Corporate shirt. PR flack. Web guy. Blogger. Beverage enthusiast. Hubby. Daddy. Diggity. Giggity.
36 hour 'til Monday. 54 dollars and change.
A little over a month ago, CNN.com announced a dramatic redesign of its Web site. Headed up by general manager KC Estenson and creative director Brian Martin, the site now has a tidied-up, stripped-down interface that uses lots of video to showcase the dynamic nature of breaking news. Simplifying news design is a bona fide trend--Reuters' revamp and Aol.'s pending relaunch are two more recent projects that come to mind--but CNN.com has three secret weapons powering the journalistic machinery behind the smart new look: a wealth of broadcast-quality video, brand-name journalists, and recently hired vice president and managing editor Meredith Artley. She's responsible for a way of thinking that aims to change the way both CNN.com and CNN reporters work.
Artley views the newsroom as a cohesive unit, or, as she calls it, a "giant candy store," where the knowledge of contributors from all corners of CNN can be creatively combined to produce comprehensive, multimedia coverage of any story. Joining the team just before the redesign, Artley encouraged reporters not only to use the latest streaming video technology and share resources but to actually tell stories in a different, often more personal way. "This is a place for journalists to really have an impact," Artley says. "I think we can change the future of storytelling."
I'm torn on CNN.com's recent redesign. Major headlines are belittled to the left while sexy news takes up the primary column. Never mind that boxes are boring, albeit easy from a number of content management standpoints. That said, I do like more reliance on embedded video and NewsPulse is simple and nice feature.
I'm glad that Fast Company chose to cover this. And wow, a media story not about the death of mainstream journalism which, IMHO, will reclaim the throne once the jesters are caught sleeping at their TweetDecks.
Much has been squawked about "Saturday Night Live" and its most recent opening sketch, in which cast member Fred Armisen portrays a beleaguered Barack Obama conceding broken campaign promise after promise.
I thought Ed Rollins' commentary was on the money:
Humor with some truth in it is always dangerous. Make no mistake, a drumbeat of belittlement can damage a president.
President Gerald Ford, a gifted athlete, could never overcome the image of a bumbling, clumsy man who banged his head constantly after the hilarious portrayal of him by Chevy Chase. The senior Bush, George H.W., was brilliantly played by Dana Carvey, and more viewers remember our 41st president as the goofy, inarticulate caricature than as a serious man who served his country in many positions.But the real question being debated on cable TV because of the "SNL" parody is this: "Has the media's love affair and honeymoon with President Obama ended?"
Great question, Ed. As his own network illustrated, "SNL" has effectively forced that answer since the Ford administration (though, perhaps CNN made its point too well). Anyway, I said earlier today on Facebook that "I suspect liberals will hastily lash out at this while convervatives wrongly praise it, but [the Rollins piece] is about the fairest assessment I've come across [of] Obama in office to date." Judging by the sketch going viral overnight with the media pundits on patrol, that may very well be the case. Not having a heckuva lotta patience for punditry, I shan't posit a pun; however, I do have one beef with last Saturday's opener.
That being? Fred Armisen. He's mildly amusing, meaning: not that funny. None of his recurring characters are all that memorable, and how he parlayed "Aqua Teen" into a coveted repertory role is beyond me. His Obama impersonation is below average, garnering chance laughs at best thanks to sight gags and what I assume to be a merciful studio audience. Still, it's a presidential spoof and that's what SNL does well. Or does it?
As Rollins stated, Chevy Chase's portrayal of Ford was plain stupid. Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton was more silly than funny, and never matched the sheer genius that was Phil Hartman's study of Slick Willy. (Note to Hammond: leave already.) And while nobody questions that Tina Fey pummeled Sarah Palin or that Comedy Centrail derailed the "Straight Talk Express," I'm not so sure that Lorne Michaels can make or break a presidency like he once could.
Whether you agreed with the message, the sketch was weak. In my humble opinion, Hulu is the real hero. Sans video sharing, the segment would've rolled over like Liberty, a reference far too old for today's technorati.
In the old days, 30 Rock commanded a presence at the polls. Anymore, they'd need to hire a modern day Sterling Cooper.
Or Rollins. After all, he canvassed for a Kennedy.
Corporate shirt. PR flack. Web guy. Blogger. Beverage enthusiast. Hubby. Daddy. Diggity. Giggity.
Corporate shirt. PR flack. Web guy. Blogger. Beverage enthusiast. Hubby. Daddy. Diggity. Giggity.
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