Tag: traditional

Categories
Local News

Why independent bloggers need DEI from funders

The news media landscape has been evolving, where independent bloggers and freelancers are an essential part of the news ecosystem, which supports our democracy.

Nevertheless, due to the new digital era and the independent roles that have been established, some bloggers and journalists are experiencing revenue disadvantages in funding for small blog businesses, and from advertisement networks such as Google AdSense.

They lack diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

An example of the changes in the journalism industry exists even with the New York Times that has transitioned from a traditional newsroom with a large daily newspaper circulation, to include a robust digital online presence nowadays. Many other publications these days do not even have print copies but are now only online.

With emerging online news options, the entire business at large continues to change. Headlines and news leads no longer strictly adhere to traditional Associated Press (AP) rules, in terms of length and forbidden English articles such as “the,” “a” and “an.” The game is so different now because the Internet provides unlimited space for content.

But with so much in and a lot more gone from our newsrooms, who will be paying for the new technology and those using it for freelance and independent work?

Is the answer the collaboratives such as The Lenfest Institute and Facebook Journalism Project?

“The Lenfest Institute team was hired in Sept. 2016, and our first major grant program was 2017,’’ stated Jim Friedlich, who is part of the Lenfest-FJP team.

Many other organizations such as grant funders for Journalism projects and initiatives are on the rise to endeavor in assisting with business costs and revenues. But who gets these funds? Do all eligible and qualified journalists get their fair share? The answer is, NO!

The Google News Initiative, for example, tries to be inclusive with each of their different funding projects.

“We try to fund for a diversity of applicants, so we change the themes, too: From local and technology to diversity equity and inclusion,” explained Madhav Chinnappa, director of News Ecosystem Development at GNI.

The GNI has been funding innovative Journalism projects for a few years now, and since the COVID-19 Pandemic, it even funded journalists just to help with emergency revenues. But still, the DEI efforts to fund all eligible applicants have not been fully successful.

This is where we experience the adverse effects of traditional journalism out, and digital in.  With all the newspaper industry changes and the issues of downsizing, the Internet has replaced a lot of manpower, or people needed for newsroom jobs.

So, now we have social media, bloggers, and independent Journalists doing the traditional newsroom jobs that must go on in a digital era. This is a big deal. Everyone now has a stronger voice. Democracy is very much alive. But not everyone is getting paid.

Journalist are still carrying on the voice of their local newspapers in a digital way. The problem is, who pays the digital journalists now? How do bloggers and Independent Journalist get paid for helping to keep our democracy functioning?

There are a few true and tried methods for revenue: Of course, the grant funders make an effort; also do the advertisement networks such as Google AdSense and others, and thanks to readers’ contributions.

But all that is not enough when some independent journalists are constantly working and posting their stories but are not making a living wage. It seems this disparity affects minorities because of the built-in systematic injustices that are tied into the new journalism revenue systems.

Grant funding is never guaranteed even though minority applicants are very eligible and over-qualified. Neither are the payments from Google AdSense diverse, equitable or inclusive. Minority journalists always have to compete for a paycheck. This is a huge discrepancy in the revenue system and for our shared democracy.

Although Chinnappa states that Google Adsense does not intentionally lack DEI, and “that it is definitely not the intent in any of (Google) products,” to show disparity, some Journalist are just not happy with the current revenue system that significantly limits payments for those who work, but are not as accepted or as popular.

Our democracy needs all our voices, not just some. That’s why voting matters for all, and so does journalism.

Now, with everyone having a place online to speak up and help to contribute to a variety of discourses, communities have a greater sense of our common humanity, and a better understanding of who we all are, and our place and purpose in society.

All people matter. All of our voices and our purposes matter.

Categories
Business

Russo’s introduces ‘Nonna’s Pizza’ a classic Italian favorite now available to order

Chef Anthony Russo introduces an Italian favorite to the menu.

Nonna’s Pizza is now available at participating locations. Free delivery included.

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#ItalianKitchen–Nonna’s Pizza, also known as grandma’s pie, is a traditional Italian pizza that grandmother’s would make for the entire family. The signature dish is said to have originated on Long Island and now has spread to the greater New York area. Chef Anthony Russo is now introducing this legendary pizza to several of his locations in the Texas marketplace for the first time.

Nonna’s Pizza also known as Nonna’s Pie is a rectangular pizza that is cooked in an olive oil-coated pan. Traditionally, the pizza is covered in a thin layer of mozzarella cheese and then topped with fresh tomatoes. Oftentimes, the mozzarella is placed directly on the dough, and the sauce goes on top of that, but this is not always the case. What makes Nonna’s unique is the crust. The dough is quickly stretched on the pan, giving it little time to rise before baking in the oven. This gives the pizza its signature thinner, crisper crust. The crust is what separates Nonna’s Pizza from other similar thinner crust pizzas, like Sicilian Pizza.

Using high-quality ingredients is what makes Chef Anthony Russo’s Nonna’s Pie rise above competitors. Chef Russo always uses the best quality ingredients to ensure a delicious final product. Nonna’s Pie includes Sicilian extra virgin olive oil, Robusto pizza sauce, premium roma tomatoes, fresh-cut basil, and Wisconsin’s signature mozzarella cheese.

This pie is very nostalgic for Chef Anthony Russo. Russo reminisces on his childhood when Grandma would make it for him.

“This was our go-to pizza growing up,” Chef Anthony Russo states. “We used to have it for dinner every Sunday night at Grandma’s house. She used to use fresh homemade marinara sauce and fresh-made dough left over from the bread recipe. Grandma would place the dough square pan, then top it with marinara sauce, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella cheese. We are very excited to be one of the first pizzerias to bring Nonna’s Pizza to the Texas.”

Nonna’s Pie is now available for a limited time for pick-up or free delivery for just $16. Call or order online today. Nonna’s Pizza is only available at participating locations only. Please contact your local store for more details. To learn more about Russo’s safety measures, menu, lunch specials, delivery, takeout, catering, or to order online, please visit www.nypizzeria.com. See store for details.

Chef Anthony Russo’s Bio: The son of first-generation Italian immigrants, Anthony Russo, Russo’s New York Pizzeria Founder and CEO, grew up in a New Jersey home where the kitchen was the center of family life. He learned to cook from relatives visiting from Sicily and Naples, and worked at his family’s restaurant, Russo’s Italian, at the Jersey Shore each summer.

The family relocated to Galveston, Texas in 1978, yet remained steadfast in their commitment to serving fine Italian cuisine no matter where they called home. Anthony’s father opened Russo’s Italian Restaurant, which quickly became a favorite among locals, and reinforced Anthony’s passion for creating and serving homemade Italian fare.

In 1985, Anthony opened his first pizza restaurant, Russo’s Pizza, when he was just 18 years old. In 1992, just seven years later, Anthony introduced his first Russo’s New York Pizzeria in Houston, Texas, where using fresh, homemade ingredients and unique family recipes, became a model for success.

Fast forward to today and Russo’s Restaurants is now a national and international franchisor of the casual dining brand Russo’s New York Pizzeria. With its corporate office located in Houston, Texas – Russo’s Restaurants has surpassed 50 locations with over ten more planned in 2020. Composed of a mix of corporate and franchised locations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida, Russo’s has also entered international markets as well, with locations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.

Chef Anthony Russo created Russo’s Restaurants by applying his unique, family recipes featuring New York-style pizza, handcrafted pasta dishes, calzones, salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts. At its heart, Russo’s Restaurants reflects Chef Anthony’s commitment to his New York roots where food and family come first.

Russo’s corporate support team is strong and collaborative with a franchisee-friendly corporate culture and is ready for expansion. What separates Russo’s from the rest of the pizza industry is not only a great support team ready to tackle it all, but also the unique family recipes and fresh ingredients. With no additives or preservatives, Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen creates dishes from ingredients that are safe and reliable from trusted brands. Chef Russo adds, “Our mission statement is: ‘If it isn’t fresh, don’t serve it.’ That is the Russo family promise.” The average store investment ranges from $350,000- $895,000. Qualified candidates must have at least $200,000 in liquid capital. To learn more about Russo’s Franchise Opportunities, our menu, lunch specials, delivery, takeout, catering, or to order online, please visit www.nypizzeria.com.

Contacts

Lynn Zeller-Aldana

Russo’s Restaurants

(346) 802-4700

Lynn@NYPizzeria.com

Categories
Digital - AI & Apps

Traditional news editorial still matters

Accuracy and ethics make good news

While people are concerned with the future of News and are embracing digital media, traditional journalists will still have to be gatekeepers and leaders of this new era.

The journalism business now encourages user-generated content with much audience interactivity in the local and editorial news as well as on blogs.  Several questions emerge about how this is changing the industry.

According to Francine Hardaway, “Today the media-driven by blogs-is assailed on all sides, by the crushing economics of their business, dishonest sources, inhuman deadlines, page view quotas, inaccurate information, greedy publishers, poor training, the demands of the audience, and so much more.”

However, it is those of us who care about the possible decline of good journalism that will help to fix what is becoming “indistinguishable” between real and fake journalism.  When bloggers deliberately publish inaccuracies, they later correct them, just to produce even more page views, writes Hardaway.

Hardaway writes about the digital writers who lure readers in for clicks. And “how blogs-even the most trusted ones-invent stories or publish rumors, just to get a post up and some page views, and then wait to see if anyone comments.”

But she also writes that the future of news is promising because there are journalism schools like ASU’s Cronkite School of Journalism that is doing a good job at preparing students for the future.

“So Cronkite is inadvertently turning out students who are trained in ethics, quality and accuracy into a quagmire of media manipulation…,” writes Hardaway. She promises to be a part of the faculty that will help to train these students.

Meanwhile, we have learned that this evolution in the news will be ongoing. The digital era will not be the last stage of the news cycle.  Therefore, some are wondering how far will the interactive nature of news go.

Writers, Penny O’Donnell, senior lecturer in International Media and Journalism at University of Sydney, and David C. McKnight, associate professor of Journalism and Media Research at the Centre at University of New South Wales, ask “whether editorial priorities had changed in response to this greater interactivity with readers…” They report that 46 per cent said that they did not, while 41 per cent “accepted” that they had.

We have seen where even traditional journalists have accepted the blurring of traditional boundaries between audience and journalists. Some of us consider the interactivity very democratic.  But we are reminded that traditional journalists need to be the leaders of this evolution.

O’Donnell and McKnight write that,  “there are persistent doubts as to what journalism will look like when journalist put down their old mantle of ‘gatekeeper’ and instead take up a new role as ‘facilitator’ or ‘curator’ of multi-participant news conversations.”

According to the writers, “professional journalist must maintain strict control over editing and the output.”

Susan Currie Sivek writes about the message Richard Gingras, head of news products at Google, conveyed to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, (AEJMC) in Chicago.

She notes that he encouraged educators to take the lead in shaping the changes that are happening in the media through their curricula. “Educators will also have to take risks in their teaching and advising to help students achieve the skill set and perspective Gingras recommends – and perhaps, to bring about a ‘renaissance’ in the field.”