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.
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