Two Swedish Eyes on Media and Public Relations
Speaking of blogs vs. news sites. This is a screen dump of Aftonbladet.se today. I’ve managed to fill the entire screen with ads (if I scroll up, naturally I will see headlines to articles). Add to this view some interstitials, pop-ups etc etc and compare it with any blog out there. It’s like the perfect promotion for RSS, don’t you think?
The Swedish defense has problems with getting its new logo approved. A 300 year old coat of arms is not changed without proper procedures. Oh, and getting the support from the people who will be using it.
Staffan Dopping, head of information at the Swedish defense, said:
– You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
This “fine” old French proverb is often attributed to Lenin. Either way, if a person uttered that expression in a media training session I would definitely tell him/her not to.
Where do you turn to get news today? Traditional media, blogs or both?
To borrow a line from JD Lasica, journalists are “trained to think of [themselves] as a special elite who report, filter and interpret the news for lay people”. But more and more often I find that I rely equally as much on blogs as a collective filter to bring me the news that I want. Example: Henrik Torstensson writes that management guru Peter Drucker has died at the age of 95 and links to a message from Claremont Graduate University and an obituary in Financial Times. Drucker has been an icon in business and management for decades, but still no (?) Swedish or Norwegian media have reported on his demise (in Denmark most media have). Apparently, blogs can satisfy my information needs at least as well as traditional media can.
Aftonbladet has one of the best online editions of all Swedish media, but I have been questioning why it doesn’t come with an RSS feed. Via Networkers.se I read that Aftonbladet is finally beginning to experiment with RSS. The first feed is for premium content only and requires a subscription.
If you are in Stockholm this weekend and have nothing to do, let me recommend a visit to the club Debaser tomorrow evening. My old favourites the House of Love is back together and performing live. I would love to go, but I’m too old to stand in line (that’s not the only reason I’m not going…). Seriously, entrance is only 90 SEK but you can’t order tickets in advance.
I had totally missed that Guy Chadwick and Terry Bickers were back together again until just recently when I found out about their new album Days Run Away. The single Gotta Be That Way is vintage House of Love stuff – excellent pop. In the name of decent music, go out and buy the album.
Listen to some of the songs here.
Travis Nep Smith – Top Ten Reasons for Reading a News Site:
1. My news site has never stained my clean shirt or my car seat.
2. Anywhere I travel, my news site goes with me. It doesn’t pile up
while I’m away.
3. I can listen to my news site’s podcast while standing, while
eating, while riding a bus, OR while I drive my car.
4. If I read a story I like, I can send it to a friend without a stamp.
5. My news site doesn’t just have sections — it’s customizable, and
it shows my wife and I exactly what we’re interested, separately.
6. I’ll give you the battery advantage. But my news site has each
apartment listing with detailed descriptions, photos and a precise
map. My newspaper says “Downtown, 2 bd/2 bt, 5 appl., ht & ht wtr,
balc, d/i pool, n/p, n/s. $1200″
7. My news site never gets stolen off my doorstep or delivered late. Or wet.
8. My news site doesn’t need to be recycled.
9. If my news site is makes a mistake, they correct the original
story, and when I read that story later, I will see the corrected
version. My newspaper may not be broken, but it could be wrong.
10. I can read my news site in a light breeze.
Ken Ficara – Top 10 Reasons for Reading a Newspaper
1. My newspaper has never crashed, gone down, or flashed animated ads at me.
2. Anywhere I travel, my newspaper goes with me. I don’t need a laptop or a wireless connection or a PDA.
3. I can read my newspaper while standing, while eating, while riding a bus, but not while driving my car, which is just as well since I should be paying attention to the road.
4. If I read a story I like, I can tear it out and save it, and not have to pay to read it 30 days later.
5. I don’t have to sign in or customize or register or remember passwords to read my newspaper. And I often enjoy articles in my newspaper on topics I wouldn’t normally think I’d be interested in.
6. My newspaper has high-resolution picutres and type on large pages that load almost instantly, making it easy to browse and enjoy.
7. My newspaper is cheap, disposable and easy to replace. If it’s lost or stolen, it’s no big deal.
8. My newspaper is not made of unrecyclable toxic materials.
9. If my newspaper makes a mistake, the correction is posted with an explanation. It’s not sneakily applied to the original story after I’ve read it.
10. I can read my newspaper sitting outside on a nice day in the sun, even if a breeze is blowing, because I know how to fold a newspaper.
[Via CyberJournalist.net]