Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Extra! Finance journalists confess some of their sins

Eventually business journalists are beginning to confess
in larger numbers their sins. In the USA. Lets hope
this serves as a good example for European journalists
and gets them to do likewise. The newspaper crisis has positive
side - effects after all.

The financial crisis, all those tremendous losses in the
banking sector would not have been possible without
the media acting as cheerleaders, hyping up all nonsense,
acting as gatekeepers - those that select and decide what
the general public needs to know and what not. An activity
which seems harmless, almost unnoticeable, it's just omissions
and seeming desinterest in certain matters and stories, but
which has disastrous consequences later on. When an
investor in the worst case finds the office of an investment
firm simply closed because it folded.

The Colorado Independent broke the story (it was also
on the Huffington Post):
Business Journalists Confess ...

For visistors interested in looking back: a pretty popular
video that is posted on this blog under "Crisis bunch". It
consists of three news shows on TV in the US in 06 / 07
and provides a convenient flashback of what the pundits
said and recommended on TV.
(And is reposted here again):
Peter Schiff ...

Update:
Readers for whom the media crisis is not the end of the
world or even expect something good out of that might
be pleased with Jack Shafer's:
Life After Newspapers
an article in which he describes the newspaper strike in
New York in 1962 / 63. It quite funny to read.

And as good news can also this opinion poll / survey be
regarded according to which lots of Americans blame
ad agencies and the media as complicit in the financial
crisis. That's obviously the rather prudent folks who seem
to be in mood to change their media consumption, what
they have money for according to their experience and
knowledge.
Americans blame ad agencies ...

It would be interesting what results a similarly sensitiv
and rather intelligent poll conducted here in Europe come
up with.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Songs that became suddenly hits in the 60's

Susan Boyle and Paul Pott are not the first to have
overnight success. A really cheerful story was told
two years ago by Michelle Phillips, member of the 60's
band The Mamas and Papas and a couple of then
practically unknown artists became a success after
participating in a festival in Monterey, California.
A festival that was also unique the way it was set up,
an idea that seemed impossible to realize at first.

Michelle Phillips told that little story in the Huffington
Post: Mods And Rockers Festival: California Dreaming ...

Hit number one of the day:
Scott Mackenzie: San Francisco

And here one later hit of the then largely unknown, a
random choice:
The Who: Baba O'Riley

Susan Boyle and Paul Potts may be different in their
appearance, look different, but what they have all in
common is talent. They all can sing.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Newspaper rants about Google. And "Oh Shit"

Media people have somehow asked for it. And they
got it now. A brilliant response from Danny Sullivan
from Search Engine Land. It really is a funny and
inspired essay.
Silicon Alley Insider introduced his essay to a wider
audience. hence the link here:
Search Guru Tells Newspapers ...

In the mood for some more laughs about the
newspaper industry?
Henry Blodget wrote a funny article a longer
time ago that is still not old, quite to the contrary.
He elaborated his way on the advertising revenue
of the newspaper industry and what is going to
happen (in the USA):
$ 42 billion up for grabs ...

For those not receiving pay checks from advertising
or newspapers, the newspaper (and media) crisis
includes some good news. For instance the end to
the often highly problematic financial / bank
advertising that was paving the way into all this
financial crisis. Not to mention a lot of other sins and
bad habits.