links for 2010-09-13

But even at age 83, the man who mentored several generations of aspiring journalists – many of whom went on to work at the nation's top newspapers, magazines and television news divisions – has not mellowed. If anything, Mencher is as feisty and angry as ever, particularly about the state of journalism education.

The Video News Agency hosts material from a range of companies for use by the communications industry, such as corporate announcements, documentary material and interview footage. The site also provides supplementary or EPK (Electronic Press Kit) material for broadcasters.

The site will feature a Virtual Assignment Desk, an interactive digital platform that has been created as a WordPress plug-in. It provides an editorial work flow system for both assigning stories, and receiving and managing ideas, tips, and finished work from community and student contributors. Any registered user of nytimes.com will be able to go to a special page to see what assignments are available.

The site has a rotating community liaison editor. The first is Kim Davis, an East Village resident who publishes At the Sign of the Pink Pig, a weekly online magazine devoted to restaurants and the arts, since 2007. His work has appeared in a range of publications, including City Limits, the Literary Review, and the New Musical Express.

"The site is a significant step forward in pro-am journalism collaborations," said Jones. "Our goal is that as much as half of the content on the site will be produced by our East Village neighbors."

STV Local websites are geared towards being a more interactive experience than traditional local newspaper websites, with users encouraged to upload their own news stories, announcements, images, reviews and add listings to a local business directory.

The city's journalists and media advocates chalked up a First Amendment victory Wednesday, September 8, when the City Council approved a string of changes to the ordinance governing CPD press passes. The old ordinance limited the passes to "full-time" employees of "newspapers, press associations, newsreels and radio stations." The full-time stipulation has been deleted, and the list of news media has been greatly expanded to include, among other things, "a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format."