22
April
2007
|
17:59 PM
America/Los_Angeles

This'nThat: Protests as Justin.TV turns off camera to have sex; Newspaper problems not my fault says Craigslist founder

I couldn't make it to Podcast Hotel, the video blogging conference on Friday and Saturday. But I heard that Justin Kan from Justin.TV, the 24/7 live vidcaster with a hat mounted camera and microphone, was on a panel.

About five or six people from the audience protested that he had recently shut off his camera for a period of time.

I am broadcasting live video of my life 24/7 to the internet. I started Justin.tv because I thought it would awesome for people to see what it was like to be Justin.

From his website.

Mr Kan defended his action by saying that he was having sex and videoing it should be by mutual consent.

Fair point but the answer implies that his partner objected otherwise the camera would have stayed on.  What happens if Mr Kan's next partner doesn't mind if the camera keeps rolling?

We already know Mr Kan has exhibitionist qualities, how far will he go? (That's being saved for sweeps week :-)

...

Interesting Craig Newmark interview over on the excellent IWantMedia.com site:

Newmark spoke earlier this week with undergraduate students in a digital journalism course at New York University instructed by I Want Media founder Patrick Phillips. The students had many questions for the king of free online classifieds.

Q: Is Craigslist a threat to newspapers, as people say?

Newmark: Not in a significant way. We do drain some revenue from some papers that rely on ads. But I have spoken to the industry analysts, and there is a bigger threat from the niche sites and niche papers. Sites like Monster are more of a threat because they suck away a lot more job ads. An even bigger threat is the pressure from Wall Street to get like 10 or 20 percent profit margins.

Craig Newmark Craigslist Isn't a Media Menace - I Want Media

I would agree that Craigslist is not the problem for newspapers but it certainly doesn't help matters. 

It is a very useful service to many communities. But services such as Craigslist  can offer cheaper online advertising because they don't have to pay salaries for the journalism that traditionally accompanies classified ads.

It is all a function of the economics of digital media, not Craigslist.

A small selection of today's headlines from IWantMedia:

Newspaper Web Sites Deliver Slower Growth
Reuters
Newspaper publishers are betting the Internet is the key to their survival, but a worsening classified advertising slump is hampering efforts to make good on their digital strategies. Says Outsell analyst Ken Doctor: "Rapid online growth appears to be dimming. That's a big problem."


LA Times Expected to Cut 5% of Staff
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is expected to announce a plan to cut about 150 jobs, as profits at the newspaper and its parent company, Tribune, continue to slide. Most of the cuts, including nearly 70 newsroom positions, are expected to come through voluntary buyouts.

Facebook May Launch Local Classifieds
Mashable
Facebook, the social networking service for students, is said to be considering the launch of a local classifieds service. Under the proposed system, it would be free to list items in a user's own network and cost a few dollars to post to each additional network.


Classified Ad Decline Weighs on U.S. Newspapers
Reuters
A sharp drop in classified advertising sales brought on by free Internet listings is helping push financial results lower at Gannett, Tribune, Journal Register and other newspaper publishers. "The theme here is severe, almost unprecedented declines," says Benchmark analyst Ed Atorino.


NY Times Plans to Outsource Functions
New York Daily News
The New York Times Co. plans to outsource some functions and is looking at opportunities across the company. The Times is hiring a consulting firm to help it find ways to cut costs, says CFO Jim Follo. "We expect those projects to bear fruit in the second half of the year."


Tribune to Cut 100 Jobs Through Buyouts
Chicago Tribune
Tribune, facing declining revenue and pressure to cut costs, is said to be planning to offer employee buyouts, with a goal of eliminating 100 positions. If the offers don't generate enough savings, the company may resort to layoffs. Tribune's results are seen as behind its peers.