Well this is my last required post of the year, and even though its about a year away...my subject is the 2008 elections.
I'm not really talking about the presidential voting itself, I’m more focused on how the media have covered the races and primaries and how the public is reacting. Whether is Democrats, Republicans, or a combination of the two, it seems like there is always a way for the media to make some kind of 1-on-1 matchups to size up and compare opponents.
One big matchup I’ve seen lately is Clinton vs. Obama. I suppose it makes sense since their the two Democratic frontrunners, but these two just always seem to be pitted against each other in the media no matter what they say or do. This link in particular compares the two candidates’ experience (or lack thereof) and attempts to find out which person has the better track record.
Another recent 1–on-1 media-enabled rivalry has been Giuliani vs. Romney. Now this one might be a little more founded in the media blitzes considering these guys really do have it out at some of these debates. Romney is leading the Republican polls for New Hampshire and Iowa, Guiliani is leading the national polls, and onlookers now get to see the two examined and pitted against one another almost exclusively on all media fronts. It might be good publicity for these two, but it may take a lot away from some other non-matched-up candidates like John McCain.
One site that I think best conveys my theory, but also does a decent job in correcting the error has been Real Clear Politics. They have a page on head-to-head stats that gives the polling percent for each presidential matchup, without making the battles seem like a war or words or a smear campaign. Of course they have the “big” names and battles at the top of the page, but they also make sure to include some of the lower-tier candidates and offer their polling stats as well.
All in all, it seems like even though we still have about a dozen of candidates to consider, many media outlets have already tried to make the primaries a 2 (wo)man race. This may prevent an underdog candidate from making any giant steps, but at least when the time comes to choose between two people, we’ll already be very VERY well-versed in the subject.
Well that’s all for this last post, and all for this blog. This has been Bryan Mercer from IC bringing you the best news on politics and journalism for 4 months, and who knows…maybe I’ll be back for some more updates in 2008. Til then, enjoy the winter, and maybe sling snowballs instead of mud for a change.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Poynter Pointers
Well. It's the last reading blog of the semester. I know I normally do the political post first and then the reading one, but this week the election entry will require a little bit more work, and just a bit more time. Anyway...
This week I read up on "The Big P" -or plagiarism- and checking up on sources and facts. An example of the plagiarism controversy in journalism was provided by the Poynter Institute, in which they described the actions or Mr. John Merrill. Merrill had been working for the Colombia Missourian, and allegedly "borrowed" uncredited quotes from an article in The Maneater, a student paper based out of the University of Missouri. While Merrill has argued time and time again that his use of public domain facts is legal and at worst a "unintentional technical error," the case was reviewed and his editor pulled his column after decades of employment. While it's sad to see such a decorated journalist be erased by one bad instance, it goes to show the rest of us the high standards of the writing industry that we are part of in some way, shape or form. As the Poynter article said, if the lessons on being ethical and sound are in our college journalism textbooks, we need to set the example for our colleagues and future journalists on the proper and respectful processes of news reporting and writing.
Another article I checked out was this: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=54350.
While it isn't much of an "article" I suppose, it does have a lot of good resources for digging up facts and checking the backgrounds of people and companies. Just another good tool to check up on information and making your story the best -and errorless- it can be.
Up next... The Final Post.
This week I read up on "The Big P" -or plagiarism- and checking up on sources and facts. An example of the plagiarism controversy in journalism was provided by the Poynter Institute, in which they described the actions or Mr. John Merrill. Merrill had been working for the Colombia Missourian, and allegedly "borrowed" uncredited quotes from an article in The Maneater, a student paper based out of the University of Missouri. While Merrill has argued time and time again that his use of public domain facts is legal and at worst a "unintentional technical error," the case was reviewed and his editor pulled his column after decades of employment. While it's sad to see such a decorated journalist be erased by one bad instance, it goes to show the rest of us the high standards of the writing industry that we are part of in some way, shape or form. As the Poynter article said, if the lessons on being ethical and sound are in our college journalism textbooks, we need to set the example for our colleagues and future journalists on the proper and respectful processes of news reporting and writing.
Another article I checked out was this: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=54350.
While it isn't much of an "article" I suppose, it does have a lot of good resources for digging up facts and checking the backgrounds of people and companies. Just another good tool to check up on information and making your story the best -and errorless- it can be.
Up next... The Final Post.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Readings...13?
I think thats how many we're up to. Well, this week's reading is fairly short...so maybe this post will be too. I read an article from the Poynter Institute's website on the development and implementation of Soundslides. Soundslides is a program developed by Joe Weiss as a simple yet effective way to make audio slideshows on your computer. Weiss said that both features and hard news stories could be told through these slideshows, and as long as timing and quality are used correctly, the finished project rivals its video counterpart. It's takes a little while to learn the program inside and out, but for both journalists and photographers, Soundslides could prove to be a great new tool.
As a TV guy, I personally side with the video side of things, but I'm open to new stuff and I think I'll try out Soundslides for my final project this year.
As a TV guy, I personally side with the video side of things, but I'm open to new stuff and I think I'll try out Soundslides for my final project this year.
When Hillary Attacks
Hillary...mean? No way!! Well...maybe. Barak Obama and his campaign team have launched a new website that outlines all of Hillary's attacks against the young Senator and his plight to the White House. Check it out here.
Today alone has about 10 different entries from various newspaper articles and public records that document Hillary and her condescending nature to Obama. Here are a few examples:
ATTACK:
Clinton Campaign Manager Patti Solis Doyle Attacked Obama TV Ad Discussing Health Struggle of Obama's Mother. "I am writing concerning a false advertisement you are currently airing..." [Letter from Patti Solis Doyle, 11/30/07]
ATTACK:
New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, which is now attacking Senator Barack Obama on a daily basis." [New York Times, 11/30/07]
ATTACK:
Boston Globe: "Clinton yesterday launched one of her most pointed attacks yet against chief rival Barack Obama" [Boston Globe, 11/29/07]
The list goes on, and there are plenty of links to connect you to the full article of what exactly Clinton said and where she said it. The site was popular enough to make the top of FoxNews.com's political page, and is still gaining notoriety about a month before the first Democratic primary.
Now this site might be a little over the top in terms of Obama trying to get pity, or make Clinton out to be a monster, but Hillary better watch what she says. As this site gets bigger, her words will be examined more and more, and the effects could prove to be dramatic.
Today alone has about 10 different entries from various newspaper articles and public records that document Hillary and her condescending nature to Obama. Here are a few examples:
ATTACK:
Clinton Campaign Manager Patti Solis Doyle Attacked Obama TV Ad Discussing Health Struggle of Obama's Mother. "I am writing concerning a false advertisement you are currently airing..." [Letter from Patti Solis Doyle, 11/30/07]
ATTACK:
New York Times: "Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, which is now attacking Senator Barack Obama on a daily basis." [New York Times, 11/30/07]
ATTACK:
Boston Globe: "Clinton yesterday launched one of her most pointed attacks yet against chief rival Barack Obama" [Boston Globe, 11/29/07]
The list goes on, and there are plenty of links to connect you to the full article of what exactly Clinton said and where she said it. The site was popular enough to make the top of FoxNews.com's political page, and is still gaining notoriety about a month before the first Democratic primary.
Now this site might be a little over the top in terms of Obama trying to get pity, or make Clinton out to be a monster, but Hillary better watch what she says. As this site gets bigger, her words will be examined more and more, and the effects could prove to be dramatic.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Journalism Ethics
Well I'm taking a class on this next semester, so I suppose all the readings here are going to be good preparation. There's a wide array of readings for this week actually, so I'll list them here and give a few comments on each.
Textbook: I read chapter 23 which deals with ethics. I highlights and describes some of the needs for ethical journalism, as well as some problems that may arise for the modern reporter. The needs include responsibility, Freedom of the Press, independence, sincerety/truthfulness/accuracy, impartiality, fair play, and decency. There is also a few universal tools that journalists use such as the Potter Box to determine where to draw the line for situations, values, and loyalties. Some of the ethical problems for reporters were deceit, conflicts of interest, friendship, payola, freebies, ad pressure, invasion of privacy, plagiarism, and withholding information. The last one was a very interesting read, as many different historical dillemas have yielded many different results.
New York Magazine: I read an online article about the changing patterns of news delivery and technology. The author argued that newsrooms were putting almost all of their newspaper content online- both in printed and news package form- and rivaling the content of television news networks. The article says that the focus of these newspaper sites (NYT and WP in particular) are still to find the news, but the on-air reporting guidelines are so much more linient that reporters have much more freedom and can create a news package with much more depth than a network presentation. I'm not sure if these online video offerings wil lever eclipse the television broadcasts as our main news venues, but there is definitley a growing following of these sources.
tojou.blogspot.com: Yep, I'm blogging about a blog. This specific entry discusses another article written by a reporter about a veteran TV reporter. I think that makes this...a 4th person account. Anyway, here's some of the strong points. The veteran reporter has covered stories for over 3 decades, and still has the drive to find unique stories and specific information that makes his work enjoyable to the audience. His tools for doing this great work include preparation, curiosity, details, and awareness. They use a good "State fair" example to highlight the importance of finding a good story, and not just the 'ho-hum' report on what happened at an event. This comes in handy when on the scene doing a report. You never know what you'll run into, and you always need to be ready to cover the biggest, most unique, or rarest story that arises.
www.cjr.org: The title of this article is "What Journalism Can't Do." It said nothing about not being able to make me millions of dollars, so that was a good first step. It did discuss though, the "psychic numbing" that effects people when faced with an uncountable number of deaths or tragic events. It relates to a person feeling devastated for one person's death or tribulations, but being able to be less affected (or connected to) a widespread problem. The professor who did this study suggests that journalism cannot do much to rouse up the public and solicit action in these large-scale situations, it can only inform and hope that legal and institutional mechanisms can enforce laws and solve problems. The article closes by saying that "Journalism can make a difference, but it cannot make all the difference." Fair enough.
cyberjournalist.net: Well the title of the site pretty much says it all. This article was basically a rundown of all the different tools that make online journalism unique and handy. It apparently was the first document of hits kind to do just a comprehensive storytelling analysis, and the suggestions it gives are used by both independent and network websites. The site lists these facets to assist in online reporting: Use print to explain, use multimedia to show, and use interactives to demonstrate and engage. Here is the breakdown of some information that can be layered on an online news article.
Print (the raw story)
Clickable Interactives (highlight specifics)
Slideshows (presenting multiple images)
Audio Stories (powerful descriptions)
Narrated Slideshows
Live Chats (Q&A sessions)
Quizzes and Surveys (public opinion on topic)
Animated Stories (visual aid without photos or video)
Interactive Webcasts & Streams
Multimedia Interactives (hybrids)
Well that about covers it. This week's readings furthered my knowledge on ethics, technology, and the different techniques and processes to create a good story in print, on air, and online. This will probably prove to be good help for me at NewsWatch, and maybe even for the final too.
Textbook: I read chapter 23 which deals with ethics. I highlights and describes some of the needs for ethical journalism, as well as some problems that may arise for the modern reporter. The needs include responsibility, Freedom of the Press, independence, sincerety/truthfulness/accuracy, impartiality, fair play, and decency. There is also a few universal tools that journalists use such as the Potter Box to determine where to draw the line for situations, values, and loyalties. Some of the ethical problems for reporters were deceit, conflicts of interest, friendship, payola, freebies, ad pressure, invasion of privacy, plagiarism, and withholding information. The last one was a very interesting read, as many different historical dillemas have yielded many different results.
New York Magazine: I read an online article about the changing patterns of news delivery and technology. The author argued that newsrooms were putting almost all of their newspaper content online- both in printed and news package form- and rivaling the content of television news networks. The article says that the focus of these newspaper sites (NYT and WP in particular) are still to find the news, but the on-air reporting guidelines are so much more linient that reporters have much more freedom and can create a news package with much more depth than a network presentation. I'm not sure if these online video offerings wil lever eclipse the television broadcasts as our main news venues, but there is definitley a growing following of these sources.
tojou.blogspot.com: Yep, I'm blogging about a blog. This specific entry discusses another article written by a reporter about a veteran TV reporter. I think that makes this...a 4th person account. Anyway, here's some of the strong points. The veteran reporter has covered stories for over 3 decades, and still has the drive to find unique stories and specific information that makes his work enjoyable to the audience. His tools for doing this great work include preparation, curiosity, details, and awareness. They use a good "State fair" example to highlight the importance of finding a good story, and not just the 'ho-hum' report on what happened at an event. This comes in handy when on the scene doing a report. You never know what you'll run into, and you always need to be ready to cover the biggest, most unique, or rarest story that arises.
www.cjr.org: The title of this article is "What Journalism Can't Do." It said nothing about not being able to make me millions of dollars, so that was a good first step. It did discuss though, the "psychic numbing" that effects people when faced with an uncountable number of deaths or tragic events. It relates to a person feeling devastated for one person's death or tribulations, but being able to be less affected (or connected to) a widespread problem. The professor who did this study suggests that journalism cannot do much to rouse up the public and solicit action in these large-scale situations, it can only inform and hope that legal and institutional mechanisms can enforce laws and solve problems. The article closes by saying that "Journalism can make a difference, but it cannot make all the difference." Fair enough.
cyberjournalist.net: Well the title of the site pretty much says it all. This article was basically a rundown of all the different tools that make online journalism unique and handy. It apparently was the first document of hits kind to do just a comprehensive storytelling analysis, and the suggestions it gives are used by both independent and network websites. The site lists these facets to assist in online reporting: Use print to explain, use multimedia to show, and use interactives to demonstrate and engage. Here is the breakdown of some information that can be layered on an online news article.
Print (the raw story)
Clickable Interactives (highlight specifics)
Slideshows (presenting multiple images)
Audio Stories (powerful descriptions)
Narrated Slideshows
Live Chats (Q&A sessions)
Quizzes and Surveys (public opinion on topic)
Animated Stories (visual aid without photos or video)
Interactive Webcasts & Streams
Multimedia Interactives (hybrids)
Well that about covers it. This week's readings furthered my knowledge on ethics, technology, and the different techniques and processes to create a good story in print, on air, and online. This will probably prove to be good help for me at NewsWatch, and maybe even for the final too.
CNN meets YouTube
Never thought you'd hear that one...but it's happening. The CNN-YouTube Debate is happening this Wednesday is St. Petersburg, Florida, and it's gonna be something new and exciting for both the Republicans involved, and the nation as a whole.
Sources have said that the questions submitted will cover many wide ranges, and be funny, poignant, tough, and anywhere in between. The questions have all been submitted by YouTube users, and selected to show the candidates' many differences in opinion and policy. The exceptional part of the debate is that the YouTube users will be displayed on a large screen for the candidates to see, so public participation will be one of the driving forces at this event.
This process is not only a huge step for technology, but also it is very big for presidential elections. With the population able to contribute so greatly in such a widely broadcasted hearing, candidates will be paying much more attention to their constituents then that have in the past. No one may know what questions to expect, but the viewers and participants can all be sure that this will be a debate that will be historically remembered, and electronically innovative.
Sources have said that the questions submitted will cover many wide ranges, and be funny, poignant, tough, and anywhere in between. The questions have all been submitted by YouTube users, and selected to show the candidates' many differences in opinion and policy. The exceptional part of the debate is that the YouTube users will be displayed on a large screen for the candidates to see, so public participation will be one of the driving forces at this event.
This process is not only a huge step for technology, but also it is very big for presidential elections. With the population able to contribute so greatly in such a widely broadcasted hearing, candidates will be paying much more attention to their constituents then that have in the past. No one may know what questions to expect, but the viewers and participants can all be sure that this will be a debate that will be historically remembered, and electronically innovative.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Readings 11
Actually, just one reading this week. Chapter 19 in the text book, to be exact. And this chapter focus on my bread-and-butter, Television and Radio writing. Now, I'm a journalism major and not a TV/R guy, but broadcast is my thing and from my work at ICTV, I know a thing or two about the subject. With that in mind, I'll probably add my two cents here and there from NewsWatch producing on the commentary and insight that the book provides.
They say that a half-hour news program only covers the same number of words as one-half of a newspaper's front page. This may be true, but since each story only gets about 30 seconds devoted to it, the content is much more diverse. There are many things to consider when making a story for TV/Radio* rather than just a printed copy. (*Note: I'm a TV guy, so from here on out I'll probably just say TV instead of TV/Radio.)
1. Timeliness: Many papers come out once a week, or report on events happening within the month or future things, but TV is so immediate that CNN and other news networks can air a story as they happen, and not just report on a past event. This also means that if one story is covered for one day (like when the actress who played the Yellow Power Ranger died on September 10, 2001) and something happens the next day, TV stations will quickly pick up the "new news" and leave the rest for the back pages of papers and online sites. Even if something older is covered on TV, writers wil ltry to add and update or sence of urgency to keep the viewer thinking that its still important content.
2. Information: Not really that big to TV people, since like I said earlier not much time is devoted to each story. For long-report TV shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20, in-depth and investigative info is good, but for normal "readers" (30-second stories) the "big news" of the story is much more important that the background.
3. Audio or Visual Impact. This is a big one, especially for me at NewsWatch 16. What it comes down to is that you dont want to sit there and read the newspaper to the viewer, you want to offer something more, like footage of new construction, or a taped quote from a local politician. Sure, you can say what they said, or describe what something looks like, but so can newspapers. With so much technology available to TV/R newsrooms, they need to take advantage of it to captivate their audiences.
4. People. Kinda goes with number 3, but it's a little more specific. Instead of just reporting on an event, or accident, or decision, try and find a person (or "face") to follow throughout the ordeal. This gives the viewer someone to identify with, and gives you something to film, interview and add depth to any story.
The chapter also goes over some smaller things that are important to TVR news production. One example is reading what you write, which reinforces the conversational style of the boradcast. Since anchors will be reading the stories out loud, its good practice to...practice so that the tone of the anchor will be informative, not confused. It's also good to add pronounciations of long or diffucult words, and lead-ins & wrap-ups to give a little background to reports.
A lot of the scripting techniques are complicated, but if you use a program like ENPS then the formatting is built-in. Working at ICTV has definately futhered my knowledge on a lot of topics that are covered in the book, and often I felt like while I was reading, I was listening to my producers from freshman year tell me about how to prepare my stories. Well now I'M the producer, so hopefully I don't mess any of these techniques up.
They say that a half-hour news program only covers the same number of words as one-half of a newspaper's front page. This may be true, but since each story only gets about 30 seconds devoted to it, the content is much more diverse. There are many things to consider when making a story for TV/Radio* rather than just a printed copy. (*Note: I'm a TV guy, so from here on out I'll probably just say TV instead of TV/Radio.)
1. Timeliness: Many papers come out once a week, or report on events happening within the month or future things, but TV is so immediate that CNN and other news networks can air a story as they happen, and not just report on a past event. This also means that if one story is covered for one day (like when the actress who played the Yellow Power Ranger died on September 10, 2001) and something happens the next day, TV stations will quickly pick up the "new news" and leave the rest for the back pages of papers and online sites. Even if something older is covered on TV, writers wil ltry to add and update or sence of urgency to keep the viewer thinking that its still important content.
2. Information: Not really that big to TV people, since like I said earlier not much time is devoted to each story. For long-report TV shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20, in-depth and investigative info is good, but for normal "readers" (30-second stories) the "big news" of the story is much more important that the background.
3. Audio or Visual Impact. This is a big one, especially for me at NewsWatch 16. What it comes down to is that you dont want to sit there and read the newspaper to the viewer, you want to offer something more, like footage of new construction, or a taped quote from a local politician. Sure, you can say what they said, or describe what something looks like, but so can newspapers. With so much technology available to TV/R newsrooms, they need to take advantage of it to captivate their audiences.
4. People. Kinda goes with number 3, but it's a little more specific. Instead of just reporting on an event, or accident, or decision, try and find a person (or "face") to follow throughout the ordeal. This gives the viewer someone to identify with, and gives you something to film, interview and add depth to any story.
The chapter also goes over some smaller things that are important to TVR news production. One example is reading what you write, which reinforces the conversational style of the boradcast. Since anchors will be reading the stories out loud, its good practice to...practice so that the tone of the anchor will be informative, not confused. It's also good to add pronounciations of long or diffucult words, and lead-ins & wrap-ups to give a little background to reports.
A lot of the scripting techniques are complicated, but if you use a program like ENPS then the formatting is built-in. Working at ICTV has definately futhered my knowledge on a lot of topics that are covered in the book, and often I felt like while I was reading, I was listening to my producers from freshman year tell me about how to prepare my stories. Well now I'M the producer, so hopefully I don't mess any of these techniques up.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Bush Who?
John McCain is a smart man, and this article proves it. Sure, he may have over-the-top feelings on the war, may be too old to round up the demographic votes he needs, and too deadset on his ideas to give the people what they want, but he does know how to do one thing: avoid EVER talking about President Bush.
Now as a Republican, it's probably pretty hard to stand in front of lecture halls and polical meetings and not feel like the world is on your shoulders and your party is to blame for what's happened in the last decade. Why? Because you probably are. But while some show their party devotion by siding with their Presidential leader and keeping in line with his decisions, McCain is doing whatever he can to dissociate himself from the lowest approval rating since Richard Nixon.
Now keep in mind, McCain isn't DISAGREEING with the President, he is just DISTANCING himself from the President. There's a big difference. McCain believes in the Republican strategies and subscribes to the "No Surrender" and "Stay the Course" mottos of the party, he just doesn't believe that Bush's name needs to be attached to all of these Republican ideals. And it's working out pretty good for him.
Instead of saying that he sides with George Bush, McCain is now saying in speeches that he sides with General Petreaus. Same ideals, different name. It makes sense to put the military in a larger light though, considering the nation's biggest questions in 2008 will probably have something to do with the war(s) and international relations.
And who would be the perfect man to guide the nation in wartimes such as this? Why a military man of course! Mr. McCain seems to be doing all he can to set himself up as the perfect successor to the right-wing, gung-ho, no-surrender presidency. If the public catches on, his little plan just might work.
Now as a Republican, it's probably pretty hard to stand in front of lecture halls and polical meetings and not feel like the world is on your shoulders and your party is to blame for what's happened in the last decade. Why? Because you probably are. But while some show their party devotion by siding with their Presidential leader and keeping in line with his decisions, McCain is doing whatever he can to dissociate himself from the lowest approval rating since Richard Nixon.
Now keep in mind, McCain isn't DISAGREEING with the President, he is just DISTANCING himself from the President. There's a big difference. McCain believes in the Republican strategies and subscribes to the "No Surrender" and "Stay the Course" mottos of the party, he just doesn't believe that Bush's name needs to be attached to all of these Republican ideals. And it's working out pretty good for him.
Instead of saying that he sides with George Bush, McCain is now saying in speeches that he sides with General Petreaus. Same ideals, different name. It makes sense to put the military in a larger light though, considering the nation's biggest questions in 2008 will probably have something to do with the war(s) and international relations.
And who would be the perfect man to guide the nation in wartimes such as this? Why a military man of course! Mr. McCain seems to be doing all he can to set himself up as the perfect successor to the right-wing, gung-ho, no-surrender presidency. If the public catches on, his little plan just might work.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Readings #10, Post #20
Well its almost Thanksgiving time, but there's still a few weeks left to follow elections and learn new journalistic techiques. The latter of these two will be discusses today, using both an online aid and of course the textbook.
The online helper that I tried out over the weekend was ire.org, which is the home page for the Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. Different pages, such as the "Extra Extra" section and archive listings have great resources for all kinds of journalists- reporters, reserchers, editors- and they are all pretty simple to navigate. The best page is the Initial Search Beat page where you can select at category and topic, and search the enitre database and externam sites for information about almost every topic. I search hurricanes in the Environment category and was pointed right to the National Hurricane Center, which has pretty much all the information you could ever want on the topic.
The textbook also ties some of these strategies in Chapter 18, which covers the broad subject of investigative reporting. A few terms like the opening hypothesis and the hard lead delivery are pretty easy to identify, but the book also defines the "sniff" stage of a report. The sniff is the reporter who noses around (get it) in search of a trail that leads you in the direction to find answers. Like a hunting dog, only instead of trying to shooting a buck, you're trying to make a buck (I'll be here all week). After a story is sniffed out, the real work begins. Like many other stories, interviews and research are key to finding the big news, and making sure every last detail is as accurate as possible. If human sources are used correctly as experts and eyewitnesses, written sources are made less dull and provide the hard facts, and the internet is utilized to its fullest extent to research background information, investigative reports will be both insightful to the readers, and rewarding to the writers.
The online helper that I tried out over the weekend was ire.org, which is the home page for the Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. Different pages, such as the "Extra Extra" section and archive listings have great resources for all kinds of journalists- reporters, reserchers, editors- and they are all pretty simple to navigate. The best page is the Initial Search Beat page where you can select at category and topic, and search the enitre database and externam sites for information about almost every topic. I search hurricanes in the Environment category and was pointed right to the National Hurricane Center, which has pretty much all the information you could ever want on the topic.
The textbook also ties some of these strategies in Chapter 18, which covers the broad subject of investigative reporting. A few terms like the opening hypothesis and the hard lead delivery are pretty easy to identify, but the book also defines the "sniff" stage of a report. The sniff is the reporter who noses around (get it) in search of a trail that leads you in the direction to find answers. Like a hunting dog, only instead of trying to shooting a buck, you're trying to make a buck (I'll be here all week). After a story is sniffed out, the real work begins. Like many other stories, interviews and research are key to finding the big news, and making sure every last detail is as accurate as possible. If human sources are used correctly as experts and eyewitnesses, written sources are made less dull and provide the hard facts, and the internet is utilized to its fullest extent to research background information, investigative reports will be both insightful to the readers, and rewarding to the writers.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Hillary Hilarity
NOTE: The title of this post may or may not fully apply to this story, but I thought it was catchy so it's staying.
Ok, so I was parusing the CNN Political Blogs today and found a pretty interesting story from the Blue camp. John Edwards, former senator and former loser to Dick Cheney for VP has apparently been against Clinton's presidenial bid for a little while now, and he's released several statements about her candidacy.
First, he said that Hillary should be treated no differently in the race because she is a [the only] woman in the field.
The week after, his said that Hillary is using her...womanliness?...to be "the strong woman ready to lead" for one minute, then the next minute becomming "the woman under attack, disingenuously playing the victim card" and avoiding hard questions thrown her way.
Is she doing this? Maybe, but the more all-encompasing question is how her being a woman is really effecting this election as a whole. She has the attribute that no other candidate has, and while it may help her in places like her all-girls alma mater Wellesly College, the odds of influencing all women to vote for her is slim.
I, for one, have this theory: Americans love cool records being broken, history being made, and being able to say "we were there." People will always remember 9/11, and maybe even Katrina depending on where they were, but what better thing to be alive for than to see the first female (or black) president. If Clinton or Obama earn the Democrats' backing for the White House bid, they may not want to rest solely on their unique gender or race, but it may just be the trait that puts their chances over the rest.
Ok, so I was parusing the CNN Political Blogs today and found a pretty interesting story from the Blue camp. John Edwards, former senator and former loser to Dick Cheney for VP has apparently been against Clinton's presidenial bid for a little while now, and he's released several statements about her candidacy.
First, he said that Hillary should be treated no differently in the race because she is a [the only] woman in the field.
The week after, his said that Hillary is using her...womanliness?...to be "the strong woman ready to lead" for one minute, then the next minute becomming "the woman under attack, disingenuously playing the victim card" and avoiding hard questions thrown her way.
Is she doing this? Maybe, but the more all-encompasing question is how her being a woman is really effecting this election as a whole. She has the attribute that no other candidate has, and while it may help her in places like her all-girls alma mater Wellesly College, the odds of influencing all women to vote for her is slim.
I, for one, have this theory: Americans love cool records being broken, history being made, and being able to say "we were there." People will always remember 9/11, and maybe even Katrina depending on where they were, but what better thing to be alive for than to see the first female (or black) president. If Clinton or Obama earn the Democrats' backing for the White House bid, they may not want to rest solely on their unique gender or race, but it may just be the trait that puts their chances over the rest.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Gimme that beat yo
I read Chapter 14 in my textbook, and it focuses on covering a beat. That explains the catchy title. After talking about a female reporter who has apparently been through everything when it comes to following stories, the chapter gets right into a case-by-case breakdown and a summary of the Principles for Reporters on a Beat:
1. Be Prepared. Probably more common sense than a step to follow, but looking up information and being a step ahead when you get to a location of interview is key. Reading reports and talking to sources may seem like a bore, but the results will be worth it.
2. Be Alert. You gotta roll with the punches as a reporter and work with whatever you got. Maybe you aren't let into a crime scene or something big develops from a seemingly unimportant story. If you're ready as a reporter, you can look on and take the news as it comes.
3. Be Persistent. Follow up on interviews, ask tough questions, and always try and get the definitive answers. Some reporters will just give up after one try and file a mediocre story, but the good newspeople are the ones who keep trying 'til they get everything they need.
4. Be There. Unless of course you want to...be square. You can read all you want about a story and make some phone calls, but part of being on a beat is experiencing the story first hand. When you have a true perspective, readers can tell.
5. Be Wary. The point of all news reports are to inform the readers, and they expect the information to be factual and error-free. Everyone makes mistakes now and then, but the more fact-checking and revisions you do, the better the final product will be.
Also in this chapter they highlight the most important local beats to cover. They are:
City & Council Government
Schools
Police
Courts
Religion
Now of those 5 beats, all of them are discussed in other chapters (and blog entries) except religion. If you think about it though, politicians running for office, terrorist extremists, and pro-life campaingers are often in the news and all have some kind of ties to religion. The book says that more Americans attend church services than football games, so the need for commentary on the subject(s) is important.
The chapter closes with a reminder to prepare for everything and expect the unexpected. Accuracy is key as well. So as you can see when dealing with beats such as the main ones listed, many challenges may come into play, but good reporters will work through the problems and get to the bottom of things. Just like I made it to the bottom of this entry.
1. Be Prepared. Probably more common sense than a step to follow, but looking up information and being a step ahead when you get to a location of interview is key. Reading reports and talking to sources may seem like a bore, but the results will be worth it.
2. Be Alert. You gotta roll with the punches as a reporter and work with whatever you got. Maybe you aren't let into a crime scene or something big develops from a seemingly unimportant story. If you're ready as a reporter, you can look on and take the news as it comes.
3. Be Persistent. Follow up on interviews, ask tough questions, and always try and get the definitive answers. Some reporters will just give up after one try and file a mediocre story, but the good newspeople are the ones who keep trying 'til they get everything they need.
4. Be There. Unless of course you want to...be square. You can read all you want about a story and make some phone calls, but part of being on a beat is experiencing the story first hand. When you have a true perspective, readers can tell.
5. Be Wary. The point of all news reports are to inform the readers, and they expect the information to be factual and error-free. Everyone makes mistakes now and then, but the more fact-checking and revisions you do, the better the final product will be.
Also in this chapter they highlight the most important local beats to cover. They are:
City & Council Government
Schools
Police
Courts
Religion
Now of those 5 beats, all of them are discussed in other chapters (and blog entries) except religion. If you think about it though, politicians running for office, terrorist extremists, and pro-life campaingers are often in the news and all have some kind of ties to religion. The book says that more Americans attend church services than football games, so the need for commentary on the subject(s) is important.
The chapter closes with a reminder to prepare for everything and expect the unexpected. Accuracy is key as well. So as you can see when dealing with beats such as the main ones listed, many challenges may come into play, but good reporters will work through the problems and get to the bottom of things. Just like I made it to the bottom of this entry.
WHOA WHOA WHOA
Ok, now normally I write meaningful entries about important political issues that can influence the nation or the world, and that deserve to be discussed and even debated. Today, however, is not one of those days.
Read this New York Times political commentary page.
Yes, that's Rudy Giuliani.
Yes, he's rooting for the Red Sox.
W-H-A-T-?????????????
(I can't make the font any bigger, but trust me i pushed the keys down REALLY hard when i typed.)
Now for a guy who's trying to establish himself in the American public eye, this is legally insane. We care about out sports and celebrities more than our economy and government, and if you DARE cross the border, you better be well prepared. Here's Rudy's response to those who think he's out of his mind: “I’m an American League fan and I go with the American League team.” Let's check the stats real quick.
Giuliani is from New York. As in...the New York Yankees. (or Mets...but c'mon).
Giuliani is a Republican.
The Boston Red Sox, although they have the word "Red" in their name, are actually from Boston, Massachussetts, which is arguably the most Democratic state in the country.
You wanna call John Kerry a flip-flopper? Go right ahead, but you better think up a word that has even more meaning, because whatever that word it, Giuliani fits the description. He had the opportunity to root for the underdog, get the "rebuilding" mentality that he's been pushing for all this time, and still keep those Yankees fans (there's a lot of them) on his side while still being a semi-classy politician. Instead, he looks like a first-class idiot by becomming a turncoat to his hometown, and hurting his presidential bid for sports fans and party members alike.
I know this isn't a HUGE deal when you think about everything else that could be discussed, but you gotta admit it's something.
Read this New York Times political commentary page.
Yes, that's Rudy Giuliani.
Yes, he's rooting for the Red Sox.
W-H-A-T-?????????????
(I can't make the font any bigger, but trust me i pushed the keys down REALLY hard when i typed.)
Now for a guy who's trying to establish himself in the American public eye, this is legally insane. We care about out sports and celebrities more than our economy and government, and if you DARE cross the border, you better be well prepared. Here's Rudy's response to those who think he's out of his mind: “I’m an American League fan and I go with the American League team.” Let's check the stats real quick.
Giuliani is from New York. As in...the New York Yankees. (or Mets...but c'mon).
Giuliani is a Republican.
The Boston Red Sox, although they have the word "Red" in their name, are actually from Boston, Massachussetts, which is arguably the most Democratic state in the country.
You wanna call John Kerry a flip-flopper? Go right ahead, but you better think up a word that has even more meaning, because whatever that word it, Giuliani fits the description. He had the opportunity to root for the underdog, get the "rebuilding" mentality that he's been pushing for all this time, and still keep those Yankees fans (there's a lot of them) on his side while still being a semi-classy politician. Instead, he looks like a first-class idiot by becomming a turncoat to his hometown, and hurting his presidential bid for sports fans and party members alike.
I know this isn't a HUGE deal when you think about everything else that could be discussed, but you gotta admit it's something.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Cryme Tyme
Covering Crime & Justice- The title of the extensive journalism piece at justicejournalism.org. I read chapters 1, 5, and 7 which was a lot of information to take in, but I finished with a great deal of insight.
CHAPTER 1. The chapter gets right to the point, talking about how crime reports are such great stroytelling devices and how the reader is easily captivated and in awe of what transpires. As they put it, it "has it alll: greed, sex, violence, comedy and tragedy." Because of the oppotuninties and notoriety that a successful crime report can garner, the competition to find a good story is fierce, especially in their example of New York City. In fact, sensational stories like this one date all the way back to Jazz & Yellow journalism, although in the past they just made stuff up as opposed to competing for real news.
The criminal case section of the chapter defines many crime-related scenerios, such as larceny, theft, fraud, tax evasion, auto theft, robbery, burglary, and home invasion. The differences between these words are important to know, since the penalties for each could be very different, and it is important to report the right stuff. Also, you don't want to get into libel trouble. Along those same lines, the article adressed how to properly report on these stories, listing everying from being punctual to spelling names right to staying in contact with people. Some might think this is common sense, but it's all necessary to understand.
The chapter also takes the reader through the legal process, showing the right steps of following a case and getting as much information you can from interviews, statements, perp walks, and more. It really pushes the research side of things and says that even police officers can lie (or make an error), so EVERYTHING needs to be checked. Sources from both public records and actual people will be needed, and as long as you have your facts straight you should make a pretty captivating story.
CHAPTER 5. This section deals exclusively with covering the crime and the victims who were involved. The intro chapter touches on this subject, but Chapter 5 leaves no stone unturned in the matter. Now identifying the victim may be simple, but approaching people for interviews and taking everything into accound can be tough for some situations. Obviously sometimes people dont want to talk at the scene or during a rough part of the situation, but places like the police station, hostpitals, on the phone, and even arranged meetings are good ways to get info from the victims as well as other people who may be in the know (friends, relatives, doctors, officers, etc.)
These interviewing or information-getting strategies may be good for most cases, but the chapter makes a clear distinction between "most cases" and rape/sexual assault cases. Victims of these crimes are almost never identified, and are clearly put into a different category in terms of how they are regarded as victims. Here are three points about rape victims as made by the chapter:
Rape is different from other crimes. Society often blames the victims. Studies show rape victims suffer from the stigma of being "damaged" by the experience.
Rape victims are less likely to report the crime if they know their names will be published or broadcast. Rape is already the most underreported violent crime in the country.
Because rape victims are treated with such insensitivity by society, they deserve a level of privacy not afforded other crime victims.
There is a lot of debate as to how they should be treated, and news editors are split almost right down the middle as to whether to offer extra sympathy or confidentiality (some have no choice due to state laws), or to treat them like any other victim on any other crime. Normally, as the chapter indicates, for such strong subjeect matter, it's always a good strategy to "err on the side of caution" and withhold certain facts.
CHAPTER 7. Court stuff. I think it's boring stuff, but I may have to use the info one day so i might as well learn it now. If you look at the court section in the textbook, there's about 5,000 different times that a court case can be reported on, but this article condenses it just a bit. They address the trial courts, intermediate courts, and supreme level. They each have their own mini-sections, but those are the big 3.
To cover the beat, it's important to get into a rhythm of how the court procces, judge, and timing works so that you can always be at the right place at the right time. Sounds like a lot of work, if I ever do it i better get some kind of medal. The section on covering the beat also explains that the reporter must be concise and observant. Simply put, get EVERY fact you possibly can, and then put int into a well-ordered story without too much commentary or jargon. Leave that kind of stuff to CourtTV.
The chapter also talks a lot about "following the paper." The docket sheet will continue to grow, and those legal documents are the best way to get important information AND avoid libel. Also, the court is littered with people who can be important sources like clerks, lawyers, bailiffs, and other administrators.
Covering the trial, according to the section, is a lot like covering a sporting event. Really? Hmmm. You gotta know the "players" and be ready for penalties and referees to make big calls. Follow the case through the trial, judge, and jury perspectives and your readers will be itching for the big result.
The chapter finishes an explanation of...you guessed it. Law. Journalism Law though. It discusses the 1st and 6th Amendments (free speech and fair/open trial, respectively) and tells reporters to be aware of these laws and be prepared to stand up for them when necessary.
Well, thats it for this weeks reading. I think this is my longest entry so far, but it was a lot of material so it's worth it I suppose.
CHAPTER 1. The chapter gets right to the point, talking about how crime reports are such great stroytelling devices and how the reader is easily captivated and in awe of what transpires. As they put it, it "has it alll: greed, sex, violence, comedy and tragedy." Because of the oppotuninties and notoriety that a successful crime report can garner, the competition to find a good story is fierce, especially in their example of New York City. In fact, sensational stories like this one date all the way back to Jazz & Yellow journalism, although in the past they just made stuff up as opposed to competing for real news.
The criminal case section of the chapter defines many crime-related scenerios, such as larceny, theft, fraud, tax evasion, auto theft, robbery, burglary, and home invasion. The differences between these words are important to know, since the penalties for each could be very different, and it is important to report the right stuff. Also, you don't want to get into libel trouble. Along those same lines, the article adressed how to properly report on these stories, listing everying from being punctual to spelling names right to staying in contact with people. Some might think this is common sense, but it's all necessary to understand.
The chapter also takes the reader through the legal process, showing the right steps of following a case and getting as much information you can from interviews, statements, perp walks, and more. It really pushes the research side of things and says that even police officers can lie (or make an error), so EVERYTHING needs to be checked. Sources from both public records and actual people will be needed, and as long as you have your facts straight you should make a pretty captivating story.
CHAPTER 5. This section deals exclusively with covering the crime and the victims who were involved. The intro chapter touches on this subject, but Chapter 5 leaves no stone unturned in the matter. Now identifying the victim may be simple, but approaching people for interviews and taking everything into accound can be tough for some situations. Obviously sometimes people dont want to talk at the scene or during a rough part of the situation, but places like the police station, hostpitals, on the phone, and even arranged meetings are good ways to get info from the victims as well as other people who may be in the know (friends, relatives, doctors, officers, etc.)
These interviewing or information-getting strategies may be good for most cases, but the chapter makes a clear distinction between "most cases" and rape/sexual assault cases. Victims of these crimes are almost never identified, and are clearly put into a different category in terms of how they are regarded as victims. Here are three points about rape victims as made by the chapter:
Rape is different from other crimes. Society often blames the victims. Studies show rape victims suffer from the stigma of being "damaged" by the experience.
Rape victims are less likely to report the crime if they know their names will be published or broadcast. Rape is already the most underreported violent crime in the country.
Because rape victims are treated with such insensitivity by society, they deserve a level of privacy not afforded other crime victims.
There is a lot of debate as to how they should be treated, and news editors are split almost right down the middle as to whether to offer extra sympathy or confidentiality (some have no choice due to state laws), or to treat them like any other victim on any other crime. Normally, as the chapter indicates, for such strong subjeect matter, it's always a good strategy to "err on the side of caution" and withhold certain facts.
CHAPTER 7. Court stuff. I think it's boring stuff, but I may have to use the info one day so i might as well learn it now. If you look at the court section in the textbook, there's about 5,000 different times that a court case can be reported on, but this article condenses it just a bit. They address the trial courts, intermediate courts, and supreme level. They each have their own mini-sections, but those are the big 3.
To cover the beat, it's important to get into a rhythm of how the court procces, judge, and timing works so that you can always be at the right place at the right time. Sounds like a lot of work, if I ever do it i better get some kind of medal. The section on covering the beat also explains that the reporter must be concise and observant. Simply put, get EVERY fact you possibly can, and then put int into a well-ordered story without too much commentary or jargon. Leave that kind of stuff to CourtTV.
The chapter also talks a lot about "following the paper." The docket sheet will continue to grow, and those legal documents are the best way to get important information AND avoid libel. Also, the court is littered with people who can be important sources like clerks, lawyers, bailiffs, and other administrators.
Covering the trial, according to the section, is a lot like covering a sporting event. Really? Hmmm. You gotta know the "players" and be ready for penalties and referees to make big calls. Follow the case through the trial, judge, and jury perspectives and your readers will be itching for the big result.
The chapter finishes an explanation of...you guessed it. Law. Journalism Law though. It discusses the 1st and 6th Amendments (free speech and fair/open trial, respectively) and tells reporters to be aware of these laws and be prepared to stand up for them when necessary.
Well, thats it for this weeks reading. I think this is my longest entry so far, but it was a lot of material so it's worth it I suppose.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Further Reading
Like my blog? Didn't think so! Well here's some other ones that I checked out this week that you might be interested in.
LuAnn's Blog Read: Thinking Outside the Country
Jenna's Blog Read: Fighting Like Little Girls
Andrea's Blog Read: Gore 08?
Ryan's Blog Read: Truthiness in 08
Laura's Blog Read: Beauty Parlor Politics
Devon's Blog Read: Obama
Moira's Blog Read: Obama's Energy Crisis Plan
Caryn's Blog Read: McCain's Campaign for Monks
LuAnn's Blog Read: Thinking Outside the Country
Jenna's Blog Read: Fighting Like Little Girls
Andrea's Blog Read: Gore 08?
Ryan's Blog Read: Truthiness in 08
Laura's Blog Read: Beauty Parlor Politics
Devon's Blog Read: Obama
Moira's Blog Read: Obama's Energy Crisis Plan
Caryn's Blog Read: McCain's Campaign for Monks
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Reading Seven
Midterm week is coming up, but first let's get the last chapter of Block 1 out of the way: Lucky Chapter 13.
First we'll talk about Crime, accident, and fire stories. All of these are similar in that the who, what, where, and all that stuff is important, but there are many other factors that make a SPOT NEWS STORY (it was in bold in the textbook) different from other news. The one major thing is that if you can make it to the site as news is happening (or right after in terms of the crime) then the opportunity for interviews is very large. You got police/fire officials, eyewitnesses who are standing around with nothing better than to talk to you, and of course the people involved or affected by the situation. One thing about these stories that is a little different than normal reports is that you should probably be a little more sympathetic. The normal story about what happened is important to the readers, but so is what happened to the subjects, if they're ok, and how they will move on. The hurricane example in the book was a good example of this.
Also mentioned in the chapter is court cases, in which there's about 2 billion times you can write a report for the same trial. Some important topics that were covered included libel (unlawful reputation damage using written statements) and qualified privilege (reporters' use of police reports to avoid libel charges). They also touched on the free press/fair trial contrversey that leads to many arguements on the media's right to cover a trial vs. the court's right to an impartial trial. The book sums up this court coverage with a section on ethics, reminding the reporter that some details, topics, and accusations may be off-limits for sensitve stories. When confronted with an issue on what to print in a court case, it's usually a matter of judgment.
Get it? Court? Judgement?
No? ...fine. Maybe I'll be better after Fall Break.
First we'll talk about Crime, accident, and fire stories. All of these are similar in that the who, what, where, and all that stuff is important, but there are many other factors that make a SPOT NEWS STORY (it was in bold in the textbook) different from other news. The one major thing is that if you can make it to the site as news is happening (or right after in terms of the crime) then the opportunity for interviews is very large. You got police/fire officials, eyewitnesses who are standing around with nothing better than to talk to you, and of course the people involved or affected by the situation. One thing about these stories that is a little different than normal reports is that you should probably be a little more sympathetic. The normal story about what happened is important to the readers, but so is what happened to the subjects, if they're ok, and how they will move on. The hurricane example in the book was a good example of this.
Also mentioned in the chapter is court cases, in which there's about 2 billion times you can write a report for the same trial. Some important topics that were covered included libel (unlawful reputation damage using written statements) and qualified privilege (reporters' use of police reports to avoid libel charges). They also touched on the free press/fair trial contrversey that leads to many arguements on the media's right to cover a trial vs. the court's right to an impartial trial. The book sums up this court coverage with a section on ethics, reminding the reporter that some details, topics, and accusations may be off-limits for sensitve stories. When confronted with an issue on what to print in a court case, it's usually a matter of judgment.
Get it? Court? Judgement?
No? ...fine. Maybe I'll be better after Fall Break.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Hillary vs. Everyone
Today I was reading CNN Election Center (who, by the way, stole the name from ICTV Election Center) and they had an article about Senator Hillary Clinton and her 2-fronted battle.
On one hand, she is in the race to become the Democratic candidate for the presidency, which may seem like a formality, but John Edwards and Barack Obama might say otherwise. Although no one knows who the #2 is in the race so far, Hillary is doing well in raising more money then them and keeping ahead in the early primary polls.
The other opposition she is dealing with comes from the Republican Party, more specifically this week Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Here are some exerpts from the article:
---After a Democratic debate last month in which Clinton said she would support an absolute ban on the use of torture during the interrogation of terrorist suspects, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, blasted her for showing "a fundamental weakness when it comes to our country's national security."---
---And fellow Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani criticized Clinton for her proposal to offer a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home, saying that the cost, $20 billion in his estimate, would be too much. "Hillary, that's real money," Giuliani added. "You and Bill can't afford that. It's got to come out of somebody's pockets. You know who it comes out of?"---
Clearly no matter who is talking on television about the presidency, they almost HAVE to talk about Hillary. No matter if you're Blue or Red, it seems as though without trying too hard, Clinton's celebrity, connections, opinions, and money have put her not only on the top of headlines, but also ahead of both parties and any other candidates they have to offer. If I were another campaigner's manager, I'd watch out before this turns into a landslide victory...a year before it begins.
On one hand, she is in the race to become the Democratic candidate for the presidency, which may seem like a formality, but John Edwards and Barack Obama might say otherwise. Although no one knows who the #2 is in the race so far, Hillary is doing well in raising more money then them and keeping ahead in the early primary polls.
The other opposition she is dealing with comes from the Republican Party, more specifically this week Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Here are some exerpts from the article:
---After a Democratic debate last month in which Clinton said she would support an absolute ban on the use of torture during the interrogation of terrorist suspects, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, blasted her for showing "a fundamental weakness when it comes to our country's national security."---
---And fellow Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani criticized Clinton for her proposal to offer a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home, saying that the cost, $20 billion in his estimate, would be too much. "Hillary, that's real money," Giuliani added. "You and Bill can't afford that. It's got to come out of somebody's pockets. You know who it comes out of?"---
Clearly no matter who is talking on television about the presidency, they almost HAVE to talk about Hillary. No matter if you're Blue or Red, it seems as though without trying too hard, Clinton's celebrity, connections, opinions, and money have put her not only on the top of headlines, but also ahead of both parties and any other candidates they have to offer. If I were another campaigner's manager, I'd watch out before this turns into a landslide victory...a year before it begins.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Readings 6 thru 1,000
You name it, I read it this week.
First, out of the textbook, I perused chapters 8 and 22, learning about how to write a story that was a good read, and also learning the legality issues that comes with good storytelling. I think I read chapter 8 earlier, it seems like i did. i probably wrote about it already too. Well anyway, chapter 22 was about writing to be read, which is a pretty obvious concept but is worth mentioning. It goes to show you that great reporters, although they have the ability to get good interviews, facts, and access, may not have what it takes to form the ideas necessary to make an exciting print or news story. When i write for ICTV, it's important to not only know how to make a story readable, but also listen-able by the audience. All in all, an informative chapter about an obvious topic.
Some other readings i did focused on many aspects of evolving journalsim and language. One touched on 5 aspects of prose, such as complexity and abstract ideas, while another was about dying English languish concepts like metaphors. The latter article was pretty cool, talking about phrases like "toe the line" and "hammer and anvil" that showed me how much things are blended and how meanings are lost over time.
The final paper i read was about information released on the Three Mile Island and how most of it was inaccurate or modified. Or at least I think thats what it was mostly about. I'll admit I didnt have a chance to read the entire thing from top to bottom, but i think i understood the concept that even though a spokesperson may give you "credible" information, it doesnt always mean its the truth. It wasnt until after the fact that people realized how much damage the nuclear mishap has caused, so its important for a journalist to stay with a story until all facts are confirmed.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you condence 100 pages into 3 simple paragraphs.
First, out of the textbook, I perused chapters 8 and 22, learning about how to write a story that was a good read, and also learning the legality issues that comes with good storytelling. I think I read chapter 8 earlier, it seems like i did. i probably wrote about it already too. Well anyway, chapter 22 was about writing to be read, which is a pretty obvious concept but is worth mentioning. It goes to show you that great reporters, although they have the ability to get good interviews, facts, and access, may not have what it takes to form the ideas necessary to make an exciting print or news story. When i write for ICTV, it's important to not only know how to make a story readable, but also listen-able by the audience. All in all, an informative chapter about an obvious topic.
Some other readings i did focused on many aspects of evolving journalsim and language. One touched on 5 aspects of prose, such as complexity and abstract ideas, while another was about dying English languish concepts like metaphors. The latter article was pretty cool, talking about phrases like "toe the line" and "hammer and anvil" that showed me how much things are blended and how meanings are lost over time.
The final paper i read was about information released on the Three Mile Island and how most of it was inaccurate or modified. Or at least I think thats what it was mostly about. I'll admit I didnt have a chance to read the entire thing from top to bottom, but i think i understood the concept that even though a spokesperson may give you "credible" information, it doesnt always mean its the truth. It wasnt until after the fact that people realized how much damage the nuclear mishap has caused, so its important for a journalist to stay with a story until all facts are confirmed.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you condence 100 pages into 3 simple paragraphs.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
McCain's Old
I was reading the New York Times online and found a pretty interesting article about John McCain. The basic idea of the article is that even though McCain is one of the (if not THE) oldest candidate for president right now, he still does a lot to stay current and hip. He often makes jokes about his age, and uses his "seniority" to explain his lack of knowledge in certain modern categories. At other times, however, he'll impress the crowds with his up-to-date jokes and insight, thanks to a campain team assembled of young people up to 60 years his junior. Although a few of his off-color comments have gotten him into minor troubles in the past, his age doesn't seem to play a factor in his presidential plight.
Call me a Republican, but I like McCain. He's done a few weird things and he's definately not Mr. Personality all the time, but he's more down to earth than most candidates while still keeping the integrity and intelligence of a modern politcal figure. His bus logo is the "Straight Talk Express" and he seems to connect well with both young and old people and actually make me believe some of the things he says. Maybe that just means he's a good politician, but as this article says, McCain is in the zone right now and is making a solid run for the Republican bid.
Call me a Republican, but I like McCain. He's done a few weird things and he's definately not Mr. Personality all the time, but he's more down to earth than most candidates while still keeping the integrity and intelligence of a modern politcal figure. His bus logo is the "Straight Talk Express" and he seems to connect well with both young and old people and actually make me believe some of the things he says. Maybe that just means he's a good politician, but as this article says, McCain is in the zone right now and is making a solid run for the Republican bid.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Readings 5, Post #10
i finally made it! The big 1-0. Ok, on to the readings...
For this week I read Chapters 11 & 12 in the textbook, whoch dealt with news releases and speeches/news conferences/meetings respectively. Because i'm a journalist, a newsman, and a student, most of these topics aren't new to me, but the book did a good job of organizing them.
In chapter 11, news releases were broken up into the following categories: Announcements of personal matters, Information about a cause, and Information for someone's image. The chapter also explains the art of rewriting the releases, as extra information and AP style may be lacking from the original document. What is comes down to is that it is very important to be able to recognize what is news and what isnt, and be able to formulate a newsworthy story with whatever size of information is provided. Over at ICTV where I volunteer, most stories are about 30 seconds long, and I could have 1 sentence of information or even 1 page. No matter the scenerio, is it important for me to use my writing and research abilities to make the deadline and length requirements.
Chapter 12 was a bit more complex because it dealt with 3 different topics, but much of the processes were similar for all of them. The first step to any conference or meeting is to prepare, and finding out what will be discussed and who will be there is key. At the event, the reporter must have very good listening and note-taking skills. Descrptions, quotes, setting, and attitudes should all be noted by the reporter in an attempt to make the reader feel more involved in the story. Although different events have a few different protocols, it is always important no matter what to be prepared, be on time, and get as much of a complete, well-rounded story as possible. It's never bad to get too much info. Your editors/producers will cut stuff out anyway, so its not a big deal how much you get to start out with.
For this week I read Chapters 11 & 12 in the textbook, whoch dealt with news releases and speeches/news conferences/meetings respectively. Because i'm a journalist, a newsman, and a student, most of these topics aren't new to me, but the book did a good job of organizing them.
In chapter 11, news releases were broken up into the following categories: Announcements of personal matters, Information about a cause, and Information for someone's image. The chapter also explains the art of rewriting the releases, as extra information and AP style may be lacking from the original document. What is comes down to is that it is very important to be able to recognize what is news and what isnt, and be able to formulate a newsworthy story with whatever size of information is provided. Over at ICTV where I volunteer, most stories are about 30 seconds long, and I could have 1 sentence of information or even 1 page. No matter the scenerio, is it important for me to use my writing and research abilities to make the deadline and length requirements.
Chapter 12 was a bit more complex because it dealt with 3 different topics, but much of the processes were similar for all of them. The first step to any conference or meeting is to prepare, and finding out what will be discussed and who will be there is key. At the event, the reporter must have very good listening and note-taking skills. Descrptions, quotes, setting, and attitudes should all be noted by the reporter in an attempt to make the reader feel more involved in the story. Although different events have a few different protocols, it is always important no matter what to be prepared, be on time, and get as much of a complete, well-rounded story as possible. It's never bad to get too much info. Your editors/producers will cut stuff out anyway, so its not a big deal how much you get to start out with.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
The Blues
Today I am writing my blog on another blog. The CNN Political Ticker has an interesting story pitting frontrunner Hillary Clinton against her Democratic rival Barack Obama.
The entry basically cites jabs that each candidate has made at the other. Kinda a he said, she said thing just to add a little heat to a battle that is getting just a tad to old (considering they started 2 years before the actual election). Here's what it boils down to:
She said: Obama doesn't have the political experience necessary to run the country.
He said (the focus of the article: Clinton is just an extension from her husband's presidency and are using their longevity to tey and get elected.
Obama also took the time to remind the public that 5 years ago this week he voted against the invasion of Iraq, and is basically using every opportunity he can to get this point across. What's more is that Hillary voted FOR the invasion, so it's just another ace to put up Obama's sleeve.
What this artice boils down to is that Barack Obama seems to be using all of the tools he has to gain a noticable competative edge on Hillary Clinton. Although she is still the frontrunner of the party, his "experienced inexperience" may be enough to give the New York senator a run for her money in New Hampshire.
The entry basically cites jabs that each candidate has made at the other. Kinda a he said, she said thing just to add a little heat to a battle that is getting just a tad to old (considering they started 2 years before the actual election). Here's what it boils down to:
She said: Obama doesn't have the political experience necessary to run the country.
He said (the focus of the article: Clinton is just an extension from her husband's presidency and are using their longevity to tey and get elected.
Obama also took the time to remind the public that 5 years ago this week he voted against the invasion of Iraq, and is basically using every opportunity he can to get this point across. What's more is that Hillary voted FOR the invasion, so it's just another ace to put up Obama's sleeve.
What this artice boils down to is that Barack Obama seems to be using all of the tools he has to gain a noticable competative edge on Hillary Clinton. Although she is still the frontrunner of the party, his "experienced inexperience" may be enough to give the New York senator a run for her money in New Hampshire.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Readings Four
I just got done reading the assignment fot this week. Only one- Chapter 10 in the textbook- but somehow, like always, it takes me all the way til the last day to get my readings completed. In any event, this chapter dealt with obituarty writing and the many aspects to create a good story of one's life.
The best piece of information I got out of the chapter was a quote, by Michael Best of The Detroit News. He said, "I don't write about death, I write about life." So many people may think that the cause of death is the most important part of an obituary, but as the book indicates this is not the case. Although some causes of death are worth their own story, the obituary should be an account on someone's life and the legacy or memories they leave behind.
This notion also brings the idea of good reporting to light. Just as you should make calls or do research on an event or other story, obituaries should be treated the same way. A normal report on the who, when, and funeral information is sometimes an acceptable minimum, but there is so much more to a person's life that their town, friends, and family deserve to have printed in the news for everyone to see.
Like any news story, there are some limitations on what can and cannot be said, and a few ethical judgments may need to be passed. Deciding what life stories can be used and if the cause of death is important are a few examples, but there are many others. In my opinion, the phrase "don't speak ill of the dead" comes to mind, and I say no matter who the person was, an objective yet respectful obituary is important for all people.
The best piece of information I got out of the chapter was a quote, by Michael Best of The Detroit News. He said, "I don't write about death, I write about life." So many people may think that the cause of death is the most important part of an obituary, but as the book indicates this is not the case. Although some causes of death are worth their own story, the obituary should be an account on someone's life and the legacy or memories they leave behind.
This notion also brings the idea of good reporting to light. Just as you should make calls or do research on an event or other story, obituaries should be treated the same way. A normal report on the who, when, and funeral information is sometimes an acceptable minimum, but there is so much more to a person's life that their town, friends, and family deserve to have printed in the news for everyone to see.
Like any news story, there are some limitations on what can and cannot be said, and a few ethical judgments may need to be passed. Deciding what life stories can be used and if the cause of death is important are a few examples, but there are many others. In my opinion, the phrase "don't speak ill of the dead" comes to mind, and I say no matter who the person was, an objective yet respectful obituary is important for all people.
Bush endorses...Clinton?
I was reading The Drudge Report on FoxNews.com today, and saw an interesting story. Even more interesting than most of the crazy stuff the Fox News usually has. I know, hard to imagine, but here it is. President Bush has predicted the outcome of the Democratic Primaries, and the winner is Hillary Clinton.
Excerpt from The Drudge Report:
“She's got a national presence and this is becoming a national primary,”Bush told Sammon in the book, according to Drudge. “And therefore the person with the national presence, who has got the ability to raise enough money to sustain an effort in a multiplicity of sites, has got a good chance to be nominated.”
So although it isnt in perfect black-and-white, the president has essentially said that he believes Hillary has what it takes to gain the Democratic support for the presidential nomination. Although this doesn't guarantee much for the New York Senator, it does give her even more attention and press than before, and even gives her an audience of Republicans she may have not previously had. With someone as recognizable at the President referencing your credentials, this may put America one step closer to a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton White House progression.
(Although later in the book Bush does say he thinks the Repiblican nominee will beat Hillary. We'll see how far his insight goes.)
Excerpt from The Drudge Report:
“She's got a national presence and this is becoming a national primary,”Bush told Sammon in the book, according to Drudge. “And therefore the person with the national presence, who has got the ability to raise enough money to sustain an effort in a multiplicity of sites, has got a good chance to be nominated.”
So although it isnt in perfect black-and-white, the president has essentially said that he believes Hillary has what it takes to gain the Democratic support for the presidential nomination. Although this doesn't guarantee much for the New York Senator, it does give her even more attention and press than before, and even gives her an audience of Republicans she may have not previously had. With someone as recognizable at the President referencing your credentials, this may put America one step closer to a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton White House progression.
(Although later in the book Bush does say he thinks the Repiblican nominee will beat Hillary. We'll see how far his insight goes.)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Readings #3, with 3 Readings
This week I read 3 different passages for homework, and each one gave me some new insight to further my journalism training.
One short passage I read was on the importance of timelines when covering a topic with a long time span. In his blog the author illustrates (literally) how animated timelins especially help online reporting becsause of the ability to easily organize dates and events without having to write a long article that gets too boring or too reptative. I dont think I've ever used timelines in writing (except maybe history homework) so putting it into practice may be difficult. Maybe i'll acquire the usage the more i use my computer to write.
Another article was from a webpage made by the Poynter Institute who seems to be a pretty well-versed leader in the writing world, in terms of usage and studies. This specific article dealt with "e-tidbits" and the flow of information online. It showed how one site with a small environmental news feed can effect (affect?) several different institutions on a very large scale. From a broader standpoint, it goes to show you how online journalism has such a long reach in society and how information knows no bounds when it comes to internet accessibility.
My final reading was from the textbook, namely Chapter 4 on interviews and quotes. A good portion was common knowledge or past teachings like correct questioning and when and when not to use direct quotes, but one topic was a little iffy to me (and the writers apparently). The section in question was when it talked about editing quotes to fix grammar or speech. Now, I don't know how much of a change they allow, but some of the sources they used said it was ok to edit. This could be as simple as changing "I dunno" to "I don't know," but i'm not sure if this is fair to the speaker. I mean if i was interviewing a southerner who talked with an accent, am i allowed to change his "y'all" to "you all" or should I leave it as is? The chapter says to give everyone the courtesy of proper grammer to treat people fairly, but I'm not totally conviced. I'd rather give the readers a true sense as to who they are "listening" to (in print). I guess it's debatable. If I ever come across a problem in this field I guess I'll make the decision then.
One short passage I read was on the importance of timelines when covering a topic with a long time span. In his blog the author illustrates (literally) how animated timelins especially help online reporting becsause of the ability to easily organize dates and events without having to write a long article that gets too boring or too reptative. I dont think I've ever used timelines in writing (except maybe history homework) so putting it into practice may be difficult. Maybe i'll acquire the usage the more i use my computer to write.
Another article was from a webpage made by the Poynter Institute who seems to be a pretty well-versed leader in the writing world, in terms of usage and studies. This specific article dealt with "e-tidbits" and the flow of information online. It showed how one site with a small environmental news feed can effect (affect?) several different institutions on a very large scale. From a broader standpoint, it goes to show you how online journalism has such a long reach in society and how information knows no bounds when it comes to internet accessibility.
My final reading was from the textbook, namely Chapter 4 on interviews and quotes. A good portion was common knowledge or past teachings like correct questioning and when and when not to use direct quotes, but one topic was a little iffy to me (and the writers apparently). The section in question was when it talked about editing quotes to fix grammar or speech. Now, I don't know how much of a change they allow, but some of the sources they used said it was ok to edit. This could be as simple as changing "I dunno" to "I don't know," but i'm not sure if this is fair to the speaker. I mean if i was interviewing a southerner who talked with an accent, am i allowed to change his "y'all" to "you all" or should I leave it as is? The chapter says to give everyone the courtesy of proper grammer to treat people fairly, but I'm not totally conviced. I'd rather give the readers a true sense as to who they are "listening" to (in print). I guess it's debatable. If I ever come across a problem in this field I guess I'll make the decision then.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
McCain's Military Support
I was reading a CNN blog story on John McCain earlier today and found some info that didn't really surprise me, but furthered my understanding of McCain's stances and fight to get to the White House.
The Arizona senator has made much of his career choices based on his former service in the military and his heralded both as a P.O.W. and an injured veteran. Earlier today though, he showed his support to the military while showing his obvious disdain for democrats. Kinda killing two birds with one stone I suppose.
In a speech today, McCain bashed MoveOn.org, a Democratic website that mockingly refers to General David Petraeus (chief of Iraq operations) as General "Betray Us." McCain said that on one hand the Democrats say he is an honorable military man, and on the other hand they are writing bad things about him online.
I think it's a good thing that McCain brought this subject to people's attention, and the military support he already had could only improve from this gesture. It's smart for him to rely on military disputes to make his biggest points, since his past and experience obviously make him an expert in the subject. With any luck, more debates and speeches like this may follow and McCain could see himself in a favorable position (in terms of Republicans) in 2008.
CNN blog story
The Arizona senator has made much of his career choices based on his former service in the military and his heralded both as a P.O.W. and an injured veteran. Earlier today though, he showed his support to the military while showing his obvious disdain for democrats. Kinda killing two birds with one stone I suppose.
In a speech today, McCain bashed MoveOn.org, a Democratic website that mockingly refers to General David Petraeus (chief of Iraq operations) as General "Betray Us." McCain said that on one hand the Democrats say he is an honorable military man, and on the other hand they are writing bad things about him online.
I think it's a good thing that McCain brought this subject to people's attention, and the military support he already had could only improve from this gesture. It's smart for him to rely on military disputes to make his biggest points, since his past and experience obviously make him an expert in the subject. With any luck, more debates and speeches like this may follow and McCain could see himself in a favorable position (in terms of Republicans) in 2008.
CNN blog story
Monday, September 10, 2007
"-:...##Punctuation##...:-" (Readings 2)
I looked over the AP Stylebook today on a number of puntiation topics that can help you on your writing skills. Many of them are self-explanitory, but some are a little out there. First of all, the semi-colon. Or semicolon. ; <- that thing. I rarely if ever use it and when I do, either MicroSoft Word or my teachers tell me its wrong. I'll probably never use it as a normal part of my articles, but for lists and comparrisons it's good to have the stylebook handy. Colons in lists are a little odd to me as well, but now that analogies are off the SAT people probably won't worry about this sort of thing as much. Ok, enough punctuation. Most of the stuff I know, it's just the things that don't have their own poster in elementary school that get a little confusing now and then.
My other reading came from the News Reporting & Writing book, namely the first three chapters. Whereas my first reading was a general refresher on how writing the inverted pyramid was, this reading was an all-around Journalism refresher. Almost made me feel like a freshman again, but considering you lose a lot of information during the summer it was good to look over again.
Relevance, usefulness, and interest are cited by the book as the most important things to consider in a written piece. You want the work to be current enough that it still matters in the world (don't annouce the invention of the lightbulb), useful enough so that after reading the audience will walk away with new knowledge (don't explain in 3 pages how to button a shirt), and finally interesting enough that a person will actually read the article and not just flip the page to the comics section. Other factors such as impact, conflict, novelty, prominence, proximity, and timeliness also help guide the writer to a good story.
I work at ICTV and although all of these tips aren't directly taught, the experience we get there is very helpful to both my classes and my future careers. Working there also exposes me to two other key points in the treading: technology and interviewing. Although unrelated in nature, these two factors greatly improve my abilities to gather news and also greatly improve the quality of the show (NewsWatch 16). The book shows that technology is an ever-changing process and that journalists need to be fluent in all mediums to be able to work effectively and effeciently in the "real world." Interviewing is also essential because it not only adds a character to your news story, it also gives you opinions and perspectives not often found in simple research books or press releases.
All in all these chapters were a simple reminder of key journalism techniques that I may have laready known, but aren't to be taken too lightly.
My other reading came from the News Reporting & Writing book, namely the first three chapters. Whereas my first reading was a general refresher on how writing the inverted pyramid was, this reading was an all-around Journalism refresher. Almost made me feel like a freshman again, but considering you lose a lot of information during the summer it was good to look over again.
Relevance, usefulness, and interest are cited by the book as the most important things to consider in a written piece. You want the work to be current enough that it still matters in the world (don't annouce the invention of the lightbulb), useful enough so that after reading the audience will walk away with new knowledge (don't explain in 3 pages how to button a shirt), and finally interesting enough that a person will actually read the article and not just flip the page to the comics section. Other factors such as impact, conflict, novelty, prominence, proximity, and timeliness also help guide the writer to a good story.
I work at ICTV and although all of these tips aren't directly taught, the experience we get there is very helpful to both my classes and my future careers. Working there also exposes me to two other key points in the treading: technology and interviewing. Although unrelated in nature, these two factors greatly improve my abilities to gather news and also greatly improve the quality of the show (NewsWatch 16). The book shows that technology is an ever-changing process and that journalists need to be fluent in all mediums to be able to work effectively and effeciently in the "real world." Interviewing is also essential because it not only adds a character to your news story, it also gives you opinions and perspectives not often found in simple research books or press releases.
All in all these chapters were a simple reminder of key journalism techniques that I may have laready known, but aren't to be taken too lightly.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Oprah'bama
Well I wasn't planning on doing 2 Obama stories in a row, but I found this new story interesting. Check it out:
CNN Story
Oprah Winfrey, who basically owns everything and can pretty much sell anything too, is now publically endorisong Barak Obama for president. Normally when stars suport politics it isn't much more than a fundraising boost or a small public relations spike, but Oprah s no normal star. Through her television show, her Harpo Magazine, her book recommendation, and regular public appearances, Oprah's influence surpasses many if not all of American celebrities. There isn't much word yet on whether she will appear in any endorsement commercials or feature Obama in any of her various mediums, but the star power she has has already created a big buzz in both Hollywood and Capitol Hill
Some say that this may be the beggining of the end for Hillary, and Oprah may swing the Democratic women's vote away from Clinton and over to Obama. This long-standing friendship between two Chicago African-American socialites may turn out to be one of the most dynamic duos in America.
I dunno yet about a Obama-Winfrey ticket in '08. We'll see.
CNN Story
Oprah Winfrey, who basically owns everything and can pretty much sell anything too, is now publically endorisong Barak Obama for president. Normally when stars suport politics it isn't much more than a fundraising boost or a small public relations spike, but Oprah s no normal star. Through her television show, her Harpo Magazine, her book recommendation, and regular public appearances, Oprah's influence surpasses many if not all of American celebrities. There isn't much word yet on whether she will appear in any endorsement commercials or feature Obama in any of her various mediums, but the star power she has has already created a big buzz in both Hollywood and Capitol Hill
Some say that this may be the beggining of the end for Hillary, and Oprah may swing the Democratic women's vote away from Clinton and over to Obama. This long-standing friendship between two Chicago African-American socialites may turn out to be one of the most dynamic duos in America.
I dunno yet about a Obama-Winfrey ticket in '08. We'll see.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Readings 1
Just got done with my readings this week, not too bad.
One of the things I read was The Missouri Group Book I have, chapters 7 & 8. The first chapter dealt with the inverted pyramid which I know fairly well, but it was a good refresher. The examples help a lot, cuz i usually like to ramble and it drills the point about being clear and consise. The second chapter was a little more up my alley since it talked about being able to add your own identity to stories and make it more readable and more appealing to the readers. I like doing TV so the writing aspect is obviously important and needs a good flow to keep viewers inticed. Most of the examples are from newspapers or online, but so far this book is definitely helping.
The other reading assignment was from the website stateofthemedia.org. This article assessed in great detail the direction that our news media is going in. According to many sources such as the Poynter Institute for media, newspapers (the objects) are losing sales at a rapid rate, but newspapers (the companies) in general are generating money through new and extensive online programs. Because space on the internet is infinite, the journalism aspects of coverage and detail are utilized better online, and the "news hole" could be considered a thing of the past. Papers [like the New York Time and Washington Post] and news companies [like CBS and NBC] have essentially duplicated their normal stories and turned them into webpages accessible to everyone, usually for a small subscription fee. Also, new online-only news sources rival the big corporations in an attempt to garner the new generation of investigators and media savvy readers into the ever-growing World Wide Web.
( To view this artcile, see http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2007/narrative_newspapers_intro.asp?cat=1&media=2 )
The article primarily addresses the question as to whether newspapers were a dying medium, but because companies can still generate money, I agree with the article in saying papers will be just fine. Divisions may be changing, office space may be cut, and subsciption may be lower, but there's no way newspapers are leaving the public media's attention.
One of the things I read was The Missouri Group Book I have, chapters 7 & 8. The first chapter dealt with the inverted pyramid which I know fairly well, but it was a good refresher. The examples help a lot, cuz i usually like to ramble and it drills the point about being clear and consise. The second chapter was a little more up my alley since it talked about being able to add your own identity to stories and make it more readable and more appealing to the readers. I like doing TV so the writing aspect is obviously important and needs a good flow to keep viewers inticed. Most of the examples are from newspapers or online, but so far this book is definitely helping.
The other reading assignment was from the website stateofthemedia.org. This article assessed in great detail the direction that our news media is going in. According to many sources such as the Poynter Institute for media, newspapers (the objects) are losing sales at a rapid rate, but newspapers (the companies) in general are generating money through new and extensive online programs. Because space on the internet is infinite, the journalism aspects of coverage and detail are utilized better online, and the "news hole" could be considered a thing of the past. Papers [like the New York Time and Washington Post] and news companies [like CBS and NBC] have essentially duplicated their normal stories and turned them into webpages accessible to everyone, usually for a small subscription fee. Also, new online-only news sources rival the big corporations in an attempt to garner the new generation of investigators and media savvy readers into the ever-growing World Wide Web.
( To view this artcile, see http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2007/narrative_newspapers_intro.asp?cat=1&media=2 )
The article primarily addresses the question as to whether newspapers were a dying medium, but because companies can still generate money, I agree with the article in saying papers will be just fine. Divisions may be changing, office space may be cut, and subsciption may be lower, but there's no way newspapers are leaving the public media's attention.
Obama Rap
Well here's my first post on this Blogger and I'd say it's a pretty good topic. Barak Obama is now not only being supported by rappers, he's actually making it into their songs. sites like hiphop-elements.com show his name and say stuff about Master P and other rappers supposting him, and now CNN and the Associated Press show rappers dropping his name in lyrics.
Talib Kwali has a lyric that says "speak to the people like Barak Obama"
Common has a song with the line "My raps ignite the people like Obama"
And Jin even put the namesake in his title in the song 'Open Letter 2 Obama'
I think it's pretty cool that politics is getting into new forms of the media and becoming more culturally diverse. I mean i'm a typical middle class white kid from the suburbs so my understanding of the black culture isn't perfect, but to see a young politician being referred to as "B-rock" and influencing people in a way not geared towards violence and abuse is fairly new and pretty cool. In terms of the 2008 election, this appeal can't do anything but help him. He gets a new following, free advertising, and has his image shed in a new and positive light.
Talib Kwali has a lyric that says "speak to the people like Barak Obama"
Common has a song with the line "My raps ignite the people like Obama"
And Jin even put the namesake in his title in the song 'Open Letter 2 Obama'
I think it's pretty cool that politics is getting into new forms of the media and becoming more culturally diverse. I mean i'm a typical middle class white kid from the suburbs so my understanding of the black culture isn't perfect, but to see a young politician being referred to as "B-rock" and influencing people in a way not geared towards violence and abuse is fairly new and pretty cool. In terms of the 2008 election, this appeal can't do anything but help him. He gets a new following, free advertising, and has his image shed in a new and positive light.
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