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April 30, 2008 • 4:02 pm 2

Vancouver gives rise to new citizen journalism project

VancouverIAM logoThe citizen journalism beat has a new kid on the block in the shape of VancouverIAM.

As you might have guessed from the name, it is a citmedia site about Vancouver, based in Vancouver. The site describes itself as:

The destination for people who want to know what’s going on in Vancouver. It gives you the tools and support to become a video journalist, internet TV and film producer and an active commentator on local politics and everyday issues about life in Vancouver.

The focus is very much on Internet TV, both in terms of hosting and offering tools for people to produce video journalism. The site already provides video channels to local organisations such as the Vancouver Film School and the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team.

But it also aggregates what it calls the cream of blogs about Vancouver

The site is the first of several planned, with Toronto and Seattle up next. This sounds much like what Backfence tried to do in the US.

For a new online project, it has adopted an old PR model, sending me a paper new release and branded water bottle in the post. Perhaps this was because it is based in Vancouver.

It joins other citizen media efforts housed in the city, NowPublic.com and Orato.com. Interestingly, VancouverIAM has been using NowPublic to promote itself, at least from October last year when it had a soft launch.

The site does not have any advertising at the moment and the release makes no mention of its business model. It does talk about having funding available for a video journalism program.

The parent company is SoMedia Networks, an investor-backed Web 2.0 startup owned by George Fleming, a dot.com veteran who made his mark starting in the mid-90’s with firms such as eCharge and broadband network Evolution USA.

Filed under: Canada, Web 2.0, citizen journalism, internet, journalism , , , , , ,

• 10:26 am 0

Jpod fans organise on Facebook to revive the show

JPod action figure.Image by gak via FlickrFans of the cancelled CBC show, Jpod, are planning to emulate the antics of fans across the border to save their beloved programme.

A Facebook group has been set up to coordinate a mail-in blitz to CBC in support of Jpod on May 19th.

The campaigners are suggested fans send in a little Lego man or woman in honour of the book’s cover and Douglas Coupland’s passion for Lego.

The campaign is reminiscent of the one in the US that resulted in the brief revival of Jericho.

As the Inside the CBC blog notes, it’s ironic that the “the tech-loving fans of the show are actually using snail mail to launch a campaign!”

(Cross-post from Newslab.ca)

Filed under: CBC, Facebook, broadcast, social media , , , ,

April 24, 2008 • 9:05 pm 6

The rights of integration and wrongs of repurposing

BBC NewsImage via WikipediaThis is something that I have addressed before, but it is too important to ignore – the issue of repurposing content for the web.

The BBC has taken its first steps towards integrating its news departments, with TV and radio now working in a common newsroom. The online team will join them in June.

As BBC head of newsroom Peter Horrocks admits, most journalists will continue to work primarily in the media that they have traditionally worked.

One new role is what the BBC calls a “web conversion producer”, who will be responsible for taking stories originally produced for broadcast platforms and turn them into online content.

This is a flawed concept and risks undermining the reputation for excellent online journalism that the BBC News website has built over the past 10 years. In any case, we tried in the early days of the site when I was a daily news editor, and it didn’t work.

It also implies that online is an after-thought, picking up the scraps off the broadcast table, rather than considered an equal.

Maybe the BBC should introduce “broadcast conversion producers”, to take content from the web and repurpose for TV and radio?

Filed under: BBC, broadcast, internet, journalism , , ,

• 3:53 pm 5

BBC spent £6m to develop the iPlayer

BBC iPlayerImage via WikipediaThe BBC’s iPlayer has proved a huge success in Britain, as well as a source of controversy.

In March 2008, more than 17.2 million requests to download or stream BBC programmes were made via the iPlayer.

So perhaps it was worth the £6 million it has cost to develop. The figure emerged in a Freedom of Information request.

As far as I can tell, this is the first time the BBC has put an official figure on the cost of the iPlayer.

The reply from the BBC (PDF) provides some details on the development of the iPlayer:

The basic BBC iPlayer (then called myBBCplayer) trial completed in June 2006. During June 2006 – November 2006 the BBC iPlayer Beta was developed with very limited functionality & user access. On November 14th 2006 BBC launched a limited user access version. Then during November 2006 to July 2007 the BBC developed the beta version of the BBC iPlayer with a walled garden access. In July 27 2007 the BBC iPlayer Beta was aunched.

This timeline ignores the earlier work that went into the project when it was known as the integrated Media Player and tested by several thousand people. And some estimates have put the cost of the four-year project at around £72m.

The information was obtained via the WhatDoTheyKnow site, which offers an easy way to submit Freedom of Information requests in the UK.

It is the brainchild of the pioneering e-democracy group, MySociety. It is in beta but it offers a powerful tool to seek answers from the British authorities.

Filed under: BBC, accountability, broadcast, journalism, technology, video , ,

• 10:10 am 1

E-commerce grows but still marginal in Canada

This is slightly off-topic, but might have some relevance to explain the slow development of online journalism in Canada.

E-commerce is on the rise in Canada, according to the latest official figures from Statistics Canada.

Internet sales hit an estimated $62.7 billion in 2007, up 26% from 2006. But e-commerce is still to make an impact in Canada, representing a relatively small fraction of total economic activity.

Stats Canada reports that online sales of private sector firms accounted for just under 2% of total operating revenue in 2007.

Maybe this explain why the news business in Canada is lagging behind in its investment in digital journalism.

Filed under: Canada, internet , ,

• 7:37 am 0

links for 2008-04-24

Filed under: Links

April 23, 2008 • 10:13 am 3

BBC closes £1.3m experiment in grassroots online democracy

In a few days’ time, on April 30, the BBC will close down its experiment in grassroots democracy, the Action Network.

The project started life five years ago as BBC iCan. According to the people involved at the time, iCan was a significant change for public service broadcasting because it was about encouraging people to get involved rather than sitting back and watching politics happen.

In a farewell note, the BBC noted the growth of blogs and social networking services had essentially made the Action Network redundant:

We now feel that the pace and innovation of online democracy means that our members can access a wider range of web tools, and have more control of their campaigns, outside Action Network.

In some ways, the project was flawed from the start. When it was launched, there were questions as to whether a public broadcaster should be involved in hosting grassroots campaigns. As BBC News editor Peter Horrocks noted in a recent speech:

The whole web is now out there for anyone with a special interest to pursue their cause easily. We have learnt from that experiment and are now pointing users to alternative ways, inside and outside the BBC, of getting their voices heard. The general conversation on the web is freely available to all. The BBC does not have to host that either.

Horrocks also explained that the BBC had gradually withdrawn investment from the Action Network “because the level of involvement in it compared to the cost was inappropriate”. In other words, it was failing to attract enough people to justify the expense.

Action Network costs
Tom Steinberg, of WhatDoTheyKnow and other online civic projects, put in a Freedom of Information request to find out how much the BBC had spent on the Action Network.

The total from 2003 to 2006 came more than £1.3 million.

The BBC has been eager to stress that it “will continue our commitment to help people engage in civic life and national debate with two new initiatives”.

The exact shape of these is still unclear, though there is speculation that by a greater emphasis on linking out to other people’s blogs and websites, the BBC may be adopting its own version of networked journalism.

Filed under: BBC, Web 2.0, broadcast, citizen journalism, journalism, technology , , , ,

• 7:37 am 0

links for 2008-04-23

Filed under: Links

April 22, 2008 • 9:30 pm 1

Are you getting bored of Facebook?

Anti-Facebook song to the tune of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire, by Rebelvirals.

(Via Richard Brennan’s Newjiffy)

Filed under: social media, video , , , , ,

• 10:39 am 1

Top Canadian journalism ethicist heads to the US

Some big changes are under way at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of British Columbia where I am on faculty.

The director of the school, Stephen J.A. Ward, is leaving for the U.S. to be the first James E. Burgess Chair and Professor in Journalism Ethics, and director of a new Center for Journalism Ethics, at the the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The announcement from the Dean of Arts sums up how we feel about his departure:

Dear Faculty, Students, Staff, and Friends of the UBC School of Journalism:

I write to inform you that Dr. Stephen J.A. Ward, Director of the Graduate School of Journalism, is leaving the University of British Columbia to take up an academic position in the United States. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has selected Prof. Ward to be the first James E. Burgess Chair and Professor in Journalism Ethics, and the director of a new Center for Journalism Ethics, beginning in August 2008.

It is with regret that I make this announcement for we are sad to see Prof. Ward leave the School and UBC after ten years of devoted service and noted accomplishments. But it is a testament to the strength and calibre of the faculty at the School of Journalism, reflecting the School’s leadership position in journalism education, that Prof. Ward was offered one of the most prestigious and sought-after positions in journalism ethics.

The Faculty of Arts will support the School of Journalism in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition to the next director. With its outstanding faculty, staff, and graduate students, the School will continue to develop its innovative curriculum and pursue new initiatives, providing the best in graduate theoretical and applied studies.

I congratulate Prof. Ward, and I thank you for your support for the UBC School of Journalism.

Yours truly,

Nancy Gallini
Dean, Faculty of Arts
University of British Columbia

Filed under: academics, education, ethics, journalism , , ,

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Alfred Hermida
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