Personalization, such as ring tones, logos, wallpapers, screensavers, etc., makes the most money today for mobile content services, but will quickly shift to more complex applications like interactive games, stock tickers, mapping systems and video on demand. The study also found that although charges are just 10 percent of the bill, non-voice application users tend to have higher than average bills.

“Because non-voice services are in their early, high-growth stage, they are already having an important impact on ARPU [average revenue per user] growth,” said Andrew Roscoe, partner with ForceNine Consulting, which conducted the study.

A single service can be delivered to millions of customers at a small price. The wireless carrier handles the billing in exchange for a percentage and passes the remaining revenue along to the content provider.

Related links:

Near future of mobile content

Mobile users define content services

Google gets in on the action

summary: Mobile content service provides are racking in revenue for non-voice applications from millions of mobile consumers at a small price. Despite a study that proved that non-voice app users have higher bills, about 40 percent of U.S. adults are willing to pay extra for them.

Dr. King made it his mission to combat racial injustice and discrimination in non-violent ways. His speeches and peaceful protests continue to be taught and referenced 40 years after his death. Although great strides for black American’s rights have been made since his time, the fear of illegal immigrants has caused a similar problem of prejudice against Hispanics.

Robert Gittelson, a garment manufacturer in Los Angeles, wrote an article titled, “Anti-Latino Racism: The Equality Issue of Our Time” for Immigration Daily. In the article, he remembers Dr. King’s influence on him when he was a child, and discusses the need for reform on immigration and the racism illegal immigrants face in America.

“It is obvious to me that in addition to new laws, a new tolerance and open-mindedness will be required of our country to aid in the assimilation and equality of our immigrant population,” Gittelson states in his article. “A lot has happened in our country over the past 40 years or so, but in the case of racism, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

After a 2004 Department of Justice report mentioned that religious books that incite violence could infiltrate prison chapel libraries, the federal Bureau of Prisons purged certain religious materials from the shelves of the libraries.

The action created widespread outrage with religious groups, civil libertarians and members of Congress prompting the bureau to immediately return the items that were removed.

The bureau had originally set out to take an inventory of all materials in the chapel libraries to weed out books that might incite violence, but after the list grew to the tens and thousands, it decided to compile lists of acceptable materials in a plan called the Standardized Chapel Library Project.

Republican lawmakers, liberal Christians and evangelical talk shows criticized the the bureau for creating a list of acceptable religious books.

Bob Moore, director of prison policy oversight at Aleph, an advocacy group for Jews in prison, said the lack of detail and transparency about how the lists were determined troubled him.

“Our position is there should not be a list of what should be on the shelves,” Moore said. “But what shouldn’t be.”

Script:
When the federal Bureau of Prisons removed certain religious books from prison chapel libraries, it incited a public outcry from religious groups, civil libertarians and members of congress demanding that the books be returned.

In wake of the criticism, the bureau will immediately return the books that were removed in June 2007. The bureau said it was prompted to create a list of acceptable religious books after a report from the department of Justice mentioned that certain religious books could incite violence.

Unidentified religious experts helped the bureau compile the list, which independent scholars say omitted many important religious texts.

Related Stories:

Fox News: Inmates file suit after prisons ban come religious books over terrorism fears

Herald Tribune: 2 New York prisoners sue to get their banned religious books back

A blog entry questioning banned books from prison

A forum about the issue with international perspective

Library for Fairness organization: Inmates say Torah now banned

Hampton Hotel volunteers and actor Samuel L. Jackson will team up to refurbish the National Civil Rights Museum. Hampton Hotel’s Save-A-Landmark program wishes to pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s death by renovating th museum dedicating to celebrating his life.

According to a press release, in the largest effort in the program’s nine-year history, more than 100 Hampton Hotel volunteers will work with Jackson to restore four exhibition rooms by replacing wallpaper, repainting walls, repairing displays, mending electrical components, renovating exterior walkways, and upgrading the surrounding landscape. Hampton will contribute more than 1,000 volunteer hours to complete most of the project by the anniversary of Dr. King’s death on April 4, 1968.

“The National Civil Rights museum is an important landmark in American history,” Jackson said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside the volunteers at Hampton Hotels and their Save-A-Landmark program in restoring the grounds.”

The program restores sites that honors prominent Americans, such as Ameila Earhart’s Birthplace and Museum, the Barnum Museum, and the Poe Museum. Using a nationwide survey conducted by Hampton Hotels, the list of legendary figures was based on those Americans who have inspired change, overcame adversity, and made a difference.

From The Dallas Morning News website, I decided to compare a story called “Police get involved in dispute at Dallas precinct caucus“, to the blog written about it authored by James Ragland, which was called “Why the Texas two-step may be too much.”

As a reader, I noticed a visual difference between the news story and the blog. The story was longer in length and more in depth whereas Ragland’s blog summarized the story. His blog also provides a link to the news story, which is another way I could tell the difference.

I also noticed the different voice in the blog. At the end of Ragland’s post, he states his opinion about the story he was commenting on. Even the title of the blog had an opinion feel to it. The story states the facts and attributes quotes from multiple sources, which gave it an objective voice.

When comparing this news story against the blog, noticing the length and the voice aided me in telling the difference between the two.

scenario A: Facing a tight deadline with limited resources.

I would have to cover the current accident very quickly. With my pen, notepad, and tape recorder, I would interview police officials and eye witnesses at the scene. With my digital camera, I would take pictures of the accident if I am permitted. The story would have to be written in an inverted pyramid style with the most important information at the top about the accident, and near the end I would reference the other fatalities and the increasing truck traffic problem. The pictures that I took would accompany the story as well as an interactive map of the area where the accident happened. This would cover at lest two of the concepts, which are interactivity and immediacy.

scenario B: Flexible time frame with artists, programmers, and multimedia journalists.

With more time, I would write a narrative story in place of the shorter article. I would tell it from the student’s parent’s perspective, which would give the story a humanistic approach. Within the story, I would include the city council’s involement in the issue, because I know that they should have a stake. The Texas Department of Transportation need to be heard as well. If there are organizations involved, their perspective as well as their work would be included.

For other elements, an interactive timeline would be put together. This would include early pictures of the interstate from 20 years ago, up to the the current time. Within the timeline, the individual stories and voices of the victim’s loved ones would be included. Readers could view videos of them telling the victim’s stories. Podcasts of the city council meetings where traffic issues are being discussed can be posted and uploaded periodically on the website.  Blogs from experts in the traffic business can run along the bottom or the side of the website. A discussion forum will also be included for more reader interactivty and involvement. A traffic camera of the area can be posted on the site as well. For example:

	These images may be used to determine the current direction of the camera:
	North South East West
IH 35E @ Tollway Image Acquired Thu, Feb 28, 11:48 am This image is more than 15 minutes old.
The latest available snapshot from this camera will automatically be retrieved every 8-10 minutes.

            On AOL’s news website, the homepage has a three column layout with a web 2.0 navigation design. The header is only used for search and navigation, which keeps it very clean looking. To add to the simple look of the design, plenty of white space is used. Designers strategically placed the advertisements so that they do not distract readers and viewers from the information. As you scroll down the page, large photos and slide-shows capture your interest and keep you motivated to check out the rest of the page. At the very bottom of the page, there are interesting and fun tidbits you can read on culture and celebrities. The graphics are small and unobtrusive. All these elements work very well.

Elements that do not work are the bountiful polls on the page. Too many polls make you wonder about the creativity of the staff when it comes to other engaging elements. Text color is inconsistent. For example, there are splashes of the color orange on some section headlines, while other section headlines are gray-scale.

            Fort Worth Star Telegram’s homepage has many design challenged elements. The layout is far too busy starting with its header. Even though it uses navigation and search, it also places an ad banner at the top as well as a log in prompt. Not a lot of white space is utilized, and the ads in the third column are very large and distracting. Opportunities for reader and viewer interactivity is there, but hidden under the never-ending list on the page.

            There are a few elements that are pleasing on the page as well. The huge slideshow at the top of the page grabs your attention and presents stories in a creative way. Another creative element is the drop down box in the navigation area. When you roll your mouse over the different pages, a drop down box materializes and lists other related pages. It looks like a page within a page. The staff did a good job with keeping the colors consistent. They used only black and red, and when you rove your pointer over the various headlines, it highlights red. Although a long list is boring, it is organized with bullet points and separated by white space and gray-scale backgrounds to maintain neatness.

alanna_owusu@yahoo.com

RadioShack announced that it will participate in the Digital Television (DTV) transition program. Starting next week, nearly 5,000 stores and select dealer locations will sell two different models of converter boxes along with other digital TV accessories to help keep analog televisions receiving over-the-air broadcasts after congress passed a mandate that will require over-the-air analog broadcasting to end on February 19, 2009.

One way consumers can switch their current televisions to digital is by purchasing a converter box for a retail price of $60. To help with the affordability of the boxes, the government began distributing $40 coupons for those who requested them. Other ways consumers can make the switch is by subscribing to a satellite or cable service provider or upgrade to a television with a built-in digital tuner.

“The DTV transition is one that involves a host of private-public entities who have been working hand-in-hand for months to ensure U.S. citizens will be able to receive digital TV broadcasts,” said Peter Whisett, executive vice president, general merchandising manager for RadioShack Corporation. “We understand consumers often turn to the knowledgeable sales associates at their neighborhood RadioShack first to help them understand such technical issues.”

Along with the converter boxes, RadioShack will also offer a range of optional accessories such as antennas, splitters, switchers and additional cables that can enhance the consumer’s TV viewing experience. On February, the company announced that it will not continue to sale all analog televisions nor related analog video devices on February 29, 2009. Customers may purchase their converter boxes inside the store or have them delivered to their residence for free using RadioShack’s Direct to You ordering system, or beginning March 1, order them on th phone at 1-877-RS-DTV-4U.

Related links:

Browse digital equipment at RadioShack

More information on DTV transition

Learn more and apply for a coupon

Digital TV and senior citizen consumers

CNET news answers FAQs

The site uses a navigation bar on the left that is available on each page after clicking on a link. Video clips of the news stories are listed vertically on the homepage. The biggest story is shown on a larger screen at the top, which can prompt viewers to immediately view it. Further down the page, the site provides links to other news stories from other cities, but the stories are from news wire services such as Associated Press.

Breaking news headlines are streamed across the top. The site also has podcast and vodcast links and a TV guide schedule. When viewers click on a video, there is also a story included so a viewer who is unable to hear a video can read about it instead.

Overall the site serves the station and its viewers well, content wise, but it is visually lacking in layout and graphic design.

Garrett started at UNT as a radio television and film major. During her years at Coppell High School she was a staff member on the school’s TV program. When she graduated, UNT was not Garrett’s first choice. She thought about attending Baylor with all of her friends, but was convinced otherwise when her high school teacher convinced her to check out the program at UNT.

“When I took a tour and met with the staff at the station, I found it to be a really good program,” Garrett said.

She started as a camera operator and then moved up the ranks to a floor director, editor of the switchboard and now is a director of a show as well as an anchor.

“I love it,” Garrett said. “It made me realize that I wanted to do television news and not film.”

In Fall 2007, Garrett decided to switch her major from RTVF to electronic news after talking to the advisor who started the journalism concentration. The transition was an easy one for Garrett.

“With RTVF, I didn’t grasp the journalism side of news until electronic news,” Garrett said. “Instead of reading from a script about the news, it made me want to go out there and get the story.”

Garrett plans to graduate in December of 2008. After graduation she plans to get a job as a reporter at a small station and work up to becoming an anchor. When Garrett gets free time, she enjoys movies and playing Rock Band.

Interactive elements:

• Post videos of Maddie’s projects
• A link for the station’s website
• A head shot of Maddie
• A video with interviews of other people’s perspective of Maddie (friends, family, and classmates)