Mediagazer: Does a new report mean doom and gloom for local online news? Maybe, but here are a few balancing factors (Joshua Benton/Nieman Journalism Lab)

5:55 PM ET, June 15, 2011

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America's Favorite Talking Hot Head — Keith Olbermann likes looking into a camera. The return of its gaze animates him and reminds him that he has a million friends on the other side of it. But he doesn't picture those people. He talks directly to the camera.

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Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:

Heavy Streaming Video Viewers Watch Less TV, Nielsen Says — The Nielsen Company now says streaming of Internet video may come at the expense of some traditional TV viewing, especially among young TV/video users. — According to Nielsen's new “State of the Media: Cross Platform Report” …

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Nielsen Wire:

Cross Platform Report: Americans Watching More TV, Mobile and Web Video — The average American today has more ways to watch video — whenever, however and wherever they choose. In the Cross-Platform Report, Nielsen finds that the resounding trend is this: Americans are spending …

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Tarini Parti / OpenSecrets.org:

News Companies Popular Investments Among Congressmen — As recent political fiascoes involving Rep. Anthony Weiner and ex-Sen. John Edwards have shown, the power of the press carries weight, especially in Washington. Careers of high-rising politicos can be buried or propelled to new heights in a matter of minutes by the media.

Discussion: TVNewser, Adweek, Poynter, On Media's Blog and The Daily Caller

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Does a new report mean doom and gloom for local online news? Maybe, but here are a few balancing factors — Matthew Hindman's new paper showing miserably low levels of local online news consumption is a terrific addition to research on how journalism gets produced and consumed online.

Nikki Usher / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Less of less: FCC-commissioned report finds a “surprisingly small audience for local news traffic”

Discussion: SocialTimes.com

Joel Gunter / Journalism.co.uk:

BBC developing new iPhone app for field reporters — The BBC is developing an app that will allow its reporters in the field to file video, stills and audio directly into the BBC system from an iPhone or iPad. — The new app, due to be in use within a month or so, is also intended …

Discussion: Poynter, Future of Journalism, TUAW, MacNN, Mobile Entertainment, Mobile Marketing Watch, TiPb, The Next Web, 10,000 Words, Editors Weblog, App Advice, Adweek and MacStories

Jamie Miles / New York Magazine:

Timesmen React to Their Portrayal in Page One Documentary — Bill Keller didn't seem to think it was so fun. — Page One: Inside the New York Times paints the Times' media section as a testosterone-driven machine composed of Bruce Headlam, David Carr, and Brian Stelter — a sort of nerd Hangover trio.

Discussion: EW.com, FishbowlNY, New York Post and Chickaboomer

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Ready for His Digital Close-Up: The NYT's Media Dude, David Carr, Talks About “Page One”

Discussion: Anthony DeRosa

Ben Kuchera / Ars Technica:

Duke Nukem's PR threatens to punish sites that run negative reviews — A large part of my job is dealing with people who work in public relations. The vast majority of those whose do PR for video game companies are polite, well-intentioned, and extremely professional.

Discussion: ZDNet, The Escapist, The Awl, Fox News, BGR, Boing Boing and CNET News, more at Techmeme »

Jim Romenesko / Poynter:

Tumblr now has about the same number of bloggers as WordPress — WordPress has been around for eight years, and Tumblr just four. In the past six months, the number of Tumblr users has nearly tripled, reports John Asante. (There are more than 7 million Tumblr blogs.)

Discussion: NPR and FishbowlNY

Adweek:

Hearst Magazines President Carey, Times' Carr Face Off — When the New York Times' David Carr is in the interviewer's seat, it's hard to tell who's going to be the bigger attraction: The interviewee or Carr himself—especially now that he's a movie star, thanks to the new documentary Page One, about the Times' Media desk.

Discussion: The Wire and The New York Observer

Andrei Scheinkman / Open:

Using Twitter as Your Database — For the 2010 election, we built a continuously updated election guide that let readers explore data related to each of the 509 congressional and gubernatorial races. — After adding candidate information, race ratings, polls, election forecasts …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:

Facebook Hires Former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart — Joe Lockhart, who served as White House press secretary during President Bill Clinton's eventful second term, will join Facebook as VP of global communications next month. — Lockhart, currently founding partner …

Discussion: Washington Post, Epicenter, The Atlantic Wire, Bits, Inside Facebook, Forbes.com, Yahoo! News, CNET News, PC Magazine, Hillicon Valley and SAI

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Future of media: Community is your new business model — As media companies try desperately to solve their revenue problems by launching paywalls and subscription iPad apps, too few are looking at how connecting with their community (or communities) can help.

Discussion: 10,000 Words, Nieman Reports and Nieman Journalism Lab, Thanks:andrewspearin

Jonathan A. Knee / The Atlantic Online:

Why Content Isn't King — How Netflix became America's biggest video service—much to the astonishment of media executives and investors — NETFLIX FAMOUSLY ENGENDERS fierce loyalty from its ever-growing customer base. This year, it even beat out reigning champion Apple, among 528 other brands …

Nat Ives / AdAge:

QR Codes on TV? ‘Daily Show’ Counters CNN's With One of Its Own — 'Don't Do It Now Though,' Stewart Says, 'Because, You Know, We're Doing a Show' — QR codes are proliferating quickly across print and outdoor advertising — promising extra info or content to readers who photograph …

Discussion: Speakeasy

Meg James / Company Town:

Media chiefs confront challenges facing cable TV industry — A sense of urgency surrounds the annual National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. convention in Chicago this week as big media firms grapple with a host of business challenges that threaten their livelihood.