Notes From The Margin raises the alarm over Venezuelan claim NTFM picked up his pen a short while ago (more like a month ago actually), but I've been a bit busy and didn't get around to mentioning it until now:

"After much thought we’ve decided to come out of retirement to blog on the subject of Venezuela’s claim of Barbados’ waters. This is not a full re-opening of NFTM but we felt that given our history of blogging on Venezuela and it’s territorial claims that we might be able to provide some clarity on this issue. This article is freely reproducible (once the source is attributed). In fact we would ask that given the potential seriousness of the claim that members of the blogosphere and other media propogate this story.

Marginal"

News of Venezuela's claim did make the newspaper, but not before (if I remember correctly) BFP's post.

Labels: Barbados, Barbados Free Press, Caribbean, media, news, NTFM, Venezuela

5:56 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Bajan Reporter Celebrates 400th Post! Ian Bourne, chief cook and bottle washer, over at The Bajan Reporter celebrated his 400th post on July 30.

Covering local as well as Caribbean news and events, Ian also serves up his own brand of opinion and analysis. Besides the obvious title of his 400th post, he barely made much of it and instead published a little exposé (including pictures) on the sad state of handicap parking in Barbados.

I ran into Ian at The Woodpecker Pub a while ago and we had an interesting conversation that covered MSM (main stream media) and bloggers. Ian knows all about MSM. He used to be on Barbados' CBC TV (as an anchor, right Ian? Can't remember...) Ian still works for a Government entity, but in a different capacity.

Ian blogs publically, as in, everyone knows The Bajan Reporter is published by Ian Bourne. No veil of secrecy. Unlike the folks at Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground who have to be extra-special secret when it comes to their real identities. Spend a few hours reading through their blog posts and you'll see what I mean. The topics and issues that BU and BFP cover are a bit more sensitive and risqué (and that's an understatement right there).

That night, I told Ian that he should get his own domain name. Try making a go of the whole thing. He is in a unique position. People know him, he has nothing to hide, nor fear. Provide more local coverage and get good people to contribute their own personal voices or to source news for the outfit. Laws and ethics must not be forgotten. See if you can convince businesses to advertise because this is the way forward, it's the new way.

Citizen journalism is here to stay and you can still keep your day job (or night job). Manage and co-ordinate everything over the Internet. Use Wordpress or Blogger. Setup free e-mail accounts. Have team meetings using IM (instant messaging). It's not easy, but it can be done.

Old school media houses need to realize that the writing's on the wall, or better yet, that the posts are on the blog and must act accordingly. Evolve, or die. Don't take my word for it, have a look at WIRED magazine's article: "To Save Themselves, US Newspapers Put Readers to Work."

Ian, congrats on your 400th post!

Labels: blogging, media, MSM, news

10:35 AM 0 Comments Links to this post