06 December, 2007
Technical Difficulties
Another post to announce that the embedded .mp3 player used on this site is down again. It's offered for free by Odeo, so like I really can't bitch about it because you get what you pay for.
Your best bet to get the latest podcast episodes of the Writers' Strike Chronicles is to simply subscribe though iTunes.
Another workaround is to click on the files where they are hosted at the Internet Archive another free service. BTW, the IA is an official library according to the State of California!
Refresh this post for updates as to when the Odeo player is back in service.
Your best bet to get the latest podcast episodes of the Writers' Strike Chronicles is to simply subscribe though iTunes.
Another workaround is to click on the files where they are hosted at the Internet Archive another free service. BTW, the IA is an official library according to the State of California!
Refresh this post for updates as to when the Odeo player is back in service.
It's A Small World After All
Calling out around the world, are you ready for a brand new contract? Apparently writers world-wide are and they are showing solidarity in the WGA struggle as witnessed in the following videos:
Jeff Chester on big media conglomerates
Clip from the film "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism". Executive Director Digital Democracy Jeff Chester discusess big media conglomerates and how they dominate debate
Hulu Update
Hulu recently launched an HD Gallery featuring a selection of High Definition video clips at 1280 x 720 resolution.
You'll need a fast connection and a fast machine to watch HD Hulu. Check out their system requirement here. In a nutshell: a connection of 2,400 Kbps or higher (not your average home user speed) and the latest Adobe Flash Player 9 to stream these High Definition bandwidth clogging clips. Needless to say, this leaves out those who will be using this service on a Wii , aPS3 or an Xbox not to mention an iPhone.
Flash Player 9 is free to download here. It's the secret weapon that Hulu claims will make them the YouTube killer. No more crappy YouTube flash videos, baby. It's HD, baby...HD.
You'll need a fast connection and a fast machine to watch HD Hulu. Check out their system requirement here. In a nutshell: a connection of 2,400 Kbps or higher (not your average home user speed) and the latest Adobe Flash Player 9 to stream these High Definition bandwidth clogging clips. Needless to say, this leaves out those who will be using this service on a Wii , aPS3 or an Xbox not to mention an iPhone.
Flash Player 9 is free to download here. It's the secret weapon that Hulu claims will make them the YouTube killer. No more crappy YouTube flash videos, baby. It's HD, baby...HD.
WSC Extra - A Strike Supporter Weighs In
In this short recording, a strike supporter literally came out of nowhere to give me this sound bite and then disappeared. I was told by a bystander that the man was an author now living in France, but who knows? Thanks for the quote though, dude.
WSC Show #28 - Interview with Dee LaDuke
Today I visit with Dee LaDuke at the picket lines at CBS Radford Studios. Dee is the author of the book “Making Great Television: Four Essential Ingredients”. As a Bay Area resident, Dee commutes at least once a week to Los Angeles for work. Because of her proximity to Silicon Valley, I wanted to know her take on the impact of new media and its affect on the digitization of the entertainment industry. Recorded Tuesday, 4 December 2007.
05 December, 2007
A Day To Honor Star Trek Writers
I'm such a nerd, this is one of the first picketing events since the strike began that's got me all twitterpated:
But John Scott Lewinski makes a point: "There's no word if the Borg will attempt to assimilate Paramount CEO Brad Grey in hope of increasing digital sell-through rights."
So maybe the WGA should recruit some Klingons to help facilitate the negotiations. I'm just sayin'.
The WGA will hold "A Day to Honor Star Trek Writers" at the picket lines from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Dec. 10 outside Paramount Studios' Windsor Gate in Hollywood. This stint is intended to celebrate former Trek scribes and on-screen stars to support the WGA strike.Beam me down for this one, Scotty.
But John Scott Lewinski makes a point: "There's no word if the Borg will attempt to assimilate Paramount CEO Brad Grey in hope of increasing digital sell-through rights."
So maybe the WGA should recruit some Klingons to help facilitate the negotiations. I'm just sayin'.
Wannabe New Media Whore
Yes, Harlan, I'm one of those fucking amateurs that are giving content away for free. And guess what? I want to make money at this game, too.
I wanna be a new media whore so badly, Harlan. So in anticipation of when I finally make money doing it, I'll be the first to post it on my website because I own the domain name NewMediaWhore.TV. But I won't do it until I get a fat check. Then I'll invite you to be my guest and I'll pay you an MBA. How about that?
D.I.Y. OR DIE
D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist is a low-budget documentary film that shows why artists do what they do, regardless of a continuous paycheck. This video is the first in an 8-part series available on YouTube.
Funny Or Die
Hey writers! Will Ferrell is hip to owning and distributing his own content. So can you!
Within six days of launching Funny or Die, Ferrell's first video offering "The Landlord" garnered 24 million hits. And he didn't need the networks to do it. He used the Internet.
In this article "Funny or Die — and the challenge to the Long Tail" tech analyst Bernard Moons discusses Will Ferrell's creating, owning and distributing his own content. With distribution channels disrupted by new technologies, user-generated content is on the rise and the AMPTP are looking over their shoulders to stay on top of it. One way to do this is to make you guys think you need them.
But you don't.
As for the video below, the one scene that I feel could have made this piece better is a shot from the picket lines with writers putting down their signs to "high-five".
The Internet is all about D.I.Y. Man your laptops, WGA! Rally to the call "D.I.Y. or die!"
Within six days of launching Funny or Die, Ferrell's first video offering "The Landlord" garnered 24 million hits. And he didn't need the networks to do it. He used the Internet.
In this article "Funny or Die — and the challenge to the Long Tail" tech analyst Bernard Moons discusses Will Ferrell's creating, owning and distributing his own content. With distribution channels disrupted by new technologies, user-generated content is on the rise and the AMPTP are looking over their shoulders to stay on top of it. One way to do this is to make you guys think you need them.
But you don't.
As for the video below, the one scene that I feel could have made this piece better is a shot from the picket lines with writers putting down their signs to "high-five".
The Internet is all about D.I.Y. Man your laptops, WGA! Rally to the call "D.I.Y. or die!"
Ask A Ninja "Do Writers Need The AMPTP?"
"Ask A Ninja" creators Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, have parlayed their Web video entertainment program into about $100,000 a month in ad revenue and income from merchandising and licensing.
Read how they and others are generating income directly from the Internet here.
Until then, you could probably ask a ninja live tonight!
Oh, and in case you missed Ask A Ninja's Special Delivery piece last month about the writers' strike, stream this!
Read how they and others are generating income directly from the Internet here.
Until then, you could probably ask a ninja live tonight!
Oh, and in case you missed Ask A Ninja's Special Delivery piece last month about the writers' strike, stream this!
Here Comes Another Bubble
From TheRichterScales
A UGC new media piece about new technology.
I love this one: "There's absolutely no bubble in technology," says Peter Thiel, Facebook investor.
And as the writers have been told, there is no money in digital.
Yeah. Right.
BTW, it's worth noting in that programmers in the tech world are what writers are in entertainment.
I think I'll blog this song....
WSC Show #27 - Interview with Bill Froehlich
In today’s episode I meet up with strike captain and multi-hyphenate Bill Froehlich at the picket lines at the CBS Radford lot in Studio City. Here we discuss the importance of a free press for a healthy democracy despite media consolidation. Recorded Tuesday, 4 December 2007.
Publications mentioned:
"The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture" by Andrew Keen.
'We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information" by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis (available for free download at above referenced link).
04 December, 2007
Facts Cast: Writers’ Strike
As promised, here's the audio of the show I did for WNXT last Monday morning. Chris Spangle (who was sitting in for his boss Abdul) is the host.
Prediction for Strike End-Date: January 8, 2008
Media Predict is an online game that is running a play-money strike duration prediction market. By registering, you receive a faux balance of $5,000 which you can use to participate in the game "When Will the Writers’ Strike End?". The market currently predicts a January 8 end to the strike. Costs per share at the time of this posting is $54.40 (down -$2.00).
Another on-line game is from InTrade, which uses real money. But at the time of this posting, nobody is participating in this hedge fund.
Tell Congress: Stop Big Media
Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been keeping a secret from the American people. He wants to push through plans to remove decades-old media ownership protections. And he's trying to do it without public scrutiny.
Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have introduced groundbreaking bipartisan legislation that would hold the FCC accountable and put the people ahead of Big Media.
Petitions from the public — millions of them — stopped media consolidation in 2003. Sign the petition and tell everyone you know: http://stopbigmedia.com
WSC Show #26 - Revisit with B. Mark Seabrooks
In today’s episode, we talk to B. Mark Seabrooks. The last time he came on the show was at the Labor Solidarity March and Rally that took place just before Thanksgiving. Today we discuss how important the writers' strike is to the American labor movement. Recorded Monday, 3 December 2007.
Just a note: in this discussion we touch upon the outsourcing of American jobs. This practice has affected such business sectors such as manufacturing, technical support, airline reservations and tax preparation. Most recently, even local city news reporting was been outsourced to two journalists in India. Last spring, John Macpherson of the on-line newspaper PasadenaNow.com posted a help wanted ad on Craigslist that said, “We seek a newspaper journalist based in India to report on the city government and political scene of Pasadena, California, USA.” The upshot was that he hired two Indian reporters, one a graduate of the journalism school at the University of California at Berkeley. For more information about this, click here.
03 December, 2007
WSC Show #25 - Revisit with Joe Medeiros
Last week I read in the blogosphere about the AMPTP’s proposed "New Economic Partnership" that was heralded as a groundbreaking new deal for the writers. However, the offer seemed pretty much rejected by the WGA across the board and the writers had to take a time out.
Tomorrow, both sides will return to the table to resume negotiations. To get an understanding of where the writers were at, I revisit strike captain Joe Medeiros, the head writer of the Jay Leno show down at NBC studios. Recorded Monday, 3 December 2007.
How Will The Writer's Strike Impact YouTube?
From EricQuick
Though I agree with some of this guy's points, he needs to expand his channel from just YouTube to like...the entire Internet. Here's just 50 of the top video websites now offering content.
What's Next Entertainment & Technology: WGA Strike - The Machine vs The People
From paxstereo
Here, the host talks touches on disruptive technologies. But he's also talkin' about Time Magazine's person of the year for 2006.
I'm a radio star!
Yes it's true! In about 5 minutes I'm gonna be a radio star.I know...video killed the radio star. And the Internet is killing TV...true that! Oh, oh!
Like I said: in 5 freaking minutes I'm joining Chris Spangle on Fox News radio (insert Scooby's "grooo?" sound here). More precisely, I'll be on WXNT (that's 1430 on the AM dial) in Indianapolis where I'll be talking about the writers strike, how it will effect some of America's favorite TV shows, explain WTF new media is all about, and whether this strike is a sign of things to come in American labor.
You can also stream it live at WXNT, or catch it on podcast later today here or on XNT’s website.
UPDATE: (December 3 @ 6:12 a.m.) OK...that went hella fast! I touched on some points as best I could, but the phone connection kept dropping out which was a little weird (not to mention stressful). Another thing that's funny: I was scheduled for the entire hour, but I think Chris and I only talked like about 24 minutes or something like that. Anyway, as soon as I get the audio for this I'll be posting it on the blog. As they say...stay tuned!
02 December, 2007
WSC Show #24 - Interview with Bennett Tramer
In today’s episode I talk to Bennett Tramer at the picket lines in front of Fox Studios. Recorded Thursday, 29 November 2007.
01 December, 2007
WSC Show #23 - Interview with Liz Friedman
In today's episode we speak to Liz Friedman in front of the picket lines at Fox Studios. Recorded Thursday, 29 November 2007.
30 November, 2007
Join me tonight! I'm a winner!
Hey there! Tonight is the Winnies! Come join me!
WHO: Online Video creators, producers, compressors and STARS
WHAT: The Winnies Awards Where The Winner is YOU
WHERE: Cinespace, 6356 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, California
WHEN: November 30, 2007 - 7pm
WHY: Because you want to party and you want a trophy!
For more info, visit YouAreTheWinner.org
Just in time for Christmas!
You striking writers and those affected, scrape together $150.00 because this little gizmo makes a great gift and it's something the ConGlom's don't want you to know about.
Presenting... TakeTV...taaa-daaa!
Sansa TakeTV
Works with Fanfare online video service
Presenting... TakeTV...taaa-daaa!
Sansa TakeTV
- - 4GB and 8GB sizes, $100 and $150 respectively
- - Supports DivX (including Home Theater profile), XVID, and MPEG-4
- - Up to 720 x 576 resolution
- - On sale immediately
- - Intended for use in downloading shows from one's computer to the TakeTV (which is then physically moved to the TV)
Works with Fanfare online video service
- - Launching with content from CBS, Jaman, Showtime, Smithsonian Networks, The Weather Channel and TV Guide Broadband, including shows such as CSI, Survivor China, Dexter, and Sleeper Cell
- - Video downloads will be both ad-supported (free) and paid (not sure how much yet), depending on the wishes of the content creators
- - Fanfare video will also be playable on Sansa portable media devices
- - Yes, it's DRMed, and yes, it's proprietary: TrustedFlash, developed by SanDisk
- - Available in beta today, officially launching in 2008
WSC Show #22 - Interview with Leonard Dick
In today’s episode we talk to Leonard Dick from the picket lines in front of FOX Studios. If you want to learn more about my bloggings about Hulu, click here. Recorded Thursday, 29 November 2007.
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