Olbermann gets 'Current'
It was announced Tuesday that liberal lightning rod Keith Olbermann will anchor a prime time new/commentary show on the cable network Current TV.
Olbermann, who abruptly left MSNBC two weeks ago, will begin his show "later in 2011," according to a statement from Current TV.
The die-hard liberal will also serve as chief news officer and have an equity stake in Current Media, which was co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore.
"Nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media, and nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news produced independently of corporate interference," Olbermann said. "In Current Media, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt have created the model truth-seeking entity. The opportunity to partner with Al, Joel and Mark Rosenthal makes this the most exciting venture in my career."
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
AOL-HuffPost Merger Breaks New Ground
What will AOL-Huffington Post merger mean?
Arianna Huffington set up the left-leaning Huffington Post in 2005 as an alternative to the right-wing Drudge Report.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
AOL to pay $315 million for left-leaning blog and news site The Huffington Post
Arianna Huffington will become editor-in-chief of merged company's media group
Merger latest in a long line of link-ups between new media companies and traditional firms
(CNN) -- Internet provider AOL is to buy news and blog website The Huffington Post for $315 million, the latest in a long line of innovative start-ups snapped up by established big-name firms.
According to their figures, the sale creates one of the most widely read online media organizations.
So what will the merger mean for the two companies, and for the online news industry as a whole?
What does it bring to AOL?
For its $315 million investment, AOL is buying itself a fashionable and rapidly growing brand popular among center-left circles in the U.S. and overseas.
AOL's chairman and CEO, Tim Armstrong, said he hoped the purchase would "create a next-generation American media company with global reach."
Digital media commentator Kara Swisher, of All Things Digital, says AOL has secured growth, excitement, and most importantly, an identity.
"AOL doesn't really stand for anything, it doesn't have a brand or an image, and they've just bought themselves the most valuable profile on the internet."
And how does it benefit The Huffington Post?
Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor of The Huffington Post, will become president and editor-in-chief of the merged group's combined media division.
In return, The Huffington Post will have access to content from AOL's other sites, including video and technology news.
"It's good for the investors," says Swisher. "They look great.
"The company was moving slowly, they could either sell or go public, and they weren't really in a position to go public, so this was the best option -- and it's a lot of money."
Will it change The Huffington Post?
Arianna Huffington insists any changes will be positive ones: "The Huffington Post will continue on the same path we have been on for the last six years -- though now at light speed...
"Our readers will still be able to come to the Huffington Post at the same URL, and find all the same content they've grown to love, plus a lot more -- more local, more tech, more entertainment, more finance, and lots more video," she said in a statement.
Swisher says the Huffington Post will likely maintain its "left-ish" political stance, but notes that the site is not as left-leaning as some would believe.
"She's [Huffington] been going more central, she's certainly the most vocal critic of the Obama administration from the Democratic side."
What will the move mean to the market?
AOL and The Huffington Post say the newly merged group will have a combined 117 million unique visitors a month in the U.S. and 270 million around the world, potentially making them the most-read online media group in the world.
Swisher says the problem facing media companies nowadays is that "young people don't go to destination websites any more - they 'snack' all over the place" and firms have to find ways to feed that hunger.
Is the link-up part of a wider trend?
The marriage between The Huffington Post and AOL is the latest in a long line of innovative online "upstarts" snapped up by more established traditional firms.
Last November, troubled publishing giant Newsweek merged with relative newcomer The Daily Beast, founded just two years ago by former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown.
"Companies shouldn't think 'print' or 'online' anymore," says Swisher. "They are media companies. Rupert Murdoch, for example, sees the writing on the wall, which is where The Daily comes from."
Will it succeed?
Previous old school-new media mergers have had a mixed record. Social networking stars such as Bebo and MySpace faded after they were bought out by AOL and News Corp. And let's not forget the merger in 2000 between AOL itself and Time Warner, parent company of CNN, described by some sober-minded analysts as the worst business deal in history.
Swisher says this time around, it's all in the execution. "The concept is a great idea -- in theory.
"It will all come down to the execution: If they're able to create content people want to read, if they keep on making good stuff, growing the audience, and if it makes money from advertising.
"AOL is trying to revive itself -- we shouldn't assume it's not going to succeed just because there have been issues before.
"It is a bold declaration of strategy: He's [Armstrong] got all the pieces now -- let's see what he does with them."
Arianna Huffington set up the left-leaning Huffington Post in 2005 as an alternative to the right-wing Drudge Report.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
AOL to pay $315 million for left-leaning blog and news site The Huffington Post
Arianna Huffington will become editor-in-chief of merged company's media group
Merger latest in a long line of link-ups between new media companies and traditional firms
(CNN) -- Internet provider AOL is to buy news and blog website The Huffington Post for $315 million, the latest in a long line of innovative start-ups snapped up by established big-name firms.
According to their figures, the sale creates one of the most widely read online media organizations.
So what will the merger mean for the two companies, and for the online news industry as a whole?
What does it bring to AOL?
For its $315 million investment, AOL is buying itself a fashionable and rapidly growing brand popular among center-left circles in the U.S. and overseas.
AOL's chairman and CEO, Tim Armstrong, said he hoped the purchase would "create a next-generation American media company with global reach."
Digital media commentator Kara Swisher, of All Things Digital, says AOL has secured growth, excitement, and most importantly, an identity.
"AOL doesn't really stand for anything, it doesn't have a brand or an image, and they've just bought themselves the most valuable profile on the internet."
And how does it benefit The Huffington Post?
Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor of The Huffington Post, will become president and editor-in-chief of the merged group's combined media division.
In return, The Huffington Post will have access to content from AOL's other sites, including video and technology news.
"It's good for the investors," says Swisher. "They look great.
"The company was moving slowly, they could either sell or go public, and they weren't really in a position to go public, so this was the best option -- and it's a lot of money."
Will it change The Huffington Post?
Arianna Huffington insists any changes will be positive ones: "The Huffington Post will continue on the same path we have been on for the last six years -- though now at light speed...
"Our readers will still be able to come to the Huffington Post at the same URL, and find all the same content they've grown to love, plus a lot more -- more local, more tech, more entertainment, more finance, and lots more video," she said in a statement.
Swisher says the Huffington Post will likely maintain its "left-ish" political stance, but notes that the site is not as left-leaning as some would believe.
"She's [Huffington] been going more central, she's certainly the most vocal critic of the Obama administration from the Democratic side."
What will the move mean to the market?
AOL and The Huffington Post say the newly merged group will have a combined 117 million unique visitors a month in the U.S. and 270 million around the world, potentially making them the most-read online media group in the world.
Swisher says the problem facing media companies nowadays is that "young people don't go to destination websites any more - they 'snack' all over the place" and firms have to find ways to feed that hunger.
Is the link-up part of a wider trend?
The marriage between The Huffington Post and AOL is the latest in a long line of innovative online "upstarts" snapped up by more established traditional firms.
Last November, troubled publishing giant Newsweek merged with relative newcomer The Daily Beast, founded just two years ago by former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown.
"Companies shouldn't think 'print' or 'online' anymore," says Swisher. "They are media companies. Rupert Murdoch, for example, sees the writing on the wall, which is where The Daily comes from."
Will it succeed?
Previous old school-new media mergers have had a mixed record. Social networking stars such as Bebo and MySpace faded after they were bought out by AOL and News Corp. And let's not forget the merger in 2000 between AOL itself and Time Warner, parent company of CNN, described by some sober-minded analysts as the worst business deal in history.
Swisher says this time around, it's all in the execution. "The concept is a great idea -- in theory.
"It will all come down to the execution: If they're able to create content people want to read, if they keep on making good stuff, growing the audience, and if it makes money from advertising.
"AOL is trying to revive itself -- we shouldn't assume it's not going to succeed just because there have been issues before.
"It is a bold declaration of strategy: He's [Armstrong] got all the pieces now -- let's see what he does with them."
Middleman to WJI Post
Middelmann Appointed 2011 Schaeffer Chair at World Journalism Institute
New York, N.Y., February 7, 2011-Udo Middelmann, president of the Francis Schaeffer Foundation in Switzerland, has been appointed to the 2011 Francis Schaeffer Chair of Cultural Apologetics at the World Journalism Institute at The King's College in New York City.
As the Schaeffer scholar for WJI, Middelmann will present a series of lectures on the Christian worldview on Monday, May 16, at the institute's capstone convergence journalism course in New York.
Udo Middelmann is a philosophy professor at The King's College. He holds degrees in law from Freiburg University, Germany, and in theology from Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., USA. He has also worked with Dr. Schaeffer as associate pastor as well as a long-time trustee, member and lecturer at the Swiss L'Abri. Udo regularly publishes "Footnotes," a publication of the Schaeffer Foundation. Previous books Udo has written are Pro-Existence, The Market-Driven Church and The Innocence of God, and Christianity Versus Fatalistic Religions in the War Against Poverty. Udo has also authored numerous articles and chapters to other books and papers.
Robert Case, director of WJI stated, "The opportunity of finally having Udo Middelmann speak to our young journalists is a wonderful blessing. In order to write like a Christian, one must first think like a Christian, and Mr. Middelmann has labored in Christian thinking for decades."
Udo Middelmann grew up in Germany and became a Christian while studying at Freiburg University. Since that time he has taught courses on worldviews, Christian apologetics, religion, and philosophy in the United States, Africa, the former Soviet Union and many European countries. He has served as president of the Schaeffer Foundation for over 20 years, before which he was a trustee and member at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland.
Prof. Middelmann was The King's College Percy Crawford Chair of the religion and philosophy department at its Briarcliff Manor campus before it moved to its current New York City campus in the early 2000s.
The World Journalism Institute's mission is to recruit, equip, place and encourage Christian journalists in the mainstream newsrooms of first America and then the world. To that end, WJI offers courses, conferences, internship funding, and monographs on the intersection of Christianity and journalism.
For more information:
Kimberly Collins
World Journalism Institute
800-769-7870
office@worldji.com
www.worldji.com
New York, N.Y., February 7, 2011-Udo Middelmann, president of the Francis Schaeffer Foundation in Switzerland, has been appointed to the 2011 Francis Schaeffer Chair of Cultural Apologetics at the World Journalism Institute at The King's College in New York City.
As the Schaeffer scholar for WJI, Middelmann will present a series of lectures on the Christian worldview on Monday, May 16, at the institute's capstone convergence journalism course in New York.
Udo Middelmann is a philosophy professor at The King's College. He holds degrees in law from Freiburg University, Germany, and in theology from Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., USA. He has also worked with Dr. Schaeffer as associate pastor as well as a long-time trustee, member and lecturer at the Swiss L'Abri. Udo regularly publishes "Footnotes," a publication of the Schaeffer Foundation. Previous books Udo has written are Pro-Existence, The Market-Driven Church and The Innocence of God, and Christianity Versus Fatalistic Religions in the War Against Poverty. Udo has also authored numerous articles and chapters to other books and papers.
Robert Case, director of WJI stated, "The opportunity of finally having Udo Middelmann speak to our young journalists is a wonderful blessing. In order to write like a Christian, one must first think like a Christian, and Mr. Middelmann has labored in Christian thinking for decades."
Udo Middelmann grew up in Germany and became a Christian while studying at Freiburg University. Since that time he has taught courses on worldviews, Christian apologetics, religion, and philosophy in the United States, Africa, the former Soviet Union and many European countries. He has served as president of the Schaeffer Foundation for over 20 years, before which he was a trustee and member at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland.
Prof. Middelmann was The King's College Percy Crawford Chair of the religion and philosophy department at its Briarcliff Manor campus before it moved to its current New York City campus in the early 2000s.
The World Journalism Institute's mission is to recruit, equip, place and encourage Christian journalists in the mainstream newsrooms of first America and then the world. To that end, WJI offers courses, conferences, internship funding, and monographs on the intersection of Christianity and journalism.
For more information:
Kimberly Collins
World Journalism Institute
800-769-7870
office@worldji.com
www.worldji.com
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sally Stuart Sells Market Guide to Jenkins
Here's some very big news in the Christian writing world, taken from Sally Stuart's Facebook page:
Sally E. Stuart
I know I have been quiet here for months, but the following will explain why--at least in part. Today I am announcing that I have sold the Christian Writers' Market Guide to Jerry Jenkins and the Christian Writers Guild. Their commitment to writers makes them the perfect fit for the guide. For me it means semi-retirement. Details at www.stuartmarket.blogspot.com.
Sally E. Stuart
I know I have been quiet here for months, but the following will explain why--at least in part. Today I am announcing that I have sold the Christian Writers' Market Guide to Jerry Jenkins and the Christian Writers Guild. Their commitment to writers makes them the perfect fit for the guide. For me it means semi-retirement. Details at www.stuartmarket.blogspot.com.
Horace Greeley's Birthday Today
From Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac":
Today is the birthday of the journalist Horace Greeley, born in Amherst, New Hampshire (1811).
He started the penny daily The New York Tribune when he was 30 years old. He wrote editorials during the Civil War, championing his radical politics, and he ran for president against Ulysses S. Grant.
But just before the election, his wife died, and Greeley went crazy and died a few weeks later — after the popular vote, which he had lost, but before the electoral votes had officially been cast. More people attended his funeral than attended Abraham Lincoln's, and they filled the streets of New York for days in his honor.
He said, "Common sense is very uncommon."
Today is the birthday of the journalist Horace Greeley, born in Amherst, New Hampshire (1811).
He started the penny daily The New York Tribune when he was 30 years old. He wrote editorials during the Civil War, championing his radical politics, and he ran for president against Ulysses S. Grant.
But just before the election, his wife died, and Greeley went crazy and died a few weeks later — after the popular vote, which he had lost, but before the electoral votes had officially been cast. More people attended his funeral than attended Abraham Lincoln's, and they filled the streets of New York for days in his honor.
He said, "Common sense is very uncommon."
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Front Page Lead Story, No Less!
Three days into his new job as a reporter at the Fort Wayne News Sentinel, Grace senior Chris Sheckler has the front-page top-left lead story in the newspaper.
Way to go, Chris!
http://www.newssentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110201/NEWS/102010332/0/FRONTPAGE
Way to go, Chris!
http://www.newssentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110201/NEWS/102010332/0/FRONTPAGE
Need an Internship? Learn to Tweet!
Here's a very interesting perspective from the chair of the communication department at Northwestern College in Mpls/St. Paul:\
Note From the Chair
Need an internship? Learn to tweet
The Minneapolis-based advertising agency Campbell Mithun announced last month that it would choose this summer's interns based on an application process that consists of 13 "tweets" sent between February 13 and February 25.
It seems to have been a good move for Campbell Mithun, in that it generated a lot of positive media coverage even before the application window begins, and much of that coverage helped to position the nearly 80-year-old agency as a forward-thinking, tech-savvy kind of place. I can't decide if it's brilliant or stupid, but I suspect it's a bit of both. (See what kind of tweets applicants come up with by searching for the hashtag "L13" on Twitter, starting February 13.)
Is it a publicity stunt? That's probably part of it. But it's also indicative of a changing media world where old-time companies feel that they have to do something - anything - with social media, even if they're not sure what it would be and if it would make sense. The Internet continues to be a huge game-changer in the media world, and a lot of folks are scrambling to try to figure out the rules of the new game. And where's there's scrambling about, there's opportunity.
What does this mean for Northwestern's communication students? If you want to work in a media-related field, think about building some social media "street cred" now. Start a blog about a topic that interests you - something professional that you'd be proud to show a future employer. Start tweeting to support your blog. Build and interact with an on-line audience, if only to show a future employer that you can.
The odds are good that your future career will require social media skills, if only because dusty old "digital immigrants" like Campbell Mithun are looking to young "digital natives" to blaze the trail.
Doug Trouten
Chair, Communication Department
Note From the Chair
Need an internship? Learn to tweet
The Minneapolis-based advertising agency Campbell Mithun announced last month that it would choose this summer's interns based on an application process that consists of 13 "tweets" sent between February 13 and February 25.
It seems to have been a good move for Campbell Mithun, in that it generated a lot of positive media coverage even before the application window begins, and much of that coverage helped to position the nearly 80-year-old agency as a forward-thinking, tech-savvy kind of place. I can't decide if it's brilliant or stupid, but I suspect it's a bit of both. (See what kind of tweets applicants come up with by searching for the hashtag "L13" on Twitter, starting February 13.)
Is it a publicity stunt? That's probably part of it. But it's also indicative of a changing media world where old-time companies feel that they have to do something - anything - with social media, even if they're not sure what it would be and if it would make sense. The Internet continues to be a huge game-changer in the media world, and a lot of folks are scrambling to try to figure out the rules of the new game. And where's there's scrambling about, there's opportunity.
What does this mean for Northwestern's communication students? If you want to work in a media-related field, think about building some social media "street cred" now. Start a blog about a topic that interests you - something professional that you'd be proud to show a future employer. Start tweeting to support your blog. Build and interact with an on-line audience, if only to show a future employer that you can.
The odds are good that your future career will require social media skills, if only because dusty old "digital immigrants" like Campbell Mithun are looking to young "digital natives" to blaze the trail.
Doug Trouten
Chair, Communication Department
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