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10,000 Words: Making better use of location-based networks

Inspired by the successes of location-based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla, Mark Luckie offers some starting-points over on his 10,000 Words blog about how journalists and publishers could make better use of the technology.

His suggestions include greater exploitation of first person media by pulling together items such as tweets, photographs and audio recorded within a geographical area for a multimedia record of events or news.

Luckie adds that newsrooms could create apps or check-in alerts which centre on the technology which is able to pinpoint places of interest, such as cinemas, restaurants and shops near to a mobile phone user and then provide them with relevant reviews and articles.

With a little extra tinkering, an app can also aggregate reviews from other locals or like-minded movie viewers.

(…) So far though, the majority of those companies that are exploring and taking advantage of the technology fall outside of the journalism realm. Hopefully, as these services and social media applications become more mainstream, newsrooms will be more likely to adopt them for their own uses.

See his full post here…

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Problems with Atex resurface on Brighton Argus front page

September 1st, 2010 | 1 Comment | Posted by in Online Journalism

The problems experienced by newspapers and journalists using Atex’s content management system have been well documented – especially Johnston Press’ run-ins with the technology. So it was dismay that Journalism.co.uk saw this badly cropped photo on the front of our local paper the Argus in Brighton today:

This is how it should have looked from an image of the graffiti on JP’s Hastings & St Leonards Observer site:

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Total Film launches iPhone app with social media and location-based services

September 1st, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by in Mobile, Multimedia, Social media and blogging

Total Film magazine has launched an iPhone app today, providing users with new location based and social media sharing services.

The app, which costs £1.79, features latest news, reviews and trailers from the magazine’s website alongside content exclusive to the app such as location-based cinema listings, show times and directions. The app will also allow users to share content via email, Facebook and Twitter.

The app launch follows a complete redesign of the print magazine earlier this year.

Nial Ferguson, publishing director for Future’s Entertainment and Tech Lifestyle portfolios, said: “Having listened closely to our readers, we have developed the most complete app available to UK movie fans, as we ensure Total Film appeals to committed enthusiasts, across all brand platforms.”

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BBC pensions update – strike ballot result expected today

September 1st, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by in Broadcasting, Journalism

BBC staff unions are expected to announce the result of a ballot for strike action later today, following pension proposals put forward by the broadcaster in June which could see the introduction of a one per cent cap on increases in pensionable salary and the closure of the final-salary scheme to new joiners.

In a blog post, NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear says the union expects the results to show “a massive vote in favour of action”.

He adds that an announcement is expected to be made between 3:30pm and 4:00pm today. The BBC previously told Journalism.co.uk it would be making further proposals at the beginning of September following the backlash from its initial suggestions. Its 90-day consultation period closes later this month.

More to follow later this afternoon.

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BBC strikes video content deal with Russia’s GZT.ru

September 1st, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by in Business, Editors' pick, Online Journalism

The BBC has announced a new syndication agreement between its Russian news site bbcrussian.com and GZT.ru, a Russian online news portal, as part of efforts to open up greater access to BBC news video and text content within the country.

The deal will provide users of the GZT.ru website direct access to Russian-language video content from bbcrussian.com, which the broadcaster claims will see its news reports opened up to an additional audience of 1.6 million users each week.

In a statement on the BBC press office website, head of BBC Russian Sarah Gibson says the broadcaster is able to offer a unique resource to Russian consumers.

Our ambition is to build on BBC Russian’s well-established direct online audience through partnerships with highly-regarded online sites. Our global perspective makes us a unique resource for news consumers in Russia, and this is another way for them to access BBC news and analysis. We see Russian audiences turn to us on big stories, including Russian and regional ones, and we are really pleased to have another way through this partnership to make our content more accessible.”

Hatip: PaidContent:UK

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Twitter transgression almost claims another job in journalism

There is no shortage in opinion that journalists using social media such as Twitter are armed with an invaluable tool for staying connected to their patch and enabling communication with an extensive community of sources and readers.

But recent cases of journalists being reprimanded or even sacked for comments made on the instant messaging site repeatedly remind us of the importance of using the mouthpiece with careful consideration. The need for caution was well illustrated by a Washington Post sports columnist this week who sent out a false news tweet from his personal account, which identifies him as a reporter, landing him in hot water with his employer.

Mike Wise was suspended by the Post after sending out a tweet suggesting that a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was being suspended for five games, despite Wise being well aware the figure was inaccurate. He claims it was a ‘test’ of how fast incorrect news can spread over the internet.

But while his test succeeded in showing how quickly that piece of misinformation spread through the web, it also left him with a month-long suspension to reflect on what he admitted was a “horrendous mistake”.

According to a blog post by the newspaper’s ombudsman Andrew Alexander, the fabrication of news is “a major journalistic transgression” and an action for which Wise is “lucky” to not have been sacked for.

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Google attempting to woo publishers with advertising plans

September 1st, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by in Advertising, Editors' pick

In a charm offensive, Google has been posting a series of reports on the future of display advertising. Yesterday’s entry focused on the search company’s efforts to help publishers make money online.

We believe that the new technology we’re developing to make display advertising work better will help to grow the display advertising pie for all publishers, by orders of magnitude. We shouldn’t be asking how publishers can eke another 5 or 10 per cent out of display advertising in the next few years. We should be looking at how the industry can double or triple in size.

Part of the challenge is reducing the administrative costs of display advertising for publishers, says Google, as these currently account for 28 cents of every dollar spent on these ads.

Full post on the Official Google Blog at this link…

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – getting into magazine journalism

September 1st, 2010 | No Comments | Posted by in Top tips for journalists

Magazines: Useful round-up of advice and resources for breaking into the magazine industry from US journalist Cassandra Gaddo. Tipster: Laura Oliver.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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