Siddiqi Selected as WIU 2015 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer; Lecture Set for April 8 at WIU-QC

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL - The Western Illinois University 2015 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi, will present "Digitization and the Future of Media. In What Form Will Newspapers Survive?" at  3 p.m. Wednesday, April 8 at the Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Riverfront Hall, room 103-104 (Moline).

In this lecture, Siddiqi, professor of journalism and public relations in the WIU Department of English and Journalism, will share the results of his studies on the impact of digitization on media content, readership and formats.

"Websites, blogging and various social media platforms are taking over the roles played by the traditional media," Siddiqi explained. "More people now receive their news, as well as entertainment, from YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Advertising revenue for traditional media is shrinking and the 'shape' of newspapers is changing," he said.

In his lecture, Siddiqi will emphasize the need for revising the journalism curriculum and teaching students about the new technologies, social media journalism and multimedia skills.

"The traditional newspaper audience exists far beyond those who buy print copies, and newspapers still serve an important function in our society," he added.

Siddiqi also said that technological developments, even unforeseen ones, are going to challenge newspapers to be more innovative in providing the in-depth news and views to their audiences. 

Siddiqi joined Western's faculty in 1987. In 2006, he became the director of Western's journalism program and served as chair for the English and journalism department (2009-10). 

During his time at WIU, Siddiqi has garnered several awards and honors, including: the President's Award of Excellence in Diversity (2013); the College of Arts and Sciences' Outstanding Service Award (2013); an award for Excellence in Multicultural Teaching (2011); and the President's Faculty Excellence Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work (1992). 

In 2014, Siddiqi was inducted into the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Hall of Fame at Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA) for his service to humanity and his spiritual guidance and mentorship. He has also served as the president of the Islamic Center of Macomb for more than two decades.

Siddiqi has published three books, numerous book chapters and more than one dozen articles in refereed journals. He serves on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research (U.K.); Journal of Media Studies (Pakistan); and Journal of the Global Communication Research Association. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America; a lifelong member, and executive committee member, of the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR); a member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (CPWR); and a member of, as well as the treasurer for, the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations (WCMIR). 

Siddiqi has lectured and conducted media workshops, delivered keynote addresses and presented papers in national and international conferences and conventions of professional associations of journalism and public relations. He has travelled to many countries, including most European countries, most nations in the Middle East, almost all of the countries in Asia and about half dozen countries in Africa. 

Siddiqi received his bachelor's degree (1970) and master's degree (1973), both in physics, from the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. He earned a master's degree in mass communication from University of Illinois-Chicago (1984) and his doctorate in international communication from Temple University (1987).

Bettendorf, IA -National dental IT company Medix Dental (headquartered in Bettendorf) unveiled a new video this week shot in Davenport's famed and historic Figge Art Musem. The creative video short features Quad City residents Chris Jess (age 35) and Brody Ford (age 11).  The video was recorded in the museum's Nobis Boardroom.

"The Figge Art Museum is a Midwest gem, so the decision to record at such a beautiful location was a no-brainer," says Medix Dental's Communication Director Laura Simmons. "I expect more and more businesses will take advantage of the state-of-the-art facility here in our own backyard, especially as video marketing continues to become a necessary marketing standard."

Highly acclaimed Josh Ford of Ford Photography (Davenport) shot and edited the playful video. "When thinking of locations for Medix Dental's video, it was difficult to envision it happening anywhere else," says Ford. "The architecture of the Figge Museum is so beautiful. My wife and I were married there, and we continue to appreciate the Figge's employee efforts and programs they continue to provide our hometown."

The video can be seen at www.medixdental.com, Medix Dental's Facebook page, or on Medix Dental's YouTube channel at youtube.com/medixtech.  See more of Josh Ford's work at www.ford-photo.com.

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By mid-2014, self-published authors began taking home the bulk of all ebook author earnings generated on Amazon.com, while authors published by all of the Big Five publishers - Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster - combined slipped into second place, according to the January 2015 Author Earnings Report .

While self- or indie-published authors closely follow the costly dispute between Amazon and Hachette over retail and wholesale ebook pricing, titles of all genres are faced with increasingly competitive markets, says publishing sales coach Kim Staflund.

"ISBNs - International Standard Book Numbers - continue to experience enormous growth with each successive year, and in the past decade we've seen a gold rush-style of exponential growth due to the self-publishing movement," says Staflund, founder and publisher at Polished Publishing Group (PPG), www.polishedpublishinggroup.com, which supports a business model in which authors take a proactive, entrepreneurial approach.

"To be a truly successful author who can sell enough books to earn a profit and possibly even become a bestseller, you must treat book publishing, sales and marketing as your own business. The same holds true whether you take today's supported self-publishing route or you go with a traditional trade publisher."

Staflund outlines some necessary points for making a book title a success.

• Writing to be read takes an entrepreneurial spirit. If you want to earn a profit or even become a bestseller, a writer must treat book publishing, sales and marketing as your own business. That's true whether you're taking the self-publishing route or you use a traditional trade publisher to produce your book. If you don't expect to invest time or money in getting the word out, or assume that your publisher is solely responsible for outreach, you'll likely be disappointed by the few books that you'll sell.

• An overview of what it means to be proactive. With so much competition today, you need to get in front of customers and communicate with them in a clear and consistent manner. You do this by virtue of book signings, readings, craft sales, art shows, media tours, social media campaigns, speaking engagements, book reviews and whatever else you can think of whenever and wherever you can. You "pound the pavement," as they say in the sales world.

"Another aspect of what it means to be proactive is to have a polished, professional presentation of your content," Staflund says. "This requires additional help including a professional editor, designer, and proofreader. You may also require an indexer, ghostwriter or publicist."

• Your book: a project deserving of communication and a plan. Inspiration for a great book idea is necessary but insufficient for a successful project; you also need a plan. Establishing a deadline is a good start. When can you reasonably have it done by, and how much time each week will you need to write to meet your deadline? You'll need to accept this commitment, and let close loved ones know about your goal. Family and friends will appreciate your aspiration, give you your time and space, and possibly even help with your project. Additional drafts will be necessary, but at some point you'll have to know when to say when. Also, the ability to handle constructive criticism from outside eyes is essential.

"Again, it's important to remember that writing is just one of many phases in the lifecycle of a book," Staflund says. "If you want your book to have a life outside of your own mind, you'll need to appreciate the aforementioned criteria."

About Kim Staflund

As the founder and publisher at Polished Publishing Group (PPG), www.polishedpublishinggroup.com, Kim Staflund works with businesses and individuals around the world to produce professional quality audiobooks, ebooks, paperbacks and hardcovers using a supported self-publishing business model. As a bestselling author and sales coach, she shows authors how to sell their books using all the effective traditional and online tricks of the trade. Staflund has a substantial sales and sales management history combined with over 20 years of book publishing experience within the traditional and new publishing markets.