#!/usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/perl
# cpanel - scripts/quotacheck Copyright 2022 cPanel, L.L.C.
# All rights reserved.
# copyright@cpanel.net http://cpanel.net
# This code is subject to the cPanel license. Unauthorized copying is prohibited
package scripts::quotacheck;
use strict;
use warnings;
use Cpanel::Config::LoadCpConf ();
use Cpanel::Debug ();
use Cpanel::AccessIds::ReducedPrivileges ();
exit main(@ARGV) unless caller;
my $debug;
my $cpconf_ref;
my $force_disk_emails = 0; # devel aid, MUST be 0 for production
sub main {
my (@args) = @_;
$debug = @args && grep( /debug/, @args ) ? 1 : 0;
$cpconf_ref = Cpanel::Config::LoadCpConf::loadcpconf_not_copy();
if ( exists $cpconf_ref->{'skipdiskcheck'} && $cpconf_ref->{'skipdiskcheck'} eq '1' && exists $cpconf_ref->{'skipboxcheck'} && $cpconf_ref->{'skipboxcheck'} eq '1' ) {
Cpanel::Debug::log_info('Quota checks and notifications disabled for mail accounts and disk usage per Tweak Settings.');
return 0;
}
require Cpanel::IONice;
if ( Cpanel::IONice::ionice( 'best-effort', exists $cpconf_ref->{'ionice_quotacheck'} ? $cpconf_ref->{'ionice_quotacheck'} : 6 ) ) {
print "[quotacheck] Setting I/O priority to reduce system load: " . Cpanel::IONice::get_ionice() . "\n";
}
require Cpanel::OSSys;
Cpanel::OSSys::nice(10);
require Cpanel::Hostname;
require Cpanel::ContactInfo;
require Cpanel::Config::LoadUserDomains;
require Cpanel::Email::DiskUsage;
require Cpanel::Config::LoadCpUserFile;
require Cpanel::Config::HasCpUserFile;
require Cpanel::Config::LoadConfig;
require Cpanel::Config::FlushConfig;
require Cpanel::PwCache::Helpers;
require Cpanel::PwCache::Build;
Cpanel::PwCache::Helpers::no_uid_cache(); #uid cache only needed if we are going to make lots of getpwuid calls
Cpanel::PwCache::Build::init_passwdless_pwcache();
require Cpanel::Unix::PID::Tiny;
my $pidfile = '/var/run/quotacheck.pid';
my $upid = Cpanel::Unix::PID::Tiny->new();
if ( !$upid->pid_file($pidfile) ) {
my $pid = $upid->get_pid_from_pidfile($pidfile);
print "Another instance of quotacheck appears to be running at PID '$pid'.\n";
return 0;
}
my $quotawarnedfile = '/var/cpanel/quotawarned';
my $hostname = Cpanel::Hostname::gethostname();
my %ALL_ACCOUNTS;
my %TRUE_USER_DOMAINS;
Cpanel::Config::LoadUserDomains::loadtrueuserdomains( \%TRUE_USER_DOMAINS, 1 );
my $do_disk_check = ( !exists $cpconf_ref->{'skipdiskcheck'} || $cpconf_ref->{'skipdiskcheck'} ne '1' ) ? 1 : 0;
my ( $user_info, %CPD ) = load_user_info( \%TRUE_USER_DOMAINS );
my ( $warned_ref, $rCONTACT_INFO, $rUSED, $rLIMIT, $quota_version, $inodes_used, $inodes_limit );
require Cpanel::SysQuota;
$TRUE_USER_DOMAINS{'root'} = '(system)'; # required because we check root for notification fallback
$user_info->{'root'}{'cpuser'} = { 'DOMAINS' => [] };
( $rUSED, $rLIMIT, $quota_version, $inodes_used, $inodes_limit ) = Cpanel::SysQuota::analyzerepquotadata();
print "Fetching contact info...." if $debug;
$rCONTACT_INFO = Cpanel::ContactInfo::fetch_contactinfo( \%TRUE_USER_DOMAINS, \%CPD, 1, 1 );
print "Done\n" if $debug;
$warned_ref = Cpanel::Config::LoadConfig::loadConfig( $quotawarnedfile, -1, ':' );
delete $warned_ref->{''}; # remove empty entries
foreach my $user ( sort keys %TRUE_USER_DOMAINS ) {
print "Checking user $user\n" if $debug;
my $domain = $TRUE_USER_DOMAINS{$user};
my $homedir = $user_info->{$user}{'homedir'};
my $cpuser = $user_info->{$user}{'cpuser'};
{
no warnings 'once';
$Cpanel::homedir = $homedir; #for email disk usage
}
my @warned_email_users;
Cpanel::Debug::log_warn("contact info could not be loaded for: $user") if ( !exists $rCONTACT_INFO->{$user} );
my $should_notify_this_user_about_mailbox_quota = should_notify_user( $rCONTACT_INFO->{$user} );
#
# Here we check to see if each mailbox is approching its disk space limits
#
foreach my $domain ( exists $user_info->{$user}{'domains'} ? @{ $user_info->{$user}{'domains'} } : () ) {
print "\tDomain: $domain\n" if $debug;
next if ( !$homedir || !$domain || !-e "$homedir/etc/$domain/quota" || -z _ );
if ( -B _ ) { # binary file check
Cpanel::Debug::log_warn("WARNING $homedir/etc/$domain/quota is a binary file. Expected standard mail quota format.");
next;
}
print "\t\thas quota file\n" if $debug;
process_domain(
user => $user,
domain => $domain,
homedir => $homedir,
cpuser => $cpuser,
should_notify_user => $should_notify_this_user_about_mailbox_quota,
warned_email_users => \@warned_email_users,
warned_ref => $warned_ref,
ALL_ACCOUNTS => \%ALL_ACCOUNTS,
);
}
#
# Email the main account for each user if they have email users who are near or reaching quota
#
if (@warned_email_users) {
dispatchmessagetomainacct( $user, [ sort @warned_email_users ] );
}
#
# Here we check to see if they are approching their disk space limits
#
if ($do_disk_check) {
process_disk_check(
user => $user,
domain => $domain,
homedir => $homedir,
cpuser => $cpuser,
warned_ref => $warned_ref,
inodes_used => $inodes_used,
inodes_limit => $inodes_limit,
rCONTACT_INFO => $rCONTACT_INFO,
rLIMIT => $rLIMIT,
rUSED => $rUSED,
ALL_ACCOUNTS => \%ALL_ACCOUNTS,
);
}
}
delete @{$warned_ref}{ grep { !exists $ALL_ACCOUNTS{$_} } keys %{$warned_ref} }; # remove accounts that no longer exist or are not being check
Cpanel::Config::FlushConfig::flushConfig( $quotawarnedfile, $warned_ref, ':' );
return 0;
}
# End of main routine.
sub load_user_info {
my ($TRUE_USER_DOMAINS) = @_;
print "Loading user info...." if $debug;
my $pwcache_ref = Cpanel::PwCache::Build::fetch_pwcache();
my $user_info = {
map {
my $cpuser = Cpanel::Config::LoadCpUserFile::loadcpuserfile( $_->[0] );
(
$cpuser
? (
$_->[0] => {
homedir => $_->[7],
cpuser => $cpuser,
domains => [
$cpuser->{'DOMAIN'},
(
ref $cpuser->{'DOMAINS'} eq 'ARRAY'
? @{ $cpuser->{'DOMAINS'} }
: ()
)
]
}
)
: ()
)
} grep { exists $TRUE_USER_DOMAINS->{ $_->[0] } && Cpanel::Config::HasCpUserFile::has_cpuser_file( $_->[0] ) } @$pwcache_ref
};
my %CPD = ( map { $_ => $user_info->{$_}{'cpuser'} } keys %$user_info );
print "Done\n" if $debug;
return ( $user_info, %CPD );
}
sub should_notify_user {
my ($user_contact) = @_;
# Tweak Setting skipboxcheck disables all mail box quota warnings. The cPanel
# user setting 'notify_email_quota_limit' is set on a per user basis and on
# unless specifically disabled
return ( ( exists $cpconf_ref->{'skipboxcheck'} && $cpconf_ref->{'skipboxcheck'} ne '1' ) && ( !exists $user_contact->{'notify_email_quota_limit'} || $user_contact->{'notify_email_quota_limit'} ne '0' ) ) ? 1 : 0;
}
sub is_at_threshold {
my ( $percent, $check_type, $type ) = @_;
my $var = "emailusers_${check_type}_${type}_percent";
return 0 unless $cpconf_ref->{$var}; # unless defined and non-zero
return $percent >= $cpconf_ref->{$var};
}
sub _int {
my ($val) = @_;
return defined $val && $val ? int $val : 0;
}
sub process_disk_check {
my (%args) = @_;
my ( $user, $domain, $homedir, $cpuser, $warned_ref, $inodes_used, $inodes_limit, $rCONTACT_INFO, $rLIMIT, $rUSED, $ALL_ACCOUNTS ) = @args{qw/user domain homedir cpuser warned_ref inodes_used inodes_limit rCONTACT_INFO rLIMIT rUSED ALL_ACCOUNTS/};
my $owner = $cpuser->{'OWNER'};
my $used = _int( $rUSED->{$user} );
my $limit = _int( $rLIMIT->{$user} );
my $user_inodes_used = _int( $inodes_used->{$user} );
my $user_inodes_limit = _int( $inodes_limit->{$user} );
my $mpercent = $limit ? sprintf( "%.2f", ( ( $used / $limit ) * 100 ) ) : 0;
my $inodes_mpercent = $user_inodes_limit ? sprintf( "%.2f", ( ( $user_inodes_used / $user_inodes_limit ) * 100 ) ) : 0;
$ALL_ACCOUNTS->{$user} = undef;
print "\tDisk Info for $user: BLOCKS USED: $used BLOCKS LIMIT: $limit ($mpercent\%) INODES USED: $user_inodes_used INODES LIMIT: $user_inodes_limit ($inodes_mpercent\%)\n\n" if $debug;
require Cpanel::Hooks;
my $has_hook = Cpanel::Hooks::hooks_exist_for_category('DiskQuota') || Cpanel::Debug::debug_hooks_value();
my $did_warning = 0;
foreach my $type (qw{full critical warn}) {
if ( $force_disk_emails
|| is_at_threshold( $mpercent, 'diskusage', $type )
|| is_at_threshold( $inodes_mpercent, 'diskusage', $type ) ) {
if ($has_hook) {
my ( $result, $message ) = Cpanel::Hooks::hook(
{
'category' => 'DiskQuota',
'event' => $type,
'stage' => 'pre',
},
{
'details' => {
'cpuser' => $cpuser,
'contact_info' => $rCONTACT_INFO->{$user},
'inodes_used' => _int( $inodes_used->{$user} ),
'inodes_limit' => _int( $inodes_limit->{$user} ),
'blocks_limit' => _int( $rLIMIT->{$user} ),
'blocks_used' => _int( $rUSED->{$user} ),
}
},
);
Cpanel::Debug::log_info("DiskQuota hook failed during quotacheck for $cpuser: $message") if !$result && $message;
}
if ( $force_disk_emails || ( !exists $warned_ref->{$user} || $warned_ref->{$user} ne $type ) ) {
my $notify = $force_disk_emails || !defined $rCONTACT_INFO->{$owner}->{'notify_disk_limit'} || $rCONTACT_INFO->{$owner}->{'notify_disk_limit'} ne '0';
# The below block contacts the owner (reseller or root) of the account
# to let them know that the user is about to exceed their disk space
if ( $force_disk_emails || ( $cpconf_ref->{ 'emailusers_diskusage_' . $type . '_contact_admin' } ) ) {
if ( $force_disk_emails || $owner ne $user ) {
if ($notify) {
dispatchdisk( $owner, $type, $limit, $used, $mpercent, $user, $domain, $user_inodes_limit, $user_inodes_used, $inodes_mpercent );
}
}
else {
if ($notify) {
dispatchdisk( 'root', $type, $limit, $used, $mpercent, $user, $domain, $user_inodes_limit, $user_inodes_used, $inodes_mpercent );
}
}
}
if ($notify) {
dispatchdisk_user( $user, $type, $limit, $used, $mpercent, $domain, $user_inodes_limit, $user_inodes_used, $inodes_mpercent );
}
}
print "\t\tWarning: $type\n" if $debug;
$warned_ref->{$user} = $type;
$did_warning = 1;
last;
}
}
delete $warned_ref->{$user} if !$did_warning;
return;
}
sub process_domain {
my (%args) = @_;
my ( $user, $domain, $homedir, $should_notify, $ALL_ACCOUNTS ) = @args{qw/user domain homedir should_notify_user ALL_ACCOUNTS/};
my %domain_quota;
if ( open my $quota_fh, '<', "$homedir/etc/$domain/quota" ) {
my $buffer;
read( $quota_fh, $buffer, 4194304 ); #max 4meg
%domain_quota = (
map {
my $d = [ split( /:/, $_ ) ];
$d->[0] =~ s{/}{}g;
( $d->[0] && $d->[1] && $d->[0] !~ tr/\0// && $d->[1] !~ /unlimited/i )
? ( $d->[0], int $d->[1] )
: ()
} grep { /.+:.+/ } split( /\n/, $buffer )
);
close $quota_fh;
}
else {
Cpanel::Debug::log_warn("Unable to open $homedir/etc/$domain/quota: $!");
next;
}
foreach my $mailbox_user ( keys %domain_quota ) {
next if ( !$should_notify || !-e "$homedir/mail/$domain/$mailbox_user" );
my $quota = $domain_quota{$mailbox_user};
$ALL_ACCOUNTS->{ $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain } = undef;
process_mailbox_user(
%args,
mailbox_user => $mailbox_user,
quota => $quota,
);
}
return;
}
sub process_mailbox_user {
my (%args) = @_;
my ( $user, $mailbox_user, $domain, $cpuser, $homedir, $quota, $warned_email_users, $warned_ref ) = @args{qw/user mailbox_user domain cpuser homedir quota warned_email_users warned_ref/};
# Determine mail box size
# Run get_disk_used as the user
my ( $size, $percent, $error_during_get_disk_used );
Cpanel::AccessIds::ReducedPrivileges::call_as_user(
$user,
sub {
local $@;
eval {
$size = Cpanel::Email::DiskUsage::get_disk_used( $mailbox_user, $domain, $homedir ) || 0;
$percent = ( $quota == 0 ) ? 0 : sprintf( "%.2f", ( ( $size / $quota ) * 100 ) );
};
if ($@) {
$error_during_get_disk_used = $@;
warn;
}
print "\t\tMail User: $mailbox_user QUOTA: $quota SIZE: $size $percent%\n" if $debug;
}
);
next if $error_during_get_disk_used;
my $did_warning = 0;
foreach my $type ( 'full', 'critical', 'warn' ) {
if ( is_at_threshold( $percent, 'mailbox', $type ) ) {
if ( !exists $warned_ref->{ $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain }
|| $warned_ref->{ $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain } ne $type ) {
push @$warned_email_users, $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain;
if ( $type eq 'full' ) {
dispatchbox_mainacct( $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain, $user, $type, $quota, $size, $percent, $cpuser->{'RS'}, $domain );
}
else {
dispatchbox( $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain, $user, $type, $quota, $size, $percent );
}
}
print "\t\t\tWarning: $type\n" if $debug;
$warned_ref->{ $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain } = $type;
$did_warning = 1;
last;
}
}
delete $warned_ref->{ $mailbox_user . '@' . $domain } if !$did_warning;
return;
}
#
# To test this code:
# 1.) Create a user ‘notifyme’ with domain ‘notifyme.tld’
# 2.) log into cPanel as notifyme and set the contact email for notifyme to something other than your root user’s contact address (I created another user and set that user’s email address as notifyme’s address).
# 3.) Uncomment the following lines, one by one, to /scripts/quotacheck at line 274. After adding each line run /scripts/quotacheck then remove the line and add the next
#
#dispatchdisk( 'notifyme', 'critical', 1024, .9*1024, 90, 'notifyme', 'notifyme.tld' );
#dispatchdisk( 'root', 'critical', 1024, .9*1024, 90, 'notifyme', 'notifyme.tld' );
#dispatchdisk_user( 'notifyme', 'critical', 1024, .9*1024, 90, 'notifyme.tld' );
#dispatchmessagetomainacct( 'notifyme', [ 'any@email.tld', 'all@emails.tld', 'moar@emails.tld' ] );
#dispatchbox( 'other@notifyme.tld', 'notifyme', 'critical', 1024*2, .9*1024*2, 90 );
#dispatchbox_mainacct( 'other@notifyme.tld', 'notifyme', 'critical', 1024*2, .9*1024*2, 90, 'x3', 'notifyme.tld' );
#
#
sub dispatchbox_mainacct { ##no critic qw( RequireArgUnpacking )
return if $debug;
my ( $box, $icontact_user, $status, $limit, $used, $percentused, $theme, $domain ) = @_;
$box =~ s/\n//g;
require Cpanel::Encoder::URI;
require Cpanel::iContact::Class::Quota::MailboxWarning;
my $mailbox_user = ( split( /\@/, $box ) )[0];
require Cpanel::Notify::Deferred;
Cpanel::Notify::Deferred::notify(
'class' => 'Quota::MailboxWarning',
'application' => 'Quota::MailboxWarning',
'constructor_args' => [
'to' => $icontact_user,
'box' => $box,
'diskused' => $used,
'disklimit' => $limit,
'status' => $status,
'adjusturl' => 'https://mail.' . $domain . ':2083/frontend/' . $theme . '/mail/editquota.html?email=' . Cpanel::Encoder::URI::uri_encode_str($mailbox_user) . '&domain=' . Cpanel::Encoder::URI::uri_encode_str($domain) . '&redirectdomain=' . Cpanel::Encoder::URI::uri_encode_str($domain),
'percentused' => $percentused,
'username' => $icontact_user,
'notification_targets_user_account' => 1,
]
);
print "MailBox ($box) [$status]\n";
return;
}
sub dispatchbox { ##no critic qw( RequireArgUnpacking )
return if $debug;
my ( $box, $icontact_user, $status, $limit, $used, $percentused ) = @_;
$box =~ s/\n//g;
require Cpanel::iContact::Class::Quota::MailboxWarning;
my %notifyopts = (
'box' => $box,
'diskused' => $used,
'disklimit' => $limit,
'status' => $status,
'percentused' => $percentused,
);
require Cpanel::Notify::Deferred;
Cpanel::Notify::Deferred::notify(
'class' => 'Quota::MailboxWarning',
'application' => 'Quota::MailboxWarning',
'constructor_args' => [
%notifyopts,
'to' => $icontact_user,
'username' => $icontact_user,
'notification_targets_user_account' => 1,
]
);
Cpanel::Notify::Deferred::notify(
'class' => 'Quota::MailboxWarning',
'application' => 'Quota::MailboxWarning',
'constructor_args' => [
%notifyopts,
'to' => $box,
'username' => $icontact_user,
'notification_targets_user_account' => 1,
]
);
print "MailBox ($box) [$status]\n";
return;
}
sub dispatchmessagetomainacct { ##no critic qw( RequireArgUnpacking )
return if $debug;
my ( $icontact_user, $user_list_ar ) = @_;
require Cpanel::iContact::Class::Quota::List;
require Cpanel::Notify::Deferred;
Cpanel::Notify::Deferred::notify(
'class' => 'Quota::List',
'application' => 'Quota::List',
'constructor_args' => [
'to' => $icontact_user,
'username' => $icontact_user,
'user' => $icontact_user,
'mail_account_list' => $user_list_ar,
'notification_targets_user_account' => 1,
]
);
return;
}
sub dispatchdisk_user { ##no critic qw( RequireArgUnpacking )
return if $debug;
my ( $icontact_user, $status, $limit, $used, $percentused, $domain, $user_inodes_limit, $user_inodes_used, $inodes_mpercent ) = @_;
require Cpanel::iContact::Class::Quota::DiskWarning;
require Cpanel::Notify::Deferred;
Cpanel::Notify::Deferred::notify(
'class' => 'Quota::DiskWarning',
'application' => 'Quota::DiskWarning',
'constructor_args' => [
'to' => $icontact_user,
'username' => $icontact_user,
'user' => $icontact_user,
'user_domain' => $domain,
'status' => $status,
'diskused' => sprintf( "%.2f", $used / 1024 ),
'disklimit' => sprintf( "%.2f", $limit / 1024 ),
'inodesused' => $user_inodes_used,
'inodeslimit' => $user_inodes_limit,
'inodespercentused' => $inodes_mpercent,
'percentused' => $percentused,
'sent_to_owner' => 0,
'notification_targets_user_account' => 1,
]
);
return;
}
sub dispatchdisk { ##no critic qw( RequireArgUnpacking )
return if $debug;
my ( $icontact_user, $status, $limit, $used, $percentused, $user, $domain, $user_inodes_limit, $user_inodes_used, $inodes_mpercent ) = @_;
require Cpanel::iContact::Class::Quota::DiskWarning;
require Cpanel::Notify::Deferred;
Cpanel::Notify::Deferred::notify(
'class' => 'Quota::DiskWarning',
'application' => 'Quota::DiskWarning',
'constructor_args' => [
$icontact_user eq 'root' ? () : ( 'to' => $icontact_user, 'username' => $icontact_user ),
'user' => $user,
'user_domain' => $domain,
'status' => $status,
'diskused' => sprintf( "%.2f", $used / 1024 ),
'disklimit' => sprintf( "%.2f", $limit / 1024 ),
'percentused' => $percentused,
'inodesused' => $user_inodes_used,
'inodeslimit' => $user_inodes_limit,
'inodespercentused' => $inodes_mpercent,
'sent_to_owner' => 1,
]
);
return;
}
Rosenblum TV: Video training, virtual workshops, classes, tutorials
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Creating entirely new & cost-effective production methods
From the world leaders in video production training and the creators of Character Driven Storytelling™
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WHAT WE DO
Over the past 35 years, we have designed, built or restructured some of the most powerful news and journalism companies in the world.
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No more TV news ‘crews’, no editors and no field producers.
This is television news done the way newspaper journalism is done – one reporter with their electronic pad and pencil.
In doing this, we can cut the cost of production by as much as 75% while increasing ratings and audience engagement.
In the place of conventional TV news ‘packages’ – ie, reporter stand up, interview, b-roll, man on the street, we marry great journalism with Netflix and Hollywood storytelling.
It’s a combination that works.
We have taken most of our clients to #1 in their respective markets.
And it’s not just for news. Any company, any profit, any NGO and anyone else who is online needs to tell their story in compelling yet cost-effective video. We can teach you to do that. Either in person or virtually.
EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE CAN TEACH YOUR STAFF TO PRODUCE
ITAY HOD
Itay Hod, MMJ with KPIX/CBS in San Francisco, took the 5-Day Intensive Video Storytelling Bootcamp in 2018.
Because he works alone, with only an iPhone, he was able to embed himself with a homeless family.
Here’s the story he produced in a one-day turn.
KIET DO
Kiet Do, an MMJ with KPIX/CBS in San Francisco, took the 5-Day Intensive Video Storytelling Bootcamp in 2021.
Here is a story he produced, all on his own, with only an iPhone and in a one-day turn.
TAYLOR SCHAUB
Taylor Schaub, an MMJ with Spectrum News 1 in LA, took the 5-Day Intensive Video Storytelling Bootcamp in 2023.
Here is a story he turned in only one day, using only an iPhone. It was the first video story he ever did and it was nominated for an Emmy.
THE BOOTCAMP
How do we convert stations and whole networks to working in this way?
Since 1988, we have run intensive 5-Day Video Storytelling Bootcamps
We have done these all over the world.
These are hands-on bootcamps, and participants learn an entirely new way of creating TV news stories.
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-We go directly from camera to timelilne and edit – no written scripts. We work in the medium of pictures and sound.
-We are entirely character-driven.
-We are driven by pictures and real events.
-We are focused almost entirely on ’the viewer experience’.
Since 1988, more than 70,000 journalists around the world have taken our bootcamps, either in person on virtualy.
We have started to work with CBS News, bringing our ideas of character-driven storytelling to one of the most successful and biggest networks in the United States. Since beginning to work with them ratings have climbed and more importantly, audience engagement is through the ceiling.
We started New York Times Television in 1990 and it was the first paper to be brought into the world of TV. It quickly became one of the most successful non-fiction production companies in the United States. The series and documentaries we produced won many awards including multiple Emmys.
We have been working with the BBC since the year 2000 helping to convert their national news network to our visual storytelling technique. Most recently we have trained teams from their sports, documentaries, and comedy divisions to make character-driven stories using only smartphones.
For the past five years we have worked with Spectrum News to introduce and train their journalists on visual, character driven storytelling using smartphones helping to create a different kind of local news for their network of 24-Hour News Stations across the United States.
In 2006, we were approached by the United Nations. Rather than rely on news outlets, it would be much easier to train the field operatives to produce their own stories. We spent two years working with the UN, training more than 100 of their staff in bootcamps in Geneva and Nairobi.
We trained 50 print reporters at the paper to shoot and tell their own stories, in conjunction with their print work. We built a TV newsroom in their existing print newsroom – you could not ask for a better set and they began to live stream their stories in conjunction with their print work.
We spent two years with McGraw Hill, training more than 150 of their staffers, making them completely video literate. McGraw/Hill media properties we transit included Business Week, Aviation Week, (what was the name of the architecture magazine), and JD Power and Associates.
In 1990, we were approached by The Voice of America, the official broadcasting agency for the United States Government. When we met with VOA, they were only a short wave radio broadcaster, but working with them, we took them into television, launching VOA-TV.
British based Oyster Yachts makes some of the finest yachts in the world. Like every other company, they had to find a way to feed the never-ending video demands of social media – sites like Instagram and TikTok. We trained the Oyster staff to tell their own stories, using only iPhones.
We were approached by SEPA, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency because they had to continually find a way to ‘feed the media beast’. The result was that SEPA was able to tell their own stories, whenever they wanted, and at almost no additional cost.
Michael Rosenblum has been writing about the media since 1988. His work and ideas have appeared in The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Ilkeston Life and many other publications.
He has been blogging regularly for the past 35 years on this subject. Having taught media studies at Columbia University, NYU and now the University of Oxford, he is considered an expert on this subject.
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