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I just typed “busy parents” into the google machine and it spit out over 32 million results. That’s probably a result of our collective guilt and our attempts to compensate for it - or our true desire to find solutions to everyday problems caused by our hectic lifestyles.
I am a proud father of two young boys and can relate to people who consider themselves “busy parents.” Even still, my guys are still young - I can’t imagine what it will be like in a few years when both have basketball practice, homework, music lessons, etc. I often end the day chatting with my wife and watching a little bit of TV - usually some short form comedy like the Office or some kind of sports like the NBA playoffs. Much of the time I end up DELETING stuff I recorded and just don’t have the time to watch, even shows I really enjoy like Charlie Rose
. I also subscribe to Sports Illustrated. Presently, I have a stack of about 20 issues of SI sitting on my desk… untouched. And I REALLY like reading SI.
What does this mean? It means we, as parents, have precious few seconds during the day for information gathering, and sometimes the standard media formats that we love just can’t deliver what we need. The long form interview (Charlie Rose) or the magazine (SI) can take up too much time to digest, but will still long for the nuggets we get out of them.
I wish there was a way to get someone ELSE to look through the media for me and pull out the nuggets I would have found if I had the time. And to top it off it would be great if that someone would find various opinions and perspectives on the things I want to know about so I do not have to scour the universe. Even better, if they introduced me to media outlets I wasn’t familiar with before. Oh, and if they could do it all in video format that I could access on the web and with my mobile device - making it that much more engaging - that would be the be-all end-all for a “busy parent” like me.
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Yesterday we announced our partnership with Mediacom, a cable and broadband Internet company. As a content provider, we at Newsy.com understand the importance of distribution and this partnership effectively enables our multiperpsective video content to travel across the web, mobile devices and now, TV.
Fred Wilson, an excellent blogger, recently posted on the future of TV:
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/05/youtubing.html
Recent developments like Boxee are changing the landscape of television and video. At Newsy you have our commitment to deliver you multiperspective news when, where and how you want it.
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Mediacom and Newsy.com Ink Innovative Partnership
Partnership will offer exclusive programming to Mediacom’s customers as well as test and define new models for news
Columbia, MO - May 27, 2009 - Mediacom Communications and Newsy.com (www.newsy.com) have agreed to launch an innovative partnership focused on delivering new forms of news content to Mediacom customers. The partnership will develop and test several different methods of news content and distribution using a combination of Mediacom’s advanced cable and broadband network and Newsy.com digital news services. The intention of the partnership is to provide the communities that Mediacom serves with innovative news services.
“Consumers are looking for quality and relevant news and new ways to be able to access it – when they want and where they want. Newsy.com breaks through the bias barrier to provide viewers multiple perspectives making you smarter, faster. The opportunity to work with Mediacom represents the forward looking ways that content providers and distribution firms can work together to provide innovative news products,” says Newsy.com President Jim Spencer.
“Mediacom is pleased to offer this exclusive programming to our customers in Columbia and Jefferson City,” said Bryan Gann, Mediacom Director of Area Operations. “We’re always looking to work with local businesses, such as Newsy.com. This partnership is particularly exciting because of the opportunity it affords to further strengthen our commitment to education through Newsy.com’s alliance with the University of Missouri. We believe that our customers will see real benefit in the unique way in which Newsy.com presents the news of the day.”
About Newsy.com
Newsy.com (http://www.newsy.com ) is a multiperspective online video news site that monitors, synthesizes and presents the world’s news coverage. Through short video segments available on the web, Newsy.com offers a way to accelerate the global understanding of a news story.
About Mediacom Communications
Mediacom Communications is the nation’s 8th largest cable television company and one of the leading cable operators focused on serving both large cities and small towns in the United States. Mediacom Communications offers a wide array of broadband products and services, including traditional video services, digital television, video-on-demand, high-definition television, high-speed Internet access and phone service.
Newsy.com Press Contact: Alexandra@Newsy.com, (415) 596-9411
Mediacom Press Contact: rhollis@mediacomcc.com, (270) 994-6984
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At Newsy.com we always look forward to covering stories related to space, so we were eager to cover the repair mission to the Hubble Telescope.
Consider the technological feat of the astronauts working some 300 miles above the surface of the earth — after finishing the repair, the crew spent a few extra days in orbit while waiting for perfect landing conditions. From this perch hundreds of miles up, the astronauts enjoyed taking in the view.
They were able to look back and see an earth you won’t find on any map. No borders, no boundaries, just a shining jewel in space.
Think about the perspective they had.
Think also about the new perspectives we’ll all get to enjoy as Hubble searches the cosmos.
When we develop and produce stories here at Newsy, we strive for a higher view. We work to break through borders and focus on reporting in new ways.
Our goal is to provide a moment of clarity, to help make important connections and provide a new way for you to look at a story.
It’s what we work to do every day and we’re always thinking about how we can do it better. Your feedback helps provide guidance.
So, welcome home Atlantis - and welcome all the new perspectives today and just around the corner.
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Robert Picard’s enticingly entitled Why Journalists Deserve Low Pay
is a worthwhile read:
Here are some of Picard’s key points:
- Media has thrived on a “scarcity of distribution” model and information technology threatens it
- Journalists sort through an enormous amount of information to find the most significant and interesting items for consumers
- Journalists must add something novel that creates value
- Finding the right formula of practice, functions, skills and business model will not be easy, but the search must be undertaken
- Journalists will need to acquire entrepreneurial skills that make it possible for them to lead change rather than merely respond to it
I agree with Picard on each of these points - they overlap with the fundamental reasons we started Newsy.
Several industries are being completely destroyed and rebuilt today – some of the guys on Wall Street that felt they “produced significant economic value” find themselves in the same unemployment lines as journalists. The value proposition today is the same as it was when I entered journalism school, “information is power.” Corporations, government and information technology have all evolved faster than journalism – for those in the information business who adapt swiftly the future is indeed bright and profitable.
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You’re busy - we know it. This morning I went to Google News and searched on “space shuttle” - 5,252 results.
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=%22space+shuttle%22
That’s amazing but what do I do with 5,252 news results and sources? Better yet, do I just go out and look at sources I am familiar with - how can I tell the differences in how the story is being reported?
That’s what we are trying to do at Newsy.com - give you a variety of sources and perspectives in short video clips - we blend context with convenience to help make you smarter, faster.
Let me know what you think about our stories - delivering an exceptional news service to you is our focus.
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Jackie Hai recently wrote an interesting entry in her blog Convergence Commons about how journalism schools should apply the basic theory behind link journalism — ‘do what you know best, and link to the rest’ on teaching the craft of journalism and its fundamentals (techniques, tools, etc). She proposes that schools should “link out” to peripheral knowledge bases (business/advertising, information technology, programming), which could be accomplished by sending students to other schools and organizations within the university system.
The partnership between the Missouri School of Journalism and Newsy.com offers students a chance to not just learn, but also practice, online video and new media skills in an entrepreneurial environment. ‘Learning by doing’ is a well-proven method of education and has been a long-standing practice at Missouri (a.k.a. ‘the Missouri Method’). Adding to Missouri’s TV station, radio station and newspaper, Newsy.com offers Missouri a digital newsroom where students learn techniques by practicing them. That digital newsroom work experience is complemented with editorial and audience development classes taught by the Newsy.com management team.
download grindstone road online
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As news has become more abundant, its value has decreased. News consumers, especially Generation Y, increasingly get headlines from various sources online with little or no loyalty to any organization. This shift in behavior has challenged traditional media companies’ business models and left them scrambling to find a path to profitability.
In his excellent post, ‘The Future of News Is Scarcity,’ Nic Brisbourne discusses how a basic rule of economics - every abundance creates new scarcities - can be applied to the news business. The rule is good news for media companies, which are looking for new ways to make money in the 21st Century.
Why? The abundance of has created a new opportunity for providing thought-provoking analysis of multiple sources. Many of today’s most interesting and popular stories go beyond just simply reporting what has occurred – they bring in relevant context.
The New York Times experiments with this concept in its sections The Lede and The Opinionator – other successful news websites with this model include The Huffington Post for politics and TechCrunch for technology news.
Newsy.com is a trailblazer in offering consumers context with convenience - we’re the only online video news site analyzing various news sources and packaging them in one easily digestible package … because multiple sources help you decide the real story.
