e-Trends…

Hopped over to the JEA listserve thing morning and picked up on a thread called “Fighting for Newspapers.” Now a lot of papers take part in something called NIE/Newspapers in Education. Companies and just plain folks donate subscriptions to their local schools and people on vacation allow their subscriptions to be sent to their local schools so teachers can use the papers as a teaching tool – and not just for journalism. Social studies teachers, reading teachers and many others take advantage of this excellent resource. So what’s new? Here’s one example:

“The roiling waters of the American newspaper industry finally caught up with the San Antonio Express-News in 2007.
In March, we unveiled a jazzy, new Page 1 design and local news focus; in April, we downsized the Sunday TV book; in May, the Business section was redesigned and market listings were reduced; and this month, we announced the Express-News won’t be available in some 30 South and Central Texas counties in 2008. An option for readers there, and students in the Newspapers In Education program, is what we call an e-edition, an online version of the Express-News.” (Bob Richter/San Antonio Express-News)

The result was expected…there were dissenters. But the age of some of the dissenters suprised columnist Richter. Journalism students at San Antonio Christian High School want their print newspaper – not the electronic version.

“”Not only should the Express(-News) keep its students in mind while making such rash decisions as taking the newspaper out of our classrooms, but it should also value itself as well,” wrote Gretchen Mahan, editor of the school’s slick monthly, The Revelation, in a letter.”

You can check out a couple of Richter’s columns on this subject here and here.

A half dozen teachers on the listserve chimed in with their feedback…from suggesting schools find supporters who will donate subscriptions to others who said that even with donated subscriptions they cannot receive the newspaper because the papers have decided to go with the e-subscription/edition for NIE.

Now the underlying reason for this change is pretty obvious…financial. Newspapers can’t afford to keep spewing out expensive paper editions when they can just forward a URL. But kids – J-kids especially – have a lot in common with the older generations. They like the feel of something real in their hands – something they can show and share. And as a teacher, I’ll tell you it’s a whole lot easier to give everyone a print paper and direct them to read certain articles or analyse the layout of the paper than to cram a class of twenty on four computers.

I hear the angst of the J teachers, some of whom think this trend towards e-papers can be turned around. This unfortunately is not a trend anymore. It is an avalanche. The problem for newspapers (and other media) is not whether they are going online…but whether they can survive and ride it out or whether they will be sucked under the raging forces and die.

Home from STN…

Got my final dose of Dotson and Rose (as in Les) before heading home. Maybe the other teachers were getting a dose of learning – I was getting inspiration. Revitalized. Sometimes the winter duldroms or dragged out weeks of preparing lesson plans and trying to reach inside growing minds can wear you out…and you need a shot in the arm to remind you why you’re alive. Listening to veteran cameraman Les Rose and word wizard Dotson reminded me of all that is good in broadcast journalism.

And I need it…on top of all of the other happenings this year, our yellow lab Garrett took a hike with his newly adopted bud Hallie while I was gone. Hallie’s back but no Garrett…so today Lexi and I begin putting up “Missing” posters and continuing the door to door search she and her father began two days ago. And we get to hike…we’re out in the country so there are a lot of vineyards and fields to look through. Life is full of curves.

Copyright unbound…

My second day at STN ended with a small focused workshop on Copyright Confusion, put on by the Center for Social Media. Like most teachers (and media types) I have a rudimentary (read minimal) knowledge of the Fair Use doctrine. Today I got myself educated…or at least learned enough to know how little I know.

The first thing I learned (courtesy of presenter Dr. Renee Hobbs) was that there is no case law involving educators sued for copyright infringement for using Fair Use. Never. It appears that the “cease and desist” letters sent out by corporate lawyers work and have created an atmosphere of fear. According to CFSM, educators cope with their desire to use current media in the classroom in one of three ways: See no evil aka what I don’t know can’t stop me from doing what I want; Close the door aka what YOU don’t see can’t stop me from doing what I want; Hyper-comply aka I will comply with such rigidity that I don’t care if my students learn. None of these are right, according to Hobbs:

“Most legal scholars argue the guidelines have done more harm than good…”

And the guidelines which most teachers abide by ARE NOT LAW. According to CSFM:

The confusion over the role of fair use guidelines began when, in the run-up to the 1976 revision of the Copyright Act, Congressman Robert Kastenmeier brought together representatives of publishers and educators to negotiate an “Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Photocopying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions.” The guidelines that emerged (and are now widely available on library and college Web sites) were drafted primarily by the publishers and were included in the legislative history, despite letters of protest from representatives of the American Association of University Professors and of the Association of American Law Schools.”

Hmmmm….now there’s the rub: “…drafted primarily by the publishers…”

Hobbs and CFSM push for balanced knowledge of the law, which is “intended to balance the rights of users with the rights of owners, by encouraging the widespread and flexible use of cultural products.”

As I listened I realized how open this law really is…and how flexible. Fair Use has four elements:
1. What is the purpose of your use
2. What is the character of the work you are using
3. What is the amount of the work you are using
4. What is the impact of your use on the market
Apparently the key to Fair Use is transformation – how do you transform the original use of the work to a new use or to something new (and original). It is illegal to make copies of a popular song…and just as illegal to make copies of a music video. However, if you are teaching video it is Fair Use to take a popular song and use it to teach students a skill, such as production of a music video AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT LEAVE THE CLASSROOM. You’ve transformed the original use of the song from entertainment to an instructional tool. Be warned, this is murky water and, as mentioned at the beginning of this blog, there is no case law supporting educators. Hobbs did cite a Grateful Dead case (Bill Graham v. Dorling-Kimberly) in which a poster was used in a book about the history of the Grateful Dead. The poster was originally used to promote appearance of the band. The courts ruled that the use of the poster had been “transformed” to a new use.

Knowledge is power….but remember if you step outside the safety zone of the official agreement, you are an outlaw – outside of what many educational administrators feel comfortable with. So are you – an OUTlaw?

Friday STN update…

There’s something invigorating about being up early and learning (rather than teaching). I was blown away this morning in a session at STN’s (Student Television Network) confab this am. Dave Wertheimer and Dean Staley kept an audience of students and advisers on the edges of their seats for a full hour as they discoursed on laptop journalists – aka one-man-bands in broadcast jingo. Dave’s on the faculty of the NPPA Workshop and a gentle wonder of a man. Dean’s a former co-worker and they are BOTH VJs. They BOTH play the solo virtuoso…and this morning’s session was loaded memorable advice and quotes.

“The best photographers are the best reporters. The best reporters are the best photographers.”

Dave kept talking about “the other voices in my head.” He says those are the voices that remind to get all of the shots and ask him what he forgot. He also has a virtual toolbox he always has with him that include heart, head, and ears and a lots more. But it was the videos he showed that captivated us and reminded me what great work can be done by a person with a passion for their job. With a simple hand-held, rather than his Beta SX, he shot a short New Years Day video on folks out enjoying the first day of the year that was pure unadulterated joy. Another short breaker on a deer caught in an icy pond and the desperate attempts to rescue it. And many examples of excellent work by broadcast videojournalists from across the country.

Being an old newsie I’m pretty cynical…opening ceremonies and keynote speakers just don’t jump-start me in the morning (usually they’re better as sleeping aides). So I was gonna pass on the opening ceremonies but decided to give them a shot and was glad I stayed. Asides from the high (way TOO high at that hour of the morning) energy of the students, Bob Dotson made this trip worthwhile. Now I’ve known reporters and anchors and have really connected with only a few of them. Many are another breed…professionals with a capital “P.” They’re on the star track or have their noses so deep in the industry that they forget why they’re doing news. Dotson hasn’t forgotten. He’s traveled the globe as an NBC news correspondent and he’s got (opinion) the dream job. Talking with real people. A few quotes that stuck in my brain (and my notebook, which came out REAL quick).

“Not much has changed in storytelling since the cavemen.”

He followed up on that thought by pointing out that the technology to tell the stories changes constantly.

His advice for telling a story has four elements.

“HEY!”

A “hey” to get your audience’s attention.

“YOU!”

This story is about “you.”

“SEE!”

The two or three things about the story that you the reporter has learned that no one else has seen.

“SO….”

Here’s why I did this story.

“If you follow real people and see what they do, you’ll have a real story.”

“Look for the people standing in the shadows because sometimes they have the most fascinating stories.”

Dean Staley and Dotson both told students to include the Internet in their career plans. Dean pointed out that the industry is shifting…Gannett is pushing the one-man-band for it’s broadcast departments. Dotson that with the Internet and affordable cameras/computers everyone can tell a story….but you need to tell a story that can hold the audience so they will return…something worth moving to a venue such as the Internet.

Oh wow…I’m stoked again. Listen up those of you fortunate enough to be part of this – this is the BEST time to be alive and working in news since the printing press…since the early days of radio and television…this is a time of unimaginable CHANGE!!! The wild west lives and the Lone Ranger rides again…but his faithful sidekick is a camera and he’s riding the Internet via a computer.

(by the way thanks to schooltube for letting me use their computers to post this.)

Two good things…..

1. I’ve been working with my Broadcasting class for two weeks now – all new kids in second term – and I LOVE them. This is the third time around…the first two times the majority of the students were dumped in. Either electives they wanted were full or they just didn’t know what elective they wanted. But the difference in attitude when choosing a class and wanting to be there shows. We’ve gone further in the past two weeks than in a month in the past. In fact when students first captured tape to computer on Monday I had to order them to play with the titles, effects, and transitions. (I do this so they get it out of their system and also understand it’s okay to experiment.)
2. Immediately after school today I hop in the van (all loaded with gear) and make the trek to LA for the STN convention. The six hour drive will give me time to reflect and develop my presentations. Lighting is a breeze – got my Lowell kit and various other lights and a demo tape. The point here it to let folks know that lighting is both a science and an art – but in my opinion more of an art. Every time I wonder how to begin the convergence presentation, I think of the wild wild west and folks shooting it out (except in this case, with cameras).

So if you’re a teacher or student converging on LA for the convention, let me know what you want to hear and see. If you’re a pro…go ahead and drop a few suggestions or links. I’m definitely bringing in my experiences at the Canton Repository training photogs and reporters, as well as the SFBAPPA digital workshops. And a reminder to the grizzled, experienced teachers that life and times change and you have to teach to the future while holding on to the best of the past.

Jan 17…talk about a buncha red faces. I had plans to attend the STN confab and had offered to do a workshop “in Anaheim” for RTNDF. Well guess what – I am now going to TWO confabs. I’m at STN and apparently the conference I’ll be presenting at is in April for JEA. What goes wrong when people hear the same words and interpret them differently. This is better for me cause now I can be an attendee and enjoy the breakout sessions. And it looks like I’ll be back again. Funny thing – there’s convergence workshop and backpack journalist sessions here…should be interesting. I’ve hooked up with Sharlo Rogers of Goddard High School in Kansas and am following her team of teenage boys around, observing how they handle the stress of competition. They’re a tight-knit group and pretty mature…working with little direction from their advisor. Her program is three years old and similar to what I hope to have running soon – daily bulletin announcements, a weekly show and monthly program.

New Year Musings…

Mil, my sister-in-law from Australia is here for a few weeks, enjoying what we in the great Central Valley of California facetiously call a “white Christmas.” Heavy ground-hugging fog. Pea-soup fog. Yup, it is definitely white here. Sister and brother-in-law from Wyoming came in late yesterday. The mix is what makes this interesting…we are all very different people with wide ranging backgrounds and opinions held together by the bonds of kinship.

Mil brings in a stance of interest to me as a newsie. US news does not accurately or fairly cover world news and events. I agree. Nearly every foreign story must have some US tie-in. Australian print and broadcast media are more worldly. There is local, regional, national, and world news – all presented without the useless chatter of American broadcast programs. She is extremely displeased at the way the Iraqi war portrays US troops as the heros and spearheads into danger zones…the Aussie reality is (as often has happened in wars) that Australian troops are sent in first to take over and then hold the zones until the American (or other) troops move in to occupy. Is there any mention of this? None that I’ve seen. And I know the history of how Aussies were used. Gallipoli is a prime example – the British used the Aussies as the first wave knowing they were sending them to their deaths.

Jeanie and Winn from Wyoming are our family conservatives. Ranchers…it was their cattle drive featured in the Cattle Drive video I shot last year. Over the next few days we’ll be discussing everything under the (fogged in) sun. We’ll see where that leads.

Teaching….I learn more each year about the craft and students. For the second term my broadcasting class was a dumping ground. Perhaps a fourth of the students signed up and the rest came in with no notice. A handful did absolutely nothing. The majority caught on and actually enjoyed the class. Some of my best (read this as exceptionally talented) students will NOT talk on camera. No narration…no voice tracks. A few asked friends to narrate their scripts. I need to address this. The class is about technology AND English skills, which include speaking.

Excuse the delay…more company. Will resume later…
…much later.

The fog has lifted today and we expect a bright sunny day with three storms coming in this weekend. Before the week is out I hope to be the proud owner of a Canon HV20. A reminder that I need to get out more, shoot more, edit more and try different styles than what is engrained in my old noggin. My personal New Years resolution.