Archive for November 6th, 2006
The Hollywood Reporter has a great write-up of the painstaking measures in place at the election decision desks at the networks. “It’s pretty stressful. It’s the kind of thing that very few jobs have, where you have to be right 100% of the time,” said Sheldon Gawiser, who runs NBC News’ decision desk. This year there are a few twists. First, new voting technology may make it more difficult to anticipate results. And second, exit polling information is being held in a “quarantine room” until 5 p.m. ET instead of publishing the first wave at 1 p.m. So what do you think, will exit polling be leaked early anyway?
November 6th, 2006
As we’ve been reporting over the last week, news sites are pulling out all the stops for the midterm election. Here’s a quick wrap-up of some of the features:
ABCNews.com and ABC News Now will run video reports from students on more than 40 college campuses. The site will also post web-only reports from Charles Gibson, George Stephanopoulos, Mark Halperin and Jake Tapper.
MSNBC.com will stream two video feeds: one with the latest results and another called “Hot Switch” which will switch between live coverage from local TV stations. MSNBC.com will also feature a “Democracy Dashboard” which will show gauges that illustrate the balance of power in the House and Senate.
CNN.com will gather 20 bloggers (one from Lost Remote) to offer feedback on the election both on CNN.com and occasionally on TV.
Using technology used by CBS Sports to tally stats, CBSNews.com plans to make available election results from every House, Senate and gubernatorial race in the country.
FoxNews.com will offer streaming audio of the Fox News Radio coverage, and contributor Michelle Malkin will be on the news channel analyzing what the blogosphere is saying about the election.
November 6th, 2006
Here’s what your Lost Remote correspondents are doing on this election day… Stephen Warley will be part of the CNN E-lection Nite Blog Party, so watch for him on TV. Cory is rolling out some innovative stuff at KING5 with a live, informal, web-only newscast as just one of the station’s offerings. In my backyard, NECN is teaming with the Boston Globe for a very cool online and TV partnership. One of the best tools is our new video search tool, Buzzhunt, that creates searchable metadata through voice recognition. We’re part of an elections-only video search page at MassElections2006.com. Give it a whirl and tell me what you think.
November 6th, 2006
For Microsoft, the Xbox 360 has only been partially about gaming and much more about becoming an entertainment hub. Coming on November 22, Microsoft will begin selling TV and movie downloads to Xbox Live subscribers from CBS, MTV, Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Paramount and Warner Bros. And in a first, some downloads will be available in high-definition. But here are the caveats. First, an HD movie will take a good part of a day to download on an average broadband connection. Second, users will have a two week window to watch it. And once they begin to watch it, just 24 hours to finish it. (TV shows will have no such viewing windows.) Pricing is expected to range in the $4-6 range for movies and around $2 for TV shows. The one advantage over iTunes is that the 360 is already connected to the TV. But in a disadvantage, the downloads aren’t portable. As an active iTunes user (yes, I buy TV shows on it), I’ll have to get it a try and report back.
November 6th, 2006
Traffic.com, which provides traffic information and solutions for dozens of local TV websites, has been purchased by Navteq for $179 million. Navteq produces in-car and mobile navigation systems. “Combined, the two companies have the potential to create and deliver advanced dynamic content that will fuel the next generation of location-enabled applications,” said Judson Green, President and CEO of NAVTEQ. (Via PaidContent)
November 6th, 2006
Microsoft’s long-awaited 3D mapping service is now available for download, and I took it for a spin through Seattle. Unlike Google, which separates mapping from Google Earth, Microsoft has integrated the two into Virtual Earth. You can select from a 2D or a 3D view, and a compass in the lower left helps you navigate (I zoomed in too tight a couple times and got lost in 3D rotation.) You can also superimpose color-coded traffic flow data and incident reports over the roadways. The buildings are rendered from aerial photos and surprisingly detailed, yet it’s hard not to notice all the floating advertising billboards scattered about. There’s an ad for John L. Scott Realty at the base of the Space Needle. And a Zip Realty ad hovering over the city. Hmmm, a little much. All in all, a great tool with some terrific effects, but it only runs on Internet Explorer.
November 6th, 2006
MTV Networks named AOL’s Erik Flannigan to head up the digital departments at Comedy Central and Spike TV.
November 6th, 2006
Palm Desert, CA
Read the full post November 6th, 2006
Newspaper redesigns are a huge waste of time and money. It’s now about getting your information out there via the web. (And website overdesign is a waste, too. Simplicity and ease of distribution rule.) Newsdesigner.com graphs the fortunes of 10 newspapers that have redesigned within the past two years. The result? Circulation down across the board. I feel the same way about the expensive TV news set redesigns. Does anyone decide to change to another newscast when they see some new shiny fake balcony? (Via Jarvis)
November 6th, 2006
LostRemote will be in attendance at the CNN E-lection Nite Blog Party tomorrow evening. CNN is gathering top political bloggers from all over the country. LR will be offering its own unique perspective, reporting on innovative coverage and analysis of traditional coverage. If your organization is helping folks experience Election Day in a new ways (like Cory is doing at KING5), we’d love to hear about it! CNN’s Internet reporters Jacki Schechner and Abbi Tatton will be hosting the event with analysis from bloggers appearing on CNN Pipeline and on CNN/U.S. Read press release after the jump . . .
Read the full post November 6th, 2006
CBS is dropping Larry Kramer as President of Digital Media and replacing him with a money man. Investment banker Quincy Smith will take the job of president of a new CBS Interactive division, reporting to CBS Pres/CEO Les Moonves. Kramer only held the job for 18 months, and the move is seen as a possible shift in CBS strategy to acquisition mode for smaller digital properties. Kramer, who founded MarketWatch, will stay on in an advisory capacity. Smith has a background in VC and investor relations. Is CBS trying to “pull a Fox” and start buying up web companies? (Thanks, Lane)
November 6th, 2006
