Super Bowl Sunday offers both the gridiron guru and the apathetic
party-goer the opportunity for some entertainment. If your primary
focus was not the New Orleans Saints' come-from-behind victory over the
Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, you may have been fixated on the
notorious Super Bowl commercials, which generate loads of revenue for
the host network and leave almost everyone playing Monday-morning
quarterback in deciding which ad was best.
If you missed any of Sunday's ads, or need a quick refresher, check
them out by clicking "Read More" below and let us know in the comments section which commercial
you though was best...
Time for the usual bout of February nerves. I’ve had it for more
than 20 years. But now, it’s different. Now I’m not worried about
sweeps. I have to give my first test!
Just like in the newsroom, I’m about to find out how well I did and
if anyone liked what I said. And I even get overnights—that is,
depending how quickly I grade them. Yes, I will soon find out if
anything I said penetrated the young minds and if they are able to, in
a reasonable manner, repeat back the concepts we discussed...
In previous “The Buzz” posts I’ve typically tried to steer away
from writing about RTDNA-specific events. I realize that self promotion
is important but with “The Buzz” column I’ve tried to embody the idea
that RTDNA is a resource built to educate and inform journalists. Most
of the time, that means directing our audience outward, towards the hot
topics in the industry.
I’m going to deviate a bit from the norm this week, but not too
much. You’ll still be educated and informed, but it’s going to be RTDNA
centric. I hope you don’t mind...
This past week has been "Doppelganger
Week." What - you've missed it? You obviously weren't on Facebook.
People replaced their profile pictures with photos of celebrities they
supposedly look like. It has worked to varying degrees - some people are dead
ringers, others are wildly optimistic - but it has been a fun little game that
could only happen online. Late last year, we had the Star Wars Thanksgiving
contest on Twitter. I use "contest" in the loosest term - there was no prize,
and no real winners. But there were some great
entries...
In 10 days, WCBSTV.com and our sister sites in the CBS O&O
group will proudly celebrate our one-month appaversary on the iPhone.
That is, one month since our birth on the iPhone app map. It’s an
exciting time and it certainly feels good to see the project our
interactive team put so much hard work into creating turn out
beautifully.
I must admit though, I feel a little silly calling this blog a
“best practices” blog, because, editorially, this milestone is just the
beginning of “mobile phone journalism” we’ve been dialing into and will
continue to see in the coming years...
Here’s a question: should your political reporter “friend” a
candidate for mayor on Facebook? She argues the candidate could post
valuable information there for “friends” only, so as a reporter, she
needs access to that information. But you worry the candidate’s
opponents will see the “friending” as an endorsement by the station.
Newsrooms working to connect with audience members through social
media and blogs have a new set of guidelines to help avoid ethical
pitfalls that can come when experimenting with reaching audiences in
these new ways. The guidelines are a supplement to the RTDNA Code of
Ethics, the ethical standard broadcast and other newsrooms have
followed for decades.
The guidelines use the core principles of truth, fairness,
accountability, and transparency, as well as bring in the important
factor of protecting image and reputation, to take journalists and
managers through a decision-making process to decide what will work in
their newsrooms. The idea is not to lay down a list of laws to follow,
but to guide readers through questions they can ask themselves as they
tread new turf on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and more...
I was lucky enough to take part in RTDNF’s News and Terrorism
workshop in my hometown of St. Louis last week. The event was the 18th
in a series of gatherings that bring together journalists, emergency
personnel, and policy makers to discuss how to react in the event of a
terrorist attack in a U. S. city. This is the second of the workshops
I’ve been able to attend. The first was on the other side of my state
about six years ago in Kansas City. Both times I was struck with the
workshops’ ability to bring people together who are essential to public
safety—but who seldom talk unless an emergency is already taking
place. The RTDNF events have been crucial to getting those who respond
to emergencies—either to cover them or to respond to them—to talk about
what they could do better for their common customer, the public...
An old joke asks, what is one of the scariest sentences in the
English language? Answer: “We’re from the government and we’re here to
help.”
That joke could apply to the public notice issued by the Federal
Communications Commission on Jan. 21, calling for comments in an
“examination of the future of media and information needs of
communities in a digital age.”
Most journalists, as they witness the turmoil sweeping through the
media landscape, have concerns about the future of their business even
as they try to embrace the changes. They’re just not sure a government
agency is the helper they had in mind...
You have until Monday, February 15th to enter the Edward R. Murrow Awards. The late fees have been waived. Be part of the most prestigious awards program for electronic journalists - enter your best work to win a 2010 Edward R. Murrow Award.
RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic
journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow’s
pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards
that carry his name. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the excellence
that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news
profession. In 2009, 540 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards were handed out and of those 540, 79 went on to win National Edward R. Murrow Awards.
We encourage you to enter your best work and be honored with an Edward R. Murrow Award.
By Steve Safran, Sr. Vice President, Media 2.0 at AR&D
We have issues with the iPad.
That's the unofficial, non-scientific conclusion I've reached by
following the social web's reaction to Wednesday's announcement of the
Apple iPad. How do I know? My first clue was to look at what was
"trending" on Twitter. The hashtag for iPad (#iPad) was, indeed,
trending. But it wasn't as huge as I would have guessed. So that meant
less enthusiasm. But there were other clues, and some were downright,
ahem, indelicate...
By Ryan G. Murphy, RTDNA Digital Media Editor
Print Story
Email Story
RSS Feed
By Lydia Reeves-Timmins, Temple University
By Ryan G. Murphy, RTDNA Digital Media Editor 
By Steve Fink, Managing Editor, WCBSTV.com 
Here’s a question: should your political reporter “friend” a
candidate for mayor on Facebook? She argues the candidate could post
valuable information there for “friends” only, so as a reporter, she
needs access to that information. But you worry the candidate’s
opponents will see the “friending” as an endorsement by the station. 
I was lucky enough to take part in RTDNF’s News and Terrorism
workshop in my hometown of St. Louis last week. The event was the 18th
in a series of gatherings that bring together journalists, emergency
personnel, and policy makers to discuss how to react in the event of a
terrorist attack in a U. S. city. This is the second of the workshops
I’ve been able to attend. The first was on the other side of my state
about six years ago in Kansas City. Both times I was struck with the
workshops’ ability to bring people together who are essential to public
safety—but who seldom talk unless an emergency is already taking
place. The RTDNF events have been crucial to getting those who respond
to emergencies—either to cover them or to respond to them—to talk about
what they could do better for their common customer, the public... 
An old joke asks, what is one of the scariest sentences in the
English language? Answer: “We’re from the government and we’re here to
help.”
We have issues with the iPad. 
