Jeff Zeleny, who will leave the New York Times for ABC News next month, says the decision to jump from print to TV was a no-brainer. “I haven’t worked for a newspaper for quite a while,” Zeleny, The Times‘ national political correspondent, tells TVNewser, acknowledging the paper’s moves toward video in its storytelling.
“The web has prepared me a lot for this new fast-paced tempo of reporting from morning to evening,” says Zeleny. “I think it’s just an interesting moment in our reflective businesses that we’re doing more TV at The Times and ABC is doing great reporting.”
And he’ll have plenty of platforms on which to report: ABC News programs, ABCNews.com and Fusion, the upcoming ABC/Univision cable network.
“We’ll see if I can keep up,” says Zeleny. “I think I will.”
The easiest part of the decision to leave the Old Gray Lady — ABC approached him — was joining the ranks of ABC’s DC team. “I’ve long admired the tradition of ABC. I’ve been big fan of their coverage. The news division is on a roll and doing great things and I’m excited to join George Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz and Jon Karl, who’s been a friend.”
For ABC, Zeleny will focus on his main beats, Capitol Hill and politics. “At the end of the day reporting is reporting, storytelling is storytelling, and breaking news is the centerpiece. And this is one heck of a time to be explaining this dysfunctional Congress.”
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
“I haven’t worked for a newspaper for quite a while...”
Friday, February 22, 2013
Nascar signs with video news agency SendtoNews
21 February 2013 | Posted in Broadcast, Motorsport, Global | By David Cushnan
Nascar has signed a major worldwide digital partnership with video news agency SendtoNews, which will see race highlights and other content distributed to thousands of news outlets.
The announcement comes on the eve of the Daytona 500, the first race of the 2013 Sprint Cup season.
SendtoNews will distribute cuts from the 500, plus the rest of the Sprint Cup series, the second tier Nationwide Series and the Nascar Camping World Truck Series via its News Partnership Network. The package will be tailored for local and international digital media.
"We’re always thinking about ways to offer fans more Nascar content, no matter where they are," said Marc Jenkins, Nascar's vice president of digital media.
"This partnership allows us to better reach fans in communities across the country and enhance the coverage of our sport at the local level. After fully vetting the category, we feel confident that SendtoNews’ flexible platform provides the most turnkey solution in the local content space and the most powerful way to distribute our content to local outlets."
SendtoNews' chief executive Greg Bobolo, whose company debuted its distribution platform at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver, added: "This deal enables SendtoNews to guarantee our media and advertising partners complete highlights of Nascar and multi-year access to one of the largest and most engaged audiences in pro sport."
Meanwhile, as the build-up to Sunday's season-opener intensifies, Nascar has signed a partnership with brake pad manufacturer FDF Friction Science. The company's Duralast brand will become the 'official brakes of Nascar'.
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Friday, February 15, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
The End Of EveryBlock
NBC pulled the plug on its EveryBlock site today, though the network’s digital chief suggested not to read too deeply into the move’s tea leaves.
“The decision to shut down the site was difficult, but in the end, we didn’t see a strategic fit for EveryBlock within the portfolio,” said Vivian Schiller, senior VP and chief digital officer for NBC News, via e-mail. “This has no bearing on the NBC Owned station strategy. Those sites are strong, and growing under [President of NBC O&Os] Valeri Staab’s leadership. It’s a very different model.”
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Founded by Adrian Holovaty, EveryBlock launched in 2007 with a $1.1 million grant from the Knight News Challenge. It was acquired by msnbc.com in 2009 and then came under NBC News’ aegis last year. Holovaty left the company last August.
At its closing, EveryBlock covered 19 different cities.
In notifying readers of the site’s closure on its blog, editors suggested a struggle to find profitability. “Within the world of neighborhood news there’s an exciting pace of innovation yet increasing challenges to build a profitable business,” the brief post read.
But one hyperlocal news leader suggested that other dynamics were EveryBlock’s undoing. Dylan Smith, the editor and publisher of the independent Tucson Sentinel and chair of the Local Independent Online New Publishers group, said the biggest problem had more to do with EveryBlock’s approach.
“Local news should be reported by local journalists working for local news organizations,” Smith said. “I believe the aphorism ‘local doesn’t scale’ is as readily apparent in the case of EveryBlock as it is with AOL’s Patch. No matter how well they might work in one location, the cookie-cutter, top-down templated play can’t be widely replicated in every market.
“Central planning works even less well for the news industry than it did for Soviet agriculture.”
Smith did concede one lasting legacy EveryBlock leaves for digital journalism, however. “Certainly the judicious application of technology can assist journalists at all levels, and the code behind EveryBlock was an important experiment in gathering data at the local level.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
Nominees For 9th Annual Intl. Mobile Gaming Awards Announced
PR Web