Scott, thanks a lot for the
feedback and thanks again for being part of the experiment. If you could, as
the interviewee, could you articulate how this affects your comfort level in
working with the press? For example, if more members of the press did this,
would it affect which interviews you selected and which you turned down (on the
basis of whether they offered transparency channels)? Disclaimer: I will want
to share your feedback with others. But that feedback is part of the
experiment.
thanks
db
From: Scott Young
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2005 12:58
PM
To:
David Berlind
Cc:
steve
Subject: Re: Interview of scott young, experiment in media
transparency
David,
This is really cool. I think you are about to change the way journalism is
practiced. I am happy to participate.
Hats off to you,
Scott
Scott Young
UserLand Software
phone numbers redacted
phone numbers redacted
www.userland.com
On Jan 18, 2005, at 7:53 PM, David Berlind wrote:
ZDNet's experiment in media transparency
Serendipitiously, just when big media and grass roots journalists (aka
bloggers) are coming under fire for a variety of transgressions in credibility,
has the multimedia publish-and subscribe technology of podcasting come to the
rescue, enabling journalists to broadcast new "transparency channels" that prove
their credibility?
In ZDNet's proof-of-concept of media transparency, executive editor David
Berlind's experiment includes a column that relies on
quotes from a recorded interview and then podcasts the uncensored and unedited
recording. In the name of offering a view of the raw materials that
journalists might otherwise obscure from public view (what could be considered a
form of media transparency), not only was the raw recording podcasted, the
column itself contains in-line time-codes in the text that allows readers to
fast foward to exact location of the quotes in the audio file (download the
MP3). This way, readers can check them to see if the
interviewee (in this case, Scott Young, CEO of Userland) was misquoted, taken
out of context, or if the interview was directed in a way that forced Young into
saying something he might not otherwise volunteer (some journalists are accused
of pursuing an agenda).
With transparency channels like these, readers might be able to better
gauge the credibility of a journalist or media outfit. For a full explanation of
the experiment, see Can technology close the credibiity
gap? or check out ZDNet's Special Report: Media
credibility: Where podcasting meets transparency.
Please let me know what you think.
Thanks.
