Category: Journalism

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 13, 201410:44 am

Lesson Learned about PR Pitches

For my Be a Better Blogger crowdfunding campaign, roles are reversed. I am accustomed to public relations professionals—what many of my peers call flaks (I don’t)—sending me cold pitches about something related to technology. They range from product announcements to corporate news. Now I’m the cold pitcher promoting my ~~money-grubbing~~ requests to support the project. I don’t like how it all feels, but…

I actually archive most of the PR email received, and these messages go back to the 1990s. So my pool of marketing professional return mail addresses is quite sizable. The day after the campaign started (February 1), I pitched back. About 150 of the PR folks got my cold pitch. I kept the outreach to those with whom there had been interaction within 18 months. Their responses exceeded expectations.

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20149:56 pm

Living Legend

While searching Flickr Commons for one thing, I found another—this amazing photo of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lucy Morgan. Circa 1985, you see it. She carries cell phone and video camera, tools of the trade long […]

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20147:32 pm

The Case for Advocacy Journalism

Judging by Philip Elmer-DeWitt’s Google+ posts, he is a nobody—less than 500 Circles and virtually no comments. Reality is something else: Philip is a respected reporter responsible for the Apple 2.0 blog. Googlism is primary reason, I believe, for the response—or lack of it. The social network attracts Google fanboys and abhors others. There isn’t much audience for him on Plus.

But over on the Fortune website, Philip’s following is clear, judging by comments to his frequent posts. He falls into the “advocacy journalism” category. Philip writes for an Apple audience and often, but by no means always, favorably about the fruit-logo company.

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 201410:33 am

You Live in the Present, Write That Way

If you want your writing to impact, be present. Past tense weakens the narrative and deadens the emotional connection with readers.

Present tense is a weapon, which use raises body counts. Over at the BetaNews, some commenters consistently accuse me of being an overly-emotional writer. I cock my head and laugh, because just the opposite is true. Ambivalence is my feeling about 95 percent of stories, if not more. But accusations persist that I am a killer. For sure—of past tense.

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 20141:48 pm

AOL's Digital Prophet

If you swabbed the seats at TechCrunch Disrupt, spread it across a petri dish, and dipped that dish in uranium, this man would eventually emerge. But there’s no need to wait: he’s real, he works […]

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 201412:25 pm

The New Journalism

Creating millions of lone-wolf, single-person bloggers doesn’t get us to a golden age…If you’re going to reliably produce journalism that improves the world, maybe you don’t need a village, but you need some collaborators. You […]

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20145:47 pm

Twitter's Defiance is Good News

I love Twitter, all the more since Eric Snowden’s revelations about the U.S. government’s secret spying program. The company largely stands apart from other techs’ positions, but not completely. In December, I scolded Twitter, along with Apple, Facebook, Google, and a smattering of others for their “disingenuous and self-serving” call for global government surveillance reform.

Today, Twitter tweaks the government regarding an agreement that expands disclosure of information requests, including those that fall under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. In a startling act of defiance, Twitter chooses not to disclose the number of FISA and other national security-related requests, contending they’re scope is an “overly broad range”.

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 201411:44 am

Hotel Hath No Fury…

While there’s something whiny about Western journalists’ tweets, excellent is their use of Twitter to engage readers, build audience, and report something interesting ahead of the Olympic Winter Games start: Journalists at Sochi are live-tweeting […]

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 3, 201410:48 am

Be a Better Blogger

I start off February by launching my first crowdfunding campaign, which seeks to raise money for my forthcoming book Be a Better Blogger. The sorry state of news reporting troubles me, particularly sourcing (or lack of it) and rumormongering—as eloquently expressed four years ago in post “The Difference Between Blogging and Journalism“. Triple B seeks to be a remedy, by identifying the problems and offering tips on writing well and reporting responsibly.

While the title refers to blogging, that is more a naming convention. The book is meant for anyone who wants to write well and responsibly online, applying past principles of good editing, writing, and storytelling to future-now.

Gear by Joe WilcoxJan 10, 20143:15 pm

Twenty-Fourteen isn’t Year of the Chromebook

There are reasons why I am so obnoxiously loud about bad news reporting tactics. NPD innocently kicked off a writ-storm about 2014 being year of the Chromebook. A Dec. 23, 2013, press release observes strong Chromebook commercial channel sales of preconfigured desktop and notebook PCs.

Looks like NPD pulled the PR—I can’t find it—over this whole “year of #chromebook” meme; it’s a blog and press echo chamber that continues to boom. Goddamn, my ears hurt. Even The Register, of which I expect much better, misquotes the NPD press release, too. That 21 percent market share figure refers to commercial U.S. channels only, not the entire market.

News Media by Joe WilcoxJan 7, 20148:56 pm

Sometimes I Really Miss Working for CNET

Now this is news reporting, and in a few words: How I got T-Mobile’s CEO kicked out of AT&T’s CES party. My apologies for the late highlight. The story as told in a couple tweets is Twitter […]

Journalism by Joe WilcoxJan 7, 20148:17 am

Finally, a Sensible Story sets the Chromebook Record Straight

Gregg Keizer corrects the record regarding Chromebook sales. Somebody had to. Gregg is consistently a thorough reporter who actually reports rather than hypes or falls into The Echo Chamber.

NPD’s press release clearly states U.S. “commercial channels” not all retail sales, as has been widely misreported. That 21 percent number isn’t the whole pie but a much smaller portion of it. This misreading, misunderstanding, or misreporting (take your pick) fostered an echo chamber of stories predicting 2014 as the year of the Chromebook. In your dreams.