Gulf Coast Journalists Hold Heads Above Water

The Persistence of News

The scribes of the Gulf Coast are not the only journalists finding ways to surmount their obstacles. Locked out of their jobs because of an ongoing labor dispute, reporting staff at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. have turned to podcasts to provide their readers with the news. Of course, it's not the news of the world -- it's news about their work situation.

Here's the report from the Canadian Press : "[Union] members say the growing collection of recorded programs ... represent a small taste of what CBC listeners can expect if the lockout of the Crown corporation's 5,500 employees drags on. ... Offered to listeners via a Web site set up by members of the Canada Media Guild, the seven-minute digital file features interviews and stories about the lockout. 'Our listeners know us through the radio, so we had to communicate with them in an audio format,' said Jacques Poitras, a CBC reporter who wrote the script for the podcast and appeared as a guest representing the union. More podcasts quickly followed in cities across Canada. 'I guess that's what happens when you get 5,500 creative people with nothing to do,' said Poitras."

The Globe & Mail reported that this is just one outlet for a possible alternate news network: "On Tuesday at midday, around 150 CBC writers, producers and announcers from the broadcasters' TV, radio and web-based services, English and French, met in a room in Toronto's Metro Hall, across from the CBC's downtown headquarters, to plan an alternative national service to start as soon as Monday. According to Mark O'Neill, producer for CBC Radio One's Toronto drive-time show Here & Now, who is helping to co-ordinate the project, the alternative national news service will initially be an Internet news site, with written reports and photographs from individual CBC staff members from across the country."

Here's more from the paper: "And yet, while CBC managers have had to air BBC World news reports and self-produced, heavily diluted versions of the CBC's normal news service, the lockout has created an explosion of Internet blogs relaying news and opinions about the dispute. Many are personal, written from CBC workers' individual take on the issues and life on the picket line. Others are more newsy and service-oriented. Some are photo-based or have audio components (known as Podcasts) containing the alternate CBC radio show produced in Vancouver, for instance. One site by CBC broadcaster Tod Maffin in Vancouver ( http://cbcunplugged.blogware.com/blog ) has become so central that many in the union refer to it as the best source of news on CBC blogs and Podcasts."

Pick Your Poison

Nothing goes hand in hand with reporting like a couple of stiff drinks, so here's a quick report from something I found in AdAge : Stolichnaya is using Web-connected jukeboxes in bars to reach its young target audience. According to the article, Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine Limited USA thinks that going after potential drinkers through an online jukebox is more effective than using Internet ads..

"It is a way to build the brand at point of sale, explained Ian Crystal, brand manager for Stolichnaya. 'About 50 percent of our business comes from on-premises -- so it's our strategic priority to be where it is sold,' he added. ... The vodka placement appears as a Flash-technology, tower-ad unit along the left-hand side of the screen, after the user selects the artist whose tune they want to hear. When the user clicks on the copy, after asking if the user is of legal drinking age, it reads: 'Help us choose the next Stoli vodka.' It gives the choice of possible flavors pomegranate, blueberry, caramel and passion fruit. After the user completes the survey, they see a thank-you screen that features a branding ad that says: 'Go enjoy a nice Stoli and tonic.'"

Don't worry, there's no need to twist my arm.

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