Newspaper Experience

My actual experience with newspapers is fairly limited. I delivered newspapers as a child; this provided some immersion into newspapers, but had little to do with their actual content or purpose. During high school I was in our school and local town newspaper several times. The reasons for this ranged from sports related stories all the way to short excerpts detailing the conditions and reasons for the arrests. I remember browsing the New York Times online for various projects in high school, and I have used them as well during college for the same reasons. So apart from the occasional stumbling upon an article directly related to the material my paper was on I did not do much with them. I would also occasionally take a look at the comics in the Washington Post when I was living out there. My interaction with newspapers today is even more limited than it was in earlier years. I do not get a newspaper delivered to me today, and I have never purchased a newspaper. I get a daily news feed on my phone and that does very well for me. Also, the school newspaper has recently switched to an entirely online editions as well. I believe this is a foreshadowing for what most newspapers are going to have to do to survive. The newspaper has come to a point in its life where it needs to make a change or not survive. Online newspapers and news feeds provide serious competition for the average consumers time. This is something I believer newspaper producers need to take into serious consideration.

All New Media Types Are NOT Created Equal

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20030211-37.html

This is a link to Cnet news, in their recent article they offer some inside information as to the success of the different tablets. Obviously, Apple has made an entry into the tablet arena with their Ipad, however they are not the only ones to do so. Samsung has also made a competitive entry into the market as well with their Galaxy Tab. Cnet is offered some information that was gathered by ITG Investment Research. According to the numbers they gathered Apple's Ipad boasts a slim 2% return rate, whereas the Galaxy Tab is running much higher up into the 15% range. Say whatever you will about Apple, love them or hate them, they do a superb job of marketing and maintaining the market for their products. This is simply a little something to keep in mind when wading through the deep waters of new media types.

Censorship and You

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3804

This is a link to a proposed bill in Congress. This bill if passed will allow the United States government to censor and block sites that they do not approve from the internet we use everyday.  We do not live in China; censorship of the internet is something everyone needs to take seriously. You might ask; why do I care if sharing sites and other sites of that nature are removed from the internet? This is a valid question; however, you should be aware that Youtube is among the sites that will be hit by the ban-hammer first. Oh no! Youtube?! Yes, Youtube has been sued multiple times by many different companies in regards to people posting copyrighted material on their site. They just won a suit against Viacom a few months ago. This is a bill that is being heavily backed by the entertainment industry. Whoever you are, it should not matter censorship of the internet is the first step down a very precarious and slippery slope. Do your part. Visit the links below and sign the petition to stop the internet blacklist.
http://demandprogress.org/blacklist/
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?page=UserActionInactive&id=455