WSJ Plus and the power of community

This is long delayed but will post anyway because 1) the warm feeling still is with me more than two months later and 2) I haven’t had made the time time to post until now. 

On Oct. 16, I attended a special event for Wall Street Journal subscribers at The Petersen automotive museum in Los Angeles titled “Visions of Glamour, Automotive Design and Style.” This three-hour “WSJ Plus” event was part of the Journal’s new “membership” rewards program and featured: 

1. An hourlong roundtable with WSJ auto columnist Dan Neil (who is so good he earned a Pulitzer Prize for his work); Ian Callum, chief stylist for Jaguar; and Stuart Reed, chair of the transportation design department at the Art Center College of Design. 

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Quality livestreaming on the fly and on the cheap

My journalism degree is in both radio-TV and print but after graduation I quickly opted for the latter because I felt like I had a voice and personality better suited for newspapers. I still feel that way, but that didn't stop me from going out on a ledge and hosting a Bakersfield Californian experiment in live-streaming from Rabobank Arena on Sunday.

To mark the regular season home opener for the Bakersfield Condors, I hosted a series of live interviews with Condors management and fans, and Californian hockey beat writer Mike Griffith. We started streamling live via Ustream at 3:30 p.m. and wrapped up shortly before gametime at 5 p.m. 

The Californian has been doing a ton of live-streaming recently but this was our first webcast that involved a string of guests in a remote environment, expanded production techniques and a novice host. The three-camera set was part of a mobile "TV studio" that Louis Amestoy, The Californian's digital convergence editor, put together to enable us to produce TV-quality broadcasts from remote locations. And yes, the total package -- three HD videocameras, Mac laptop, lights, tripods, mikes, switching software, rolling cases and more -- cost less than $10,000. 

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Talking Alan Tandy and Bill Lagattuta on 'Californian Radio'

On this episode of "Californian Radio," I talk with Californian reporter Antonie Boessenkool about her detailed profile of Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy. The profile was a great read and Antonie adds some great detail on why Tandy is such a fascinating subject. 

The show closes with a segment with former CBS News reporter turned artist Bill Lagattuta, who has a show opening at Metro Galleries this Friday.

You can also find an Mp3 version of this episode at bakersfield.com.