Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "sue wilson"

Local Journalists Lead "Paying for Content" Panel

2010-06-24T06:36:16Z

The Sacramento Press and The Sacramento Bee co-sponsored a panel discussion titled "Paying for Content" on June 22.

The third floor of The Bee housed 37 people who gathered to listen to panelists discuss paywalls, online revenue and the relationship between consumer and organization.

Independent journalist JT Long moderated.

The panelists were Tim Foster, editor of Midtown Monthly; Michael Sanford, KVIE's vice president for content creation; Geoff Samek, co-founder of The Sacramento Press; Tom Negrete, Bee managing editor for the online edition and production; Ron Trujillo, editor of The Sacramento Business Journal; and Mike O'Brien, co-publisher and owner of Sacramento Magazines Corporation.

The panel started with panelists introductions. Each discussed their website and explained how it makes money.

Foster said Midtown Monthly receives revenue from advertising. Sanford said KVIE relies on membership contributions. The Sacramento Press has four forms of revenue, according to Samek: display advertising, social media consulting, events and sponsorship, and digital advertising website Sacramento Local Online Ad Network (SLOAN). The Bee's website accounts for 15 percent of its revenue, Negrete said, mostly through display advertising.

Trujillo showed where advertising is placed on the Journal's website.

"Where we make our money in the newsroom is exclusive subscriber content," he said.

O'Brien said his magazine has 25,000 monthly subscribers and sells about 7,500 copies at newsstands monthly. The corporation publishes both Sacramento Magazine and Our Wedding Magazine.

"We'll extend our core niche in our print product onto the Web," O'Brien said.

Long asked the panel to attempt to predict how their sources of revenue will change in the future.

"We've gone from analog dollars to digital dimes," O'Brien said. "The big change that we see is the tablets and mobile applications. With the iPhone application, people are paying for content and I know that'll be a key issue for all of us. (Sacramento Magazine) will have our mobile application soon."

Users are in control now and have more choices than ever, Negrete said.

"Also, everybody can be a publisher now," he said. "Our marketing research department is a department with few people, and that should probably grow because that information is going to become crucial."

The topic moved into content when Long asked if the panel used freelance or staff writers, and how subjective the stories are.

"We are almost 100 percent freelanced," Foster said. "And I do worry someone is going to come to me and they're going to want to write about something that is not completely subjective objective. As far as the advertising driving the content, I have to rely on my own ethical rules, and so far I think we've done pretty good about that."

Samek said transparency helps balance bias in articles for his website.

"Citizen journalism is at the core of what we do," Samek said "For us, we see it as a mix of us and the community of Sacramento as the region's storytellers. Now when it comes to objectivity, it's a tricky thing. It's something we can't have in the same way. You'll see transparency as a crucial thing in the future."

KVIE stories and programs are submitted by producers, Sanford said.

"(Our programs) met our editorial standards and were objective," he said.

Audience members then asked questions and offered suggestions.

Questions were directed toward the entire panel and occasionally a specific person.

"How does the legacy of (SacPress) play into how aggressively you go out to new types of revenue?" Cody Kitaura of Sacramento asked. "Are you concerned about SacPress being a consulting business rather than a place they go for news?"

"It comes down to what can we do well, and we try to do that," Samek said. "I don't think that takes away from the SacPress and the branding of it. Why wouldn't we just start a business that's social media consulting? It loops back around to the fact that we became good at consulting because we ran a newsroom."

Sue Wilson of Amador County asked the panelists for their opinions on content sharing.

"I'm wondering what kind of interest there is in terms of someone producing for various local papers and for you guys on multiple platforms," she said. "Is there that interest or do you want that kind of cross pollination among your newsrooms?"

"There's many city magazines in California," O'Brien said. "And all of us, generalizing, have done a story on escaping to Carmel. Why is it that we don't collaborate with others?

“Two answers: one is that we want our own spin. We want to deliver the sensibilities of Sacramento whatever that may be. And second is these publications tend to be entrepreneurial and want to do it their own way."

Trujillo asked how the shared content revenue could be divided.

"I think that cooperation is crucial, and the fact that Sacramento Press is here at The Sacramento Bee — instead this is a step in the right direction," Samek said. "Even if you wanted to compete, local media is facing so much pressure.

“The pie is shrinking. Cooperation is very crucial in this environment. Everybody knows what they do best and overlap isn't that bad."

The discussion ended with discussing whether or not the publications intended on using a paywall.

Trujillo said The Business Journal has a hybrid of a paywall. The Journal's website has free online content, but printed content is viewable only by subscribers. Non-subscribers must wait four weeks to read printed content on the website.

Other panelists said no.

We need the traffic and that just would not work, O'Brien said.

“KVIE is focused on being the premiere storyteller about our region,” Sanford said in an e-mail Wednesday. “It’s important to us that we share this content with as wide an audience as possible – not just on television, but through our websites and social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

“Making our content available to everyone in our community regardless of their ability to pay is central to our mission and we have no plans to charge for online content.”

"I don't think a paywall is the answer for us right now," Negrete said.

The discussion was recorded by Access Sacramento. The air date has yet to be determined.

Photos:

1) The Sacramento Bee hosted the panel on the third floor of its headquarters.

2) Panelists (L to R) Foster, Sanford and Samek.

3) Panelists (L to R) Negrete, Trujillo and O'Brien.

4) Panelists (L to R) Negrete and Trujillo.

Photos by Colleen Belcher.

Agnus-Dei Farrant is an intern for The Sacramento Press.

Jennifer Strange Trial: Entercom Sacramento Negligent

2009-10-29T22:50:04Z

After nine days of intense deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women today rendered a verdict against a local Sacramento radio station in the civil trial of William A. Strange et al v. Entercom Sacramento LLC and Entercom Communications Inc. et al. The trial was to determine accountability for the death of Jennifer Strange, who died as a result of a water drinking contest sponsored by Entercom Sacramento's radio station KDND.

By unanimous vote, the jury decided that Entercom Sacramento was negligent in Strange's death; by unanimous vote, they also decided that the parent company, Entercom Communications of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania was not responsible. By a vote of ten to two, the jury decided that Jennifer Strange did not contribute to her own death.

Economic damages were assessed at $1,477,118. Non-economic damages were assessed at $15,100,000.

Jurors said finding Entercom Sacramento negligent was a relatively simple decision, mostly because Entercom on-air employees ignored phone calls warning them of the dangers of the contest. They said they believed it was the responsibility of Entercom Sacramento to vet the contest with the parent company's legal department, which employees failed to do.

However, jurors reported that they were sharply divided over other issues in the case. They said no one thought Jennifer was 100 percent responsible for her death, but that two jurors thought she shared some responsibility. As only nine jurors had to agree to render a verdict, that issue was quickly decided. Deciding non-economic damages proved much more difficult, and took days of deliberations. According to juror LaTeshia Paggett, some jurors thought that criteria they'd been instructed to consider for compensation like love, companionship, and moral guidance were invaluable, and as such, the family should receive zero compensation for those areas. She said other jurors disagreed sharply and felt the compensation should have been as high as $48 million dollars. In the end, according to juror Tammy Elliott, the jury agreed to averaging the dollar amount each juror felt appropriate. "Each juror's number was weighted equally," Elliott said.

According to Entercom's annual report, Entercom Communications reports a 2008 revenue of $439 million; Sacramento is one of their more profitable markets.

The FCC is still investigating the incident.

See the Jennifer Strange story and hear actual contest audio in Public Interest Picture's Broadcast Blues. For complete trial coverage and analysis of the trial, visit SueWilsonReports.com .

A Short Interview with Filmmaker Sue Wilson

2009-03-20T22:18:36Z

Photo credit: www.freepress.net/node/40272

Q: How long have you been making film?

Sue: This is my first film. I thought it would take six months. It’s taken four years. I’ve produced television for many years professionally. I produced radio for many years professionally. This is a far bigger deal than I ever dreamed it would be.

Q: Could you please explain what Broadcast Blues is about?

Sue: Broadcast Blues really is about what the public interest obligations are to ‘we the people’. Broadcasters make a lot of money by broadcasting on the air waves. And in return for the license to make all that money, they’re all supposed to be taking care of the public interest. Now, what exactly is the public interest? Well, President Obama wants to define that. Broadcast Blues is going to be a big help because we go through all the problems that are in the media and we look at why they’ve developed. And they’ve developed because these crazy lawmakers in Washington D.C. have passed rules that favor the corporations but are not taking care of the people.

Q: How do you believe Broadcast Blues relates to public access stations such as Access Sacramento?

People have asked me why I didn’t choose to put public access into the film and the short answer is there are so many topics already in the film and were talking about the media and you could actually do a miniseries. You really could. But also I found that I had to talk about the issues that I knew best and was most passionate about. Now having said that, Access television is in terrible trouble in this country and it’s very important that it stays alive. We live in era where to be able to write is no longer enough. The means of communication have changed. We do video communication and audio communication. And despite the low cost of cameras today, the skills of putting together something that’s really watch-able and intelligible and makes sense to people, that takes a little bit of training. That’s really the heart of where Access Sacramento and other local access stations are at. Access proves to be a training ground for people.

Anyone who wishes to see the premiere of Sue Wilson’s Broadcast Blues can visit the Crest Theatre (1031 K Street, Downtown Sacramento) this Sunday, March 22nd at 2pm. More information about Broadcast Blues is also available at broadcastblues.tv

"Broadcast Blues"

2009-03-20T06:31:22Z

Emmy-award winner Sue Wilson has been involved in the media for over twenty years.

Throughout her career, though, she noticed things around her changing. She saw the deregulation of media giants controlling the airwaves. She saw journalists losing their scruples. She even saw how the media was literally killing people. She could not handle it any longer.

“I saw what was happening to real people and to society and journalism as a result of bad policies and said ‘No more.’”

She had to speak up and let the people know. The best way she knew how to do that was to make a movie.

"Broadcast Blues" is the name of her documentary premiering at the Crest Theatre in Downtown Sacramento on Sunday, March 22 at 2pm. The film focuses on the corrupt practices that have become of the media and what the people of the United States can do to stop it. It emphasizes the fact that the public owns the airwaves, and it's our job to stop the people putting out broadcasts if there are problems with it.

This is a very important point to her. She felt like the public thought that they had no control over what they are watching or listening to. She knew that they needed to be told.

“I think people feel disempowered," says Wilson, "People need to feel [that] they’re powered. Policy makers only change laws and rules when the public stands up and starts to scream.”

She made this film with a strong belief in what it stands for, but as a filmmaker realizes that the public needs to understand its content. She told me how during these ‘important’ films, people tend to fall asleep.

“I hope I’ve made a film that is both important and easy to watch…because I want real people to be able to look at this and get it.”

With a clear message and only one showing, I’m just hoping people will be able to fit in the theatre.

The film is being put out by Access Sacramento, Sacramento Media Group, and California Common Cause. It is also the first film to be featured in this year’s Sacramento International Film Festival.

Executive Director of Access Sacramento Ron Cooper was pleased to help Sue Wilson show her film.

“We always want to be supportive of local filmmakers” says Cooper.

Cooper is also not pleased with the consolidation of ownership of broadcast media, and agrees with the message that Wilson put in her film.

“Broadcast Blues does a good job of helping the general public understand the role of the Federal Communications Commission, the way that those powers to regulate and license television and radio stations have really diminished over the years, and the consequences of that” says Cooper. “But I think it also gives some hope that folks can take the media back. We do have power, we just need to understand better what the issues are and what we can do about it in order to exercise that power.”

This is a very important film to have out there to inform people of their rights. The people of Sacramento are lucky enough to have a filmmaker that cares enough about her town to have its premiere at the local theatre.

“We the people have the power to be able to change this media to make it work better for us,” says Wilson. “If there’s any one reason that people should see this film, it’s so that they can walk away empowered, knowing that it’s up to us to change this media back.”

To learn more information about the film, visit www.broadcastblues.tv