Robert Paterson's Weblog

CNN - What next after Dobbs?

Try this test - You are looking for a date. You look at the personals and you see people who state that they are:

• An NPR listener
• A Fox News Watcher

My bet is that you may not like one of these in principal or the other - but that even more than claims to beauty, youth, etc that these two labels tell you more about the person than any other data point. If you are either one of these yourself - you can be assured of compatibility - the pillow talk will work!

Now - here is the CNN bit. Imagine that the personal ad said this:

• CNN Watcher?

What would that tell you? Maybe that they are a news junkie? But I don't think it tells me much about who they are.

I think that this is a serious problem for CNN. Lou Dobss leaving is in this context a huge opportunity.

My fear is that CNN was looking at tow tracks that take them to oblivion:

• Entertainment Tonight
• Fox

Dobbs was a bit of both of these tracks.

They take CNN to oblivion because Fox owns its place and its people and the ET audience will not pay the bills.

Where can CNN go? Who can be its tribe?

I think that there is a a Tribe out there that is under served. It is the old CBS News tribe. The Murrow POV - I think that this is what Ted Turner had in the early years. You could have the world explained to you by the very best journalists on the ground. On the ground in the US and in the world at large.

NPR has a chunk of this Tribe but there are many who feel that NPR is too far to the left of them. NPR may dispute this but the reality is that many feel this to be true so it is. There is a tribe that don't want Fox and they Don't want all of NPR.

In the US it is not a huge mass market - but it is a market that is worth a lot.

The mass market is outside of the US and it is up for grabs and it ties into a more defined market in the US.

Billions in the world outside of the US know the brand of CNN. Most of these people have no local news that they can trust. Most have a cell phone now.

There is a potentially a huge audience for quality local/global news globally - CNN has the brand and the infrastructure to capture this. They used to have this in the old terms of reference - if you wanted to get your message out you used CNN. CNN could get all the great "Gets".

The real deal is a global link up between decision makers and people who care.

The US Real News market is at least as big as NPR's audience - over 30 million - and there must be a billion or so outside the US.

The mass market in the US - where CNN has been focused is a death trap. It's all Balloon Boy all the way!

Am I smoking dope?

Update - Just in John King will take over the slot - 

Mr. Klein added, according to an employee who transcribed the call, “Having made a statement that we’re all about nonpartisan journalism and outstanding journalism, we have to live up to that. We have got the hardest mission.”

Mr. King will remain the anchor of “State of the Union” until early in 2010. CNN did not identify a replacement for him.

Only 10 months ago, CNN rebuilt its Sunday morning schedule around Mr. King, giving him four hours for interviews and debates. The channel’s media criticism show “Reliable Sources,” hosted by The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz, is now shown within “State of the Union.”

In a clear contrast to the outspoken Mr. Dobbs, Mr. King, a former Associated Press writer, is known for his straightforward style. CNN called the forthcoming 7 p.m. program “a definitive political hour that goes well beyond the surface of the day’s top stories to provide in-depth analysis and context to key political movements in Washington and across the nation.” CNN’s chief competitors at that hour are Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith, a news anchor, and a political commentator, Chris Matthews, on MSNBC.

“John embodies what we are striving for at CNN -– he is steadfast in his objective and nonpartisan political reporting and has the passion for chasing down stories that really matter to Americans,” Mr. Klein said in an e-mail message to staff members.

In a statement, Mr. King said, “There is a lot of noise and conflict in our political discourse, which is fun to cover, but I’m convinced from my travels that people also thirst for more details as well as insight and context. I’m looking forward to combining those conversations with top newsmakers, smart reporting and expert analysis.”

Light Relief - Beware of the Doghouse!

Now this is

1. Really funny
2. True - that is why it is funny
3. Really clever - there is a kicker here - can you spot it?

Your worst Nightmare - Advertising that you have never seen before

I thought I had seen everything - but no - this is the most humiliating experience that I have ever seen - it's also a brilliant ad - you will never forget this

CF Recruiting Ads

I watched the Mission last night - the new recruit into the Jesuits is asked to join an organization that offered no external reward but to serve God. As the applicant is welcomed in - his superior says "Welcome Home".  His work to offer his life for those he serves. His work to endure all for those he serves. His reward to be with special people and to have meaning.

Here is a YouTube of the new CF recruiting ads - They do the same - they ask the recruit if they really want to SERVE and then finally they ask if they want to become true comrades - in effect Welcome Home. The picture that they present is of very hard work and real danger. But they also show you what it may be like to be with people that you really trust and admire. The reward is to serve and to serve with wonderful people doing a very difficult job.

Am I also in finding this remarkable. For years the CF and many armies sold themselves as a gateway to another career or to see the world or to have adventure. Now the CF tell the truth - what you do is dangerous but you do SERVE and you serve with special people.

Why Small Companies Should Blog

Seth Godin makes a great comment today  via Bill Sweetman when he asks whether it makes sense for a small company to Blog. A few great small companies are going to start this on PEI - so watch this space for their launch.

What blogging does is to offer a human alternative to the machine offering. So if you are running a small Bike Shop in Charlottetown - by blogging about your daily experience - the new bikes, clothes, maintenance, problems that customers bring you - events and so on - you differentiate yourself as being human and caring versus say Wal*Mart where all you get is a cheap bike. The small operation now can separate itself from the commodity competitor.

Here below is the example that Bill uses - a tour company called Quoddy Marine.  Bill was in Atlantic Canada on vacation and wanted to go Whale Watching. Here is how the blog made the difference - He says:

"The companies without Websites immediately lost my business. (That’s a topic for another blog posting as well!) The remaining companies offered pretty much the same info on their Websites, with one exception. Quoddy Link Marine, to my pleasant surprise, also had a “Sightings and Updates” blog. The blog is maintained by Danielle, a marine biology graduate in charge of photographing, identifying and recording the whales and sharing that information with various marine research organizations. Danielle’s blog chronicles through words and photos (by Danielle) the recent whale sightings and had been updated earlier the day I first looked at the blog with photos of whales that had been spotted that morning.

I was immediately captivated by the near-immediacy of this information and the fact it chronicled the spontaneous nature of whale watching. The “Sightings and Updates” blog also demonstrated to me that Quoddy Link Marine really cared about whales and the environment, not just selling whale tour tickets. Thanks to their blog, I also felt one degree closer to the people behind this tour company than with those from any of their competitors.

Needless to say, I chose to go whale watching with Quoddy Link Marine, not because they had a blog, but because of what the blog revealed to me about the company and its staff, something a typical corporate Website is not usually very good at. And in case you’re wondering, the company and the whale watching tour lived up to my expectations. The afternoon we went out we played ‘hide-and-seek’ with a minke whale plus saw lots of harbour seals, harbour porpoises, and a young bald eagle.

Not only did I have an amazing afternoon on the sea, I also found a great example of a “real” company that has its own corporate blog.

Here is a glimpse of the site - Imagine what you could do with your small business?

 

    Quoddy Link Marine - Sightings and Updates  

 

Recent sightings and updates for Quoddy Link Marine - Whales and Wildlife Catamaran Style, St. Andrews, NB, Canada.  A journal of whale and wildlife sightings for the West Isles and the Bay of Fundy

     

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

                         

Another amazing day with humpbacks    

                

 

What would owning a car be like if it was made by a drug company?

I found this on one of Robin's favorite sites, Dr Joseph Mercola

15 Ways the Auto Industry Would Change if it Operated Like Drug Companies

Automobile By Mike Adams, The Health Ranger

What would happen if you had to buy your car from a company that operated in the same way as the pharmaceutical industries? Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, came up with 15 unsettling changes that would occur.

Cost
Your car would cost $4.5 million, a 30,000 percent markup over cost. The same car would be available in Canada or Mexico for less than $5,000.

Dealing with Competition
Meanwhile, automakers would be lobbying Congress to outlaw bicycles and airplanes, just as the drug companies try to do with herbs and nutritional supplements.

All auto imports would be banned. If you drove a Toyota down from Canada, you would be arrested.

Car dealers would be bribed with money, free vacations, free food, and free cars by automobile sales representatives to push certain cars.

Safety
Cars with no seatbelts, airbags, crumple zones, or other safety systems would be declared perfectly safe by the FDA, which would instead focus on the dangers of bicycles.

Driver's ed programs would be cancelled nationwide, and people would be encouraged to buy new cars rather than repair damaged ones or avoid accidents in the first place.

Safety tests showing that cars were dangerous would be buried, and scientists who produced such results would be prevented from ever conducting car safety tests ever again.

After being sued by customers injured in the cars with no safety systems, automakers would further lobby Congress to pass laws protecting car companies against class-action lawsuits.

Any federally mandated warnings about car safety problems would be printed in small type on a tiny label hidden under the driver's seat.

Driving certain cars would cause side effects like loss of sex drive or full-body muscle pain.

Advertising
Car companies would heavily promote new models each year, which would be no different from the ones they were selling 30 years ago.

Car companies would invent reasons for you to buy a dozen or more cars.

Automobile advertising would be filled with pictures of happy, healthy, energetic drivers, but the cars would break down constantly, fail to perform as promised, and quickly stop working.

Cars would be sold to you with extra features like a sunroof, air conditioning, or a navigational system, but when the car arrived none of these features would be included, just as drug companies exaggerate the "multiple health benefits" of their products.

No guesses as to why Robin thinks highly of Dr Mercola

Hugh McLeod and Tom Mahon - Teaching at UPEI

This summer I have just finished a small online class on the Market as a Conversation. We used a beautiful Conversation tool called the Sandbox designed and built by my partner Jevon Macdonald.

For our last paper we assumed that each of us was Tom Mahon and looked ahead to 2008 and told the story. Thank you Hugh for getting this powerful idea started - you certainly got the attention of my gang. here is how I set the paper up:-

Here is the scenario for your last paper - 1,000 words please. We are going to explore the world of the small and the personal in the hope that in this case study, you will find some insight that will help you do the same.

Your task is to imagine that you are Tom Mahon of English Cut - the Tailoring Business supported by Hugh Mcleod of Gaping Void and Hughtrain fame. It is 2008 what happened? How did your new approach begin? What was the influence of Hugh. What happened that was differenr from the traditional way of doing this? What is is about the Long Tail that fits? Why did you not grow beyond a certain size? As you became more successful (How) what did others like you do - in other words what was the larger impact of others who made bespoke products. What were the challenges? What were the lessons for you and for others?

Here are some resources:-

* The Long Tail (The Thesis) - Chris Anderson (His blog) shows how much of the new will be the small as helped by the distribution power of the web
* Small is big - Seth Godin The Guru of small
* The Dunbar Number - Why effective organizations are limited in size to a max of 150 and to smaller groups for creative work

I have kept the resource list short but please go deep - there is a ton in all these links. The Dunbar numbers are a new idea for you that we can explore a bit during the week

After a bit of a shock - after all they have spent 4 years being taught what marketing is (Ha ha) - my students got it immediately. My lesson here - if we want to make progress get to the kids. Once they see this they will never go back. If we can help enough to see it - the world will change.

Hugh - Suicide Pact

Hugh is so consistently worth reading that I rarely link in public as it would mean linking every day. But now and then he excels and this is one of those days.

Snip:- This is what Madison Avenue's main job is, from now on. Handling the multi-billion dollar suicide pact between clients and television.

Unless there's some big plan I don't know about.

Low cost Airfare, Open Source Software - the Renualt Logan

Bloat is what has added cost to may things in the world today.

Those that strip out the features have done well. One of my favorite cars of all time was the Citroen 2 CV, This was the French Volkswagen - a people's car.

One of my best memories was driving up to Annabels and have the parking guy park it. You could carry sheep or your girl friend in it. 70 miles an hour with the wind behind you. It had a starting handle and windows that folded and a gear shift that pulled in and out of the dash. About 60 miles to the gallon and you could take all the seats out. It went on forever and I wish I still had mine.

Now Renault have made the new People's car the Logan. Renault's latest car comes without power steering, antilock brakes or electric windows. There's no air conditioning either, and if you want music while you drive you'll probably have to sing it yourself.

But with prices starting at $6,100, the French car maker hopes its new "Logan," unveiled Wednesday, will take pole position in emerging markets where the car sector is growing fastest.

Southwest Airlines - the Logan. A trend I think for value and the end of bloat.

The Web is back - Mary Meeker delivers

If you need some support to make the move to the web here it is
Find more on Jeff's blog here