Comments on: Breaking news online: A short history and timeline

By: Dan Reimold

Dan Reimold — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:15:13 +0000

Real Story of Inauguration: Live Streaming Video

http://collegemediamatters.com/2009/01/22/real-story-of-inauguration-live-streaming-video/

An open letter to Mindy McAdams, purveyor of online journalism teaching tips and tools and creator of that wonderful timeline noting significant moments in online news reporting:

Inauguration Day 2008 was considered historic even before it happened (literally, with CNN.com imploring Web surfers before the big day to be sure to “Watch History Unfold”). In the end, however, from a media perspective, it wasn’t WHAT we watched (Obama’s oath stumble and so-so speech, Cheney’s wheelchair entrance, Aretha Franklin’s big hat, Yo-Yo Ma’s amazingness) but HOW many of us watched it that has etched a place into online news history.

Three words: Live. Streaming. Video. LSV has been battling for a greater stake in the media cosmos for a few years now. With Obama’s inauguration, it has arrived. As CNN reported yesterday, close to 8 million people watched the festivities online, making it ”the single most-watched event in the history of live Web video”:

With many workers stuck at their desks during the late-morning swearing-in of President Obama on Tuesday, more people than ever went online to watch live video of the historic inauguration. News sites, including CNN.com, shattered records for viewers watching live streaming video online. And, sometimes for the first time, news sites carried video feeds on their front pages.

I am officially one of these new LSV junkies. I watched the whole shindig from Singapore at 1 a.m. via the live video on CNN.com. Steady cameras, commercially-uninterrupted, nice sound quality, and only fits and starts of the loading hiccups that have always been the death of LSV in the past. I also loved the CNN video sider showing your Facebook friends’ status updates (which were all variations of “Inauguration woo-hoo!”), in a way making me feel connected to the moment with those I know back in the States who were also watching (in their case while pretending to work).

And so Professor McAdams, I humbly submit this suggestion: Time for an update to the online news timeline.

All my best,

Dan

By: Is this the end of traditional journalism? « Jack of all Trades

Is this the end of traditional journalism? « Jack of all Trades — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:11:07 +0000

[...] for news delivery. Mindy McAdams, the current Knight for Journalism in USA, recalls that in 1995 people turned to television for coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing, but by 2001 public demand crashed CNN’s online servers [...]

By: Stilgherrian · Links for 30 November 2008 through 10 December 2008

Stilgherrian · Links for 30 November 2008 through 10 December 2008 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:31:28 +0000

[...] Breaking news online: A short history and timeline | Teaching Online Journalism: A quick timeline of some major events in online journalism. I think it should include a lot more. Has anyone seen any more comprehensive lists? [...]

By: Breaking news online - uma curta história «

Breaking news online - uma curta história « — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:36:05 +0000

[...] 5:35 PM’ por Luis Santos Para guardar, este “Breaking news online: a short history and timeline“, de Mindy [...]

By: Magazine project resource « Journalism 61

Magazine project resource « Journalism 61 — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:47:11 +0000

[...] also writes the Teaching Online Journalism blog, where she recently posted a short history of breaking online news, which was subsequently turned into a timeline of milestones in online journalism. Check ‘em [...]

By: Mumbai attacks, technology and journalism « UMass Journalism Professors Blog

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:12:05 +0000

[...] of Twitter and technology during coverage of the Mumbai attacks. Over the years, it seems that each major breaking news event brings with it a spectrum jump in the use of technology. And, the Mumbai attacks proved this out as [...]

By: links for 2008-12-01 | the earley edition

links for 2008-12-01 | the earley edition — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:03:17 +0000

[...] Teaching Online Journalism » Breaking news online: A short history and timeline From 1995 – 2008, Oklahoma City to Mumbai – are these defining moments in the evolution of news reporting? (tags: twitter socialmedia journalism citizenjournalism blogosphere live-events mobile mojo mobilejournalism reporting tools) Share: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:55:26 +0000

Thanks, Andy — it’s very cool! I have blogged it in a new post.

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:41:34 +0000

great list Mindy. I’ve combined your list and Paul Bradshaw’s in to a dipity timeline.

http://www.andydickinson.net/2008/11/30/a-timeline-of-online-media-landmarks/

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:17:13 +0000

@Clark Boyd – Yes, I was out of the loop for the tsunami news, because I was in Malaysia at the time, and there was a bit of a news blackout there for the first 12-18 hours.

@Manuel Maqueda – I followed the Madrid bombings almost exclusively on the Web site of El Pais, and I had heard that cell phones were down through the city for many hours — but was SMS working? Or do you mean in the following days, leading up to the surprising fall of the government? I didn’t mean to ignore March 11; I devoted a whole chapter to it in my book about Flash journalism.