I'm still not hopeful. And, I'm not the only one.

My own mother sent me this little gem in the mail the other day.

If you're having trouble seeing it, click here for a larger image.

And this comment about the cartoon is priceless: "The news is very grave folks!
The Mourning News: we’re in tomb with the times..."

It definitely brings the LOL's.

New Blood, New Life, New Media: The Youth Are Speaking

Didn't I tell y'all that journalism will find a way to survive?

Case in point: YouthRadio.org

Here, young people -- tweens, teens and twenty-somethings -- are finding their voice and broadcasting it online.

They pitch stories to National Public Radio and sometimes they get on.

But honestly, isn't viral more vital for the future?
In it's recently released The State of the News Media annual report on American Journalism, the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism calls audio "well suited to the digital transition."

Covering stories that I don't think anyone but they could cover correctly -- from police shootings in Oakland, to black market junk food at schools with healthy food policies -- the youth are speaking.

Thank God.

An Interview with True Black Television

A 16-year-old from rural North Carolina thinks he can change the course of television targeted at blacks in America.

His name is Tevan Savage and he's already making moves with his own online network called True Black Television. Check it out on Youtube.

He talked with me via email. Find his interview below.

Nossip: Where does your passion about "quality black programming" come from?
Tevan Savage: "Well, I was a big fan of UPN. ...But, then in 2006, they merged with The WB, I knew what was happening, but could not stop it. Then, when The CW came, my area got MyNet and I was without the few shows left. I was a big fan of "Girlfriends" because it reminded me of "Living Single," so I tried hard to see The CW. But, in 2008, they cancelled it. I am now able to get The CW and I see them trying to ax of "Everybody Hates Chris" and "The Game."

Once they are gone, what do we as black people have to represent us?

It is a shame that BET and TV One say that they are here to entertain us, but we have relied on those white-owned networks for our entertainment. So, on June 25, 2008, I had the idea. I mapped out where I want to go with this, then on June 29, I launched True Black Television on YouTube.

N: Why did you pick the Internet as an outlet for TrueBlackTelevision?

TS: "Running a channel on cable, satellite, or broadcast would cost millions a month. I only make a few hundred dollars a month, so YouTube was my only choice.

N: How do you feel black media such as BET, TVOne, Ebony, Essence, Vibe, Jet, and black newspapers are using the Internet these days?

TS: "Well, BET (Black Entertainment Television) is using the internet as an extention of the network itself. If you missed an episode of your favorite BET show, you watch online. I admit I did catch "Somebodies" online while I was working on TBT.

TV One's website I don't really know too much about, but I feel that is also serves as an extention of their network.

N: Do you hope to find a place for the station on "real" television (i.e. cable, satellite?) If so, why? If not, why not?

TS: "Of course I do. The only reason that I started my network on the Internet was because that was my only option. I am hoping to build a fan base through the internet and build enough revenue to go onto cable and satellite television with ease. But, I will always keep TBT running on sites like YouTube, I can't forget how it all started.

Tempted to "tune in"? Learn more about his vision here.

Registration starting for Digital Media Conference

Save the date: June 25, 2009.

That's when the Digital Media Conference with take place in Virginia.

Topics include digital media trends, how to make money off of online videos (a.k.a. "the third screen"), the death of newspapers, and the "evolution of online advertising".

Hmmm, if you ask me, it sounds like media outlets should have been and should start sending their remaining journalists to this conference instead of ASNE, NABJ, UNITY, etc.

AND! Here's the best part: the conference has cocktails on the schedule from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. to end out the day.

Yes, it is the end of the newspaper world as we know it

Chalk it up to mental fatigue, or weakness, or deliriousness, or just a reality check; but I give up.

I have a prediction that I think is spot on: Newspapers will all die by 2012.

There is no hope.

It's a done deal.

And quite honestly, I'm tired of talking about saving them.

Journalism however will survive.

And honestly, isn't that all that really matters?

OK, so maybe some of my favorite journalists and editors -- some of the most talented people I know from publications that I totally respect -- may not be able to eat off of their talents.

Well, it's time to evolve.

And excuse me for sounding snarky, but that's what's supposed to happen: people, things, concepts, animals change/evolve/move-on or they die.

It's time we face the music and just deal with it.

....did that count as a blog post? Well, if not, I'll count it as therapy. I had to get that out.

Just giving it away: Guardian launches API

Honestly, I didn't know what API stood for, but a quick Google search and it all began to make sense.....well, sort of.

Now that the Guardian is going Web, it's decided to provide full access to all of its content as well as data sets.

The benefit to the Guardian and other newspapers, to me, is still a bit unclear.

But according to the Guardian, the open interface (i.e. full, free articles for everyone to pretty much use however they like), is "so that everyone can benefit from our journalism, our brand, and the technologies that power guardian.co.uk."

The comments at the bottom of the ReadWriteWeb story are all positive. Folks are happy that newspapers are finally waking up and seeing where the future is going to be.

I'm honestly, still a bit confused....it seems as if this is all free. On the registration page for this service, they only ask for basic info and a phone number. No credit card number required....so how praytell does this actually make money?

Then I stumbled across this article which states: It's pretty simple really: The Guardian's new "open platform" will enable content partners to re-use online and back-dated printed content (a million or so articles, dating back to 1999) in their own Web pages totally for free, in return for developing the newspaper's online advertising network--rules for which are built into the API's terms and conditions."

To say the least, it'll be interesting to watch what happens.

Care of UNITY: More Nossip Potpourri

Rocky Mountain News Was a Pioneer in Diversity Hiring
The venerable Denver Rocky Mountain News, which printed its final edition after a 150-year run on Friday, was a pioneer in diversity hiring, according to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.In 2003, the paper was the first in the nation to work with the association to improve upon the news coverage and newsroom hiring of Hispanics.Read more at HispanicBusiness.com.Read the last issue of the Rocky Mountain News and tributes to its accomplishments.

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Courant Cutting About 100 JobsThe Hartford Courant is eliminating about 100 jobs this week, mostly by layoffs, as the longtime slide in advertising revenues gains speed in 2009.The cuts include about 30 writing, editing and news support positions, bringing the news staff to 135 -- down from 235 at the start of 2008. With the layoffs, the newspaper will no longer have a reporter assigned to Washington, D.C.Read more at the Hartford Courant.

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Al Dia in Dallas Down to Two Print EditionsSpanish-language newspaper Al Día has cut back to two print editions per week, as A.H. Belo, corporate parent of the free Dallas broadsheet, looks to lower costs and eliminate more jobs.Effective the week of February 16, Al Día is only distributed on Wednesdays and Saturdays - with a combined press run of about 215,000 copies - down from a six-day, Monday-Saturday schedule.Read more in Hispanic Market Weekly.

Nossip Potpourri: Part Deux

Inquirer owner files for bankruptcy protectionPhiladelphia Newspapers, which also owns the Daily News, says the filing allows it to restructure debt load.Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which owns The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday in a bid to restructure its $390 million in debt load.Read more at Philly.com.
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More layoffs likely at The Bee as McClatchy tries to cut red ink
Analyst: Publisher can't raise stock above $1 to keep from being delistedBuyouts, layoffs, pay cuts and mandatory furloughs are all on the table as The Sacramento Bee works up a plan to help its owner cut expenses by about $110 million over the next year, The Newspaper Guild said.Read more in the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Sale deadline passes, 'Tucson Citizen' likely to quit in MarchTUCSON - Gannett Co. Inc.'s self-imposed deadline to receive bids for the Tucson Citizen has passed with no apparent offers, making it likely the 138-year-old paper will stop publication in March, the newspaper reported.Read more at AZCentral.com.Journal Register Seeks BankrupcyThe Journal Register Company, publisher of The New Haven Register in Connecticut and other newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Saturday.Read more in The New York Times.

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And the funniest media-related thing I've read/heard all week?

Drum roll puh-leeeeeeze!

Why the Twitter media craze? "Because were rotting corpses grabbing for any glimmer of relevance." -- Samantha Bee.

Nossip Potpourri

The ASNE Reporter, the student newspaper project that was suspended by the American Society of Newspaper Editors for the first time in its two decades, will continue this year after all, Scott Bosley, the ASNE executive director, said on Wednesday. "We cobbled together pieces of support. It's going to work," Bosley told Journal-isms. However, the project will be online only and restricted to Chicago-area students to save on housing expenses. The ASNE convention, which the students will cover, takes place in Chicago from April 26 to 29.....that was the notice last week.....but later, ASNE reported that the entire convention is canceled due to "challenging times" being faced by its membership.

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Norfolk Paper Ends Multicultural Magazine Amid LayoffsThe Virginian-Pilot, battling the recession, will lay off 30 more workers, including black journalist Duane Bourne, a police reporter, and shut down Mix Magazine, edited by veteran black journalist Wil LaVeist, the Norfolk, Va., newspaper said recently.

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Declining advertising revenue led to layoffs this week at the Yakima Herald-Republic, even as the company announced a deal to bolster revenue by printing the Daily Record of Ellensburg.From four to six employees have been or will be laid off from the 38,077-circulation Herald-Republic, depending on whether one or two of them can be transferred within the company, publisher Michael Shepard said Thursday. He would not say which departments of the paper are losing employees. Only one, a copy editor, is from the paper's newsroom.Read more in the Yakima Herald-Republic.