Category: Media

News Media by Joe WilcoxOct 11, 20157:15 pm

Responsible Reporting Section 3 ‘What You Must Do’: Chapter VII

Nearly a month has passed still the last installment of my ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers. I have been overwhelmingly busy with other projects, which is no excuse. My apologies, please. Over the next couple of Sundays, I will serialize the remaining few chapters before releasing the tome into the public domain.

This chapter, like most of the others in Section 3, is vital to your success, which means rising above the endless sea of sameness. You must be original, and produce original content that finds and builds audience. Today’s chapter gives varied examples of news organizations doing just that.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 11, 20157:03 am

Flickr a Day 284: ‘The Hug’

The story behind the photo gives the Day to Miguel Tejada-Flores, who shot self-titled “The Hug” on May 2, 2015, using Panasonic DMC-GX7 and Lumix G VARIO 14-42/F3.5-5.6 II lens. Vitals: f/4, ISO 200, 1/2500 sec, 14mm.

Miguel, who joined Flickr in November 2007, is by profession a screenwriter not a photographer. But both creative capabilities are about storytelling, which again, is what makes the capture all the more compelling. He explains:

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 10, 20156:40 am

Flickr a Day 283: ‘The Guardian’

We follow up yesterday’s car and planes with another seemingly simple shot. The Northern Lights are canvas against which Jeff Wallace magnificently presents appropriately self-titled “The Guardian”. “This tree is always begging to be photographed”, he says. […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 9, 20156:24 pm

What Is Your Flickr Anniversary?

I can’t count how many times my relationship with Flickr nearly ended over the past decade. I subscribed in October 2005, making 10 years ago this month. For reasons I cannot guess, my oldest uploaded photo is the Pelican, on Ground Hog’s Day 2006. I shot the bird with Nikon D70 and Nikkor 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens while vacationing in San Diego (where I now live) in August 2004.

I don’t have an exact date during the month, just a receipt for a Pro membership on May 6, 2006. I maintained Pro until Flickr (more or less) ended the option in May 2013. But Yahoo brought back Pro accounts in July 2015, offering perks to previous subscribers. Last month, I renewed mine for two years, for $44.95.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 9, 20156:52 am

Flickr a Day 282: ‘Aero Club Bad Nauheim — Tag der offenen Tür’

Complimentary colors and perspective take the Day, with this simple shot from Sept. 6, 2014. Barbara Müller-Walter used Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 to shoot self-titled “Aero Club Bad Nauheim—Tag der offenen Tür”. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 125,1/400 […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 8, 20156:48 am

Flickr a Day 281: Biker Dad

Investigative journalist and pictorial storyteller Peter Haden demonstrates bokeh and composition together at their best. He used Canon EOS 7D to capture our Day taker on Aug. 6, 2014. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 7, 20156:52 am

Flickr a Day 280: ‘Street Musician’

If not for graffiti on the wall, self-titled “Street Musician” could be from the 1950s rather than the 2010s. The bouzouki, hat, mustache, and narrow tie together give that by-gone days aura. Ilias Theodoropoulos captured the […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 6, 20157:24 am

Flickr a Day 279: ‘Lama. 2 am.’

Punctuation punctuates self-titled “Lama. 2 am”. Identification and time with two periods makes a statement that causes reaction yeah, and then of course when reading accompanying description: “Paris, FR”. Somehow, the beast in the window makes sense. What […]

Society by Joe WilcoxOct 5, 20159:15 pm

Where No Values Have Gone Before

For more than two weeks I have kept open in a browser tab essay “How Star Trek Explains the Decline of Liberalism” by Timothy Sandefur. Someone shared the story in one of my social feeds in mid-September—and apologies for not recalling whom. I don’t agree with the title, set against the writing, but I do largely agree with the analysis about Star Trek’s reflection of our society over the course of 50 years.

I loved the original series, which aired in 1966. Much as I liked, and even imitated Spock, Kirk’s bravado and moralism rapt my attention. He acted rather than hesitated. Meanwhile, series creator Gene Roddenberry and his producers, directors, and writers used the storytelling as metaphors and allegories commenting on American society and its values. I aspired to be like James Tiberius Kirk: Do the right thing, for the greater good of all, regardless the risk.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 5, 20156:51 am

Flickr a Day 278: ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’

I dismissed today’s selection as being a Photoshop fake, before on second peruse looking more closely and then reading the shooter’s explanation: “Beachgoers at St. Maarten’s Maho Beach get a rush as Air France flight […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 4, 20157:34 am

Flickr a Day 277: ‘Obi’

Smartphones can produce surprisingly good photos in competent hands. Physical contrast caught my attention in our Day taker—the small dog set against the big cars. But after seeing that Ryan Hyde used iPhone 5, I […]

Gear by Joe WilcoxOct 3, 20155:29 pm

Amazon Fire TV Review

Streaming set-top boxes are no longer about media consumption. The newest entrants—from Apple, Amazon, and Google—fit into a larger lexicon of connected digital lifestyles. Think intelligent television for the information-obsessed and for visual voyeurs demanding the highest-quality video that is commercially available.

On Oct. 1, 2015, I started testing the new Amazon Fire TV, which goes on sale October 5th. I will later review the newer Google Chromecast but unlikely Apple’s device (because a review unit isn’t available and I wouldn’t buy one for personal use). There is nothing radically new about Fire TV. It’s more of the same only much better. Key benefit for some: 4K Ultra HD video support. Benefit for all: Enhanced voice-interaction capabilities that include Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant. Then there are iterative enhancements that improve overall benefits.