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News is the communication of selected^[1] information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third-party or mass audience.

Etymology[link]

One theory claims that the English word "news" developed in the 14th century as a special use of the plural form of "new". In Middle English, the equivalent word was newes, like the French nouvelles and the German neues. Similar developments are found in the Slavic languages – the Czech and Slovak noviny (from nový, "new"), the cognate Polish nowiny and Russian novosti – and in the Celtic languages: the Welsh newyddion (from newydd) and the Cornish nowodhow (from nowydh).

History[link]

Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins and edicts were circulated at times in some centralized empires.^[2]

The first documented use of an organized courier service for the diffusion of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers for the diffusion of their decrees in the territory of the State (2400 BC).^[3] This practice almost certainly has roots in the much older practice of oral messaging and may have been built on a pre-existing infrastructure.

In Ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, or government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places.

In China, early government-produced news sheets, called tipao, circulated among court officials during the late Han dynasty (second and third centuries AD). Between 713 and 734, the Kaiyuan Za Bao ("Bulletin of the Court") of the Chinese Tang Dynasty published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by government officials. In 1582 there was the first reference to privately published newssheets in Beijing, during the late Ming Dynasty.^[4]

In Early modern Europe, increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. In 1556, the government of Venice first published the monthly Notizie scritte, which cost one gazetta.^[5] These avvisi were handwritten newsletters and used to convey political, military, and economic news quickly and efficiently to Italian cities (1500–1700) — sharing some characteristics of newspapers though usually not considered true newspapers.^[6] Due to low literacy rates, news was at times disseminated by town criers.

Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, from 1605, is recognized as the world's first newspaper.^[7]

The oldest news agency is the Agence France-Presse (AFP).^[8] It was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas.

In modern times, printed news had to be phoned in to a newsroom or brought there by a reporter, where it was typed and either transmitted over wire services or edited and manually set in type along with other news stories for a specific edition. Today, the term "breaking news" has become trite as commercial broadcasting United States cable news services that are available 24-hours a day use live satellite technology to bring current events into consumers' homes as the event occurs. Events that used to take hours or days to become common knowledge in towns or in nations are fed instantaneously to consumers via radio, television, mobile phone, and the Internet.

Newspapers[link]

Most large cities in the United States historically had morning and afternoon newspapers. As the media evolved and news outlets increased to the point of near over-saturation, most afternoon newspapers were shut down. Morning newspapers have been gradually losing circulation, according to reports advanced by the papers themselves. Commonly, news content should contain the "Five Ws" (who, what, when, where, why, and also how) of an event. There should be no questions remaining. Newspapers normally place hard news stories on the first pages, so the most important information is at the beginning. Busy readers can read as little or as much as they desire. Local stations and networks with a set format must take news stories and break them down into the most important aspects due to time constraints. Cable news channels such as BBC News, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, are able to take advantage of a story, sacrificing other, decidedly less important stories, and giving as much detail about breaking news as possible.

News organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity; reporters claim to try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts, who provide opinion or personal point-of-view. The result is a laying out of facts in a sterile, noncommittal manner, and then standing back to "let the reader decide" which view is true.^[9] Several governments impose certain constraints or police news organizations against bias. In the United Kingdom, for example, limits are set by the government agency Ofcom, the Office of Communications. Both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the United States are generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated editorial articles or segments. Many single-party governments have operated state-run news organizations, which may present the government's views.

Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias, or succumb to commercial or political pressure. Similarly, the objectivity of news organizations owned by conglomerated corporations fairly may be questioned, in light of the natural incentive for such groups to report news in a manner intended to advance the conglomerate's financial interests. Individuals and organizations who are the subject of news reports may use news management techniques to try to make a favourable impression.^[10] Because each individual has a particular point of view, it is recognized that there can be no absolute objectivity in news reporting.^[11]

Newsworthiness[link]

Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.^[12]

In some countries and at some points in history, what news media and the public have considered "newsworthy" has met different definitions, such as the notion of news values.^[13] For example, mid-twentieth-century news reporting in the United States focused on political and local issues with important socio-economic impacts, such as the landing of a living person on the moon or the cold war. More recently, the focus similarly remains on political and local issues; however, the news mass media now comes under criticism for over-emphasis on "non-news" and "gossip" such as celebrities' personal social issues, local issues of little merit, as well as biased sensationalism of political topics such as terrorism and the economy. The dominance of celebrity and social news, the blurring of the boundary between news and reality shows and other popular culture, and the advent of citizen journalism may suggest that the nature of ‘news’ and news values are evolving and that traditional models of the news process are now only partially relevant.^[14] Newsworthiness does not only depend on the topic, but also the presentation of the topic and the selection of information from that topic.

New ecology of news[link]

“Everything we thought we once knew about journalism needs to be rethought in the Digital Age”,^[15] professor of Sociology and Communication Michael Schudson points out. Today the work of journalism can be done from anywhere and done well. It requires no more than a reporter and a laptop. In that way, journalistic authority seems to have become more individual- and less institution-based. But does the individual reporter always have to be an actual journalist? Or can journalistic work be done from anywhere and by anyone? These are questions that refers to the core of journalistic practice and the definition of “news” itself. As Schudson has given emphasis to, the answer is not easily found; “the ground journalists walk upon is shaking, and the experience for both those who work in the field and those on the outside studying it is dizzying”.^[15]

Schudson has identified the following six specific areas where the ecology of news in his opinion has changed: 1. The line between the reader and writer has blurred 2. The distinction among tweet, blog post, newspaper story, magazine article, and book has blurred 3. The line between professionals and amateurs has blurred, and a variety of “pro-am” relationships has emerged 4. The boundaries delineating for-profit, public, and non-profit media have blurred, and the cooperation across these models of financing has developed 5. Within commercial news organizations, the line between the news room and the business office has blurred 6. The line between old media and new media has blurred, practically beyond recognition ^[16]

These alterations inevitably has fundamental ramifications for the contemporary ecology of news. “The boundaries of journalism, which just a few years ago seemed relatively clear, and permanent, have become less distinct, and this blurring, while potentially the foundation of progress even as it is the source of risk, has given rise to a new set of journalistic principles and practices”,^[17] Schudson puts it. It is indeed complex, but it seems to be the future.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Stephens, Mitchell. "The History of News - 3rd Ed" Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.

External links[link]

• News media by country at the Open Directory Project

Asset management, broadly defined, refers to any system whereby things that are of value to an entity or group are monitored and maintained. It may apply to both tangible assets and to intangible concepts such as intellectual property and goodwill. Asset management is a systematic process of operating , maintaining, and upgrading assets cost-effectively, (American Associate of State Highway and Transportation Officials). Alternative views of asset management in the engineering environment are: The practice of managing assets so that the greatest return is achieved (this concept is particularly useful for productive assets such as plant and equipment); and the process by which built systems of facilities are monitored and maintained, with the objective of providing the best possible service to users (appropriate for public infrastructure assets). Most active money managers produce worse returns than an index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500.^[1]

Historical background of asset management[link]

Civilization has always relied on its technological assets to support key functions like transport, public health, business and commerce. There is a clear link between the provision and sophistication of technological assets and our modern lifestyle. Romans built a strong empire through their construction of roads, aqueducts and other assets. Similar stories are found when examining Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Financial asset management[link]

• Investment management: the sector of the financial services industry that manages collective investment schemes and segregated client accounts.
• Global assets under management
• List of asset management firms

Enterprise asset management[link]

Enterprise asset management is the business processes and enabling information systems that support management of an organization's assets, both physical (such as buildings, equipment, infrastructure etc.)

• Physical asset management: the practice of managing the whole life cycle (design, construction, commissioning, operating, maintaining, repairing, modifying, replacing and decommissioning/disposal) of physical and infrastructure assets such as structures, production and service plant, power, water and waste treatment facilities, distribution networks, transport systems, buildings and other physical assets. Infrastructure asset management expands on this theme in relation primarily to public sector, utilities, property and transport systems.
• Fixed assets management: an accounting process that seeks to track fixed assets for the purposes of financial accounting.
• IT asset management: the set of business practices that join financial, contractual and inventory functions to support life cycle management and strategic decision making for the IT environment. This is also one of the processes defined within IT service management.
• Digital asset management: a form of electronic media content management that includes digital assets.

Public Asset Management or Corporate Asset Management (CAM)[link]

Public Asset Management ( referred to also as Corporate Asset Management) expands the definition of Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) by incorporating the management of all things which are of value to a municipal jurisdiction and its citizens' expectations.

An EAM requires an asset registry (inventory of assets and their attributes) combined with a Computerized Maintenance Management System. All public assets are interconnected and share proximity, and this connectivity is possible through the use of GIS.

GIS-centric public asset management standardizes data and allows interoperability, providing users the capability to reuse, coordinate, and share information in an efficient and effective manner by making the GIS geo-database the asset registry. A GIS-centric public asset management which standardizes data and allows interoperability, providing users the capability to reuse, coordinate, and share information in an efficient and effective manner.

In the United States the defacto GIS standard is the Esri GIS for utilities and municipalities. An Esri GIS platform combined with the overall public asset management umbrella of both physical “hard” assets and “soft” assets helps remove the traditional silos of structured municipal functions. While the hard assets are the typical physical assets or infrastructure assets, the soft assets of a municipality includes permits, license, code enforcement, right-of-ways and other land-focused work activities.

This definition of “public asset management” was coined and defined by Brian L. Haslam, President and CEO of a leading international GIS-centric Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) company which software is certified by the National Association of GIS-Centric Solutions (NAGCS). GIS-centric public asset management is a system design approach for managing public assets that leverages the investment local governments continue to make in GIS and provides a common framework for sharing useful data from disparate systems. Permits, licenses, code enforcement, right-of-way, and other land-focused work activities are examples of land-focused public assets managed by local government. These public assets occupy location just as in-the-ground or above-ground public assets do.

Land-use development and planning is another area which is interconnected to other local government assets and work activities. Public Asset Management is the term that encompasses this subset of land-focused asset management, considering the importance that public assets affect other public assets and work activities and are important sources of revenue and are various points of citizen interaction.

See also [link]

• American Water Works Association (AWWA)
• National Association of GIS-Centric Solutions (NAGCS)

References[link]

• Baird, G. "Defining Public Asset Management for Municipal Water Utilities". Journal American Water Works Association May 2011, 103:5:30, wwww.awwa.org
• ESRI (pending publication) GIS-Centric Public Asset Management, 2011 by Brian L. Haslam

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Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a ballroom dancer specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, a dance contest in which a professional ballroom dancer is partnered with a celebrity amateur dancer. He has also judged three seasons of New Zealand's own Dancing with the Stars.

Early life and career[link]

Cole was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has danced since he was six, and came to the United Kingdom when he was nineteen. Before he danced professionally he worked as a builder.

He danced with Camilla Dallerup, a fellow contestant on the BBC's earlier long-running show Come Dancing, as amateurs from 1996, and from 2002-2004 as professionals. They competed for New Zealand: Camilla Dallerup is Danish-born. In 2003 Dallerup and Cole were placed 3rd for Latin American at the UK Closed Championships. During the professional group dances on Strictly Come Dancing, Brendan danced with Karen Hardy for series 3 to 5 then with fellow New Zealander, Hayley Holt, for series 6. His celebrity partner for series six was Lisa Snowdon, with whom he reached the final to be placed third.

In the winter of 2004 Brendan had his first acting experience featuring in the UK feature film Everything To Dance For alongside Sasha Jackson, Travis Oliver and Sally Reeve.

In summer 2006, he joined ITV's Love Island and became the runner-up when the show ended on August 28, 2006. Also on that year, he appeared as guest judge on fourth episode of Britain's Next Top Model, Cycle 2 where he worked with the remaining 10 contestants to teach ballroom dancing prior to judging.

In January 2007, Cole appeared on the BBC's duet show Just the Two of Us as a celebrity, with Beverley Knight as his professional partner. They came second.

Cole has appeared on all eight series to date of Strictly Come Dancing. Particularly in the third and fourth series, he has often clashed with the judges over their scoring and comments on his performances. He has on occasion deliberately broken the rules by incorporating illegal lifts into his choreography, and as a result has often been dubbed the "bad boy of Strictly".

Brendan represented the United Kingdom at the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. His dance partner was Camilla Dallerup. The couple were highly praised by British judges yet only managed to finish fifteenth out of the sixteen entrants.

In October 2009 Cole appeared on the New Zealand travel show Intrepid Journeys. During a hunting lesson filmed in Vanuatu he was shown killing an eating a chicken, prompting international news coverage.^[1]

In 2010 he was a celebrity guest team captain on What Do Kids Know? along with Rufus Hound, Joe Swash and Sara Cox on Watch.

Personal life[link]

Before becoming a professional dancer Cole was a builder and roof layer, having left school at 17. Before he danced with Natasha Kaplinsky, in the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, Camilla and Brendan were engaged, but she broke it off, claiming, "I'd been with Brendan almost every day, all the time, for more than eight years and then he changed overnight. I think he was starstruck ... everything changed because of her (Natasha Kaplinsky)."^{[citation needed]}

Brendan's previous relationships have included Shelly Ross, Abi Titmuss, Lady Victoria Hervey, Martine McCutcheon, Adele Silva and Emma Gray.^{[citation needed]}

He is now married to Zoe Hobbs, a British model. ^[2]

Televised competitions[link]

• First place in the first season of Strictly Come Dancing partnered with newsreader, Natasha Kaplinsky.
• Sixth place in the second season of Strictly Come Dancing with Casualty star, Sarah Manners.
• Ninth place in the third series of Strictly Come Dancing with GMTV's Fiona Phillips.
• Sixth place in the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing with actress, Claire King.
• Withdrew from the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing with model, Kelly Brook. Kelly's father had died during the week. Kelly had said she would carry on dancing in memory of him, but it was later revealed, she found it too hard to continue.
• Third place in the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing with celebrity partner, Lisa Snowdon, a supermodel and television presenter.
• His partner for Strictly Come Dancing Series 7 was estranged wife of Ronnie Wood, Jo Wood. Brendan & Jo were eliminated in Week 6 for their Samba placing them 11th overall.
• For Strictly Come Dancing Series 8, Brendan was partnered with American Broadway-actress singer Michelle Williams.
• His partner for Strictly Come Dancing series 9 was 1960's singer and icon, Lulu.

During his time on Strictly Come Dancing Brendan has performed professional dances with

• Camilla Dallerup for Series 1.
• Nicole Cutler for Series 2.
• Karen Hardy for Series 3-5.
• Hayley Holt for Series 6.
• Katya Virshilas for Series 7.
• Natalie Lowe for Series 8-present.

Charity work[link]

Brendan has supported several charity functions including children's anti-bullying campaigning group Act Against Bullying.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BBC website for Strictly Come Dancing
• Brendan's website
• Brendan Cole at the Silverstone Classic 2010

Robert E "Bob" Losure (born June 28, 1942) was a weekend anchor on CNN Headline News from 1986-1997. Before that, he worked as co-anchor of the evening news at KOTV, the CBS affiliate in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Earlier on, he was one of the "20/20 News" anchors during the "Big 8" years at CKLW radio in Windsor / Detroit. He was also a reporter for CNN Newsource, a service supplying news reports to local television stations, a field in which he had begun his career. After leaving CNN, he wrote a biography, Five Seconds to Air and made promotional speeches. He has appeared in the "Magic Jack" infomercial and in a commercial promoting the conservative NewsMax magazine as well as in corporate videos. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

External links[link]

• BobLosure.com
• Photos of Bob Losure at Headline News
• Video clips of Bob Losure on Headline News

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Eoin Murray

BTCC record
Nationality	Ireland
Teams	Quest Racing
Drivers championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Debut season	2006
First win	-
Best championship position	18th (2006)
Final season (2007) position	18th (9 points)

Eoin Murray is an Irish auto racing driver, born 9 December 1982. After winning the European Alfa Romeo 147 Challenge in 2005, he made his BTCC debut in the middle of 2006.

Early years[link]

Murray had a successful career in karts, culminating in victory in the Formula A championship of 1999. He dabbled in rallycross that winter, winning 6 races. In 2000 he raced Fiats and Ford Fiestas in one-make championship, doing well enough to be nominated for the Young Irish Racing Driver of the Year award. In 2001 he did the full Fiesta UK Championship winning the Newcomers Cup and collecting 2 Pole Positions, 2 Fastest Laps & 8 Podium finishes. He crowned that achievement by winning the Jimmy Millard Trophy. He switched to Clio’s for 2002 competing in the Elf Renaultsport UK Clio Cup where he scored 2 podium finishes and took 7th overall in the championship which was no mean achievement in his rookie year. Eoin stuck with the Clio’s for 2003 and had 4 race wins, 4 second places, & 2 third places and came third overall in the Elf Clio UK Championship. During this time he continued to compete in British & Irish Rallycross in the Stockhatch class, in a self run Peugeot 205 GTI, where he enjoyed considerable success and took several race wins and podium finishes. He was awarded the Dunlop/ Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the year for 2003. This accolade together with a substantial boost to his budget from Motorsport Ireland and the Irish Sports Council launched his move to Europe where he competed in the European Alfa Romeo Challenge.

European Alfa Challenge[link]

For 2004 he switched to racing in mainland Europe, in the Alfa Romeo 147 challenge. He lacked circuit knowledge in his rookie season, but still won 2 races to come 4th overall. In 2005 he converted all this into a title winning season. He only won one race, but took 4 pole positions, 9 podiums and 4 lap records. However his efforts did not go unnoticed in Ireland where he again won the Dunlop/Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the year for the second time. Eoin competed in the European Alfa Romeo Challenge again in 2005 and started as one of the favourites. Eoin did not disappoint and won the championship in Valencia along with 9 podium finishes, 5 fastest laps, 4 pole positions and 3 lap records. And in the process winning a 05 spec Alfa 156 S2000 worth 200,000 euro, the biggest prize an Irish driver has ever won. He also won the 05 Rallycross Stockhatch Championship and these achievements won him the accolade as Ireland international driver of the year.

BTCC[link]

This earned him a factory-prepared WTCC-spec Alfa 156, although not the funding or team to run it. He contacted Quest Racing, which was essentially the GA team minus its former boss Gary Ayles and they sought funding. This arrived in time for round 5 at Croft, just days after team boss Ian Blackman died in a motorcycle accident. Despite the weight penalty for mid-season entrants in their first round, he finished 10th in race one to score his first championship point. At Donington Park he was more competitive, running 6th in race one until contact, before finishing 6th in race 2, and running third in race 3 before going off in slippery conditions.

Murray continued to drive his Quest Racing Alfa in the BTCC in 2007. He qualified 12th at round one, but an engine failure prevented them taking part in the races. After a 9th-place finish in race one at Thruxton, he had an engine failure in race 2, leaving the team unable to start round 3 [1]. The misfortune continued at Brands Hatch meeting 2 in October, when he was one of 11 drivers involved in a shunt triggered by Mat Jackson. The car was not fully repairable and a lack of parts causes him to miss the next round at Knockhill [2]. The team did not continue for 2008, leaving Murray without a drive, although he participated in the SEAT León Eurocup, finishing third in the standings.

Seat Leon Eurocup[link]

In 2008 Eoin was reunited with the Italian team PRS Group in which he won the 2005 European Alfa Challenge with. Although it was a rookie year for Eoin and his team with the Seat Leon Supercopa they enjoyed a very successful year fighting for overall championship victory until the final round at Monza. Eoin finished 3rd in the standings and won races at Valencia and Brands Hatch.

Seat Leon Supercopa[link]

In 2009 Eoin signed with Oasis Motorsport to compete in the Spanish Seat series with the opportunity of winning considerable prize money. Although Eoin fought for the championship up until the final race, a collision in the final race in Barcelona resulted in him finishing 4th.

External links[link]

• Official site
• Profile from btcc.net