User Interface Strategies (UIS) 1996 transfer of the website Concepts & Goal Setting Presentation. UIS is an annual series of interactive satellite broadcasts, which addresses the hot topics in human-computer interaction. These programs bring some of the best minds in the field together almost five hours thought-provoking presentations and question-and-answer sessions.

Recommend : home DIY motivational-tutorials.blogspot.com/ http://life-coaching-network.blogspot.com

As these computer commercials from the 1980s show us – nostalgia is a wonderful thing.  I love the hockey one.  Did you see those awesome graphics?  Compare that to the latest version of Halo.

Awesome little report here about Gemstar and Virgin EPG Patent dispute that rules that a table/grid format is not a valid patent.  Hooray for common sense on this day!

Big Stories of the week include:

• Virgin to tie up with TiVo for next-generation hybrid boxes
• iPlayer to be offered on Freesat starting early December, ITV player in January
• Canvas outcome expected before the end of the year
• UK is exporting more programme formats to other countries
• BBC to curb some of its web / digital output after 2012
• Google TV Ad platform buys data from TiVo

Consider the following “hypothetical:”

-how much incentive is there for reporters to investigate “fishy” incidents involving celebrity athletes if the networks they work for are subsidized by companies who sponsor the athletes they cover?

Said differently,

-if company “X” is paying “X” athlete “X” dollars to use their products and that same company pays “X” network “X” advertising dollars, how motivated will that network be to uncover “inconvenient truths” about “X” athlete?

Say what you will about public figures and private lives. There is a price to be paid. And silly questions from an accidental observer.

On Wednesday night, New Jersey Devils broadcaster Sherry Ross made history when she became the first female broadcaster to provide play-by-play in English for an entire NHL game.

Source:
http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2009/11/26/sherry-ross-pioneers-nhl-play-by-play-broadcasting-for-women/

(I really hope at least ONE person gets the cultural reference in the title of the post)

….Oh, hello! Here is the fourth transmission of the series. Originally aired on 26/11/09, this is one lemony corker that you do NOT want to miss. Just click the stream below, let it load (let the grey stream go even greyer) and enjoy two hours worth of zesty noises.

The episode tracklisting – and comment box – can be found right HERE.

HEAVY.

xo

Very cool graphics depicting iPlayer usage.  Not only nice to look at but also very informative.  However, I did find one discrepancy.  This page reports that 85% of requests come from computers but that can’t be right because BBC has already reported that Virgin on demand are a third of the requests received by iPlayer.

So, as part of my final assignment for my Multimedia Reporting 1 module, i am to reflect on the journalism industry, where i think it is going, and what i think my role may be within the industry. . apologies in advance if this gets to be too much of a snore fest. . but i shall try to keep it light! (The key word there is “try”)

As everyone will know, even those not involved in the journalism industry, the industry is in crisis, and has been for a number of years now. This is argued on many fronts and for many reasons. . but i am not so sure either one is correct. Many people blame the recession – which is fair enough, no money = no stories = crisis, right?

But surely this cant be the only reason. . we’re a tough bunch – we can survive a low budget. . hell. . we arent exactly paid that much . . we’re used to surviving on a low budget! What, do i think, are the main contributions to this crisis we are currently wading through?  For a start. . I wouldn’t call it a crisis. . i would call it change. Yes, readership and circulation is down. . but thats to be expected – who wants to buy a newspaper when you can get all the news online, in your own home, for free? Not me, thats for sure. Though i am still forced to. . which quite frankly sickens me. I have to buy newspapers because news organisations dont want to move to online format so quickly. . so they put abridged versions of a story online, to entice you into buying the newspaper. . but i dont want to buy a newspaper! They end up cluttering up my student bedsit. . which, for the record, is pretty cramped already! I would happily pay a monthly subscription fee to have unlimited access to all of a newspapers content – surely this would also be easier for the newspaper, as the articles originate from the computers anyway? So instead of sending it off to the printers, collecting it, distributing it around the country, attempting to sell it, taking back copies which dont sell, then starting all over the next day – why not just press “publish”. This would save sooo much time and money. Problem solved?

Well, apparantley not. There is a section of the population who are against technology, and want to have their news in paper, where they can read it anywhere at their leisure. . helloo?!?! Welcome to the 21st century gramps. . you can read online news on most new mobile phones, laptops – last time i checked – arent usually cumbersome. . (don’t you dare mention my laptop. . its huge. . ) especially if you own one of these snazzy netbooks.  they’re fantastic. . i can fit them in any bag of mine, good battery life, standard wifi connectability to steal neighboring wifi networks, whats not to like?! I wont go into the sony readers. . i may start to drift off, and its late as it is. .but yes.  . i admit, im taking a very extreme view, and amplifying it. . but thats what needs to be done. . we live in the UK – a country of comprimisations, why can’t somebody just buck the trend and say “Online news FTW!!” (For The Win. . a little internet language there for ya) – yes, they will have reduced revenue for a while, but eventually, people will realise this is the way forward. . Ok, country of comprimises.  . you could do it gradually. . start charging for online content while still printing. .this may work. . but i want an online news world, and i want it now!

The great thing – when it comes to Newspapers, (ill come to the BBC later) is that you can edit live content. . so if you see a mistake or a misquote, you don’t have to print an apology next day saying your sub editors were out on the town before they put on their editing hats, you can click “edit” as long as you have admin privilages. Pictures and videos cannot be included in newspapers as well as they can online – the latter, obviously, can’t be used at all in print. . – online, you can have galleries of pictures to accompany articles – this takes up valuable advertising space in print format. . but hell. . the worlds your oyster when your playing around online. .Do i have 20 worthwhile pictures for this amazing feature? Yes. . Do i need to choose between them? No. . wahooo! Lets go mad! . . Yes, this isnt quite as realistic as it could be, but come on, there are soo many advantages to online news. . you can update it whenever you like – no waiting until next days issue, you can take advantage of all forms of media – i really dont see the downside . . if you do, then please. . tell me!

Right, enough babbling. . well. . almost. . first off – The BBC. The main rival to newspapers moving to online format. There is alot of prejudice towards the BBCs website and its easy to find, i found an article online titled “The BBC isn’t a newspaper, so why have a website?” – which, for the record, is the most ridiculous argument against the BBC website i have seen yet. There are arguments for both sides. .  arguments for: the BBC is meant to be an impartial news source with no agendas – so why cant it broadcast on all forms of media? Arguments against: We, as license payers, pay for television and radio broadcasting – not online, and when the BBC launched its website, more was spent on that than either broadcasting formats.

Anyway. . thats enough on this topic of reflection (rant), the next installment of my reflection of the dry shall be about what i see as being my future role within the industry.

——-Eoin Greensmyth——

Broadcast

So I see from today’s Daily Telegraph (other newspapers are available) that Scientists  have now worked out how to use birdsong to measure the size of bird populations.

Well what a waste of effort and research money!

The way to work out how many birds there are – if you feel so desperately inclined:

Is –  Count the number of Wings and divide by Two!

Easy  – works every time!!  Unlike their system which must rely on all the little blighters singing at once!!

MUPPITS is (another) acronym for Multiple User Post Production IT Services which is worth checking out.   According to its website:

MUPPITS is a research and development project set up to address the ever increasing challenges faced by the Post Production Industry today, caused by the adoption of increasingly complex processing requirements and the adoption of tapeless workflows.

Of course you bloody do! It’s the fourth day of the working week which can only mean one thing – the octopus is being let out of its inky cell and onto the Wired wireless! He is running loose with some miraculous, melodic music and an array of fantastiche guests, including a VERY SPECIAL guest co-host Mr Ian Jamesy James of Eclectrix-shire.

Don’t believe us? You slippery fools! Make sure you listen in from 6pm right HERE to hear it go out live, in real time and/or as it happens!

Expect Jurassic 5, Neutral Milk Hotel and some expert knowledge on everyone’s favourite lumpy, warm juice – SOUP.

CREAM OF CAROTENE.

Mark Burke, Sales Manager for UK & Middle East was recently interviewed by one of the leading broadcast publications in the region, Digital Production. Read on for an extract from the interview….

Digital Production

What are some of the common requirements you receive requests for?

For our systems integration clients, we have recently been working on a number of sales roles. We have been especially looking for people with existing relationships with broadcasters in the region; we have also been looking at Proposals Engineers and Technical Architects.

What are some of the pre-requisites when hiring staff for the Middle East region?

One of the major pre-requisites we have been encountering recently with companies in the UAE, for instance, is the need for Emiratis for a number of positions. This has proved a major challenge as we have discovered a distinct lack of UAE nationals working within the industry at any sort of experience level.

Other pre-requisites we have encountered are some roles that require Arabic speakers due to the nature of the role or the content they will be working with such as Video Editors and Studio Bookings Coordinators.

Because we have built up, and are continuing to develop our database of candidates based in the Middle East this proves less challenging.

What are some of the challenges you face when hiring for this region?

When looking at filling roles with candidates from outside the region i.e Westerners, the main problem is the higher living costs especially on accommodation although this has begun to fall in Dubai.

Whereas previously people were moving to the region to make a lot more money, broadcasters can no longer afford to pay these high salaries and they have come more in line with Western markets, although the TAX free situation still makes it appealing.

Because of this we have made one of our core aims as a specialist recruitment agency for the region to develop a strong database or regional candidates to enable us to respond quickly to our clients’ requirements.

Candidates that are already based within the region are often a cheaper prospect than paying for prospective employees to relocate from Europe. We then have the added bonus of Arabic language skills and an appreciation of the local culture. But we do also have a strong international database of candidates should the skills or level of expertise not be available within the region.

Nothing is scarier than your first University assignment. Period. As the deadline loomed, I found the library became my second home. Despite all this hard work I cannot pretend I was happy with the grade I received, although it was technically my fault. In the mad dash to hand it in in time I failed to notice my bibliography – that was on a separate page- had failed to print. Therefore, my mark was penalized. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed researching into broadcast journalism as it is the area I hope to enter upon completion of my course, I now realise from the feedback Robert Melville gave me that I should take more risk when writing and explore the issues that may at first seem irrelevant to the question – the power of radio broadcast and its ability to brainwash its listeners. (Conboy,M 2004. Journalism: A critical history. London. SAGE Publications.)

Feel free to read the essay on the development of broadcast journalism below, but I must warn you – it’s rather long!

What factors restricted the development of broadcast and how can it be justified today?

The introduction of a wireless communication technology changed journalism greatly as it provided a more immediate way of disseminating news on a much wider scale. Its development was hindered, however, through a variety of factors both industry and government based. Radio was placed under many restrictions that not only stopped it from reporting certain events but also resulted in a reluctance to make any change when eventually granted permission to produce its own news. Ultimate power was granted to the Post Office General and Harrison (2006: 62) identifies that ‘broadcast news was subsequently shaped through these national organisations and their particular culture.’ The same could be said for television. Whilst radio faced external factors, the BBC’s television news was its own worst enemy. The conservative nature combined with the lack of competition resulted in a very slow development and any big change was brought about by the introduction of a second channel – ITV. There is no doubt that these broadcast mediums were severely restricted by several factors, some more so than others.

The introduction of news broadcast on the radio immediately attracted the British Governments attention as they recognised radios potential to brainwash its listeners. (Conboy 2004:189). Consequently, a plan was set in motion to restrict who could gain access to the airwaves and the type of content that could be broadcast. The 1904 Wireless Technology Act gave control to the Postmaster General who in turn was given the sole responsibility of dealing with licence applications and had the power to decide who was entitled to one, effectively restricting access to the airwaves. At first glance this may appear to be a completely justified idea; however, on closer inspection it becomes apparent that this was a cleverly disguised move by the Government to restrict access to the airways potentially resulting in an unbalanced broadcast.

            Conboy (2004) identifies that; ‘broadcast journalism was severely curtailed in its early years.’ Whilst the 1927 Charter gave the BBC the power to broadcast news bulletins, media owners soon become aware of the immediate threat posed. (Harrison 2006:63.) Campaigns were launched to set constraints on the amount of airtime and content produced. They were successful and the BBC’s broadcasts were limited to a half hour segment a day of which the content was provided by an external news agency – Reuters. As a result, the little news that was broadcast had been carefully selected and only stated the bare facts with little or no entertainment value. The consequence of using an external news agency whose stories were intended for print was that the language used was not suitable to radio and whilst this restriction was still in place it was unlikely any development would take place. In hindsight the reasons behind this move are obvious – traditional print organisations realised they were no longer able to provide news first and therefore tried to cut out the competition. In doing so, broadcast news was compromised and often resulted in low listener ratings, providing little incentive to make any further developments in the field.

 Another restricting factor that resulted from this limited access to the airwaves was a lack of competition. This meant that there was little incentive to develop broadcast news any further. It soon became clear that the popularity of radio was increasing and the fear that the airwaves could no longer be controlled was growing. (Harrison 2006:62)  In an attempt to solve this problem the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed whose purpose it was to provide, ‘The highest standards of social and cultural life (and) its journalism would be put to the service of British Democracy, informing audiences about public affairs.’ (Harrison 2006: 62). Whilst the belief behind the BBC was that it would be free from government control, contradictory evidence has now become apparent.

            Whilst radio experienced outrage from newspapers, politicians were not particularly keen either. Several governments used radio to their advantage despite the fact the BBC was intended to be politically neutral. This gave an unfair advantage to those political parties with access to the airwaves as they were given the opportunity to sway listeners to their ideologies. Furthermore, Conboy (2004) points out that for many years radio ‘was not allowed to involve itself in the reporting of politically controversial views or political speeches.’ This defeats its purpose of being an informative medium and as a result people would have been naive as to the political goings on. It also goes against the principle that journalism is founded upon – ‘informing the public about significant events in the world, and this goal requires journalists to strive to be impartial and thus objective.’(Kieran 1998: 35) Looking back we can see that initially BBC radio was not politically neutral intended and it was not until after the General Strike of 1926 that it proved itself to be an effective medium of news dissemination and many of its restrictions were lifted following the 1926 Charter. Development was still slow however as it took many years until news stations developed their own news rooms. The reason for this particular delay may have been because news journalists never had the freedom edit Reuter’s material before 1930 and were therefore reluctant to begin doing so.

            Whilst radio had many factors that limited its development, it can be seen that television broadcast faced much less difficulty and the problems it did face were mainly internal. Although there had been television (TV) prior to World War 2 it was not until 1946 that the BBC began making any use of this journalistic medium. Britain was in a post-war boom experiencing high employment levels and greater technological development, a luxury radio did not experience. (Conboy 2004: 197) The lack of competition for BBC television meant that it had no need to develop itself any further. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that it was going to make any drastic changes considering its conservative background. In hindsight it appears that the BBC’s reluctance to change was due to the fact there were no examples to follow, no guidelines had been set and it was entering into the unknown, something it was not used to resulting in primitive news programmes without any presenters or entertainment value. This was soon to change with the introduction of a second television network, ITV whom brought with them their own news sector – ITN. (Harrison 2006: 65) This provided the competition needed to promote development as the BBC realised the potential this new journalistic medium held. Harrison (2006: 65) identifies that the, ‘independent television’s greatest contribution to the history of broadcasting was to make TV news into something truly telegenic.’ As it can be seen television faced many less restricting factors than radio and there should not have been an excuse for the BBC’s delay producing a suitable news programme.

            The BBC developed an additional broadcast channel with the introduction of CEEFAX and ORACLE by ITV, allowing people access to regularly updated information via a text channel on their television sets. This provided an additional challenge for journalists, as they had to develop new skills to write for a television text medium. Therefore, it can be seen that this information may not have been of a high enough quality to properly portray the news although it soon improved with experience. A further problem experienced by this news outlet was people’s slow uptake of it, resulting in a reluctance to develop this television interaction service any further. Its popularity did increase and by the late 1990’s ‘around 60% of the population owned Teletext television sets,’ according to Harrison (2006:67).  This phenomenon soon caught on resulting in the development of channels such as Sky News Active and BBCi, which today offer advanced viewer interaction with their television providing greater choice of content.

            Taking all this into account it can therefore be seen that radio faced many limiting factors that restricted its ability to develop as a medium. Looking back, we can now see that it was in fact governmental control that had the greatest impact with its restrictions on content and time. Kieran (1998: 165) identifies that ‘those who are in authority generally wish to regulate the views and sentiments that others express, for the power to do so makes their lives considerably easier; and this is nowhere more true than in the case of the government.’ In today’s society this cannot be justified and would be seen as a government deliberately trying to mislead the public. Whilst the lack of development in radio was mainly due to restrictions, the same cannot be said for television. Today it can be seen that the BBC itself was responsible for the lack of change due to its reluctance to modernize and having no competition until quite late on only encouraged this. Despite the slow growth of these broadcast mediums, they have now grown considerably and now present a threat to the more traditional forms of journalism.

With our Paris office up and running we decided to venture to the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre located on the South West side of the city for the annual broadcast exhibition, Siel & Satis. This is an annual exhibition which primarily services the French & Benelux regions and attracts just under 300 companies.

The atmosphere of the show is very similar to that of BVE in Earls Court and caters for industry professionals from Audio, Broadcast TV/Radio, Cinema, Lighting & Stage Equipment and Communications. As well as a number of smaller manufacturers and local distributors there were the more recognisable names present such as Blackmagic Design, Canon, JVC, Miranda, Panasonic, Quantel, Snell and Tektronix.

Alan Mercer (Sales Manager, France & Europe) and Natasha Booluck (Senior Resourcer) attended the show along with Alastair McColl (Marketing Manager) and found the event to offer further insight into the French market place. Whilst making new business contacts we also enjoyed a busy stand where we received hundreds of new registrations on our database.

An enjoyable exhibition with a good attendance of industry professionals….

Siel & Satis Exhibition

Montmartre, Paris

Following continued business growth and particular development with our European clients we have now opened a new European office based in Paris. We see this as a very positive move which allows us to have a more permanent base to service our European clients from.

Alan Mercer, who is the Sales Manager for France & Europe, and a recent recruit to the the expanding Christy Media team, will head up the office and be permanently based out of the French capital. His substanstial broadcast industry experience across the EMEA region and specific experience within the French market will be a great addition to the team and we look forward to conducting more business within the local market.

Please view the French Christy Media website here

After thirty years at the helm of NPR’s well-known Morning Edition, noted radio personality Carl Kasell is about to broadcast his final show. Fortunately, his voice will not be completely absent from the airwaves, as Phil Rosenthal reports in the Chicago Tribune:

Fortunately for his fans, however, Kasell, 75, will continue as official judge and scorekeeper of the Chicago Public Radio-produced quiz show, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” the wry current events program that, his NPR bosses noted in a staff memo Monday, “turned him from a newsman into a rock star.”

That notoriety will be leveraged. NPR reportedly has plans of using him in an ambassadorial fashion, sending him to events around the country. I would assume that means a lot of local station fundraising events, among other things.  It is my hope that whatever these events are, they allow Mr. Kasell to sleep in. If anyone has earned it, he has.

His iconic voice will be missed by those who tune in to Morning Edition. After all, he first started there in 1975 when the entire NPR team numbered a mere 200 people. In that time, he has entrenched his tagline, “From NPR News, I’m Carl Kasell,” in the consciousness of America.

Here is wishing him well. I’m sure his last show on December 30 will have a massive audience. I know I’ll be tuning in!

Image Source: Picture taken by Michaela Murphy and posted with permission; original found at http://www.notduck.com/Other/Celebrities.html. She owns the copyright and said the following: “I grant permission to copy, distribute and/or modify these images under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.”