AOL Aims to Be World’s Largest Hirer of Journalists
"Hard-Edged Inquiry" in L.A. on NBC-Comcast Merger
J-Educators Score Obama on Lack of Transparency
Documentarian Wins Round in Battle With Chevron
Gary Coleman Specified No Press at His Funeral
George Foster, 80, Had Multiple Media Roles
AOL Aims to Be World’s Largest Hirer of Journalists
"AOL is planning to hire hundreds of journalists, editors and videographers in the coming year as it builds out its content-first business model," Michael Learmonth reported Tuesday for Advertising Age.
"David Eun, president of AOL’s media and studios division, is expected to announce the push in an all-hands meeting of the group in New York today when he lays out his strategy for the unit that will include grouping all the sites into 17 ‘super-networks.’"
"In an interview, Mr. Eun said he had not only familiarized himself with all of AOL’s far-flung content operations in his first 90 days on the job, but also visited many of them personally, studied the economics and data from traffic across AOL’s properties and search, and come to one overarching conclusion: produce more content, faster.
" ‘Our mission at this company is to be the world’s largest producer of high-quality content, period,’ he said. ‘The content driving our traffic is home-grown, and 80% of it is now produced by folks on the AOL payroll.’
"AOL employs about 500 full-time editorial employees. And while Mr. Eun said the marketplace will determine the pace of new hires, it is conceivable that number could double in the coming year. ‘We are going to be the largest net hirer of journalists in the world next year,’ he said.
". . . In addition to hiring hundreds of full-time employees over the next year, Mr. Eun wants to quickly ramp up the number of freelancers contributing to AOL. Currently there are about 40,000 freelancers contributing to AOL, its SEED content production arm and Studio One. Mr. Eun said the company is still working on a system that measures the value of a piece of content based on the number of people that click, how long they stay, and the amount of ad revenue associated with it.
". . .Like AOL, Yahoo has concluded that its original content performs and monetizes better and it’s now in a push to create more of it. In an interview earlier this week, Yahoo Exec VP Hilary Schneider said Yahoo’s goal is to boost home-grown content to 20% worldwide.
Both AOL and Yahoo have steadfastly declined to disclose the amount of diversity in their workforces.
- Staci D. Kramer, PaidContent.org: David Eun Puts AOL On A URL Diet With ‘Super Net’ Strategy
- Andy Plesser, Beet.TV: Yahoo’s Old Fashion Take on Value of Journalism: Scoops Drive a Media Business
 
Reps. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. and Maxine Waters,D-Calif., and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., at a four-hour field hearing in Los Angeles on the proposed Comcast-NBC merger. Skepticism was in the air. (Credit: Office of Rep. Maxine Waters.)
"Hard-Edged Inquiry" in L.A. on NBC-Comcast Merger
"The proposed $30 billion marriage between Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal isn‚Äôt ‘Must See TV’ for some black lawmakers, minority media executives, and groups who question the merged behemoth‚Äôs commitment to diversity in hiring and programming produced by and for minority audiences," Frederick Cosby wrote Tuesday for BlackAmericaWeb.com.
"House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., led a hard-edged inquiry into the mega-deal Monday during a four-hour congressional field hearing Monday in Los Angeles where 100 people got up and said their [piece] about the deal.
"Waters warmed up by scolding black organizations like the NAACP and black leaders like the Rev. Al Sharpton for receiving support from Comcast and backing the deal.
‚Äú ‘We appreciate the donations,’ Waters said mockingly as the hearing began. ‘Continue giving 50 cents to the Boy Scouts.’ .
"Sensitive to the diversity questions, Comcast and NBC Universal officials announced a host of new or expanded minority initiatives before the hearing, according to Broadcast[ing] & Cable. Those initiatives include Comcast adding at least three independent cable networks with ‘substantial’ (minority) ownership over the next three years; the establishment of four external advisory councils that would represent black, Latino, Pacific Islander and other diverse communities; and that the merged corporation would spend at least $7 million more on advertising in minority-owned media next year.
"Critics of the deal dismissed the moves as trinkets. ‘Would they (Comcast-NBCU) be doing this if we weren‚Äôt this?’ Waters asked. ‘It‚Äôs crumbs and they know it is crumbs,’ Stanley E. Washington, president and CEO of the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, said at Monday‚Äôs hearing.
". . . individuals and groups like the NCAAOM, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and veteran producer Suzanne de Passe think the deal is anything but a step up.
‚Äú ‘We have seen the devastating impact media consolidation has had on newsrooms and our members,’ said Iv?°n Rom?°n, NAHJ‚Äôs executive director. ‘Companies like Comcast and NBC may try to sell us on why consolidation will benefit our community. But we know better. It never happens once the deal is done. Instead, Latino journalists are laid off and our community continues to be marginalized in news coverage.’ ‚Äù
- Daniel Frankel, theWrap.com: The Issue Is Diversity as Comcast/NBCU Meets L.A.
J-Educators Score Obama on Lack of Transparency
"The AEJMC is alarmed by restrictions to presidential coverage¬†that at best curtail and at worst prevent U.S. citizens from understanding the critical issues in which this administration is involved," the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication said on Monday. "We urge President Obama and members of his administration to fulfill the commitment ‘to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government‚Äù described in his memo posted on¬†¬†
Supporting a free, open and informed press with regular access to the president is the best way to support transparent governance in the best interest of a free and informed citizenry."
"Obama’s lack of presidential press conferences and his general lack of transparency and accessibility to journalists during his administration are in sharp contrast to the platform on which he ran for president in 2008."
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals.
Their statement wasn’t the first time journalists have complained about lack of transparency in the Obama administration:
- Eric Lichtblau, New York Times Report Faults Obama’s Efforts at Transparency [March 14]
- James Rainey, Los Angeles Times: Reporters feel jilted by President Obama [Jan. 20]
- Reporters Without Borders: The Obama administration should renew its commitment to transparency and accountability [April 6]
- Brian Westley, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Obama signs law promoting worldwide press freedom [May 17]
The lawsuit over "Crude: The Real Price of Oil" has drawn the attention of actor and director Robert Redford, who said an adverse decision would dramatically limit the ability of documentarians to independently disseminate information.
Documentarian Wins Round in Battle With Chevron
"Documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger will not have to turn over 600 hours of raw footage to Chevron for now, at least until the appellate court hears the merits of his appeal," Cristina Abello reported Tuesday for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
"A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City (2nd Cir.) on Tuesday temporarily blocked a subpoena for Berlinger’s uncut footage until the full court has a chance to hear the case, which will likely occur next month. The stay was granted early in the proceeding without the need for extensive arguments from the parties, with the rest of the hearing devoted to how urgently the appeal should proceed.
"Chevron and two of its executives subpoenaed all unused footage from Berlinger’s 2009 documentary ‘Crude: The Real Price of Oil’ under a U.S. law that allows federal courts to order the production of evidence relevant to foreign proceedings.
"The oil company argued that the evidence is relevant to three different proceedings: a civil lawsuit brought by thousands of indigenous Ecuadoreans who allege the oil company is responsible for extensive pollution in the Amazon rain forest; a criminal case in Ecuador against the two Chevron officials; and an international arbitration proceeding over the same controversy.
- Ryan Chittum, Columbia Journalism Review: ProPublica and WaPo on the Rotten Culture at BP
- David Folkenflik, National Public Radio: A ‘Crude’ Awakening: Chevron Vs. The Documentarian
- Bob Herbert, New York Times: Disaster in the Amazon
Gary Coleman Specified No Press at His Funeral
Actor Gary Coleman’s will specifies, "I direct my personal representative to permit no members of the press to be present at my wake or funeral," according to documents filed Tuesday in state court in Utah, the Associated Press reported from Salt Lake City.
"The documents, including the will, were filed in 4th District Court in Provo, where the 42-year-old Coleman died May 28 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Coleman appointed friend Dion Mial as his executor."
Separately, Victor Perillo, Coleman’s former agent, issued a statement saying he was "personally appalled to hear the news that individuals are selling photos of Gary in the hospital. This is unconscionable and despicable. I would like to praise all the reputable news organizations that declined the offers. I hope others will do the same out of respect and human decency."
EURWEb.com reported on Wednesday, "The Globe magazine has been outed as the tabloid that purchased photos of Gary Coleman’s last moments, and the price tag was $10,000.
"His ex-wife, Shannon Price, reportedly took photos of the actor as he lay in a coma in the hospital, then, shopped the pictures to various tabloid outlets.
"A magazine insider tells Popeater.com that the photos ‘are so tasteless that none of the glossy magazines wanted to bid on them. This allowed Globe to get them so cheap.’ ‚Äù
George Foster, 80, Had Multiple Media Roles
George Jackson Foster, whose media roles included network television news producer, television station general manager and director of a university mass media program, died May 31 in Macon, Ga., at age 80. He had advanced diabetes, his son, Grant Foster, told Journal-isms. Services were held in Macon on Sunday.
A family obituary said Foster was renowned for his distinctive announcer’s voice and oratorical skills.
The obituary said he taught at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., and was director of Mass Media Programs at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga.
While working as a producer at CBS News after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., he reported from Harlem in one part of a five-part series on the aftermath.
"He was based in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco," the obituary said. "George was a professional photographer, working in photo journalism for VISTA. He was passionate about children’s education and worked for the Children’s Television Company as a contributing writer for Sesame Street and The Electric Company."
Jim Watkins, general manager of Howard University’s WHUR-FM, told Journal-isms that Foster was the first general manager of WHMM-TV, the university’s television station, in 1979-80. "He had the responsibility of bringing the station on the air," although his successor, Arnold Wallace, performed the lion‚Äôs share of the planning and brought the project to life.
Short Takes
- ‚ÄúAre Your Papers in Order?‚Äù a series by Michael Lacey, Stephen Lemons and Paul Rubin of the Phoenix New Times, and ‚ÄúHate Crimes,‚Äù by the KGTV 10 News I-Team in San Diego, Calif., are first-place winners of the Society of Professional Journalists’ New America Award for work published or broadcast in 2009, SPJ announced on Wednesday. The awards are given for work highlighting issues of importance to immigrant and ethnic communities in the United States.
- "The Associated Press business news desk is looking to increase its staffing," TalkingBizNews reported on Tuesday. "There are seven new positions — six beat reporters and one editor, according to a source on the AP business desk. The AP is hiring reporters on these teams: real estate, energy, retailing, autos, markets and Money & Markets. The business desk is also hiring another spot desk news editor, an administrative position. Most of the jobs are in New York. The energy reporter would be based in Houston."
- Cathy Hughes, who heads Radio One, has aired more than 483,000 commercials on her network opposing the proposed Performance Rights Act, which would radio stations to pay royalties to artists for playing their music, according to Paul Porter of the group Industry Ears. That totals almost a million minutes of air time with a street value of more than $45 million, he said.
- "Candidates for the 2010 National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year must postmark their applications by July 1¬†to be considered for the annual competition," the Dow Jones News Fund reminded interested parties last week. "The program recognizes the nation’s top journalism teacher, four Distinguished Advisers and several teachers cited as Special Recognition award winners. The Teacher of the Year acts as a spokesperson for scholastic journalism. Applicants may be nominated by scholastic media groups, administrators, colleagues, students or may nominate themselves."
"The Renaissance Journalism Center has chosen 15 top journalists for a reporting fellowship program that will enable them to investigate the toxic legacy left in Vietnam by the use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War," the Asian American Journalists Association announced. "The Vietnam Reporting Project Fellowship is designed to use the power of journalism to raise public awareness about the health and environmental problems that continue to affect Vietnam and its people. Recipients of this project include the following current AAJA members pictured above (L-R): Thuy Vu, anchor, CBS5/San Francisco Bay Area; Victor Merina, senior correspondent and special projects editor, Reznet; and K. Oanh Ha, reporter, KQED Public Radio.
- Zambian editor Fred M’membe was released Tuesday from a Lusaka prison, where he had just spent three days, Reporters Without Borders reported. He had been sentenced to four months in prison with hard labor Friday on a contempt of court charge. "M’membe was granted a conditional release pending the outcome of his appeal. He was clearly shocked by his jail experience. “Our prisoners are treated like animals,” he said. “Our pigs, chickens, dogs sleep much better than prisoners.”
- "Journalists fighting to block the shutdown of the Argentine newspaper Cr??tica have been on strike since 29 April, when they received no pay cheques," Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported. "To further their campaign the 190 staff have staged a 24-hour sleep-in at the paper’s Buenos Aires office; held street demonstrations; launched campaigns on a blog and on Twitter; and published a special edition of their paper."
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