Moving Day: subscribers to EZG blog

To all the loyal fans of Thinking Telos: in the very near future you'll receive a confirmation email regarding an email subscription to the new EZG Blog, where the brilliance you've enjoyed at Thinking Telos will continue for many glorious years to come. We'd love it if you'd click on the link in that confirmation email to continue your readership.

Until we meet again...

At long last....welcoming Ebben Zall Group

Ok, quiet time's over people!

After months of clandestine, behind the scenes activity, Telos Communications has merged with Ebben Zall Group to form a whole new, bigger, better, gi-normously powerful advertising, public relations and media strategies firm.

Not only does this spell the beginning of a new era, it means that we'll be revitalizing Thinking Telos with a new name, more contributors and a wider range of content. Thanks for sticking with us and please hop over to EZG's blog to read more.

Is Jon Stewart Batman? Yes. Yes, he is.

While these things usually play out in the comments section, I wanted to give reader "mensley" a full response to the question he raises on a March post, The mission to save media integrity. He/she/it writes:

It's been two months, and I have not seen anything from Jon. How long do you suggest we wait?

Has he followed up on the bit from Cramer? Has he checked back in? Or does he fall victim to the "on to the next item" mentality that defines both journalism and our society.

In one way, this mentality will help speed our economic recovery as "the Joneses just got a new car..." and into the next collapse.

Again, I truly enjoy Jon, but wish he would eat his own dog food at times.

Of course I appreciate the sentiment and the comments, but I still disagree and believe I've struck on the best way to articulate my perspective.

As with most rational points of debate, this begins and ends with Batman. Let's consider that Jon Stewart, like Batman, has earned cache among the media that he takes to task. He, like Batman, transitioned from one identity (mild mannered B-star comedian/mild mannered billionaire) to another (mission-driven media skeptic/crusader against evil).

And, like Batman, we forget that he is always on the lookout for travesties of justice. Stewart rattles the cages of media every night with direct jabs, just as Batman takes on petty thieves in alleyways. And when there is a true outrage -- be it a financial meltdown of historic proportions or the emergence of a stout, waddling, supervillain -- both he and Batman kick it up a notch and blow stuff up in Hi-Def.

The nightly sparring generally flies under the radar; what you're waiting for is the summer blockbuster. It will come.

Hedgefunds, PR, and you

Struggle to post weekly continues...the mind is strong but the body weak...must...go on...(gasp)...tell my wife I love her...

Ok, moving on: I had the pleasure of connecting with a like-minded communications expert last week, the founder of The Clarion Group. Some great ideas with an interesting take on how hedge funds have helped our financial foundation - a somewhat contrarian opinion in today's market environment - and how communications have helped hedge funds.

Worth checking out their insights here, and I'm adding their blog to my "Recommended Reading" links as well...despite the fact that our great minds are at odds over Jon Stewart's value to the media evolution (Clarion's take here, Telos' here).

Evening paper by Kindle-light

Apologies for the sporadic posting - sleep deprivation is getting the better of me (Note to reader AZ: you do still win in that category).

Worth checking in to discuss the plight of the Boston Globe, which is being issued all kinds of ultimatums by its New York Times parent. I already argued that there's little chance that Boston - perhaps the country's primary center of innovation and education -- will be the first city to have no newspaper of record. I stand by that.

That said, the Globe isn't taking a lot of public steps towards solving its problem. Other than negotiating labor demands, there has been no revelation around its business model or content delivery that would advance its cause.

A interesting suggestion comes out of Media Nation, which wonders if Kindle could replace print and save newspapers the cost of running the presses. Lower overhead, more planet-friendly, and cutting edge...plus, there's a great sci-fi plotline in there somewhere.

Seems far fetched, but guess what? It's closer than you think. Check out this concept clip from Newsboy. The big deal is not the functionality, which (amazingly) is already out there...it's the design revealed at the end of the video that's jaw dropping - and makes it seem like this may well be the direction in which newspapers should head:

Finally, a print publication goes on offense

Great catch by TheDeal.com, which reported last week that the Minnesota Star Tribune is getting creative as it tries to dodge the inevitable. TheDeal.com writes:

The employees launched a new site savethestrib.com to help save the struggling daily. While its not your most conventional way of finding a potential buyer for a newspaper, desperate times sometimes certainly push people to think outside the box. And if traditional methods of finding a buyer don't work, alternative ways certainly couldn't hurt as many other major dailies are now just collecting dust sitting on the auction block.

This is a great step, and I go so far as to debate the "desperate times" line of thinking - this is more in the direction of being proactive, realistic and creative in a hostile environment. When you see the zombies approaching to eat your brain, grabbing the nearest flamethrower isn't desperate, it's just the smart move (believe it or not, I don't even like zombie movies...just seemed like right metaphor).

At the same time, the Boston Globe is being threatened with forced euthanasia by its parent, The New York Times. The Times called for an immediate $20 million in cuts, a fairly inhumane and unrealistic demand. But this feels more like a cry for buyers than a walk to the gallows - Boston simply will not be the first U.S. city with no legitimate major news daily. (sorry, Herald, tabloids need not apply).

I'd like to think these events bring us a few steps closer to the Newspaper Survival Coalition mentioned last month. Come on, fellas...as those zombie movies teach us, fighting the battle alone is the surest path to defeat.

Bitter Twitter, silly CNN

I hop onto CNN's home page to see this headline under their Tech section: "Twitter could fuel G-20 violence, warns expert"?

Naturally, I read on...The story tells us that "Headlines proclaiming that G-20 activists and police are following each others' activities on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites may give one the impression that a new age of surveillance and political activism has dawned."

I honestly have to wonder if this is a joke. The headline is so clearly guilty of the conveying the exact tone the story warns us against...it has to be joke. Right?

Given CNN's history, I don't know. Laugh or cry, laugh or cry...?