An Introduction to Mediacise by Mike Downes

In this post, I will introduce the term mediacise, contrast it with the ostracism while paving a way for future discussion.

The Setup: I've listened to people in the media business, tried to understand their thinking and asked if they have any idea what's going on with the changes in their industry. 

I've watched countless presentations from current media professionals, chatted to them and posted. Many of them are stuck in the dark ages.

The Aim: To introduce the term, mediacise. If you wish to search for this word, you will see it has little use (and is not in any dictionary, until now). Let's see who picks it up. This may lead to people and companies taking an interest in becoming mediacised.

Media [mee-dee-uh]

This extends to far outside of the media business. For example, I've heard people say they are not a media company, but have a media arm. Some well placed gurus are saying everyone needs to be a media company - not just the media (themselves).

The Background: From Ostracism, we have a procedure to expel a citizen from Athens, Greece for 10 years. This was used to diffuse an argument [with rival politicians] through neutralization.  A modern usage could be a form of social rejection defined as, ' …any behaviour in which a group or individual excludes and ignores another group or individual'. Ostracism seems to have been used as a way to decide between radically opposed policies.

There is a link to Petalism: a form of banishment where names of those considered are written on leaves. Athens asks the Q: Do you wish to hold a Ostracism? Votes cast must be at least 6,000 in Athens. Thereafter, the winner is the person nominated who had ten days to leave the city (should they return, they face death). However, they can be called back early.

The Objective: Bring people, groups and business up to speed. Make them story tellers using our new found digital tools.

Dictionary definition [future] 2012/13

What is to Mediacise?

Ostracism is the banishment for 10 years, where Mediacism is the inclusion for the last ten years. Where were you in 2002? And what may you have missed? To Mediacise may be similar to modernise. 

A non-mediacised person or group, in extreme cases, is someone who is not aware of any digital changes at all. A milder case, is someone who is aware but scoffs or belittles those people who use the latest technologies. These non-mediacised people may be said to be living in the past.

This may apply to people working in the media industry or extended professions. An example maybe a print journalist who is forced to now publish online or to open a twitter, facebook or Google Plus account. Although many have embraced the new ways, it is no excuse that many have not. One swallow doesn't make a summer.

Another example is the small business owner who knows having a website, a blog and a social media presence may benefit them, but ignoring is a whole lot easier than consciously making steps towards mediacising. As I've said, every company needs to have a media arm in this fast changing digital age. As a reminder ..

Archive notes from Mike Downes

What have we seen in the last ten years? 

2002, Multi Media Messaging and Blackberry

2003: Wordpress and MySpace

2004: facebook and flickr

2005: YouTube and Windows Live

2006: Twitter

2007: Kindle

2010 Pinterest, iPad and Instagram and 

2011 Google Plus (And remember, Google was only founded September 1998, 14 years ago).

As we move towards a realtime digital world with the ever present video as a means of easy face to face communication, geography is all but forgotten. Global is now local. 

Media is the middle ground. The dictionary tells us it's a wall between two areas - it need not be.

So, Do you wish to hold a Mediacism? From my exploits in the news business, it seems there are many who are badly in need of being shocked into the reality of 2012. The avoidance shows itself in some very strange ways.

If you've ever experienced a raised eyebrow or being scoffed at when you mention Twitter, facebook or Google Plus or someone you know spends ten minutes walking to the shops for a newspaper (then spends three days reading it) .. and if you say.. what you're reading is kinda out of date .. and then you are given a look that makes you feel like you're the odd one out .. as you are the one with a laptop wickedly spending time online each day, then you may know what I mean.

Or the time you phone a business as they have no email or website and you are told the seller has no time for all that nonsense.. they are far too busy .. you may know what I mean. Or the time a major news organisation holds back on reporting some news for five hours.. when you read it on twitter 37 seconds after it happened .. you may just know what I mean (and yes I know we can argue over this one, and believe me I will).

The Ancient Greeks had a solution 2,500 years ago, Ostracism. What I'm looking to do is a flip, it's Mediacism (Mediacise).

For it's now late 2012 and these are the post modern times. Make sense of what's happening in the digital world. Find me and the people like me (who are media disruptors) to Mediacise yourself or your business before it's another ten years - ten years too late.

Broad-casts, Narrow Models by Tshaka Armstrong from My Fox11 LA

Here is a guest post from my friend Tshaka Armstrong from My Fox 11 in Los Angeles on his insights into broadcast television and the internet.

Broad-casts, Narrow Models

Recently I was in a Hangout with some folks on Google+ and the topic of how the internet has/is/will change the face of local news broadcasting came up. This is something I've put considerable time into thinking about since I've been in the news business for roughly 15 years. I've seen so much change technologically, while I've watched so little change with regard to the corporate mindset on social media/social networking (ie, the technology used to produce the product has changed dramatically and yet the tech used to connect with the audience has been embraced at a much slower pace).

Tshaka and Maria

The local broadcast TV News biz has been very slow to adopt social media unlike some of their cable news counterparts. I think this is due in part to the fact that cable news programming has a national, and in some cases, international audience and budget constraints have required people to come up with creative ways to keep costs low while still being able to bring viewers news from around the world. I can only surmise that local news, because of being local, hasn't really faced the same issue. Microwave vans and satellite trucks have allowed local TV newsrooms to maintain the status quo.

The problem though is that the accessibility the internet provides has turned the tables and what used to be a local news broadcast has become increasingly narrow by comparison. Let's take a look at one local station.

New Orleans ABC affiliate WGNO-TV improved its year-to-year audience by doubling its rating from a 1.2 to 2.4 for its 5PM broadcast according to the Times-Picayne. The problem with that is each rating point in New Orleans is only worth 1% of the total local homes (635,860) which comes to 7630.32 households (source: The Times-Picayune). This means that they did something successfully to double the number of people watching their broadcast and yet those numbers pale in comparison to some YouTube users who do not have millions of dollars of equipment and personnel.

Tshaka and Liz

Let's think about that for a second, shall we? A broadcast TV station has approximately 15,000 viewers tuning in to its 5PM broadcast and yet there are several YouTube users who put out content regularly, reaching audiences far larger than that. Back in the local TV broadcast news business there have been people working on the inside trying to get local news up to speed with the rest of the world and social media but many have been resistant, often discounting the power and reach of new media and social media. I think some of this has been because those making the decisions haven't completely figured out what the return on investment is going to be, or even what that return looks like financially. Therein lies the problem. While those in the corporate world have waited and watched to see how the changing technological landscape could be leveraged for their ends, others have used it and gained mass followings and supplemented their own incomes and in some cases, created primary sources of income that feed, clothe and house their families.

We have to, as an industry, embrace the interwebz and related technologies, but with a larger mindset than the one previously held. We have to become just as good at multi-tasking as everyone else in this culture. We have to focus on the hyper-local while not missing out on opportunities to connect to the larger national and even international consciousness. Opportunities to connect with movements like #OccupyWallStreet and the people at the polls this election season, not just the candidates, will help local newsrooms stay relevant. In the end though, content is king. Citizen journalists have more access than ever to create compelling content that connects with large swaths of internet mindshare so it's imperative more than any other time in history that the local newsroom focus on enterprise stories and use what professional resources they have available to create equally engrossing content that provides regional context for larger stories.

Local broadcasts aren't so broad anymore. If we're to cast our content to a broad audience we're going to have to jump in with both feet! If we're about being broad the internet is the place to be. It truly is broad. We either find the synergy between the traditional and the cutting edge or we start calling ourselves Narrow-casters.

What do you think? Have you seen some of the same issues in your own news rooms? Have you noticed this as a viewer?

Sarah Hill from KOMU on Journalism Education at MediaTwits#28 Media Shift

This interview from Sarah Hill tells us much about the changing world of Journalism in the Digital Age. Listen and see which parts apply to Kenilworth and Warwickshire. No prizes for saying, all of it.

Local is now Global and everything is on our digital doorstep. Larger SoundCloud Player. Note: the player below is built in html5.

The Kenilworth Weekly News: Print Digital Balance

thedrum

When Digital met Print. The curious case of an ex Microsoft BBC iPlayer guy joining Johnston Press to help them find a solution.

Ashley Highfield said, ..the brands of the local newspapers are incredibly strong in local communities...the trick is to help move those brands into the digital age.'

On a local level, we have five JP Print Editions. Weekly price rose to 55p Jan 11 and 60p two weeks ago with circulation down average 6% across those five titles http://goo.gl/5ImcS [ABC Certificates]

The rise and rise of Sangat TV - what is the technical kit behind the camera?

Sangat TV has risen this week into meteoric stardom. I've heard mutterings from other media types on how impressive their work has been and asking questions like how do they do that? 

In this post, I want to explore the how we can all produce a TV station if we wanted to here in Warwickshire and Coventry.

To stream live video over the internet, you only need a standard laptop, webcam and WiFi connection, that's it. CI Kerry Blakeman from West Midlands Police has been using a combination of live and pre-recorded video clips armed with nothing more than an iPhone.

Sangat TV was only launched in September 2010, broadcasts on Sky 847 and justin.tv. Ut's a Sikh lifestylke channel and is owned by the Sangat Trust. By now, many people know of their heartfelt and charismatic presenter Upinder Randhawa.

So, although I have an email out to Sangat TV, I fully expect them to be far too busy to reply - sure they will when all becomes measured and calm. 

It appears Sangat TV use LiveU technology which is supplied by Nuneaton's Garland Partners. For those new to this (like me), we usually see a minivan from the BBC, Sky or ITV parked outside a court house with a satellite dish the size of a small trampoline pointing to the clouds. Reporter talks to camera, camera beams to minivan to satellite to studio to out TV screens.

But not any longer, as this tweet confirms what I was thinking: Birmingham Riots covered last night using @LiveU 3G mobile backpacks supplied by @GarlandPartners, fab coverage in the heart of the action!

And yes, I have a call out to Garland Partners to find out who else, if any in Warwickshire and Coventry are using this kind of kit. For those still reading, we have a Portable Uplink Unit transmitting multiple mobile data to a cellular carrier to a server which is then streamed to web, TV or smartphone. 

About six weeks ago, at Godiva 2011, CI Kerry Blakeman was reporting local policing video updates from War Memorial Park. Behind the scenes, we were all trying to find out the best way to upload good video content without broadband/WiFi - and there wasn't one. But, now with a little thought and planning, I'm sure we all can club together and make Warwickshire and Coventry it's own TV station. 

I'm sure Sangat TV will help out with some advice. I have no idea about costs, but I think for 835 million people in this area, local TV could be an option.

If you have any contribution to make in this discussion, please leave a comment or email. Links: Sangat TV, liveu.tv/technology and Garland Partners.

UPDATE from Sangat TV from Twitter (Sat, 6pm): @wiKenilworth Thanks! whatsinkenilworth.com/2011/08/rise-a… Sangat TV will be in touch soon! @UpinderRandhawa

Update from @christopherw (Sun 3.43am): @wiKenilworth 3 things you need to know: 1) only two real competitors, TVUPack & LiveU 2) they're all VERY expensive 3) No really, VERY!

Introducing Infotelligentia.com Media Consultancy

Infotelligentia is a Media Consultancy created by Mike Downes.

It takes it's name from for fours words: Information, Intelligence, Data and Design.

As you know, I created this site whatsinKenilworth.com (and many others). Part of the way Infotelligentia works is to use whatever new media products are suitable for a task.

Kenilworth Weekly News in Warwick Road

THESE PREMISES ARE EMPTY and are NO LONGER the offices of THE KENILWORTH WEEKLY NEWS

Kenilworth Weekly News‎
31 Warwick Road CV8 1LJ
01926 852 870‎
www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk
(The KWN website has no relationship to the print copy edition. For example, headline as Fri 14 May 2010 reads 'Police target house burglars' - that is not found anywhere on the KWN website or with a detailed Google search). What is also alarming is the KWN website has now introduced intensive advertising).

Sad times for a newspaper that was established in 1946. When you pay 50p for the newspaper on a Friday, there are very few pages of Kenilworth News (around five feature stories a week).

Currently, the Kenilworth Weekly News sells an average of 3,533 copies per week (in a town population of 26,000 or so). That was 3,704 copies per week in August 2009 as reported by the Press Gazette.

Did you know that one paper copy of the KWN laid end to end is about 24 metres in length, by selling 3,533 copies a week the paper will stretch for 53 miles - what a waste of paper and not searchable, linkable and clickable either. 

The KWN is owned by Johnston Press who have financial difficulties and have shut five titles, but say they have 'no plans as we speak' to cut more titles (see The Guardian).

Johnston Press have played down suggestions that their idea of a paywall (they were asking online readers to pay £5.00 for 3 months access) for their online versions has failed, see BBC News and The Guardian once again.  In my rough estimates from searching the web, KWN may get 16% of their revenue by selling the newspaper for 50p, the rest comes from advertising. But in these difficult times advertising spending is decreasing and Johnston Press are trying hard to cope with the threat of full digital editions and competition.

For those of you who do not know, many years ago there were very few ways to get the news - the most popular, buy it every day in hard copy paper version from a newsagent (yes I know there was TV and Radio too). Since 1998 (when Google came alive) titles have disappeared as people like Google aggregate the news which means linking to all the news stories and show them in their search results.  This has left people like Rupert Murdoch not selling papers like The Times and losing money, blaming Google and trying to charge for readers for online news, see this BBC article.  Many say this will not work, I agree. On the other hand, The Guardian have introduced an iphone application and sold it via the Apple iTunes store where readers pay once and possibly never again.

This idea that a town newspaper (aka the KWN) is shrinking and may eventually close is one of the reasons I have made this website. And it does not stop there, the Official Kenilworth Town Website is also under threat as it has never really been updated since it was first published (well over a year). If you missed that article click here. Even then it caters for the large businesses but not the small ones who matter - they need the coverage most to survive.

I have always been a big fan of the Kenilworth Weekly News since my first Soapbox column in 1999, but times are changing and anyone can report the news these days - even me. (If the article is too small, click here for a larger one.