Multimedia Package: Well Connected

Well Connected: Tracking Players in Telecommunications, Media and Technology

This multimedia package is from The Center for Public Integrity, "a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern." They are involved in issues both in the United States and around the world, all with a non-partisan viewpoint. The center is housed in Washington, D.C., and it has been running since 1990. They, along with this comprehensive multimedia package, publish investigative books and articles on the concerns of public issues. For example, The Center's website highlights projects titled "The Buying of the President 2008" and "The War Card: Orchestrated Deception on the Path of War".

In this specific multimedia package, Well Connected: Tracking Players in Telecommunications, Media and Technology, The Center for Public Integrity has created an interactive system to determine which corporations and companies own the media in your given zip code or city, the Media Tracker. On the introduction module of Well Connected, a site visitor can enter in their zip code or city and state to pull up a full list of businesses that own the major broadcast outlets like television and radio stations, cable communities, broadband providers and newspapers. Each result yields an area summary listing the broadcast owners and an interactive map. There are tabbed menu selections that further break down the summary into each type of broadcast.

Each summary also yields specific results about each corporation or business. For example, Well Connected breaks down the ownership summary of Clear Channel Communications, Inc., as well as listing its revenue and income, the company's corporate directors and executive officers, and a fully detailed breakdown of monetary contributions. Additionally, the package has sections called Latest Reports and Telecom Watch, which is presented in a blog format.

To sum up it's intended purpose, Well Connected aims to educate journalists, students and legislators. The information presented here is both full and detailed but easy enough to understand. Structurally, the project is easy to navigate. The Media Tracker, which is the package's main attraction, is incredibly simple to use. The sidebar provides all the links you would need outside of the Media Tracker, including a link to the homepage, FAQ's, a Methodology page, Archives, and a menu by industry. Navigation is done without any confusion, which is a strong point for the package.

However, the multimedia portion of the package is not as impressive as I would have liked. There are no photos or videos, and besides the interactive map given with each zip code, there isn't much else to entertain. This puts the main focus on the information, which is top notch for a mass communications student like myself. But, I imagine for someone who wasn't interested or in need of this information, this package would be rather boring. Nonetheless, the ease of use is certainly something that other packages should imitate, as well as the sheer amount of information. This package is an incredible resource.

Besides the lack of photos and videos, Well Connected could have improved their Latest Reports and Telecom Watch section with a primer that put the topic in context. I understand the full concept of the project, but it wouldn't hurt to have a small blurb explaining the weight of each article, sort of like a commentary from The Center Public Integrity.

Overall, I was impressed, but there is clear room for improvement. As an organization that specializes in the telecommunications, I'd expect a more technologically advanced presentation.

Research & Module 4

Excepts and important facts from interview with Beth Varden, manager at The Sound Garden.

- manager for two years, been in Baltimore since 1996
- two current locations for TSG: Syracuse & Baltimore
- TSG has been open since 1993
- plans to renovate, including larger section for vinyl
How has business been affected by the digital media revolution?
"We haven't really been affected by digital music. I'd even say that our business has increased. Not everyone wants digital files, and because we have the best prices, people come to us. Like, the people who don't have iPods or computers, they're still interested in buying music from a store."
"College-aged kids are really into vinyl as well, and we're the only place in Baltimore that you can buy new vinyl."

Do you think that physical music will ever become obsolete?
"Obsolete? No way, I don't believe it. When the CD came out, people said the same thing."
"People still buy it for its aesthetic value. And digital music is usually a downgrade in quality."

How is TSG important to Baltimore music?
- local music section
- consignment for local artists, don't need national distribution to be sold at TSG
- local artists like Dan Deacon, Beach House, Celebration all helped and supported
- in-store performances are usually reserved for national, touring bands but sometimes they'll feature local bands, like The Human Bell
- anyone can use their bulletin board to promote their band/show/venue

Slideshow for The Sound Garden w/ Audio

Text for Module 4:
The Sound Garden (full module here)

It's sort of like a scene from "Empire Records" or "High Fidelity". As you walk in the front doors of Fells Point's The Sound Garden, it's clear that there is one thing on everyone's mind: finding that golden treasure.

"Sound Garden is a freakin' mecca!" London Scalise, a self-proclaimed music junkie and vinyl collector exclaims. "You can't find everything you're looking for in those corporate stores. I'm there at least once a week."

When you walk in the front doors, the foyer is lined, layered and overwhelmed with concert posters and free magazines. There is almost always a line. In the heart of the store, CD shelves create rows and rows of mixed and matched album art. At Sound Garden, there are albums that you never knew you wanted until you found them at Sound Garden, the kind of albums that make a collection shine.

Beth Varden has been manager at The Sound Garden for two years now, but she's been shopping here for much longer, she says. Like many of The Sound Garden's customers, she believes that physical music will not lose it's importance and value in the face of digital music. "Not everyone wants digital files, and because we have the best prices, people come to us. Like, the people who don't have iPods or computers, they're still interested in buying music from a store."

The only place in Baltimore that carries new vinyl, The Sound Garden attracts both the dedicated old-timers roped into a record's high quality and the college student engaged by its aesthetic.

But not everyone likes vinyl. "You can buy two CDs here for the price of one at other places. Especially in the used section," longtime customer Tyler Miller explains.

To keep up with and support the Baltimore music scene, The Sound Garden offers consignment deals for local artists that aren't blessed with national distribution. There's a section dedicated only to Baltimore releases and the shop has even hosted in-store performances by local bands like The Human Bell. But that's nothing compared to the bulletin boards at the front of the store, which reads like an ultimate hub of Baltimore's up-and-coming happenings. If there ever is an epitome of Baltimore music, here is where is all exists.

Google Map of Baltimore Record Shops

View Larger Map

Baltimore's Empire Records & More SG Research

Sound Garden Storyboard

Best of Baltimore "Best CD Store" Awards
Customer reviews
3 Best Record Stores in Baltimore
Baltimore Musician: Dan Deacon | Article about Deacon
Article about Sound Garden and how it's affected by Black Friday
Article about Fells Point

Danity Kane Signing at Sound Garden - 9/29/07

**parallels to Empire Records


On Briggs - Chapter 8 (Shooting and Managing Digital Photos)...
- Pixels - PICTure ELement - visual representation of data
- Megapixel - one million pixels - measures power of digital camera
- 3 ways to shoot photo w/ light - natural light, flash only, flash and ambient light
- Important to remember: correct lighting, correct background, steady camera, automatic setting, fill frame, focus on one thing, get closer, go vertical, shoot action, resize, only edit copy of photo
- "Blogs without art are lame."

Multimedia Story Research Part 1

Sound Garden in Fells Point Baltimore

Questions to ask:
How do you stay a float?
How do you distinguish SG in this digital music age?
Do you notice a difference in traffic now since before the digital revolution?
Do you notice a different in traffic patterns (type of consumers, ages, quantities, etc)?
DVD sales vs. CD sales

Ideas to roll with:
Baltimore and its special indie record shop - staying afloat among the big players.
Record and Tape Traders just got bought out?
City Paper's Best of Baltimore 10 years running
Keeping vinyl alive; in-stores

Official Website | Myspace | Press

Regina Spektor Live @ Sound Garden


Robin Thicke Live @ Sound Garden


Ben Kweller Live @ Sound Garden

Sputnik, Multimedia Packages & Storyboards

On Small Multimedia Package: Sputnik...

- The multimedia package is very involved for something so small, so it's interesting to see the planning (the storyboard) that is involved. You can really see how much work goes into a project like this.
- On the package itself, I thought it was very well done. The introduction - the old television screen playing the intro movie - was a great, innovative touch. It was immediately attractive to a first time "clicker" like myself. Also, even though it didn't have much purpose, the audio of the satellites was a clever way to keep the package interactive. There was a lot of text, more than I would have liked to see (example - the time line), but the creator still kept it interesting with moving graphics and a fresh layout. Overall, I enjoyed this multimedia packages.

On Ward - Online Research and Reporting - (Chapter 3)...

- "Bottom up" approach to online research
- Gathering & dissemination: two main tasks for online journalists
- Gathering: finding info, finding people, checking info, analyzing info
- Another category - CAR: computer assisted reporting - data capture and analysis
- URLs, bookmarking, domains (geography, purpose of organization) - examples: .uk, .org, .net, .int (international orgs), .mil (US Dept. of Defense), .ac.uk (UK higher ed.), .co.uk (UK commerical), etc...
- Deconstruct potential story & look at component parts - what data, info, opinion might I need? What sites can I find this on, and can they be trusted?
- Meta data - part of HTML code (dogpile.com, infind.com) - example: search for audio files to stream or download
- Specific subject search engines: findlaw.com, healthfounder.gov
- engine math: + (and)/- (not) symbols, quotations, * - all words with root or beginning of word
- search email address: bigfoot.com, worldemail.com, people.yahoo.com
- newsgroups & mailing lists

Storyboard: Now a Major Circuit: Local and Touring Bands Recognize Baltimore's Thriving Music Scene
--> to add to storyboard: talk about what it takes for underground bands to book tours (intro, perhaps?), how tough it is to book out-of-state shows, the basics of booking shows/tours

And here's three songs I adore (and listened to while posting this blog update), just for kicks:

Third Eye Blind - "Losing A Whole Year"


Andy Hull (of Manchester Orchestra) - "Badges and Badges"


Team Goldie - "Hairodynamics"