Cell Phone Interactivity on the Rise

Using your cell phone for more than just talking? You’re not the only one! A study shows that nearly half of Americans use their cells for more than just talking. Interactive games, stock tickers, and videos are among the hottest new ways to stay connected. Log on for more at www.sms0256.wordpress.com

Wallpapers, ring tones, screen savers… they used to be THE necessities when cell phones first came out. What began as small personalizations on cell phones, has become an obsession in the Asian and American culture–and a growing one at that.

According to web research, more complex mobile applications are making their way throughout the country. Consumers are happily paying the extra costs of interactive java games, stock tickers, mapping systems–even video on demand!

A survey released by Harris Interactive reveals that nearly half of U.S. adults with cell phones pay extra for these “non-voice applications.” The applications account for about 10 % of the total bill, but they have a large impact on the average revenue per user.

Consultant Andrew Roscoe says the non-voice services are still in the early, high growth stage, and those figures have held steady since 2004.

40 Years Remembering Dr. MLK

 

He’s most famous for his “I have a dream…” speech, but April 4th marks an important date in the biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Exactly 40 years ago Friday, an assassin shot Dr. King on his motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old.

The civil rights leader received the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35—making him the youngest man in history to win the award. Dr. King put all his prize money, totaling almost $55,000, towards advancing the civil rights movement.

Terry Furgerson of UNT’s history department talked about King’s impact on society. He said it’s hard to remember what happened—he was, after all only 8 years old. He didn’t understand at the time what this would mean for the world.

“It gains more historical importance as you go—when it happened, to me I think it felt like this kind of stuff happens all the time,” said Furgerson.

An assassination on anyone is never ordinary, and King’s was no exception. According to reports, the government appears to have possibly played some role in his death. Although he confessed to murdering Dr. King, news sites report that James Earl Ray later retracted that confession.

But, the BBC states that, “the US Justice Department said it had uncovered no reliable evidence of a conspiracy.”

Dr. King had survived multiple attempts on his life. His pursuit for equality brought along racial discomfort; and that was precisely his plan.

“There was a strategy and a plan behind everything he did,” public relations senior Sarah Graham said. “By engaging the people who really hated blacks, he showed the indifferent just how ugly racism is.”

Civil rights leaders and museums across the country will host events honoring Dr. King on the 40 year anniversary of his death this Friday.

 

Books Go Back To Inmates

The federal Bureau of Prisons returned religious books and materials to prison libraries after removing them because they were not on an approved list.
A 2004 report by the Department of Justice mentioned that some religious books could incite violence, so the government created a list of the acceptable ones and removed them in June of 2007. That list only included about 150 books for 20 different religions.

The bureau altered its planned course of action saying they would return all materials that were removed, “…with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that couple be radicalizing or incite violence.”

Director of prison policy Bob Moore said, “This is a positive step: it means they are not throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

Related links:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/burpris.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21prison.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

To give books to prisoners in need click here

Program Preserves Historic Sites

Memphis, Tenn.–

It’s the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel. The motel is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, where King and other civil rights leaders are honored. The Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark program is giving the museum a make-over in his honor. Samuel L. Jackson will be there to help.

The restoration of King’s museum is the largest in the history of Save-A-Landmark’s program and will kick off a 2008 campaign called “Landmark Legends.” The purpose of “Landmark Legends” is to restore sites dedicated to prominent Americans.

“There was no question that Dr. King should be the first Legend honored by the program, and there was no better setting to honor his influence on the world than the National Civil Rights Museum,” said Hampton’s vice president of brand marketing, Judy Christa-Cathey.

Other locations devoted to historic figures include the Jesse Owens Memorial Park, Jackie Robinson’s birthplace and Helen Keller’s home as well.

Those interested in seeing the list of restorations can visit the Save-A-Landmark website for details and nominate new places for the program to consider.

The Save-A-Landmark program has been running for 9 years, and invested more than $2.5 million dollars in restorations. They’ve helped research landmarks in need, and promote landmark sites and their importance.

Landmark nominations have helped the program’s  success.  Submissions can be made online or by mailing them in to the company.

Clinton & Obama–America’s Dream Team?

According to Hillary Clinton, she’d be willing to become a running mate with Barack Obama, whether that means she’ll be president or vice president. He appears much less eager to jump on a ticket with her. After winning 12 states in a row in the primaries, it appeared to many as though Barack fever had swept the nation and he was a shoe-in for president. I’m not saying which way I swing (politically speaking!)… but our country is going to be very different than it has been if either or both are elected. A change of party and history in the making. I’m sure not the only one interested to find out what happens!

The blog I found that wrote on the subject of Barack and Hillary is very different from the news article. Although they both contain the same information, the news site is definitely less biased than the blog. It seems to me whoever wrote the blog entry was inclined to favor Obama. In a news article, it’s not professional to appear to have favorites. Your job is to inform the public, not sway them! In the blogging community, your main purpose is to be opinionated–it’s not as interesting if you only write the facts.

It was easy to distinguish the difference between the blog and the news story. In the article written by Hawaii’s news station, they include facts and give reference who has said what. They didn’t appear to care who won either way, but they gave the straight facts. They also included unflattering photos of both candidates at the top, and although they weren’t good, they didn’t make one look better than the other!

The only quote included in the blog was when Hillary said “That may be where this is headed, but, of course, we have to decide who is on the top of ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me.” The writer also included a short paraphrase of what Obama said, but most of the blog writing was neither accredited nor quotes. The major difference was the quotes, but the blog also had room to comment. On the news website, you aren’t able to leave comments.

News sites and blog sites are very different. You read a news article to get the information, but a blog site is generally for entertainment or to see what other people think about a hot topic.

The 5 I’s—

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Interactivity-Involvement-Immediacy-Integration-In depth

How would you make the most of the “Five I’s”

a) If a student from UNT was killed on I-35 and we’re facing a deadline with limited resources, the first thing I would do is break the story on television. If it were 2:30 in the afternoon, I would still break the story with a reader and graphics on television, and show a map to best explain what happened. The anchor would tell the audience that we’d continue updating with new information as it came in. We could also ask students in the area to send in their photos if they see the accident. This way, at least we’ve covered it immediately and the map and photos would be interactive and involving. As for integrating, we could post the story online after it’s been aired, and run a banner across the television occasionally, telling the (new) viewer that there’s been an accident, and to go online for details. The online portion could have a comments section, and people could tell us if they knew the student killed and also if they’ve felt a lot of pressure on I-35 due to the heavy flow of traffic. I think with a tight deadline and limited resources, it would be hard to cover in depth news, but all these elements would be a good start.

b) In a more flexible time frame with an experienced staff, we would do all the things we did for the first newscast, but a couple things would be different. I would try to find the friends and family of the student and interview them. It would also be beneficial to interview a Denton city worker who could provide insight. I would ask them what the city plans to do to prevent this from occurring to other students and drivers. I would put together at least a VOSOT, but a package would be better, and include pictures of the student, the accident, and even put a graphic together showing how the accident happened. I would include a lot of those same elements of the story online and have people comment on the story.

President Bush Seeks to End Violence in Darfur

President Bush spoke in Africa today about the ongoing violence in Darfur, Sudan. In 100 days, over 1 million people were killed in the largest genocide known to man. According to a press release from the White House, the United States is committed to ending the genocide in Darfur, by continuing to provide humanitarian assistance where needed. The U.S. is the largest single donor to Sudan where nearly 3 million people live in camps for Internally Displaced Persons.

The press release also says that the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on 7 Sudanese people responsible for much of the violence in Darfur. President Bush announced the availability of 100-million dollars to train and equip African peacekeepers.

Give The People What They Want!

Poynter Institute studied how people read online articles and print newspapers.

The study divided most people into two groups: methodical readers, and scanners.

The bottom line though– people are attracted to BIG and colorful.

Most readers only glance to the headlines, scanning afterwards. The eye stops at BIG headlines, and BIG, colorful photographs.

The Keller Citizen online is a terrible resource, but it always has a huge photo and an equally large headline. If people want to know what’s going on in the small town of Keller, Texas, then this website grabs the reader in (if only for a moment)!

If news organizations are looking to keep their business, then they need to be following at LEAST these two guidelines.

The Channel 5 website is a bad example of how a site should be laid out. In fact, according to the Poynter Study, their site is doing almost everything wrong.

The site has too many pictures– all of which are smaller than the study says they should be, and it’s overflowing with headlines.

If NBC 5 wants to attract more viewers, then they need to make their pictures bigger and focus on a few headlines.

On the flip side, I really like the Star Telegram’s website and, according to the Poynter Study, their site is more on target with what people like to see.

STAR-TELEGRAM PULLS READERS IN

 

At the very top you have the navigation links and see the headline “To Catch a Killer.” It catches your attention right away.

They also put a flash player of photos that accompany top stories. If the headline didn’t catch a reader, the slideshow does. The reader is almost guaranteed to see something they like.

So according to the Poynter Study on what draws a reader in, newspaper need to add BIG headlines, and large, COLOR photos. Regardless of whether you’re a methodical reader or a scanner.

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