Message From Michael - October 27, 2010

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Message from Michael - Citizen Journalism - October 20, 2010

Message From Michael                                 

                                                                                    October 20, 2010    

                                                                                                                                                                       

      HOW DO I MEASURE THEE

      OLD PEOPLE GOT NO REASON

      ADMIRABLE JOURNALISTS

      ADMIRABLE MEDIA MAVENS

      FREEDOM OF SPEECH WEEK

 

 

      HOW DO I MEASURE THEE:  With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, mainstream media measures thee to the depth, breadth and height your business can reach.  But if you’re the Knight Foundation and you’re measuring the effectiveness of citizen news sites, the measurement is based on… stealing some more lines from dear Elizabeth… “to the level of everyday’s quiet need… with a passion put to use.”  (Whew, is that a change from my usual Rock and Roll headlines or what?) According to a recent, and semi-candid, self analysis of its efforts to launch citizen journalism sites through its “New Voices” grants program, J-Lab Executive Director Jan Schaffer argues that the more accepted measures -- revenue raised or unique visitors reached -- just don’t work in measuring the impact of the 46 projects funded since 2005.  Very simply, Schaffer and her co-authors say, “community news sites are not a business yet.”  Or put in more grant-ese language, “there is a mismatch between instilling sustainable civic demand for local news information and developing sustainable economic models.”  And the other revelation that will surprise no-one, “rarely did they (the new voices sites) replace coverage that had vanished from legacy news outlets, or even aspire to (do so.)”  But, they argue, that is not say they haven’t been success.  It all depends on how you measure success. When the United States Postal Service changes where they place mailboxes on a busy road, after New Voices website Hartsville Today in South Carolina reports on the problems, that’s success.  When the Chappaqua, New York, school board changes the school schedule, after New Voices website NewCastleNow.org raises questions, that’s success. 

All that may sound like excuses, when you consider NewCastleNow only has 3,000 subscribers and only 60,000 unique visitors in a year. The authors say that many of the New Voices sites consider 1,000 unique visitors a month “just fine for their small communities.”  Or it may seem an excuse when you consider that the $833,000 in New Voice grants over those five years has only translated into $1.44 Million in either new grants, or donations or ad revenue among the 46 sites.  That becomes even more questionable when you consider that three sites accounted for $952,000 of that amount, meaning the other sites averaged between $2,100 and $2,600.  For some perspective, the Knight Foundation grant was for a ‘massive’ (yes, I’m being sarcastic) $12,000 in the first year and $5,000 in the second year.  Last year the amount skyrocketed (yes, more sarcasm), to $17,000 and $8,000.  Humorously, if you like black humor, Schaffer argues that the “micro-funding” is actually a good thing because it teaches them to deal with skeleton resources. Meanwhile, the report notes that the sites are competing against some of the mega-operations such as the Patch series of hyper-local news sites backed by AOL.

The report does contain a series of recommendations, including the point that technology is both a curse and a blessing.  A curse when site operators get wrapped up, trying to use high-end tech stuff such as Drupal for their websites instead of open-source software.  A blessing when they make use of Search Engine Optimization and the “game changing” social media.  Several of the sites found that social networking increased their outreach enormously, with some sites even using social networks as their primary means of distribution.  Also, even though nearly half of the sites had university connections, the university sites were “steeped in peril.”  Primarily, because the academic calendar just doesn’t work for such sites.  They have to be year-round.  Added to that was the fact that university requirements often “deprived (the sites) of the nimbleness they needed.”  To counter this, they recommend universities “create entrepreneurial centers for community outreach and engagement that can circumnavigate the red tape.”  The report also notes that legacy media aren’t much better because they have not proven to be the partners that many such website entrepreneurs hoped.  The report warns that youth media, such as high school students, should not be relied upon, but instead should be supplementary or ‘tertiary.’  More critical, they say, it is imperative to have a core of writers that you can rely on, because “citizen journalism is a high churn, high touch enterprise.”  Many of the site founders told of training dozens, and in some cases, hundreds of people, only to have them leave after a short time.  Which brings us to one of the two most important take-aways and, maybe, determinants of success (in my humble opinion.)  One is that such sites are driven by people with a passion for what they do, and these people must remain deeply involved in the sites to make them successful.  Second is that people visiting such sites aren’t just looking for news; they’re looking for connections… a connection to their community, which too often has been run by an established heirarchy. Hence, the point made by the Browning poem: everyday needs and passion.

FOOTNOTE:  Or maybe it’s a side note, but regardless, one of the other factors playing into this are the so-called ‘content farms’ that generate ‘content’ to wrap around advertising to make it more acceptable.  Yes, this has been the subject of previous messages, but more media observers are picking up on this trend.  The latest, Mike Shields, of MediaWeek, notes that Demand Media, one of the larger ‘custom content’ or ‘custom publishing’ enterprises (as they prefer to be called) ranks 17^th in Web traffic with 59 Million unique users, according to figures supplied by comScore.      

      OLD PEOPLE GOT NO REASON:  To use email, or to use Facebook, or to use SMS, or to use any of the so-called new media tools.  But they do, says a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life project.  It says the numbers have doubled or tripled over the last year.  One in five adults (20%) between the ages of 50 and 64 use social networking sites on a typical day.  A year ago, it was one in ten (10%).  One in seven adults (13%) over 65 use social networking sites on a typical day.  A year ago, it was one third that (4%).  Somewhat amazing (to me at least), one in ten (11%) of ONLINE (important distinction) adults age 50 to 64 use Twitter; And one in twenty (5) of ONLINE (again, important distinction) adults over 65 use Twitter.

FOOTNOTE:  Baby Boomers represent 25% of the population, but they consume 40% of the technology, according to a report by Nielsen.  An article in Advertising Age cities Nielsen, the Pew report and even a group called the Grandparent Marketing Group as further evidence of the misconceptions surrounding older people and technology. Forrester Research says that the 46 to 64 year old group actually spends more on technology than any other demographic.

      ADMIRABLE JOURNALISTS:  There aren’t any.  How’s that for a blunt response?  According to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, more than half (52%) of Americans could not (or would not) name a journalist or newsperson they most admire.  The study authors say that is proof of the fragmented news environment, because that percentage has increased steadily since they started doing the survey.  Three years ago, significantly less than half (42%) were unable to name someone.  And they note that now cable news people are mentioned as often as network news people.  Topping the list this year was Diane Sawyer, but as further indication of the erosion, only five percent named her.  She was followed by Katie Couric (4%).  Then it’s Bill O’Reilly and Glen Beck (3%), followed by Brian Williams and Anderson Cooper (2%).  The low numbers and the slight difference are such that they are not statistically significant.

      ADMIRABLE MEDIA MAVENS:  There’s a dozen of them, according to AdWeek, and in sharp contrast to the journalists, most of them are about half the age of the news people cited by the Pew Study.  And most of them… no, probably all of them, you’ve never heard of.  Yet, one could also argue that, with their focus on the digital world, they may also be more impactful.  AdWeek staff writers say this is their youngest class of Media All-Star” winners.  The executive of the year is 46-year-old Phil Cowdell, CEO of MindShare North America.  The “rising star” this year is Beth Doyle, who is associate director for innovations for Vivaki, part of Publicis Groupe – the world’s second largest media agency and the world’s fourth largest communications group.  Most of the group appear to be in their 30’s, and most of the group (my observation) seem to have built their careers based on digital use, and research.     

      WORTH NOTING:  This week (October 18 – 24) is National Freedom of Speech Week, and while the official website (yes, there is an official website) notes that there are scores of causes that have weeks or months named after them, freedom of speech should be especially noted because it is “the language of America.”  In an earlier message, we also noted the celebrity studded website, 1forall.us, which is dedicated to reminding people of the importance of The First Amendment.  Another belated note:  The end of last month (September 25 – October 2) was Banned Book Week and yes, there is an official website for it as well.  And, in an interesting (some might say bizarre) twist on the banned book situation, the federal government, in effect, censored a book by the simple expedient of buying every one of the books published.  The government bought the entire first run of the book, Operation Dark Heart, by Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer, about intelligence operations in Afghanistan.  The publisher, St. Martin’s Press, then ‘recycled’ all those copies ‘at the government’s request.’  A revised second edition, with changes ‘suggested’ by the Department of Defense, will be published.         

      SUBSCRIPTIONS:  We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael.  But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.  If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com.  You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.

 

Message from Michael - Social Network Rise - October 13, 2010

Message From Michael                                 

                                                                                                                        October 13, 2010                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

      THE POWER OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

      ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED

      REACH OUT AND TOUCH

      COCKTAIL CHATTER – ANDY GRIFFITH – TELENOVELAS – MAN VS WILD

 

 

      THE POWER OF SOCIAL NETWORKING:  Okay, no cutesy headline, just the facts.  All that hullabaloo about social networking?  It’s true.  Two studies show the global power of social networking in what is becoming a seemingly digital village.  The first, by CNN, shows the power of sharing.  The stand-out factoid -- a quarter of online ‘sharers’ account for nine out of ten of all the stories shared worldwide.  Specifically – 27% of sharers account for 87% of the news links.  And the prime way to share?  Of course – social networking, which accounts for nearly half (43%) of all peer-to-peer news sharing.  Emails account for a third (30%), with SMS (15%) and IM (12%), about even.  The second study, by TNS, shows that people are spending increasing amounts of time on social networking sites, rather than email, especially in developing countries, even though, the authors note, social networking has only become ‘mainstream’ in the last few years.  The stand-out factoid in this study – people who are online use the Internet as their ‘number one media channel’ more (61%) than TV (54%), radio (36%) or newspapers (32%).  A caveat – the survey is of ‘online users’ and not the general population.

The CNN study of 2,300 people worldwide, and codenamed Pownar (for Power of News and Recommendation) identified what it called – and this is language for my research-oriented readers – a three-tiered semiotic wheel comprising the three types of codes of narrative, theme and underlying message.  Putting that in simpler language, two-thirds (65%) of the stories being shared are about on-going news stories; A fifth (19%) of the shared stories are breaking news stories; And a sixth (16%) of the content being shared falls into the ‘quirky or funny’ category.  The average global user shares 13 stories a week and gets 26 stories a week.  Personally I find it interesting that the vast majority of shared stories are about on-going news events, like the Chilean miners story.  Anyway, the ‘sell point’ of the study is that such shared, or recommended, stories have greater impact.  Advertisers associated with shared stories get a ‘bump’ in their approval ratings, so to speak, from being associated with such stories.  (The Pownar study is a follow-up to a previous CNN study code-named Grapevine, but which I could find little original material on.  So, any help from my CNN friends would be welcome.)

The TNS study of 48,000 people in 46 countries shows some striking differences between what it calls “rapid growth markets’ (meaning what we used to call third world or emerging countries) and “mature markets” (meaning countries with long established economies.)  The email example cited above, for example.  In rapid growth markets, such as Latin America, the Middle East and China, people spend an average 5.2 hours a week on social networking sites compared to four hours on email.  In mature markets, it’s the reverse with people checking their in-boxes an average of 5.1 hours a week, while spending ‘only’ 3.8 hours a week spent on social networking sites.  The same reversal of attitudes can be seen in blogging and photo sharing.   People in rapid growth markets are two to three times more likely to actually write a blog than people in mature markets.   For example, four out of five online users in China (81%) and half the online users (51%) in Brazil have written their own blog or ‘forum entry’ compared to only a third (32%) in the U.S.  Nearly everybody in Thailand (92%) and most of those in Malaysia (88%) and Vietnam (87%) have uploaded photos to social networking sites or photo sharing sites.  By comparison, only a quarter (28%) in Japan and under half (48%) in Germany have done so.  The most ‘social country’ in the world is Malaysia where people have an average of 233 friends on social networking sites, followed by Brazil (231) and Norway (217).  The least ‘social country’ in the world is Japan where people ‘only’ have an average of 29 friends on social networking sites, followed by Tanzania (38) and, somewhat of a surprise to me, South Korea (50). 

Why the difference?  TNS Chief Development Officer Matthew Froggatt suggests that in mature markets where people have been online for years, the Internet has become “a commoditized item that consumers take for granted.”  In rapid growth markets where the infrastructure is only just being built, the digital world is offering them a chance to transform the way they live, develop and interact.  As a final note, TNS has created an incredible interactive website, again for my research friends -- discoverdigitallife.com where you can play with the data to your heart’s content.

      ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED:  That seems to be the appropriate descriptor for people and online video, if one listens to the results of a recent survey about web video content.  The study by Frank Magid and Associates says people who watch online video are two and a half times more likely to be engaged with the video than people watching traditional television.  Now, of course, it should be noted that the study was done for Next New Networks and YouTube.  But that aside, the figures are impressive.  More than half (54%) of those surveyed, ‘deemed’ Web original content to be just as, if not more, entertaining than what they view on traditional television.  More telling in defining engagement are the numbers showing what people do while watching either Web original content or traditional television.  More than a third of Web viewers (37%) surf the web while watching video, while nearly two thirds (60%) of TV watchers do.  A little more than a quarter (28%) of people watching Web original videos talk to others while watching, but more than half (52%) of TV viewers do so.  And only one in five Web original viewers (19%) do things around the house while Web original video is playing, but, again, more than half (52%) of TV viewers do so.  In other words -- and if you think about it, it may seem obvious – Web original content viewers are paying more attention.

      REACH OUT AND TOUCH:  And that’s what some newspapers are doing quite effectively with their online properties, according to a study released by The Media Audit of newspaper websites.  The top newspaper website in the country is that of the Ann Arbor News in Michigan which reaches more than half (55.7%) of all adults in its MSA.  What makes that particularly interesting is that the newspaper has cut back from a daily print version to a twice-a-week print run on (oddly, to me) Thursday and Saturday.  (I say ‘oddly’ because I’d always understood Wednesdays and Sundays to be the best print days.)  Not surprisingly its online edition outperforms its print edition in terms of reach.  That’s only true of one other newspaper – the Madison, Wisconsin, Capital Times, where the online version reaches more people (42.8%) than the print version (30.8%).  It came in number five in the rankings.  In most cases, the print version still reaches more adults than the online version… another point which I found surprising.  The New Orleans Times Picayune which took the number two spot, for example, reaches three quarters (70.3%) of the adults through its print product but ‘only’ half (52.5%) through its online product. Syracuse New York’s The Post Standard came in third in terms of online penetration (49.4%) compared to 74.1% for its print product.  The Washington Post, which is probably as well known for its website nationally as anything, came in fourth, reaching just under half of the local market online (47.2%) and more than half (58.2%) with its print product.  The report did not show any combined totals, which many newspapers are now selling.  Rounding out the top ten in newspaper websites are Reno NV,  Grand Rapids MI, Birmingham Al, Allentown PA, and Albany NY.                 

      COCKTAIL CHATTER:  A belated Happy Birthday to The Andy Griffith Show which celebrated its 50^th anniversary, having first appeared on October 3^rd, 1960, at 9:30 p.m. following The Danny Thomas Show.  The show ran for ‘only’ eight seasons, ending in 1968, but of course it has lived on, in re-runs ever since.  And here’s the factoid to ponder.  According to calculations by Robert Seidman on the website TVbytheNumbers, airings of The Andy Griffith Show on TVLand in one month equaled 90% of ALL the viewing on Hulu for one month.  

Two Spanish language Telenovelas accounted for ten of the top 100 new shows to premier this season.  The two, Soy Tu Duena and Hasta Dinero, took positions ranging from 43 to 73, according to figures released by the TVB, Television Bureau of Advertising.  Of course the TVB report, which looks at Broadcast and Ad-Supported Subscription TV, emphasized that Broadcast took 95 of the top 100 spots, but I found the Latino showing particularly interesting as well.  NBC’s Sunday night and ESPN’s Monday night football took the top two spots, but the third position?  Glee… followed by The OT, Two and a Half Men, Dancing with the Stars, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory, Desperate Housewives and The Simpsons.  It should also be noted that this is for the Adults 18-49 demographic. 

I don’t know what it says, but one of the hit shows internationally is The Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild.  At least that’s my completely unscientific observation from reading sales transactions, courtesy of the Cynopsis newsletter, from MipCom 2010 which is the International showcase of TV shows.  Man vs Wild was picked up by broadcast groups in Spain, Italy and France.  Keeping up with the Kardashians appears to be a hit in Australia and the Philippines.  And the one I love, although I don’t know why, China’s CCTV picked up The E! True Hollywood Story.  There’s a whole message in analyzing what shows sold overseas, and when I get some spare time at four o’clock in the morning, I’ll do that.

Finally, it should be noted in the TV Cocktail Chatter column, that one-time PBS powerhouse KCET in Los Angeles has broken away from PBS and is going independent.  Officials there cite the fee increase demanded by PBS which amount to $7 Million of the station’s $37 Million as the key reason.  The move makes KCET the largest independent television station in the U.S.  It should be noted that KCET is one of four PBS member stations serving Los Angeles.

      SUBSCRIPTIONS:  We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael.  But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.  If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com.  You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.

 

Message from Michael - GoogleTV - October 5,2010

Message From Michael                                 

                                                                                                                        October 5, 2010                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

      YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION

      BILL GATES’ FAVORITE TEACHER

      DOWN BY THE RIVER

      WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN

      COCKTAIL CHATTER – IPHONES AND PORN

 

 

      YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION: And if you believe some analysts, the release of GoogleTV is about to change the world, but they’re definitely going to ask for a contribution.  Okay, okay, enough of The Beatles. And I apologize to all those who now have the lyrics stuck in their head.  But, if some of those analysts are to be believed, GoogleTV is the newest creative destruction, as it “seamlessly” (a word they use a lot in their promotional material) integrates the Web and TV.  It puts together TV, either satellite or cable, although it seems to favor DISH, with the Internet; Adds in a search function and display, along with Apps on the screen; then mixes in anything on your computer such as videos and pictures, or Flickr pictures, or YouTube video.  All on that 42-inch screen.   Now, the tech-savvy… or cynical… ones among you will say, “Gadzooks, Michael, that’s just Apple TV all over again.”  Well, according to the analysts, yes and no.  Apple TV helps you combine Internet content (including TV shows and movies online) and Television content on the big screen.  The difference appears to be in the Interactivity which Google brings to the screen, allowing you to search for, or use apps to get,  your favorite show, movie, YouTube video, information, whatever and display it.  What is similar is that Google has taken a page from the Steve Jobs promotional handbook, writing that, “the coolest thing about Google TV is that we don’t even know what the coolest thing about it will be.”  On a more pragmatic level, they note that there are 5 Billion TV sets in the world. To add a little perspective, let me remind you of a previous Message which noted that there are just under 7 Billion people, total, in the entire world, including those little villages where ten people have one TV set; and that there are just under 2 Billion Internet users. 

As a side note, and because we want to make sure you know about all the high tech developments, we should also point out that Apple and Google are not the only ones creating the ‘holy grail’ of an Internet-TV combination.  Boxee is gaining ground in this area of streaming Internet content on the TV.  All free theoretically.  And a small startup in California, Roku, has also entered the fray with a low cost Internet video streaming device.

      ILL GATES’ FAVORITE TEACHER:  He’s a 33-year-old Harvard MBA who started his own free-to-anyone online tutorial program in a converted closet in his home in the Silicon Valley, using a few hundred dollars worth of video equipment.  Gates became a fan, according to an article in Fortune magazine, after a colleague at the Gates think tank, bgc3, pointed out Kahn’s kahnacademy.org website.  Gates gave Kahn a ‘shoutout’ at the Aspen Ideas festival after he and his 11-year-old son began using the videos which cover everything from algebra to biology.  Unfortunately, for Kahn, as near as I can tell, Gates did not give him any money.  Fortunately, for Kahn, though, Google did, funding it to the tune of $2 Million so the Kahn Academy can create more courses and “translate their core library into the world’s most commonly used languages.”  The Google funding is part of its Project10tothe100 effort which solicited ideas from around the world that it would fund because, the website says, after a basic level of material wealth, “the only thing that increases individual happiness over time is helping other people.”  So, 160,000 submissions from 170 countries were narrowed down to 16 submissions; of those, five were voted on to get millions of dollars to buy some happiness.  The other four are:  First, founded by inventor and physicist Dean Kamen, and which helps promote science and math education by staging team competitions among young people; the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences which also promotes math and science education but specifically in Africa;  PublicResource.org which we have mentioned in previous messages and which has the mission of providing public documents free to everybody online; and finally, Schweeb, which is a way-cool monorail transportation system in which you get around by using a recumbent cycle in a plastic tube (Go to the website.  You have to see it to believe it).  Like I say, way cool.

And as a footnote  – No, I had not heard of Gates’ think tank, bgc3, before either.  PCMag calls it Gates’ “mystery startup.”  Speculation runs the gambit that it is his latest, innovative business venture to the idea that it is just a way for him to pay the salaries of his entourage of employees.         

      DOWN BY THE RIVER:  That flowed by the coal yards.  Or, if that hasn’t gotten lyrics stuck in your head.  Try this – I’m depending on you, son, to pull the family through.  See a theme?  All right, to get back on track.  Both relate to AOL’s huge investment in a semi-new, hyper-local news service – Patch.  According to AOL officials, they are planning to create 500 hyper-local news sites under the Patch brand which will make them -- here’s the big factoid of the day --  the largest hirer of journalists in the U.S. this year.  A visit to the website showed most of the 100 existing sites are located in the Northeast region, California and Illinois, with sites “coming soon” to Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Washington state.  All in all, 20 states.  Why not the other 30, I don’t know.  But that’s not all.  AOL  has also launched a new advertising system nick-named Project Devil with mega-advertisers General Mills and Proctor and Gamble.  That’s still not all.  The operation, once-derided as an also ran in the new media world, has gone on a buying spree – picking up the how-to site 5Min, the popular tech site TechCrunch run by Michael Arrington, along with StudioNow which helps companies create online videos, and ThingLabs which developed the Brizzly social media reader.  And just to add a little more to the mix.  They’ve also launched the MarloThomas.com website, built around the actress’s recent rise in popularity.  Not bad for what was once a has-been in the media world.  The interesting point made by several analysts is that in the new media world, success is defined through either distribution or content.  Some companies try to do both.  The ‘smart’ companies focus on one or the other.  AOL is obviously staking a claim on the content side of the equation.

      WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN:  As MediaLife magazine put it, Blogging is “so 2004.”  Well, not so fast, says a study by eMarketer.  According to their report, more than half (51%) of the online population in America read blogs on at least a monthly basis.  That translates into 112.7 Million people.  And eMarketer says that number is expected to grow to more than 150 Million (or 60% of the online population) by 2014.  On the flip side, Americans may be blog readers but they’re not especially blog writers.  Only one in ten (11.9%) Internet users update their blog on a monthly basis.  That translates to 26.2 Million people, although eMarketer expects that number also to grow significantly in the next three to four years.  Analyst and report author Paul Verna makes the interesting observation that “over time, blogs will continue to become indistinguishable from other media channels” in part because of the increased ease of use and a growing comfort level.

      BEATING A DEAD HORSE AWARD:  Yes, here I go again, carping about this phenomenon known as “custom content” or “custom publishing” or “brand marketing” in which the old concept of advertorials and VNR’s are being dressed up in new media clothing.  The latest addition to this growing development, which some say is blurring the line between advertising and news, is the respected business magazine, Forbes, and the almost equally respected celebrity, Tyra Banks.  The magazine is offering marketers the opportunity to be part of the “news environment,” according to an article in Advertising Age.  Yes, you too can make your pitch, disguised as information, right along side the magazine’s leading news bloggers.  Meanwhile, Ms. Banks’ very successful Bankable Media company is teaming up with one of the leading, and some say questionable, custom content groups, Demand Media, to create more info-tainment type content.  And another ‘meanwhile,’ -- the Center for Media and Democracy is calling on the Federal Communications Commission yet again to investigate the use of VNR’s, or what it calls ‘fake TV news’ in television news programs.            

      COCKTAIL CHATTER:  In the way-cool category, like the Schweeb, is an app that can convert your iPad Touch into an iPhone.  New York Times tech columnist David Pogue noted the app, Line2, was first used to give you a second line on your iPhone.  Even cooler, you can use that second line using the Internet and not the AT&T billable airwaves.  As in… no cost.  Even cooler still, now he says you can use your iPad just like an iPhone to make free calls, using the app.  In other news, the identity of thousands of people who downloaded porn illegally was stolen from a British firm and released on the Internet.  CNet reports that the information was taken from the ACS law firm which tracks down illegal file sharing for the porn industry.  The Internet forum 4chan, which we have talked about in previous Messages, leaked the material which reportedly included pleas from married men to the law firm not to release their names. And for those still humming down by the river, the song lyrics are by Dickey Lee.  The lyrics from the second song are by Clarence Carter.

      SHOUTOUT:  And best of luck to Tom Petner, former news director, ShopTalk editor, Vault COO and Senior VP of APBNews.com, whose latest venture is the247newsroom.com, a sort of combination ShopTalk, Romenesko and advice column.  As the website mantra says, “news is more than a career; it’s a 24/7 lifestyle.”   

      SUBSCRIPTIONS:  We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael.  But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.  If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com.  You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.