Tragic News – Millions for Nothing
Here are two tragic news stories that appeared back to back last week: London Live and Al Jazeera. Both are TV news start ups that had a lot of money behind them – London Live is London’s only local...
Read moreWhat Is News Worth?
Newsroom of The Daily Telegraph Some years ago, I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Jim Rogers, the self-made billionaire (or maybe it was just hundreds of millions), and partner of George Soros. Of course, I asked him...
Read moreVerizon Buys AOL for Online Video
Verizon today announced that it was buying AOL for an astonishing (at least to me) $4.4 billion. According to most sources, they were buying AOL because they want to get into the online video business. I am not sure...
Read moreCan Newspapers Survive? Here’s A Plan….
This terrifying graphic came from a Nieman Report on the state of the news business, released last week. As you can see above, newspapers are now circling the drain. And all the theoretical discussions about ‘digital revenue’ are not...
Read moreIce, The Olympics & NBC
This 1852 drawing, from Gleason’s Drawing Room Companion, shows ice harvesting on Spy Pond in Arlington, Massachusetts in the mid-19th century (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Ice used to be a big business. A very big business. Ice was harvested from...
Read moreWhy The Internet Is Different
No sooner does one job get swallowed up by the Internet than another one is fast behind it. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal announced that is was bookkeepers who were on the digital chopping block. Is no one safe?...
Read moreThe 1% Is Us
With the touch of a button I eliminate 500,000 jobs- watch! Ever use an ATM? I am old enough to remember when, if you needed cash (and who did not), you went to the bank and stood on line...
Read moreHow Journalists Can Make Money
Last week, I wrote a blog for the Huffington Post entitled “The Job of Journalism is Finished” It got a lot of traction – and a lot of arguments. But at the end of the day, anyone who works...
Read moreBen Affleck – When is TMZ TMI?
Fighting for a Presidential fortune… (courtesy, Wikicommons) Actor Ben Affleck, recently the subject of the PBS Series Searching For Your Roots, a direct copy, by the way of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are, found out that his...
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