacher’s” project, which seeks to distribute Bibles in major U.S. cities to encourage its residents to read the Word of God.
The Tampa Bay effort was organized by two local residents who raised $127,000 with the help of 15 area churches and 19 local businesses.
A local Tampa Bay newspaper distributed a copy of the New Testament along with its Saturday edition this past weekend as part of a national effort to deliver scriptures using a newspaper’s circulation.
The Tampa Tribune delivered 56,500 copies of a paperback New Testament that features retired Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and the Tampa skyline this past Saturday – the day before the city hosted Super Bowl XLIII, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
It became the latest newspaper to be part of International Bible Society’s “City Reacher’s” project, which seeks to distribute Bibles in major U.S. cities to encourage its residents to read the Word of God.
The Tampa Bay effort was organized by two local residents who raised $127,000 with the help of 15 area churches and 19 local businesses.
Julie Gets a Byline
From Today's Warsaw Times-Union. Woo-hoo---way to go, Julie! Front page, no less!!
Seminar Gives Advice To Local Job Seekers
By Julia Whitacre
For the Times-Union
Steve Carlson, director of career services at Grace College, led a seminar Tuesday evening at the Warsaw Community Public Library for about 25 area residents.
The seminar covered resumes, applications and job searching.
The seminar helped attendees assess the present job-hiring state, understand what employers are looking for, and learn what to include in resumés and cover letters.
Carlson stressed the importance of understanding the job-hiring climate from an employer's perspective. Employers can afford to be choosy, he said, because there are more applicants for every position.
"Be ready to go the extra mile," he said, and be assertive in the searching process.
In order to stand out, Carlson said, people looking for a job must demonstrate a desire to work, not just earn a paycheck. He encouraged people to do research and show genuine interest in the company to which they apply. Employers are looking for people who demonstrate professionalism and who will make life easier and more productive, he said.
"Your resumé has to be able to hold their attention," Carlson said.
The two tests a resumé must pass are content and presentation. He instructed applicants to include their knowledge, strengths and skills, and achievements on their resumés.
A cover letter should accompany a resumé when presented to an employer. Whether in print or e-mail, a cover letter should follow the same format: a three-paragraph organization describing why the applicant is writing, what his or her top five selling points are, and a request for an interview. Carlson encouraged applicants to take initiative in the job searching process and recommended that applicants follow-up with the employer and check on the status of the application.
Marlene Leichty, Warsaw resident and native of Switzerland, found the seminar helpful in understanding cultural differences in job searching, she said. In Switzerland, a former employer always provided a letter explaining the strengths of an applicant. In America, applicants need to present their own strengths in a cover letter.
Garth Hursey, Kosciusko County resident, has been unemployed for a week.
"I just learned about (the seminar) this morning," he said. He attended Tuesday evening's seminar to help in his job search.
Nick Kaufman, Warsaw, has been laid off from his job in the RV industry since Dec. 12. He expects to return to his job Feb. 16, but is using this time to update his resumé.
The U.S. has faced 11 recessions since the end of WWII, but "this is not the highest national unemployment rate," Carlson said. However, as citizens face difficult economic prospects, he encouraged job seekers to meet immediate needs. "Don't be afraid to take a part-time job for a while," he said.
In the meantime, people should position themselves for the future and to use this time to acquire new skills. "The job market will pick up again," Carlson said. "We will come out of this."
Carlson recommended job-seekers look on the Web at www.simplyhired.com for job opportunities. He will return to the library Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to talk about job interviews. The meeting is free and open to the public.
The library also will offer basic computer courses Feb. 11, 18 and 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. Individuals who interested are required to register at the library's adult reference desk or online at www.warsawlibrary.org
Seminar Gives Advice To Local Job Seekers
By Julia Whitacre
For the Times-Union
Steve Carlson, director of career services at Grace College, led a seminar Tuesday evening at the Warsaw Community Public Library for about 25 area residents.
The seminar covered resumes, applications and job searching.
The seminar helped attendees assess the present job-hiring state, understand what employers are looking for, and learn what to include in resumés and cover letters.
Carlson stressed the importance of understanding the job-hiring climate from an employer's perspective. Employers can afford to be choosy, he said, because there are more applicants for every position.
"Be ready to go the extra mile," he said, and be assertive in the searching process.
In order to stand out, Carlson said, people looking for a job must demonstrate a desire to work, not just earn a paycheck. He encouraged people to do research and show genuine interest in the company to which they apply. Employers are looking for people who demonstrate professionalism and who will make life easier and more productive, he said.
"Your resumé has to be able to hold their attention," Carlson said.
The two tests a resumé must pass are content and presentation. He instructed applicants to include their knowledge, strengths and skills, and achievements on their resumés.
A cover letter should accompany a resumé when presented to an employer. Whether in print or e-mail, a cover letter should follow the same format: a three-paragraph organization describing why the applicant is writing, what his or her top five selling points are, and a request for an interview. Carlson encouraged applicants to take initiative in the job searching process and recommended that applicants follow-up with the employer and check on the status of the application.
Marlene Leichty, Warsaw resident and native of Switzerland, found the seminar helpful in understanding cultural differences in job searching, she said. In Switzerland, a former employer always provided a letter explaining the strengths of an applicant. In America, applicants need to present their own strengths in a cover letter.
Garth Hursey, Kosciusko County resident, has been unemployed for a week.
"I just learned about (the seminar) this morning," he said. He attended Tuesday evening's seminar to help in his job search.
Nick Kaufman, Warsaw, has been laid off from his job in the RV industry since Dec. 12. He expects to return to his job Feb. 16, but is using this time to update his resumé.
The U.S. has faced 11 recessions since the end of WWII, but "this is not the highest national unemployment rate," Carlson said. However, as citizens face difficult economic prospects, he encouraged job seekers to meet immediate needs. "Don't be afraid to take a part-time job for a while," he said.
In the meantime, people should position themselves for the future and to use this time to acquire new skills. "The job market will pick up again," Carlson said. "We will come out of this."
Carlson recommended job-seekers look on the Web at www.simplyhired.com for job opportunities. He will return to the library Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to talk about job interviews. The meeting is free and open to the public.
The library also will offer basic computer courses Feb. 11, 18 and 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. Individuals who interested are required to register at the library's adult reference desk or online at www.warsawlibrary.org
Are You a 'Fastidious Spelling Snob?'
Judy Daniels has called our attention to this great article. This is an excerpt--to read the entire piece, click here.
Some people avoid Krispy Kreme because of the calories. Angela Nickerson won’t go there because of the Ks.
“I confess, I’m a spelling, grammar and punctuation snob,” says the 35-year-old travel writer from Sacramento, Calif. “And I won’t patronize businesses with misspelled signs. It’s like hearing fingernails running down a chalkboard.”
Life isn’t easy for language lovers such as Nickerson. Over the past decade, her beloved mother tongue has been mashed, mangled and mistreated by everyone from a sitting president to a squadron of texting preteens. Misspelled menus have become the stuff of bad dreams. (Try our Sweat and Sour Chicken!) Punctuation is not only hit-and-miss, it’s potentially hazardous. (Employees must “wash hands.”)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Fire Territory Hearing Held
Read and analyze carefully--here is how the Times-Union reported last night's council meeting:
Fire Territory Hearing Held
Jennifer Peryam
Times-Union Staff Writer
Monday night at Warsaw city hall, a public meeting was held to discuss a proposed fire territory between Warsaw, Wayne Township and Winona Lake.
Paige Gregory, certified public accountant for Umbaugh & Associates, presented an overview of the advantages and the estimated impact to the taxing units in establishing the proposed fire territory.
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said, in order to have the tax rate established for 2010, the establishing ordinances must be adopted prior to March 1 by Warsaw, Wayne Township and Winona Lake.
Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday will vote on whether it will join the fire territory. Wayne Township Advisory Board and Warsaw will make their decisions Feb. 17. If enacted, the ordinance will establish the Warsaw Fire Territory with Warsaw as the provider unit, Wayne Township as a unit and Winona Lake as a participating unit.
Gregory said advantages of establishing a fire territory would be that the territory would provide an alternate funding source; the fire protection costs would be spread over a larger tax base; the territory would allow for a uniform tax rate where all tax payers in the territory will pay the same rate for fire services; the territory would promote cooperation and communication; and would facilitate streamlined operations. Other advantages would be that the territory would reduce response times; improve efficiency and firefighter safety; reduce homeowner's insurance; and there would be a cost savings through pooling of resources.
Gregory said combined, all participating units are at the maximum levy. They are levying approximately $1.5 million for fire operating services: Warsaw, $1.35 million; Winona Lake, $15,500; and Wayne Township, $146,000. They are collecting an additional $1 million in additional revenue resources for total combined revenues of $2.5 million.
The estimated combined disbursements for fire services for 2009 is approximately $3.04 million that includes all of the participating units, Gregory said.
The current funding deficit is $576,000 based on receipts of $2.5 million and less disbursements of $3.36 million.
She said a fire territory would offer an option to bridge the gap between receipts and disbursements. She said current state law allows fire territories to request permission from the department of local government finance to levy property tax in the first year of operation.
Gregory said the fire territory spreads the cost of the fire services over a larger tax base because the assessed value is being used by the entire fire territory.
In 2009, it is estimated that taxpayers in Warsaw will pay a rate of $0.14 for fire services; Winona Lake residents will pay $0.78; and Wayne Township will pay $0.057 cents. The estimated tax rate of the fire territory for 2009 would be $0.15.
When the fire territory is put into place, all of the people in the entities will pay the same tax rate so it equalizes the rate, Gregory said. The property tax revenue generated from those three rates is $1.7 million.
The proposed fire territory's tax rate would be spread across the assessed value of the entire fire territory, which is approximately $1.7 billion.
If the tax rate is $0.048 and it's applied to the $1.7 billion, the fire territory would be able to generate approximately $2.5 million in property taxes.
Gregory said that is a 48 percent increase over the current property tax collection for fire services.
A person who has a $100,000 residential home value currently pays $35 for its tax bill that goes to fund fire services; Wayne Township residents at that home value currently pay $14; and Winona Lake residents at that home value currently pay $2 to fund fire services. If a fire territory took effect, all residents at the $100,000 home value in the fire territory would pay $37.
The estimated levy reductions for Warsaw would be $1.3 million; Winona Lake, a reduction of $15,500 eliminated from its maximum levy; and Wayne Township would have $301,500 in levy reductions.
The law permits the establishment of a fund to accumulate monies for the purchase of capital items related to fire protection such as equipment and housing for future capital projects.
Establishing a fire territory is an involved process that requires cooperation of two or more taxing units, Gregory said. All participating units must understand and concur with the establishing agreement. Participating units must be willing to evaluate both the negatives and positives to determine if a fire territory may benefit their communities.
"The fire territory allows taxing entities to come together, consolidate services, share resources, and provide the same level of fire protection without having to eliminate services," Gregory said.
Fire Territory Hearing Held
Jennifer Peryam
Times-Union Staff Writer
Monday night at Warsaw city hall, a public meeting was held to discuss a proposed fire territory between Warsaw, Wayne Township and Winona Lake.
Paige Gregory, certified public accountant for Umbaugh & Associates, presented an overview of the advantages and the estimated impact to the taxing units in establishing the proposed fire territory.
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said, in order to have the tax rate established for 2010, the establishing ordinances must be adopted prior to March 1 by Warsaw, Wayne Township and Winona Lake.
Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday will vote on whether it will join the fire territory. Wayne Township Advisory Board and Warsaw will make their decisions Feb. 17. If enacted, the ordinance will establish the Warsaw Fire Territory with Warsaw as the provider unit, Wayne Township as a unit and Winona Lake as a participating unit.
Gregory said advantages of establishing a fire territory would be that the territory would provide an alternate funding source; the fire protection costs would be spread over a larger tax base; the territory would allow for a uniform tax rate where all tax payers in the territory will pay the same rate for fire services; the territory would promote cooperation and communication; and would facilitate streamlined operations. Other advantages would be that the territory would reduce response times; improve efficiency and firefighter safety; reduce homeowner's insurance; and there would be a cost savings through pooling of resources.
Gregory said combined, all participating units are at the maximum levy. They are levying approximately $1.5 million for fire operating services: Warsaw, $1.35 million; Winona Lake, $15,500; and Wayne Township, $146,000. They are collecting an additional $1 million in additional revenue resources for total combined revenues of $2.5 million.
The estimated combined disbursements for fire services for 2009 is approximately $3.04 million that includes all of the participating units, Gregory said.
The current funding deficit is $576,000 based on receipts of $2.5 million and less disbursements of $3.36 million.
She said a fire territory would offer an option to bridge the gap between receipts and disbursements. She said current state law allows fire territories to request permission from the department of local government finance to levy property tax in the first year of operation.
Gregory said the fire territory spreads the cost of the fire services over a larger tax base because the assessed value is being used by the entire fire territory.
In 2009, it is estimated that taxpayers in Warsaw will pay a rate of $0.14 for fire services; Winona Lake residents will pay $0.78; and Wayne Township will pay $0.057 cents. The estimated tax rate of the fire territory for 2009 would be $0.15.
When the fire territory is put into place, all of the people in the entities will pay the same tax rate so it equalizes the rate, Gregory said. The property tax revenue generated from those three rates is $1.7 million.
The proposed fire territory's tax rate would be spread across the assessed value of the entire fire territory, which is approximately $1.7 billion.
If the tax rate is $0.048 and it's applied to the $1.7 billion, the fire territory would be able to generate approximately $2.5 million in property taxes.
Gregory said that is a 48 percent increase over the current property tax collection for fire services.
A person who has a $100,000 residential home value currently pays $35 for its tax bill that goes to fund fire services; Wayne Township residents at that home value currently pay $14; and Winona Lake residents at that home value currently pay $2 to fund fire services. If a fire territory took effect, all residents at the $100,000 home value in the fire territory would pay $37.
The estimated levy reductions for Warsaw would be $1.3 million; Winona Lake, a reduction of $15,500 eliminated from its maximum levy; and Wayne Township would have $301,500 in levy reductions.
The law permits the establishment of a fund to accumulate monies for the purchase of capital items related to fire protection such as equipment and housing for future capital projects.
Establishing a fire territory is an involved process that requires cooperation of two or more taxing units, Gregory said. All participating units must understand and concur with the establishing agreement. Participating units must be willing to evaluate both the negatives and positives to determine if a fire territory may benefit their communities.
"The fire territory allows taxing entities to come together, consolidate services, share resources, and provide the same level of fire protection without having to eliminate services," Gregory said.
Monday, February 2, 2009
'Did I Miss Anything?' She Asks
From a fellow journalism teacher at another Christian college. Thought you'd get a chuckle out of it.
A student wrote today and asked, "Did I miss anything?"
Yes.
Today was the most important lecture of my life!
Jennifer, people wept. Some broke out in song. It was moving.
We had to call security.
A few folks asked that we give them last rites.
It will be impossible to ever teach another class like the one you missed.
Some say the room moved slightly; others claim that they heard the voices of loved ones urging them to take notes.
One young man from Detroit shouted, "Billy, come forth." (No one knew what that was all about but his eyes watered and we thought it best to let him go.)
The room is quiet now. The medics have left. The last network reporter is putting away his TV lights.
I have to file some legal documents for the federal judge. I'm not sure why. I had nothing to do with the thunder and the mild earthquake.
Wait. Someone is calling. It's a detective. I better go.
Read, Jennifer. Read your textbook. Submit homework Wednesday. Smile a lot. Be ready to do some freewriting Wednesday. Wear comfortable shoes. Know how to write a lead.
And, Jennifer, this next bit is most important.
Floss. Floss like your back teeth depended on it.
As for me, I just wish I could find my notes from today.
A student wrote today and asked, "Did I miss anything?"
Yes.
Today was the most important lecture of my life!
Jennifer, people wept. Some broke out in song. It was moving.
We had to call security.
A few folks asked that we give them last rites.
It will be impossible to ever teach another class like the one you missed.
Some say the room moved slightly; others claim that they heard the voices of loved ones urging them to take notes.
One young man from Detroit shouted, "Billy, come forth." (No one knew what that was all about but his eyes watered and we thought it best to let him go.)
The room is quiet now. The medics have left. The last network reporter is putting away his TV lights.
I have to file some legal documents for the federal judge. I'm not sure why. I had nothing to do with the thunder and the mild earthquake.
Wait. Someone is calling. It's a detective. I better go.
Read, Jennifer. Read your textbook. Submit homework Wednesday. Smile a lot. Be ready to do some freewriting Wednesday. Wear comfortable shoes. Know how to write a lead.
And, Jennifer, this next bit is most important.
Floss. Floss like your back teeth depended on it.
As for me, I just wish I could find my notes from today.
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