KobreChannel

Great write-up about this issue of growing concern...

2010-07-30T11:20:55.562-07:00

Great write-up about this issue of growing concern.

Hey Ken Many thanks for the ink! I appreciate it. ...

2010-07-29T04:08:26.427-07:00

Hey Ken
Many thanks for the ink! I appreciate it.
m

Nice post...I like it : )) #1 resource for buying and selling Royalty-free photographs and vector images

Next time you watch a sports event, check out whic...

2010-07-15T04:00:12.956-07:00

Next time you watch a sports event, check out which cameras the press are using. Mostly Canon. It's where the pros go. Canon is way superior. The EOS system is user friendly, the camera body is simple and logical. Ypu can work it out without having to switch it on. I was looking at my friends' Nikon and counted over 17 butons! I mean by the time you try and figure out the gimics, you've missed the action. Cant beat Canon and their lenses are second to none.

Still love this post! We've added some new fe...

2010-07-13T13:36:07.326-07:00

Still love this post! We've added some new features lately, have you seen them?

I'd love to hear back from you about what you think. I'm the Community Manager over at clp.ly, tia@clp.ly

Brandon: Most photo agencies are collections of in...

2010-07-09T15:42:43.697-07:00

Brandon: Most photo agencies are collections of independent photogs who fly solo, not collaboratively. We're thinking more of small teams of specialists who could draw upon each other's strengths to create projects that would benefit from the input of multiple individuals. A closer model might be Brian Storm's MediaStorm, in that they self-generate projects, and also selectively accept work for hire, as a team.

Rosenblum makes a great point, and I think we alre...

2010-07-08T20:40:31.339-07:00

Rosenblum makes a great point, and I think we already have proof that this type of business model is sustainable. For example, on a general basis, every news wire agency works on this type of basis, except with a middleman that allocates assignments to their clients. But more specifically, you have photo agencies like VII and NOOR that are exactly like what you and Rosemblum have prescribed; a collaboration between a few skilled photographers to charge high-dollar for their stylish content.

But those two agencies are like the "Gucci" and "Armani" of the wire service market and I have yet to see local systems set up this way. I think because of the success we see from those two companies, it is very well likely that more "firms" could thrive in these times.

Thanks for this post - made for interesting readin...

2010-07-08T04:19:01.673-07:00

Thanks for this post - made for interesting reading and brought up a lot of issues close to my heart. I agree that as journalists now, we're required to do more than we ever have. I don’t agree with Mr Rosenblum about how we as journalists aspire to dishevelled, worthy poverty, but I get the point he’s making.

I set up mexicoreporter.om when I was working in Mexico as a freelance multimedia journalist and then a video journalist for the Los Angeles Times. The idea was to use free web software to publish journalistic content of my own making. When I arrived in Mexico, I began filing to the site in words, videos and pictures as if it were an editor, and went on from there.

MexicoReporter.com was an essential independent platform for my digital storytelling. But it was also a vital route to editors in the UK and the US that I was pitching to and attracted a lot of traffic from both readers and editors wanting to commission me. It wasn’t very complicated to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter, and it still isn’t. Video editing and photo slideshows can be produced by non-rocket scientists. And as more social networks and technologies become widespread, it’s just a question of staying on top of those.

When I think about this need for journalists to be more entrepreneurial I see an exciting but necessary challenge rather than a tedious extra to take on. Those journalists who are graduating now and expect to be taken on by a newspaper or broadcaster are going to be very disappointed. Although I think there are still jobs out there if you are multi-media skilled in traditional media organisations. But importantly, I think the point is that major media outlets aren't the only way to get your work out there now.

By the end of my three-year stay in Mexico, I was getting emails from people asking to do work experience on MexicoReporter.com. To my audience it clearly looked like an online newspaper, not just a portfolio site. The challenge, now, is to make that pay, and as the reach of the media giants (especially abroad) continues to shrink, there is a huge space to develop independent editorial businesses in this space. That is a business challenge, but it is also a journalistic one, and if it doesn’t excite journalism graduates or experienced professionals, then maybe it’s time to get out of this ever-changing game.

Where in the world did the notion of the glorious ...

2010-07-06T02:03:48.826-07:00

Where in the world did the notion of the glorious poverty stricken 'journalist' come from. Ink stained wretch with patched elbows 'fighting the good fight' against 'power'?

If we're poor it's our own fault for embracing this nonsense.

Take a look at how we're portrayed in Hollywood movies like State of Play. Russell Crowe as the driven 'reporter' - unwashed, unshaven, hung over, drives a crap car, lives in a dump. Yet 'fighting the good fight'.

And we embrace this? What are we, crazy?

Who wants to live like this?

The Internet Revolution happened on our watch - it happened to OUR industry. We were there first. We should own the damned thing. We should all be billionaires. But we aren't. Instead we're getting pink slips and left behind. And why?

Because for some strange reason we decided to embrace the image of poverty as a good.

It was not always thus.

American journalism has a long history of successful journalist/entrepreneurs, from Benjamin Franklin, one of the richest men in the colonies yet a printer to Michael Bloomberg or Rupert Murdoch. These should be our heroes - not ragamuffin mess Carl Bernstein.

The Internet Revolution was and is about gathering and processing information. Well, what do you think it is that WE do?

Exactly.

So time to stand up, get aggressive and take control of the business instead of waiting like sheep to the slaughter.

So hooray for Adam Westbrook and other who extol a new generation of aggressive entrepreneurial journalists. Better late than never

Thanks for the Twitter chat post mention, Professo...

2010-06-05T05:46:59.500-07:00

Thanks for the Twitter chat post mention, Professor! Also, I like the J-school link. Been considering a MFA or MLS. But more to help myself grow than effect my career.

I don’t mind Mr Mohtasebs use of color correction ...

2010-05-19T05:12:15.870-07:00

I don’t mind Mr Mohtasebs use of color correction or pocket dolly. We must adopt the technology. But the end result is not about image enhancement, it’s a story about the aftermath of a disaster. I think this is where he failed.

I have seen many photographers using modern technology to express their point of view. Don’t we still accept a black and white photo story? So using technology perfectly acceptable as long as it serves the purpose.

Personally I think " in this era of ‘infotainment’ a good photo story is factual and fictional at the same time. "Cinematic” like many other styles is only a means to convey the message.

Do we really believe in the photograph's ability to tell the truth or do we rely on the video journalist’s commitment and consistency?

Great story about the Gaza wedding, Ken, I hadn...

2010-05-17T10:36:57.295-07:00

Great story about the Gaza wedding, Ken, I hadn't heard about that chapter. Glad your flak jacket wasn't necessary. I look v fwd to the edited piece! BR

This issue has become quite heated, and I myself g...

2010-05-02T11:11:48.504-07:00

This issue has become quite heated, and I myself got involved in the initial postings on Dan Chung's website.

You stated it well Ken:

"...to qualify as journalism on its own merits, it needs to show us more than well-lit, well-composed colorful images. It also needs to enhance our comprehension of the situation and inform us of the basic W's: who, what, when, where, and most of all, why."

That was my beef with the montage. None of these foundational elements was brought to light and as such it was vague. It was a disjointed collection of perfectly setup clips set to music with no context to show whether this was a fictional or factual montage. To have called it journalism was a slap in the face of the profession - and too many nowadays are willing to discard the very foundations of journalism for the sake of creative license.

A dangerous line to walk - and cross over in my opinion.

Cliff Etzel
Solo Video Journalist
SoloVJ.com Blog

I appreciate your insight on this story. It saved ...

2010-04-30T11:57:21.855-07:00

I appreciate your insight on this story. It saved me from chasing down all the links you provided!

With the camera getting top billing on the title slide ("Shot entirely with the Canon 5D Mark 2"), the video has feel of a vanity piece for Canon. If this were all the journalism we were getting from trouble spots like Haiti, we'd be in big trouble. But as something ancillary to the larger story, the approach has it uses. The piece was sensitively shot, and without a voiceover guiding my thoughts or directing my vision, my eyes tended to roam all over the frame, as one would look at still images in a gallery. And in my own quiet way, I found myself contemplating heartbreak and hope as the vivid, memorable imagery rolled along.

I don't mind the dolly shots, but it does seem slick B roll. In the field, it must be cumbersome to plan and set up and therefore one more impediment toward getting the story.

Substituting the strings for human voices is a goo...

2010-04-30T04:33:52.671-07:00

Substituting the strings for human voices is a good point. Mohtaseb makes a mistake when he says he wanted the visuals to do that talking. That long drawn out cello talks as much as a human voice ever could. What does it say about this story – “Look at these poor pathetic people and what they have to deal with following this horrific event.”

It’s not happy or cheerful music, it’s a sad lonely cello that puts this story in context from the second it starts.

Turn the sound off and watch it again. Does it lose much of it's original punch? At 1:19 imagine you could hear that little boy to the left laughing instead of the wallowing cello. Are we getting the truth of that moment or are we being forced through the music to think it's sad no matter what we see?

It's beautiful as cinema. As journalism it's deceiving.

Ken, would you be interested in being on the jury ...

2010-04-28T15:31:46.405-07:00

Ken,
would you be interested in being on the jury next year?

@ Travis-drop me an email and I'll set you up ...

2010-04-05T09:55:38.176-07:00

@ Travis-drop me an email and I'll set you up with a J-Cube to try. Your rig can be made much more compact and well balanced and you can swap accessories readily.

Hilarious, wopkins! Tiger Woods, John Edwards and ...

2010-03-28T11:50:46.973-07:00

Hilarious, wopkins! Tiger Woods, John Edwards and Jesse James should be concerned lest their wives get their hands on this!

Some even better examples of this awesome content-...

2010-03-26T13:15:30.606-07:00

Some even better examples of this awesome content-aware feature:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ScWu7pG7r0

So amazing!

Hey Ken Many thanks! I have been following you for...

2010-03-07T08:09:13.997-08:00

Hey Ken
Many thanks! I have been following you forever. You do a great job! Happy to be in the club!
m

Oversight corrected, with apologies and gratitude!...

2010-03-06T13:03:43.878-08:00

Oversight corrected, with apologies and gratitude! Original twitter search turned up a lot of "rosenblum" but not "rosenblumtv" -- but now we're delighted to add it. Get in the club? You created the club!

Hey Ken Having been doing this since 1988 and havi...

2010-03-05T23:32:08.713-08:00

Hey Ken
Having been doing this since 1988 and having built entirely VJ-driven TV stations and even networks around the world, (and blogging on it since 2006 at www.rosenblumtv.com), I was a bit disappointed not to make your list. What does one have to do to get into the club?

Thanks for writing the blog entry. My grandfather...

2010-03-05T19:48:36.073-08:00

Thanks for writing the blog entry. My grandfather made the original film. Years later, I was able to restore the film which then led, as you put it, a video about a video about a video - though I'd stop at "a video about a video." The original film has a website thinkofmefirstasaperson.com - also a facebook fan page which has attracted a large community within the Down Syndrome community.

Thanks for the nice post and for mentioning CubRep...

2010-03-04T09:59:16.291-08:00

Thanks for the nice post and for mentioning CubReporters.org. SFSU has a great journalism dept. Give my regards to Professor Azocar. -Mark

I'm personally a fan of the new Kodak Playspor...

2010-03-02T13:46:19.372-08:00

I'm personally a fan of the new Kodak Playsport. It is a pocket sized camcorder and still shot camera that has the same reliability and photo capability as the Zi8 only waterproof for up to 10 feet underwater. Kodak Playsport