Thursday « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Thursday

A day of hodged-podges

Did you see the post from earlier today? The historic marker series is finally back. I’ve been sitting on pictures that just haven’t been uploaded for no reason whatsoever and it seemed a good time to return to that. It only takes about two minutes to put together, after all. So why not? The previous post links to the most recent material.

There is no starting place to that project, really, but you can go here to see where I began.

I’m playing with an app that lets me make a slideshow on my phone. This is SnapAudio, which allows me to record six or 15 or 30 seconds of audio. That would seem like plenty. It is pretty easy to use, too. I shot these pictures on my phone walking from the car to the office this afternoon. I recorded the audio — too much of it I think, but this is only a quick test of functionality — this evening and then uploaded it to YouTube from my phone.

Also, I am going to have to do more voice work. That doesn’t sound as it should.

Everything looks a bit square, but otherwise this could be useful.

Know a slideshow app that doesn’t reduce everything to squares and allows you to record audio? I’m always taking suggestions.

Things to read … because I like to give suggestions, too.

Fairly big news, it will be interesting to see what becomes of this project, CBS News Launches ‘CBSN,’ Live Digital Streaming Network

CBS Launches Ad-Supported Broadband News Feed In Effort To Vie With Cable-News Outlets:

CBS launched what may be the modern media-industry version of a CNN with a new broadband-distributed news feed that will send live, anchored news programming to Internet-connected TVs and other devices – an attempt by the company to monetize its CBS News unit without the old-world hassle of building a cable-TV network to do so.

They say they are aiming for something in between TV and video on demand. The most telling thing will be its degree of adaptability.

Words worth remembering, and eschewing, Four sneaky words that diminish everything you write.

Here is some startling news that was was predicted by … quite a few people, actually, Government Authority Intended for Terrorism is Used for Other Purposes:

What do the reports reveal? Two things: 1) there has been an enormous increase in the use of sneak and peek warrants and 2) they are rarely used for terrorism cases.

First, the numbers: Law enforcement made 47 sneak-and-peek searches nationwide from September 2001 to April 2003. The 2010 report reveals 3,970 total requests were processed. Within three years that number jumped to 11,129. That’s an increase of over 7,000 requests. Exactly what privacy advocates argued in 2001 is happening: sneak and peak warrants are not just being used in exceptional circumstances—which was their original intent—but as an everyday investigative tool.

Second, the uses: Out of the 3,970 total requests from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, 3,034 were for narcotics cases and only 37 for terrorism cases (about .9%). Since then, the numbers get worse. The 2011 report reveals a total of 6,775 requests. 5,093 were used for drugs, while only 31 (or .5%) were used for terrorism cases. The 2012 report follows a similar pattern: Only .6%, or 58 requests, dealt with terrorism cases. The 2013 report confirms the incredibly low numbers. Out of 11,129 reports only 51, or .5%, of requests were used for terrorism. The majority of requests were overwhelmingly for narcotics cases, which tapped out at 9,401 requests.

Parkinson’s stem cell ‘breakthrough’:

Stem cells can be used to heal the damage in the brain caused by Parkinson’s disease, according to scientists in Sweden.

They said their study on rats heralded a “huge breakthrough” towards developing effective treatments.

There is no cure for the disease, but medication and brain stimulation can alleviate symptoms.

Human testing could begin by 2017. It will never be fast enough though, will it?

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30
Oct 14

Early Halloween

I’ve never thought of Halloween as something that really deserves wishing someone happy wishes about it. I’m sure I’ve said it before, much like you say “I’m doing fine,” without thinking about it or perhaps even meaning it. But, there I was, Tuesday night, wishing a happy Halloween to the young lady who cut my hair.

She’d told me about her trick or treating plans — she takes her little sister and friends out every year and she’s going as Mickey Mouse and the kids are going as Powerpuff Girls — and then I paid her and said “Happy Halloween” and realized I kind of meant it above the standard small talk fare.

“May all of your candy be delicious, and peanut free if you have allergens.”

The critical problem with Halloween is that it is gone the next morning. You may have the candy and the wrappers and the tummy ache, but we’ve instantly discarded the notions of Halloween.

So, before the day gets X-rayed, melted and discarded, here’s something I saw today:

Happy early Halloween. May all of your bags be heavy, and without holes in the bottom.

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23
Oct 14

Where can I get a mace?

They sang “O Canada” in Pittsburgh for the hockey game last night. The Philadelphia Flyers faced the Penguins and they did both anthems and Penguin fans sang “O Canada.” Is it nationalism when another nation is involved? So, yeah, I watched Lyndon Slewidge sing it once more.

Here’s the video you really need to see. Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, now a Canadian hero, returned to his regular duties this morning.

It is possible that he is going to start a renaissance of emotional stoicism. He might also make it fashionable to carry a wicked mace.

Much more at the CBC.

Things to read … because I don’t have a mace to give you.

Infiltrating people’s habits: How Time works to engage readers:

Time’s editors meet every morning at 9:45 to discuss stories for the upcoming day. After that meeting, Schweitzer, Ross, and Borchers gather to discuss the 15 or so stories they plan on promoting heavily and how they’ll use what Time calls its “external levers of distribution” — which range from its daily email newsletter and cross-promotions on other Time Inc. websites to working with the Time Inc. PR department and, of course, social media — to ensure that their stories are widely read and shared.

Of the three, Schweitzer is the longest tenured Time employee, having joined the company all the way back in August 2013, and their roles are emblematic of Time’s revamped digital strategy. Time had about 50 million unique visitors in both August and September, more than doubling the roughly 20 million it attracted the year before.

Their efforts go beyond social as well. The Ebola story discussed that morning, covering how some people are surviving the virus, was the top story in Time’s daily email the next morning. Called The Brief after the central feature of Time’s homepage, the email lists 12 things readers need to know each day, and it has an average open rate of around 40 percent. Time has more than 6 million likes and followers on both Twitter and Facebook, but Time assistant managing editor Sam Jacobs said the newsletter, which has about 650,000 subscribers, can drive significant traffic.

Terribly sad, Doctor in New York City Is Sick With Ebola:

A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea became the first person in the city to test positive for the virus Thursday, setting off a search for anyone who might have come into contact with him.

The doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center and placed in isolation at the same time as investigators sought to retrace every step he had taken over the past several days.

At least three people he had contact with in recent days have been placed in isolation. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which dispatched a team to New York, is conducting its own test to confirm the positive test on Thursday, which was performed by a city lab.

While officials have said they expected isolated cases of the disease to arrive in New York eventually, and had been preparing for this moment for months, the first case highlighted the challenges involved in containing the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis.

The next sentence discusses his subway trips. What a logistical challenge. Tomoorrow, I suppose, we’ll begin to talk about the media onslaught.

Where did everybody go? Construction labor shortage more severe in Southeast:

According to data released this week by the Associated General Contractors of America, 83 percent of firms that responded to a recent survey said they are having trouble finding qualified craft workers to fill open spots, and 61 percent are having trouble filling professional slots like project supervisors and engineers.

According to the survey, the Southeast has been hit the hardest by this shortage, where 86 percent of the contractors polled said they had a hard time filling positions with qualified workers.

You haven’t seen a lot of stories about booming construction sites, so did the workers and the professionals have moved on or moved out.

Maybe they’re mace shopping.

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16
Oct 14

There is a video at the end of this post

I’m writing this at the end of a long day, in the middle of a short week, which feels like a long week. But I have a reasonable lecture prepared for tomorrow. The news crew has finished their paper for tomorrow’s edition. I’ve worked on running projects and I ran from working projects.

Wait. That’s not right. I worked on ongoing projects. Later, I went for a run. It was not a fun run. I’ve had one or two of those (I do not know what is happening) but this one wasn’t one of them.

I enjoyed the end of a lovely sunset, however:

And because I was looking that direction I saw this sign … I wonder how many people honked.

Someone approved that sign:

Things to read … because they were approved too.

This was 160 years ago, Samford Recalls “The Midnight Fire”:

On the night of Oct. 15, 1854, the young college’s only building – which housed students, classrooms, laboratories, equipment, books – was destroyed by fire. All the young college’s property was lost, and one student died as a result of injuries sustained in the fire. Located at the time in Marion, Alabama, the college was not quite 13 years old and could have been devastated by the fire.

But, it was a story of heroism during the fire that has carried forward in the university’s history and folklore. Harry, the college janitor and a slave belonging to President Henry Talbird, was among the first to awaken after the fire was discovered. According to accounts of the tragic night, when told to escape while he could, Harry replied, “Not till I wake up the boys.”

He went door to door through the building on his “errand of mercy,” according to reports of the time. When he reached the last room on the upper floor, he was faced with flames where he could not reach the stairs. He jumped from the hall window and was fatally injured.

Put these two together:

HBO to launch standalone streaming service in 2015

CBS follows on HBO’s heels with launch of web-only streaming service

You notice there’s first a premium cable station and a broadcast going the same way. The dominos are at the very least moving. I can’t decide if this puts ABC’s ESPN properties in the sweet spot or puts them behind the eight ball. I’m leaning toward the side that suggests that gives ESPN all the power in the remaining deals.

I suppose I should find this interesting, but mostly I’m not sure why an advertiser and creative think I should give feedback to an ad: If You’d Like To Interact With The Future Of Audio Ads, Please Say “Proceed”.

White House pool reporters test own news distribution system:

White House journalists are creating an alternative system for distributing their media “pool” reports in response to the Obama administration’s involvement in approving and disapproving certain content in official reports.

[…]

Reporters have complained that the Obama White House exploits its role as distributor to demand changes in pool reports and that the press office has delayed or refused to distribute some reports until they are amended to officials’ satisfaction.

But now, some journalists are sharing their White House reporting using Google Groups — the digital service that allows registered users to receive and send information within a closed circle. In an early test of the supplemental system, journalists shared pool information about President Obama’s trip to Chicago this month. The system has been used for “advisories,” such as where the pool is assembling, when another pool report will be issued or whether a correction is in the works.

Because training demonstrates it is more of an evolution than a revolution? The smartphone revolution and why training matters

From the Department of Who Knew? Publishers want out of Apple’s Newsstand jail:

Apple was supposed to save publishers, but these days, it seems like publishers need to be saved from Apple.

Three years ago, Apple introduced Newsstand, a feature that gave iOS users a dedicated home for their digital magazines and newspapers. The app, designed to look like an actual physical newsstand, was good news, too, for publishers, which finally had a way to better stand out from other non-magazine apps.

But three years later, publishers say that Newsstand is holding them back and, in some cases, actively hurting them.

Three years ago, keen observers saw that coming.

This defies excerpting, but it is well said if you haven’t compiled this general sentiment in the last 10 years ago, The bad news about the bad news

And, finally, today’s This Kid Is Cooler Than We Are story, Montevallo first-grader raising money to help Children’s of Alabama cancer patients:

After one of her peers at Montevallo Elementary died of cancer over the summer, first-grader Kayla SanRoman remembers the sight of the many yellow ribbons hanging in the school’s hallways.

At just 6 years old, Kayla knew she wanted to help somehow.

On a piece of white paper, she created a flyer that included a picture she drew of a stick figure with a frown and the words, “Donate muneye for cancer. We hope you can donate to childes hoseital.”

[…]

Kayla has raised $105 as of Wednesday in an effort to get as much as she can by the end of the month to help children with cancer at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

“I’m trying to get a lot of money so I can donate there so they can probably maybe help them,” Kayla said.

The kids are better than alright, no?

Finally, I shot this today. Just put my photo in the windowsill and waited for something to happen. Nothing happened:

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9
Oct 14

Things that remain

This was on the dessert stand in the cafeteria at lunch:

I did not eat any of them, nor did I even try to use my standard rationale: I ran five miles this morning. I can eat a cake. I think it was something about the message. Why does one eat love? How does one eat faith? You could go the metaphorical route, aim for the biblical teaching or, like me, just be a little weirded out by pink icing.

If you stare at those for a second you realize someone wrote all of those out by hand. That’s another thing. How do you expect me to eat that? You wrote faith on a cake square and now I devour it in two bites?

And what of the hope? 1 Corinthians is hardly complete without it.

Man, this is a great diet plan I’ve discovered, huh?

So, yeah, five miles. I can do six miles, no problem. (I do not know what is happening … ) I once knocked out eight miles around the neighborhood, with a fair bit of walking in it. But, still, eight miles. Here’s the problem: I need something to ward off the boredom. Around mile six I’m just ready to move on. Any tips?

Things to read … because you can always find helpful tips if you read enough.

I’m a big fan of making sure students never ask a rhetorical question in their copy. There are times it works. Too often, though, it leads to things like this non sequitur, “Are you a Red Bull Drinker? Do you want to be?” Red Bull Settlement: How to claim your piece of $13 million

There’s a great line in this story, which is always a difficult one to tell, Jury hears emotional testimony from Leonard’s father during sentencing hearing:

Wright, who wore clothes he borrowed from Leonard, pleaded with the court to spare his son, who is facing the death penalty for fatally shooting three people and wounding three others during a party at the former University Heights apartment complex on June 9, 2012.

The dad is in and out of prison, he tells the judge and jury he was never really in his son’s life. He’s actually been hauled to this hearing from his prison sentence. And he’s had to borrow his son’s clothes. The reporter told me he’d noticed that the tie was familiar. He’d seen the defendant, and now his father, wear it. That’s the sort of reporting you can’t get over the phone or in a rewrite. Message: Go to the place you’re writing about.

The trend continues, Marketwatch editor: Most stories will now be less than 400 words:

We need to reshape how markets and financial stories are told to better reflect how they are consumed. What do I mean by that? Like most news sites, MarketWatch still leans too heavily on the 750-word story — a legacy of print newspapers that has outlived its usefulness. We want to go shorter – and longer.

The majority of our stories will soon be under 400 words — breaking everything down into short bursts of news and insight that cut straight to what is most important to readers, without all the empty calories and filler journalists love to stuff in the sausage . We will also do longer, deep dives on important stories that warrant such treatment. This is the way the digital news is going: tall and venti, no more grande.

Let’s play ‘Can you find all the snippy bits?’ The “priesthood” is real and we do not need another one.

Perhaps you’ve seen a list like this before. This one has alternatives! And, yes, it has a gif, but it is from “Princess Bride,” so it gets a pass. So many qualifiers! 5 weak words copywriters and bloggers should avoid (and what to use instead).

Mobile news consumption hits the tipping point:

Now that mobile traffic is at or near 50% at many newspapers, editors and publishers need to put ever more of their thinking – and resources – into optimizing products, content and advertising for not only smartphones and tablets but also for such emerging devices as smart watches, smart televisions and whatever smart stuff comes next. As discussed below, mobile publishing is as distinct from web publishing as web publishing is from web printing.

And it is happening fast, too, as expected. (For a few years now I’ve noted that the mobile move was one thing that was outpacing the web’s legendary rapid adaptability.)

Well now, CDC Director on Ebola: ‘The Only Thing Like This Has Been AIDS’.

And, to end on a happy note, this is a video package worth watching:

I had to look four different places to find an embeddable version of that story, but it was worth it.