“Feels like the country’s biggest game is about to be played without the referee.” – Elizabeth Wilner, posted on the “Missing Russert” Facebook group. AS MODERN JOURNALISM LAY near death, with its entertainment-driven news, pomp and punditry, Tim Russert was its life support. Now, with Russert gone, we can only wonder how long journalismContinue reading “Tim Russert: Citizen Journalist”
Category Archives: Popular Culture
We Are the Firemen
In May 1993 – the exact date and time escape me – my inner world, the one where thoughts are born, developed and processed, lost its ability to be silent. I since have lived with constant noise, the result of a tumor that, in an ironic nod to God’s comic grace, left me deaf inContinue reading “We Are the Firemen”
Ten Tweets I’d Like to See
Hillary08: Stuck in Indiana, please send money God: Creating the world in seven days was a piece of cake, but writing something meaningful in 140 character fragments is a real pain in the a… SocialMediaGuy1: if you’re not using Twitter then you are obsolete ADD: Twitter is the coolest what yeah Pounce is the greatestContinue reading “Ten Tweets I’d Like to See”
Living an “In-Between” Digital Life
(Cross-posted from the Authenticities blog.) MY SUNDAY LOS ANGELES TIMES arrived with a sticker on the front page advertising home foreclosure auctions – a struggling industry trying to reach people via a dying medium. As ironies go, this was a keeper. Later than morning, a man I guessed to be in his late ‘50s satContinue reading “Living an “In-Between” Digital Life”
In CNN’s Hands, YouTube Loses its Voice
As a former newspaper reporter, I never had much respect for television news. More style than substance, more sound bite than serious, TV journalism was media junk food. I preferred a good steak and still do. There were exceptions – Walter Cronkite, Jim Lehrer and, going way back, Ed Murrow (though he served up hisContinue reading “In CNN’s Hands, YouTube Loses its Voice”
Warning: No Social Media or New Journalism Content Included
Los Angeles is a city of fragments, pieces loosely joined yet bound as if against nature. Most people only see L.A. through a windshield – the observer protected behind glass, the observed seen in glimpses if at all. Los Angeles is a place apart and in parts, where everyone lives but no one is from.Continue reading “Warning: No Social Media or New Journalism Content Included”
Facebook is the New Corporate Intranet (and Other Things I Want to Mention but Would Rather Not Discuss)
Glenn Beck is an Insensitive Prick – Beck told his national radio audience that “a handful of people who hate America are losing their homes in a forest fire today,” referring to the wildfires that started in Malibu. First of all, one of those people, Steve Dark, is a conservative who loves America and goesContinue reading “Facebook is the New Corporate Intranet (and Other Things I Want to Mention but Would Rather Not Discuss)”
Where Have All the (Marketing) Leaders Gone?
“There’s not a compelling reason to stay.” – Brian McGuinness, vice president of Aloft, a brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. that “launched” in Second Life. I’ve always said that there are two kinds of companies: Those that read case studies, and those that write them. Most want to be the latter butContinue reading “Where Have All the (Marketing) Leaders Gone?”
Now, Hear This
“If we don’t meet again, your final assignment from me is perhaps the most important lesson you will learn in life. Go to your mother, father, brother and sisters, and tell them with all your heart how much you love them. And tell them you know how much they love you too. Go out ofContinue reading “Now, Hear This”
Beware the Flying Cars of Progress
"If you invest more in the newsroom, do you make more money? The answer is yes. If you lower the amount of money spent in the newsroom, then pretty soon the news product becomes so bad that you begin to lose money." — Esther Thorson, Director of Research, Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute It’s beenContinue reading “Beware the Flying Cars of Progress”
Gary Goldhammer -- Strategic storytelling for brands, organizations and executives 