The Digitalists: State of the Media 2009
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Career, Writers 
Comments Off on The Digitalists: State of the Media 2009
For the benefit of all the JET alum journalists, aspiring journalists and writers of all stripes out in the JET-osphere, I thought I’d share a recent post from my bookworm brother Greg, who works in online marketing and is in the process of digesting the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism’s extensive report:
Good overview from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism. I’m still working through the complete report (which apparently tops out at 700 pages), so for now I’ll just focus on some of the major trends they identify:
The growing public debate over how to finance the news industry may well be focusing on the wrong remedies while other ideas go largely unexplored.
Forget about micropayments and changing to non-profit status. And forget about a single revenue source being the magic bullet that will save the news business. Most likely, it will take a combination of new ideas, including “online retail malls” and “subscription-based niche products for elite professional audiences.” That last point is an important one; while it’s nearly impossible to get an audience to start paying for a service they’ve been receiving for free, there are always opportunities to upsell premium offerings to segments of your audience.
Power is shifting to the individual journalist and away, by degrees, from journalistic institutions.
This sounds like a good thing for journalists, but as Spider-man would say, with greater power comes greater responsibility; specifically, the responsibilities journalists used to depend on organizations to take care of such as editing, marketing and publicity.
On the Web, news organizations are focusing somewhat less on bringing audiences in and more on pushing content out.
This is another trend that’s potentially liberating, but also scary. When publishers bring users to their content, they also control the options for monetizing it. Even if (…continue reading)
Cristy Burne (Hyogo-ken, Kawanishi-shi, 1998-2000), author of the children’s book Takeshita Demons, recently won the first Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Book Bward, an award that aims to celebrate cultural diversity in children’s literature.
Takeshita Demons, set to be published next year, is based on the adventures of a Japanese schoolgirl named Miku. Cristy says, “After spending two years as an ALT and a third working in a Japanese company, you can guess that much of my inspiration comes from the JET experience.”
For more information on Cristy, the award and her work, check out her blog (http://cristyburne.wordpress.com) or contact her directly.
Go to the award website to see more photos from the awards ceremony held this past Thursday in London.
New book by JET alum Suzanne Kamata
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Books, Interview/Profile, Writers Comments Off on New book by JET alum Suzanne Kamata
Author Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90) has a new book out called Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering, a collection of essays from 20 mothers around the world.
And even better, writer Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) has an interview with Suzanne about the book on her blog motherlogue.wordpress.com.
JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong (Iwate-ken, 2002-04) is a recurring item featuring posts from the blogs of various JET alumni. Crystal is a formerEnglish-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works as a media planner in Chelsea and sorely misses all her favorite midtown ramen joints.
Think sushi seems harmless? It can seem a little scarier in Japan. Lars Martinson reports here.
Check out a fun post from James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-2006) that covers everything from Law Order to babies to entries to his Write an Ending for The Strange Ship Part II Contest.
Also, Oh! is out! Bruce Rutledge muses on the future of anime conventions and what it means for the future of Chin Music Press.
JETAA NY Learning to Blog Workshop: Part 2
Blogs, Career, Networking, Uncategorized Comments Off on JETAA NY Learning to Blog Workshop: Part 2
Update:
I ran the second “JETAA NY Learning to Blog Workshop” last Wednesday evening, April 29 in the back of Cosi on 31st & Park, not knowing quite what to expect. It turned out to be a lot of fun and everyone found it helpful and productive. (Click here to read about the first one.)
- We covered the basics of blogs (what they’re good for; advantages and disadvantages of WordPress, Blogspot, Blogger, etc.; posts vs. pages; using RSS feeds) as well as some more advanced topics (driving traffic; creative strategies; adding users). By the time we were done, everyone had set up their own blog and was ready to go.
- The attendees included two translators and three people who had started their own businesses. One of the translators wanted to create a forum for his writing. The other translator was inspired by the discussion of blogs at the JET Alumni Author Showcase (where Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06) and Rob Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) all discussed how they resisted at first but now are glad they followed their publishers’ suggestions to start blogs.)
- One of the JET alum entrepreneurs, Adrienne Smith (CIR Tochigi-ken, 1997-99), founder of Harlem Hip-Hop Tours (www.h3tours.com), said she had been thinking of starting a blog to help promote her tour business but had been holding herself back and appreciated the workshop because it lifted the “technology fog” for her.
- Frank Luo (Fukuoka-ken, 1997-99), a Chinese-English translator, said afterwards, “It was really helpful… An efficient walk through on the mechanics of how to start a blog and why do it on WordPress, plus a few other useful bits of information. We also floated a few ideas on how to expand the scope of the workshops to make them more helpful to aspiring writers as well as those who are trying to promote their business through blogs.” (Frank, by the way, brought a nifty little netbook, which we all sat around and marveled at for 5 minutes.)
- Additionally, Friend of JET (FOJ) Jon Hills, a more experienced blogger who writes the J-News Mini-Roundup column for JetWit and also writes a blog for Hills Learning, a NY-based Japanese language learning services company he started, came to help out and also share a few new tricks (like adding blog functionality to a WindowsLive-based website). He said afterwards he really appreciated having a chance to meet other people running businesses in a setting where everyone was working together towards a common goal.
Going forward
I’ll likely do one or two more blog workshops at Cosi or, if the weather’s nice, perhaps in Bryant Park after work one day. If you’d like to be notified of future workshops, please feel free to contact me at professional [at] jetaany [dot] org.
Looking ahead, it would be nice for the “workshop” to evolve into a monthly “meetup” for JET alums and FOJs at beginner, advanced and in-between levels to spend some time working together, sharing experiences and tips and, of course, helping beginners learn to get started and have an opportunity to ask all the same “dumb” questions that I’ve asked along the way.
Additionally, for readers outside the NYC area, it would be great for people to get JET alum blog workshops going in other areas. It’s a useful career tool and also a nice way to bring people together.
Professional translator Joel Dechant (CIR Kagoshima-ken, 2001-04) is now guest blogging for Fukuoka Now
When I moved to Fukuoka a few years back, I was looking for something close to both Tenjin and Ohori Park. I found a great “mansion” in Ropponmatsu and have been discovering its hidden charms ever since.
Ropponmatsu is just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of Tenjin but still very much alive. In my alcohol-fueled explorations with trusty sack o’ blues harmonicas on my shoulder, I have found a few wonderful bars for the inveterate music lover. Check ‘em out!
Continue reading “Roots, Rock, Reggae”
WIT Life #37: Creative Commercialization
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Books, Celebrity, Japan Trends, JETAA Chapters, Jobs, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life Comments Off on WIT Life #37: Creative Commercialization
***************************************************
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observat
Since the recent shattering of the boy band’s SMAP’s clean-cut image with the arrest of member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (34) on public indecency charges, the fallout has been pretty well contained. Kusanagi held a press conference on the 25th to apologize, and his agency has suspended all his activities indefinitely and declared a ban on alcohol for him. Apparently the famous Johnny’s jimusho is advising all of its high-profile clients to be mindful of their celebrity status when they are out for a night on the town and drinking is involved. SMAP fans are worried that Read More
Bean There, Done That
Blogs, Translating/Interpreting, Writers Comments Off on Bean There, Done That
Professional translator Joel Dechant (CIR Fukuoka-ken, 2001-04) recently became a guest blogger for Fukuoka Now (http://fukuokanow.wordpress.com). Have a look at his first post on the site:
Bean paste, dumplings and beans...oh my!
Hi, my name is Joel. I’m from Pennsylvania in the US and have been living in Ropponmatsu since 2007. I majored in Japanese at university, spent a year abroad in Kyoto, and have been in Japan since graduating in 2000. I’ve lived in Osaka, Kirishima (Kagoshima), and Beppu, and after turning freelance, I decided to make Fukuoka my home base. I’m a translator by day, a bluesman by night and the Guest Blogger du jour. Today I’d like to talk about bean paste.
It’s been about 10 years since I first came to Japan and I fondly remember my maiden voyage as a study abroad student. My scholarship covered my airfare on a luxurious JAL flight complete with beautiful cabin attendants and a smoking section (I don’t smoke anymore, but back then I was in heaven). I don’t recall the food, however, because of traumatic desert experience. Something akin to a soft, delicious jelly donut was daintily laid on my plate, and after smoking who knows how many cigarettes, I was ready to tuck into that “donut”.
CHOMP!
WTF?!
ACK!!
Continue reading “Bean There, Done That”
“Order of Odd-Fish Week” on Murphblog
Blogs, Books, Interview/Profile, Uncategorized, Writers Comments Off on “Order of Odd-Fish Week” on Murphblog
Writer Paul Murphy has declared it “Order of Odd-Fish Week” on his blog Murphblog. Every day this week, Paul will run segments of his long, in-depth interview with author James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06). And according to James, the week comes “with a contest! And pictures! And audio of Paul himself reading a selection from The Order of Odd-Fish!”
******************
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
I thought my sleepy eyes were betraying me when I turned on the tv to watch the Japanese news this morning. The headline splayed across the screen was that popular boy band SMAP member 34-year old Tsuyoshi Kusanagi had been arrested on charges of public indecency. Evidently he had been found naked, drunk and incoherent in a Tokyo park early this morning.
According to bystanders, some of what he was muttering was jibberish, some was in Korean (he is known for his Korean language skills and has a big following in Korea), and some were Japanese words they could make out like “baka.” When Kusanagi was approached by a policeman, he yelled out, Read More
JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong
Blogs Comments Off on JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong
JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong (Iwate-ken, 2002-04) is a recurring item featuring posts from the blogs of various JET alumni. Crystal is a formerEnglish-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works as a media planner in Chelsea and sorely misses all her favorite midtown ramen joints.
Hello JetWit readers! Blog Beat was on a brief spring hiatus, but we have a lot to catch up on as JET alumni everywhere have been clearly very busy this spring.
Undoubtedly one of the coolest cakes ever – James Kennedy lauds his fans in a recent post, and with good reason, as these are original and wonderful ways to see his work appreciated. (James’ editor is reported to have commented, “That is simultaneously the most impressive and least appetizing cake I have ever seen.”)
Another new addition to the blogroll – Suzanne (Borsum) Kamata (Tokushima, 1988-90) is the author of the novel Losing Kei (Leapfrog Press, 2008), a picture book, Playing for Papa (Topka Books, 2008) and the editor of three anthologies. We welcome her to Blog Beat and look forward to cheering for her little Tiger during his adventures in Japanese baseball.
JET alum Chen Reichert shares thoughts and photos from her first craft show of the season during Sakura Sunday, the biggest event during the Philly Cherry Blossom Festival. Sounds like it was a smashing success!
Check out Lee-Sean Huang‘s (Oita-ken, 2003-06) intriguing final project for his Visual Music and Animals, et al. classes.
JET alum Lars Martinson is hard at work on the sequel to his graphic novel Tonoharu – read a complete rundown of his progress here.
Bruce Rutledge of Chin Music Press reveals a few more tantalizing sneak peeks at the upcoming Oh! by Todd Shimoda.
Finally, we’d like to report that Rose Symotiuk (Hokkaido, 2003-2005) just got married in Poland a few days ago! Congratulations Rose!!
I just found out about another JET alum blog, this one at japandra.blogspot.com by a woman named Sandra (Miyazaki-ken, 1997-99) who worked in media in NY for a few years and now is back n Tokyo still in the media biz.
My favorite line so far is from her post “Do Over” where she attends a Yakult Swallows game and comments:
Maybe you know something about how Japanese baseball fans coordinate and organize. They make honeybees look sloppy.
Definitely a blog worth following.
This past Saturday we held the first-ever JET Alumni Blog Workshop where we invited JET alums to gather and learn how to set up, use and take advantage of blogs. This was my first activity in my new JETAA NY role as Professional Outreach & Development Chair and it turned out to be both productive and a lot of fun.
- The goal was to help JET alums develop skills that will be beneficial in furthering their careers, whether they want to be independent writers, promote their services and abilities or perhaps just be one of the few people in their company who knows how to use blogs effectively (or at all).
- Location: JETAA NY webmaster Lee-Sean Huang‘s apartment building in the Financial District in Lower Manhattan, which has wi-fi in its library. Two JET alums joined: Randall, who had never used a blog before, and Anton, who is familiar with blogs but was seeking structure for his writing energies and was interested in learning some of the techniques for effectively using a blog and increasing traffic. Rather than a formal class-style lecture, we just sat around with our laptops (3 laptops for 4 people), demonstrated the basics of blogs and then looked over Randall’s shoulder as he set up his first-ever blog. With Anton we discussed using RSS feeds to follow other blogs as well as possible writing topics
and ways to contribute to JetWit.com.
- Next JET Alumni Blog Workshop: Probably on a weeknight in the near future, most likely in midtown at a cafe or other space that has wi-fi. Stay tuned for more information. If you’re interested and you have not already been in touch, just send an e-mail to professional at jetaany dot org and I’ll add you to the list.
- Lastly, I encourage other JETAA chapters to try setting up blog workshops as well. In addition to helping JET alums learn new skills, it was also nice to get together, learn about what each of us was doing and exchange info in a constructive way. In the current economy it’s more important than ever for JET alums to help each other out, and this is just one small way among many to do that.
Just found out about another JET alum author out there in the JETAA-sphere…
Suzanne (Borsum) Kamata (Tokushima, 1988-90) is the author of the novel Losing Kei (Leapfrog Press, 2008), a picture book, Playing for Papa (Topka Books, 2008) and the editor of three anthologies – Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2009), Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press, 2008) and The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Expatriates in Literary Japan (Stone Bridge Press, 1997). Her articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in over 100 publications, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize five times. She is also the 2008 recipient of the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Fiction. She is currently fiction editor of literarymama.com, and provides manuscript critiques on a freelance basis.
- To learn more about Suzanne you can visit her website at http://www.suzannekamata.com or her blog at http://gaijinmama.wordpress.com (RSS feed here).
- Read an interview with Suzanne Kamata on children’s books and diversity by the blog Kabiliana.
- Go to the Authors/Books section of the JetWit Library to see a complete list of JET alum authors (at least to JetWit’s knowledge).
WIT Life #35: Hero Worship
Blogs, Books, Events, Japan Trends, JETAA Chapters, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life Comments Off on WIT Life #35: Hero Worship
*******************************************************************************************************************************
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
A recent survey of Japanese young men regarding which famous figure they would want to become resulted in Ichiro Suzuki,
Ryoma Sakamoto and Ryo Ishikawa for the top 3. The person in the #1 slot is the most recognizable, especially now that he just broke the Japanese record for most career hits with his 3086th in yesterday’s game against the Angels (though the Mariners ultimately went on to lose). In the stands to witness this feat was Ichiro’s bat maker (perhaps craftsman is a more appropriate term) of the past 15 years. He was thrilled to be part of the historical moment, and expressed his desire that the next record he wants Ichiro to break is for 4000 hits. A matsuri mood pervaded Japan in celebrating Ichiro’s feat, and in honor of his accomplishment one store created Read More
