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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

stephanie_smith92@yahoo.com

FORT WORTH– RadioShack announced its plan to support the Digital Television (DTV) transition program in about 5,000 neighborhood stores next week. The government is requiring a switch from regular TV to DTV on February 17, 2009 . This means many people will need to either buy new television sets, or get converter boxes for older TV models.

RadioShack is more than willing to help.

RadioShack official Peter Whitsett said customer education is the number one challenge to ensure a smooth transition. He said the company has enough resources to train store employees and create online and in-store material to inform customers and make them aware of the options available. The company is even offering customer service in Spanish to ensure optimal results.

“We understand consumers often turn to the knowledgeable sales associates at their neighborhood RadioShack first to help them understand such technical issues and assist them in obtaining the best solutions for their individual needs. As such we are uniquely positioned to offer customers the necessary product, accessories, information and personal consulting to help make the transition from analog to digital broadcasts as seamless as possible,” said Whitsett.

Whitsett said customers can do 1 of 3 things to make the switch smoothly.  Buying a converter box or new TV will work, but you can also get your television through a satellite or cable TV as well.

The National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) is offering $40 coupons to help consumers pay for the $60 converter boxes. Starting next week RadioShack will be equipped to redeem these coupons and begin the transformation.

Check out Radio Shack’s website or the DTV website for more information on the switch to Digital TV.