Young Newspaper Readers

A survey of 3,500 teenagers in the US, Netherlands and Finland showed:
found that:

- Young people are interested in news and see the value of being informed.

- Loyal newspaper readers are more informed, engaged and connected to
community than non-readers.

- Parents (especially mothers) and teachers have successfully influenced
young people to become newspaper readers. ­ Peers are not influential.

- Newspapers must start earlier to establish how the brand of news
emanating from newspapers is different from and superior to other media
options. This strategy should be multi-platform, accentuating content, not
format.

- Young people leaving home provides an important opportunity for
newspapers. The study shows a significant drop in readership at this
life-stage at a time when interest in news is peaking.

- Newspaper editorial content, in general, is disconnected from youth
interests -- and when it is about youth, it is mostly negative. Music and
film top the list of interests while politics ranked in the lower than 30th.

- Social networks can be allies of newspapers, not the enemy. Social network
users are more supportive of all media generally, but also show a higher
increase of support for newspapers than non users.

The Midland Update

It's getting worse. Baguio Midland Courier, the biggest weekly in the North, was hit by a strike by its former distributors so it has to resort to other non-news outlets. Now I (and probably all the media here) received an email from a certain Warren Cristobal listed the "sins" not only of the Midland management but their reporters as well. Uh uh. Midland's publisher answered back by asking if Warren is real.

Midland and the Sunday Habit

Every Baguio boy knows the Sunday habit. It's not Mass but then, some churchgoers usually go down the steps of Cathedral and get into it. The Sunday habit is reading Baguio Midland Courier, which had been around for 60 years. In reading Midland, you have to start at the end which is the obituary. Young and old, Midland readers read about who died so they can have something to talk about. The problem this Sunday was that, suddenly Midland can not be bought anywhere. Turns out the dealers had a strike against Midland. So the newstands in Session Road and even in SM do not have Midland for sale. I bought one at a barber shop. Midland had their side on the issue in their editorial and even reserved No. 10 of their much-anticipated True of False on the issue. So they are prepared for this battle of wits. Midland increased their price to P12 and the dealers wanted to increase it further. It's a battle of wills. Don't die this week. You may not be read.

The Youth and their New Fatigue

All these stories happening all at the same time. Not new. But if you have access to all of these news all the time. Bad news. Young adults are now suffering from news fatigue. To offset this, AP in their website is doing the "1-2-3 filing," where 1 is "starting with a news alert headline for breaking news, followed by a short present-tense story that is usable on the Web and by broadcasters. The third step is to add details and format stories in ways most appropriate for various news platforms."

Guardian Eats Pinoy Rice

Nash twittered me, a two page feature on the Philippines in the Guardian. Uh oh, it's about rice. Also Banaue. Philippines said the famine is over. What famine? What over? It's always famine and will always be so. But maybe I expect my sister in UK to send me a cavan of couscous.
Speaking of British, meet Ian Fleming, author of the Bond novels (except the new one) 100 ways

Day and DomC

During the Press Freedom Day at Art Tibaldo's Newseum

Battle of Disclaimers

In the past two Baguio Midland Courier issues, XDZ (those are her complete names with Z a famous Baguio name) issued a disclaimer saying that XDZ also known as XG is not X T. Z and caveat emptor or whatever to those who might transact with X T. Z who might be representing her. This week here is the answer of X T. Z (the emboldened letters are hers):

I, X (first) T. Z (family name), am definitely and decidedly not that X G (who might also use X D. Z) who represents one Sioco Z estate, or the Bureau of Internal Revenue, or whatnot, past, present, or future. I also have no idea of who would ever like to be her. Furthermore, I am definitely and decidedly not involved in any and all representations Ms. G makes for said or other offices. Puh-lease.

(Sgd) X Y. Z

I can not use the real names because I know these two people involved but I have a feeling they don’t beso-beso anymore, present or future.

Gabby Concepcion sparks 'Gabbymania!' at ABS-CBN; will do teleserye, films for Star Cinema

This is the headline of abs-cbnnews.com in a way to fan the dead flame on Gabby Concepcion, last seen singing in lounge bars in Vegas. Ramil Gulle, please stop this. You are embarassing me.

Are we seeing just the beginning of Gabbymania? Less than 24 hours since actor Gabby Concepcion set foot in the Philippines on Sunday--for the first time in 13 years --he already sent fans and production staff a-screaming when he came to ABS-CBN.

Didn't Gabby know? The Earth Hour was meant to silence him

Hoy Gloria! Bayaran mo Strawberries mo!

A farmer in La Trinidad billed the office of the President P6,000 for the strawberries she and her staff collected for the photo opportunity. Ignacio Canuto said PGMA got 60 kilos last Black Saturday. For P100 a kilo, that goes for P6,000. Fair enough? Not so, sabi ng DA. They paid him P7,200 to shut up and not to talk with the media.
Well, better than coming up with a blog and telling the president to pay up! Team Ignacio! Yap yap yap

Bad Day for Pacquiao

Pacquiao visits Quiapo Church and it's big deal for the media. Rep. Joson filed a bill banning boxing to prevent ugly boys from kissing Ara Mina when they become famous. Pacquiao would rather face Julio Diaz rather than Joey Marquez because Marquez felt he was robbed by the judges when they said that he overpriced the walis tingting he bought when he was mayor (?) Freddy Roach was squashed (bad pun) but survived a traffic accident in LA. There's a tsismis in Ilocos that Chavit Singson bribed the judges to give the victory to Pacquiao.

Canadian Reporter

Reporter Makes a Flip - This happened to Noli de Castro and Lito Lapid

Create a Crowd

Counting the people in a crowd is a test of a writer's objectivity. If you are for that group, you add a thousand or a hundreds. If you are against what a crowd is demostrating for, you subtract. Either that or you have a bad sense of crowd estimating. To practice, here's a French site about creating a crowd. Learn some of the words and you couls manipulate the number, space in between and even the type of crowd you want. It's fun!!!

Punctuation Family

Cory Aquino has cancer of the colon.
Her daughter easily missed her period.
Her son is in a pause.

The "Makapal" Controversy

After blurting it out, those in the media already were already rewinding their tapes and listening to it. Was it "Makapal" or "Makapag"? Among the media, the "Makapag" were the Team Yap and the "Makapal" were the "Team Brian." Meaning, there are far more members of the "Team Brian." Common sense would tell you that if he said, Makapag, why did he have to repeat it and not just continue? Maybe it's Freudian. But more so because he has a lisp. He stuttered five times in his speech.
But PGMA's flubbing his name is a class act. That's the humor I wanted from the President not sending him to Basilan like what she did with the class goat years ago. Have fun! Malamig dito sa Baguio pero not anymore.

Internet and Journalism

Know why internet journalism will rule the world? The newspapers are so focused on the same things. Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual State of the News Media report said: Two stories - the war in Iraq and the 2008 presidential election campaign - represented more than a quarter of the stories in newspapers, on television and online last year, the project found. Take away Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, and news from all of the other countries in the world combined filled up less than 6 percent of the American news hole.

Nobel Fish Fries Anew

As sure as I'm standing here, I can see the "Pacquiao Unity headlines" coming. Here's from gmanews.tv:

Palace sees unity among Filipinos after Pacquiao victory

03/16/2008 | 01:16 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Sunday congratulated Manny Pacquiao for his victory over Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, saying his triumph had once again proven that the Filipino can excel in any endeavor.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said Pacquaio's victory also showed that the Filipino can still be united as a nation.

Once again the Pacman has proven that the Filipino can excel in any endeavor and that we can all be united as a nation for the interest of out country," Fajardo said.

Here's abs-cbnnews.com:



Filipinos unite anew for Pacquiao, even for just a few hours

The Filipino people will once again be united, even for just a few hours, to support their boxing hero, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao as he battles Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez in their much-awaited rematch on Saturday night (Sunday morning in the Philippines).

Pacquiao, who is also called the "People’s Champ", will try to wrest the World Boxing Council (WBC) superfeatherweight title from Marquez...

For me, this is the blow-by-blow account that untied the nation.
This is better

Another Blog Why Newspapers are Dying

But this one is quite in there. No more "It's the fault of Internet" but it's the fault of the owners. Hey Listen:

The creation of monopoly markets and, through consolidation, cartels of newspaper ownership. Economic history shows us that monopolies and cartels always commit suicide. Divorced from the imperatives of real competition, monopolies easily slip into a self-centered world of bureaucratic conformity and a desire to protect the status quo. They became slow and rigid, in other words, road kill for competitors.

Wikipedia-Free News

The Agence France Presse (AFP) announced last week that it will no longer allow reporters to use Wikipedia and Facebook as sources. What should the standard be when it comes to using online sources? Does your news organization allow for the use of online sources such as Wikipedia? What can be done to ensure that information obtained from such sites is accurate and unbiased? Make yourself heard.

Robert Capa's Negatives: The Implications

The Mexican suitcase is finally found. New York Times wrote:

The discovery has sent shock waves through the photography world, not least because it is hoped that the negatives could settle once and for all a question that has dogged Capa’s legacy: whether what may be his most famous picture — and one of the most famous war photographs of all time — was staged. Known as “The Falling Soldier,” it shows a Spanish Republican militiaman reeling backward at what appears to be the instant a bullet strikes his chest or head on a hillside near Córdoba in 1936. When the picture was first published in the French magazine Vu, it created a sensation and helped crystallize support for the Republican cause.

HItchcock's "The Birds" Reality TV News Style: Ack! Ack! Water!

How sweet it is!