Mike Butcher

There’s a new blog about digital journalism over at Journalistic. It’s by veteran of the form, Leslie Bunder.

If you look to the right of this page you’ll see ads. One of these ads has been booked by a marketing company to promote the Sharp Aquos LCD TV. But they are pointing to a blog, seemingly made up for the purpose of fooling the reader into thinking this is a real person. To see more, they have to hunt down the actual site, which turns out to be for the TV. Very clever. But will it work? You decide.

Adored by millions, hated by hundreds of millions. Guess who here.

The Independent newspaper has redesigned it’s web site. In a “statement”:http://news.independent.co.uk/media/story.jsp?story=575993 on the site today, the newspaper explained that out of all the media, it is even more important for web sites to “evolve to match changing news flows and expectations.”

It’s an interesting redesign, very “clean” and slightly reminds me of the International Herald Tribune. As the Guardian is rumoured to be in the early stages of planning a re-design, this is very interesting timing.

The whole “undesign” movement – as far as I know started by Jason Kottke – is really gather pace it seems.

Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee who runs the instapundit US political blog says: “Thanks to the internet, cable news channels and talk radio, media bias is easier to spot and easier for people to bypass. This not only changes views, but prevents the formation of a phoney consensus – what experts call “preference falsification” – resulting from widespread, and unified, media bias. “It’s because of the influence of new media that the “traditional press’s influence is shrinking.”

As of 10.34am in London the figures were:

Bush, George W. Republican 2,780,285 50.98%

Kerry, John F. Democratic 2,647,121 48.54%

And they’re still counting…

For live updates see here.

Everywhere new media appears to be having an effect which the old media doesn’t seem capable of keeping up with.

Blogs Send Stocks Into Reverse was a headline today on Reuters, after the markets suddenly realised that “chatter on the Internet speculated that early exit polls had Sen. John Kerry leading the presidential election in key swing states.”

As Nick Denton notes: “In an internet era, it’s impossible to maintain an information embargo, particularly when attention is so intense. The news organizations put up bland holding headlines, so as not to affect polling while stations are still open. This is the last election cycle they’ll be so restrained.”

Remember Howard Dean? People thought the blogs of political candidates would be important. When Dean failed, the effect was discounted as blogger hype.

But what seems more likely is that it’s the people talking back and between themselves via blogs and other forums that could have the real effect in the future.

Especially when the mainstream media refuses to discuss issues people actually want to know about (like was bush wired).

No, not the US election. Vote for me in the Work Foundation Media Awards. I’d like to win the Online Journalist of the Year Award please. Thanks very much. (The money will be arriving shortly, promise).