Mark Glaser on OJR.org

Flickr, Buzznet expand citizens' role in visual journalism | By Mark Glaser, November 15, 2005 • Traditional journalists and newspaper sites tap into online photo communities to gather visual research and allow readers to contribute and interact. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.

New West balances 'conversational style' with reporting to earn awards | By Mark Glaser, November 8, 2005 • A winning combination scored the Montana-based site two Online Journalism Awards, but questions remain about its business prospects and political leanings.

Is the bubble back in online media? | By Mark Glaser, November 1, 2005 • Venture capitalists and Big Media are showing intense interest in blogs, social media and highly trafficked content sites. Are we reliving dot-com mania?

Business school flap a 'breakout moment' for Indian blogosphere | By Mark Glaser, October 26, 2005 • Despite threats of legal action, bloggers stood up to an Indian B-school, exposing inflated claims made by one of the Indian MSM’s biggest advertisers.

Can a Florida sheriff police obscenity on the Internet? | By Mark Glaser, October 18, 2005 • The website owner who offered soldiers free access to porn in exchange for gory war photos was arrested on 300 obscenity-related charges in Florida. An update on NTFU.

Online agencies promise to help citizen photographers get paid | By Mark Glaser, October 11, 2005 • Three startups are trying to help amateur news photographers sell work to media outlets. But will these agencies deliver enough quality photos?

Is Yahoo public enemy No. 1 for Big Media? | By Mark Glaser, October 5, 2005 • Yahoo has always worked closely with media companies. But as Yahoo News rolls out original content, has Big Media’s ally become a challenger?

Six lessons from online coverage of Hurricane Rita | By Mark Glaser, September 27, 2005 • Though Rita's damage wasn't as widespread as Katrina's, Big Media got more personal this time - and bloggers used local knowledge to help tell the story.

Porn site offers soldiers free access in exchange for photos of dead Iraqis | By Mark Glaser, September 20, 2005 • The site's owner says images of nude female soldiers in Iraq and gory photos of dead insurgents provide an unedited version of the war - while the military investigates.

NOLA.com blogs and forums help save lives after Katrina | By Mark Glaser, September 13, 2005 • Here's an inside look at how the website for the Times-Picayune helped guide rescuers and provided in-depth news for evacuees.

Blogs, SMS, e-mail: Egyptians organize protests as elections near | By Mark Glaser, August 30, 2005 • The nascent Egyptian blogosphere seizes its freedom of the press opportunity, posting photos of police beating protesters and taking hard stances against Mubarak. But will their freedom last beyond elections?

Gaza disengagement coverage splintered by factional views online | By Mark Glaser, August 23, 2005 • Reading blogs and Web news about the Jewish settlements' evacuation from Gaza can make you dizzy. A step toward peace, a false move, a heady moment or just media overkill? Depends who you ask.

Cook's Illustrated: Stirring up synergy to sell online food content | By Mark Glaser, August 16, 2005 • It ain't the Wall Street Journal, but this trusted ad-free food magazine has 80,000 paid subscribers to its Web site thanks to cross-promotion and deep research on recipes, equipment and food science.

GrayLady.com: NY Times explodes wall between print, Web | By Mark Glaser, August 9, 2005 • The Times wants its Web and print merger to be more than just an office shift. Instead, the Web will become 'part of the DNA of the newsroom.' Keller and Nisenholtz explain how a longtime scheme came true.

Low-key Topix.net tries to recreate a journalist's brain with computers | By Mark Glaser, August 2, 2005 • The small technology startup went from 0 to 60 in a year and a half, getting millions in funding from Knight Ridder, Gannett and Tribune as a news site with no editors or ad sales force. Here's how they did it.

'Video journalists': Inevitable revolution or way to cut TV jobs? | By Mark Glaser, July 28, 2005 • Five writers use a wiki over three days to discuss the industry impact of 'one-man bands' who report, film and edit their own video stories.

Gonzo poker bloggers bring World Series to life in real time | By Mark Glaser, July 19, 2005 • The community of poker bloggers is only a few years old, but already they've stolen the spotlight with live World Series of Poker coverage, sold out to bigger publications, and even run an online charity poker tournament.

Did London bombings turn citizen journalists into citizen paparazzi? | By Mark Glaser, July 12, 2005 • Cameraphones and videophones on the scene were important tools in giving the world the first look at the horrific London bombings. But what about people with cameraphones who vied for the most gruesome shots of victims?

The good, bad and ugly of contextual ads from Google, Yahoo | By Mark Glaser, July 6, 2005 • Embarrassing juxtapositions have plagued contextual ads on media sites and blogs. But they can fit well with commercially focused content. Here's a deeper look at the pros and cons of AdSense and ContentMatch.

MSNBC.com survives, thrives despite trouble between parents | By Mark Glaser, June 28, 2005 • As Microsoft and NBC try to ditch their 99-year MSNBC cable deal, the bright spot is their joint Web venture, which tops the charts and sports a user-oriented redesign. The honcho of MSNBC.com tells us how they did it.

Chinese bloggers run the gauntlet of forced registration, censorship | By Mark Glaser, June 21, 2005 • Bloggers in China must register with the government, and they can't use certain words in MSN Spaces blog titles. But they have ingenuity and strength in numbers, according to a roundtable of experts.

Contest gets the lowdown on what makes readers forward links | By Mark Glaser, June 14, 2005 • The Contagious Media Showdown sought who could create the most popular Web site in 22 days. While winners such as Forget-Me-Not Panties seem obvious now -- their winning strategies are not.

When Web print stories disappear, the meaning of 'archives' fades | By Mark Glaser, June 7, 2005 • When an editor pulls stories due to reader complaints or fears of spreading teen suicides or helping the competition, is the site still the record of the newspaper? Ethicists and editors decry the practice.

Companies subvert search results to squelch criticism | By Mark Glaser, June 1, 2005 • It's not illegal, but it's SEO gone bad. Companies such as Quixtar are using Google-bombing, link farms and Web spam pages to place positive sites in the top search results -- which pushes the negative ones down.

Future of magazines: Net could empower readers | By Mark Glaser, May 24, 2005 • The magazine world has seen the future of print -- and it's still print. But how could the Internet and new technologies expand magazine journalism? We convene a virtual roundtable to find out.

Online forums, bloggers become vital media outlets in Bahrain | By Mark Glaser, May 17, 2005 • The small Persian Gulf nation has been moving toward democratic reform, but a registration drive for Web sites and the arrest of a popular online forum owner have sparked outrage in Bahrain's nascent blogosphere.

Seven big ideas (and one pet peeve) from BlogNashville | By Mark Glaser, May 10, 2005 • How many bloggers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Who knows, but a lot of light bulbs went off when 300-plus bloggers met up in Tennessee.

Can the Huffington Post obsess itself into the news cycle? | By Mark Glaser, May 3, 2005 • Gadfly Arianna Huffington will launch her own version of Drudge Report plus a group blog of intellectuals and Hollywood types who skew left. Will it be the start of something big or 'Who Wants to Be a Blog Millionaire?'

Search engines, startup media sites dream of becoming video hubs | By Mark Glaser, April 26, 2005 • Grassroots sites Ourmedia.org and Brightcove and search engines like Singingfish and Google try to bring order to online video chaos -- but big broadcasters are torn between Napsterization and 'The Long Tail.'

Washingtonpost.com might offer local, national home pages | By Mark Glaser, April 19, 2005 • We talk in-depth to new washingtonpost.com chiefs Caroline Little and Jim Brady about their new roles and about the challenges of serving both local and national/international audiences online.

Advertising, editorial lines blur as bloggers' salaries tied to traffic | By Mark Glaser, April 12, 2005 • About.com and Gawker Media pioneer writer payment systems that tie bonuses to traffic growth, while 'stand-alone journalists' do business and editorial functions. A look at the evolving pay schemes of writers online.

Human and automated aggregators help make sense of blogosphere | By Mark Glaser, April 5, 2005 • No one has time to read all the millions of blogs. That's the raison d'etre of sites such as Kinja and Memeorandum, along with filtered roundups on Slate and CNN. Here's a roundup of the roundups.

Inside Yahoo News: Aggregator brings RSS to the masses | By Mark Glaser, April 1, 2005 • Yahoo News -- one of the original aggregators with content partners and a lean editorial staff. Now they've made RSS feeds painless and integrated more technology into news than ever.

How to succeed as a citizen media editor | By Mark Glaser, March 22, 2005 • There's a new animal in online newsrooms -- the editor in charge of citizen journalism and blogs. These pioneers share best practices and tips.

Indian media blog shuts down after legal threats from Times of India | By Mark Glaser, March 15, 2005 • The Mediaah Weblog is shuttered after the Times of India threatens libel lawsuits, causing an uproar and petition in the Indian blogosphere. Can media criticism gain a foothold in the subcontinent?

About.com CEO explains $410 million NYT deal | By Mark Glaser, March 7, 2005 • Journalists swarmed Times execs when The New York Times Co. bought About.com. Here, the About.com head tells his side, dispelling Guide compensation myths and explaining just how tough it would be to duplicate the site.

Can the Internet rejuvenate editorial cartooning? | By Mark Glaser, March 1, 2005 • The dot-com boom days saw an explosion of animations online, but the heady days are long over. Still, a boost in online ads might bring back innovation to political cartoons and animations online -- and on mobile phones.

Nepalese bloggers, journalists defy media clampdown by king | By Mark Glaser, February 23, 2005 • After the Royal Takeover in Nepal, King Gyandendra censored the media, arrested journalists and cut communications. But tech-savvy journalists are using their blogs to get news out to the rest of the world.

Blog awards: Like blogs, they're diverse, global and freewheeling | By Mark Glaser, February 15, 2005 • As Weblogs mature, we look at the plethora of awards and the controversial nature of judging. And we've compiled a list of contests so you can go for the gold.

Once a curiosity, Oscar news sites earn clout, build buzz | By Mark Glaser, February 8, 2005 • Sites such as Movie City News and GoldDerby, now hosting screenings, are becoming linchpins in studio efforts to win over Academy Award voters.

Pay or free? Newspaper archives not ready for open Web... yet | By Mark Glaser, February 1, 2005 • Wouldn't it be great if Google searches brought up every past newspaper article? But publishers aren't interested in opening up old articles if it would hurt their value in lucrative after-market database sales.

Sue different: Apple threatens insider sites after leaks | By Mark Glaser, January 25, 2005 • Apple Computer, the king of building buzz, has sued and threatened news sites that spilled product information early. But the sites are fighting back, with pro bono legal help.

Belo localizes interactive division in bid to recapture classifieds | By Mark Glaser, January 19, 2005 • The Dallas-based media company absorbs Belo Interactive and integrates operations at the local level, while losing some veteran managers. Can renewed focus save Belo from Craigslist, Monster, et al?

Tsunami Video Alliance Portends Future Distribution for Amateurs | By Mark Glaser, January 11, 2005 • The nascent Media Bloggers Association linked up bloggers, bandwidth providers and the washingtonpost.com to distribute amateur tsunami videos. But is it viable without proper rights or a payment mechanism for creators?

Bloggers, Citizen Media and Rather's Fall -- Little People Rise Up in 2004 | By Mark Glaser, December 21, 2004 • 2004 -- the year bloggers made a difference, while hyperlocal citizen journalism made inroads. Our annual poll of colleagues, with Top 5 lists and predictions for '05.

HD Radio Offers Tantalizing Hope for Niche, Hyperlocal Radio Content | By Mark Glaser, December 14, 2004 • Satellite radio and podcasting grab headlines as broadcast radio quietly switches to HD Radio, a digital system where broadcasters send multiple channels of content, including data. Will content improve or just stay the same?

Firefox Spread Leads to Design Scrutiny, Built-In RSS Feeds | By Mark Glaser, December 7, 2004 • Are the browser wars back? As Firefox and Netscape gain steam, site designers can avoid losing users by focusing on Web standards. Plus, built-in RSS is here -- warts and all.

On Air and Online, Olbermann Draws Attention to Voting Problems | By Mark Glaser, November 30, 2004 • MSNBC's Keith Olbermann uses wit and intellect in his new Weblog and on his show to cover the controversial voting-irregularities story that he says most major media haven't touched.

VenturaCountyStar.com Focuses on Community, Video to Win Award | By Mark Glaser, November 18, 2004 • Who said a newspaper-chain site can't think locally? How Internet pioneer Howard Owens helped transform a sleepy suburban newspaper site into an award-winning, profitable operation.

Hold the Froth: MarketWatch, Slate Sales Signal Online Rebound | By Mark Glaser, November 9, 2004 • MarketWatch, Slate and DoubleClick are all for sale. The fact that there's interest in these old-line new media outfits is a sign that online advertising has staying power. But don't call it another dot-com boom.