http://www.journalism.org/node/11961
The article raised a number of questions regarding the change taking place in the way news works, and the way reporters and editors work. Based on the results of a series of interviews and elaborate surveys completed by senior newsroom executives, the article states that todays reporters have "less knowledge of their community." This forced me to wonder how important it is for reporters and thus the news that they report to the community to be personal, to be connected to those they have delivering the news to. Many could argue that the job of a reporter is to connect with society, to know what they want to hear and what they are all about. But now that reporting itself and the interests of society seem to be changing, at times even conflicting, how important is it? Very little about the media remains intimate with the public anymore because the public no longer seems terribly concerned by it. Everything moves so fast these days, and the public seems to be more concerned with receiving news as fast as possible than receiving news that reflects a reporter who has truly taken the time to know the community or the issue at hand. This raises another issue. With the internet offering immediate news, and immediate responses to questions, how can reporters in the newsroom compete? Obviously much of the news on the web is not created not by professional reporters but self-made newswriters, and much of the information is not checked for corrections, so true reporters need to get the right information out there as fast as they can. But when news is delivered immediately via web, how can reporters take the necessary time to fact check and be as detailed as possible in their articles while still competing to deliver news as fast or nearly as fast. And how can editors make the necessary time to edit and fact check? As the article demands of readers at the end, with todays new types and expectations of news, "what is being gained, and what is being lost?"
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Lee Abrams Experience: How to hear the man who would transform Tribune
http://www.cjr.org/feature/the_lee_abrams_experience.php?page=4
This article is roughly about Lee Abrams and how he his changing so many different tribunes around the country, supposedly for the better. This in a sense could be a good thing, but at the same time is being looked at by news room vets as the end of journalism as everyone knows it. One of the most interesting things in this six page magazine article is the fact that in the past year, news papers have been folding in on themselves, forcing layoffs and downsizing all around. This relates pretty well to what we talked about in class the other day, with the face of journalism changing, and forcing everyone else to follow suit. Part of this cut in journalism jobs is blamed on such things as Craigslist which takes away from newspaper ads, and the housing bust. The article continues on with how more Tribune Companies are aquiring loads of dept and are forced to have more lay offs, while at the same time Abrams is quoted to say that he thinks "News and Information is the NEW Rock n' Roll". Either way, the article is good to look at and get people thinking about where journalism is going and what can be done to help. After all, we are the future of this profession.
This article is roughly about Lee Abrams and how he his changing so many different tribunes around the country, supposedly for the better. This in a sense could be a good thing, but at the same time is being looked at by news room vets as the end of journalism as everyone knows it. One of the most interesting things in this six page magazine article is the fact that in the past year, news papers have been folding in on themselves, forcing layoffs and downsizing all around. This relates pretty well to what we talked about in class the other day, with the face of journalism changing, and forcing everyone else to follow suit. Part of this cut in journalism jobs is blamed on such things as Craigslist which takes away from newspaper ads, and the housing bust. The article continues on with how more Tribune Companies are aquiring loads of dept and are forced to have more lay offs, while at the same time Abrams is quoted to say that he thinks "News and Information is the NEW Rock n' Roll". Either way, the article is good to look at and get people thinking about where journalism is going and what can be done to help. After all, we are the future of this profession.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Jersey's Largest Paper Goes Without AP Today -- Protest or Test?
It's admirable to see a paper attempting to send a message to the AP for raising their prices, but it is moronic from an editor's standpoint to omit articles that will better the paper. From a sports (I know I keep making everything about sports media, I'm trying not to) standpoint, if you're a New Jersey paper and are leaving out a story in your sports section about an out-of-town team that would be of interest to Yankees or Mets fan, you are doing a disservice to your readers and risking losing some. Remember that your fight is with the AP, so try a tactic that will hurt them more than you or your readers. Leaving out stories that may be of importance weakens a paper's legitimacy and, to a degree, cuts readers out of the loop. I don't care if it's for a day or for a year, it's never a good idea to put out a lesser product.
College station gives "average" Iraqi voices global reach
I checked out this article on a college radio station for my worth a look. The radio program called War News Radio focuses on giving Iraqi citizens a voice amidst the war. The reasoning behind the idea for this program was that it was felt that much of the media surrounding the war was from the standpoint of the US and the military, but hardly any view or opinion was heard from an Iraqi citizen.
I think this article definitely takes the bias debate to a different light. We have made the comment that many articles out there do not offer enough opinion on both sides of the story. Well, what about when this includes an entirely different side or rather different perspective of the world? We have been in Iraq for years and, sure, we’ve heard negative and positive sides about the war – but they’re all from an American perspective. What about the Iraqis whose homes are right in the midst of the fighting? Don’t their opinions count at all? Being American we already have this unconscious bias set in, but being told new stories through the eyes of a person outside the US – such as an Iraqi – would give a completely different view to an article. It would also bring an awareness to many news stories that perhaps at first we felt were unimportant but to many foreigners is a huge deal.
I think this article definitely takes the bias debate to a different light. We have made the comment that many articles out there do not offer enough opinion on both sides of the story. Well, what about when this includes an entirely different side or rather different perspective of the world? We have been in Iraq for years and, sure, we’ve heard negative and positive sides about the war – but they’re all from an American perspective. What about the Iraqis whose homes are right in the midst of the fighting? Don’t their opinions count at all? Being American we already have this unconscious bias set in, but being told new stories through the eyes of a person outside the US – such as an Iraqi – would give a completely different view to an article. It would also bring an awareness to many news stories that perhaps at first we felt were unimportant but to many foreigners is a huge deal.
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090903727.html?sid=ST2008091000081&s_pos=
This article from The Washington Post is basically about how rumors in regards to the upcoming election are believed to be true before facts are verified. For example, Obama's tax plan outlines that families which earn less than $250,000 will be exempt from the tax plan. McCain, however, is continually stating that the plan will raise everyone's taxes. Because of this, 51% of voters thought that Obama would raise their taxes, which isn't true, as taxes will actually be cut for most families. Likewise, 41% of senior citizens believe that their income taxes will go up. The income taxes for senior citizens who make less than $50,000 a year will go down.
Similarly, Obama has said for months that McCain wanted to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years. What McCain actually said was that the troops would only be there if the country was at peace.
The article also discusses Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere" which she once supported, but has since jumped ship after she lost support. There had been $223 million sent to Alaska for the bridge, but more than 50% of it has been spent on other projects.
The reason I chose this article was because of a quote by Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Politcal Report: "We have created a system where there is not a lot of shame in stretching the truth." This ties into the reading which was assigned for yesterday's class (Tues, Sept. 9) about truthfulness in journalism. Although there have been a lot of articles written that simply re-state what people have said without checking the speakers facts or the reliability of their sources, this article was calling out false claims, such as Obama falsely saying that McCain wanted to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years.
This article from The Washington Post is basically about how rumors in regards to the upcoming election are believed to be true before facts are verified. For example, Obama's tax plan outlines that families which earn less than $250,000 will be exempt from the tax plan. McCain, however, is continually stating that the plan will raise everyone's taxes. Because of this, 51% of voters thought that Obama would raise their taxes, which isn't true, as taxes will actually be cut for most families. Likewise, 41% of senior citizens believe that their income taxes will go up. The income taxes for senior citizens who make less than $50,000 a year will go down.
Similarly, Obama has said for months that McCain wanted to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years. What McCain actually said was that the troops would only be there if the country was at peace.
The article also discusses Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere" which she once supported, but has since jumped ship after she lost support. There had been $223 million sent to Alaska for the bridge, but more than 50% of it has been spent on other projects.
The reason I chose this article was because of a quote by Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Politcal Report: "We have created a system where there is not a lot of shame in stretching the truth." This ties into the reading which was assigned for yesterday's class (Tues, Sept. 9) about truthfulness in journalism. Although there have been a lot of articles written that simply re-state what people have said without checking the speakers facts or the reliability of their sources, this article was calling out false claims, such as Obama falsely saying that McCain wanted to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years.
No questions, please; Palin sticks to her script
This article really shocked me because of what it says about today's media. The article states that Palin refuses to speak to any reporter or media station (unless it's off the record). The article hints that the reason for her silence is because she is heated by the way the media has portrayed her and her family. The article stated that the next time Palin will agree to an interview is when "she feels comfortable doing it."
This is appalling because it makes the media look evil. It raises the question "can we really blame Palin for refusing an interview when all reporters seem to do is use her own words against her?" The fact that Palin will only speak to reporters "off the record" really makes us look bad-- and even worse, untrustworthy.
This relates to our class discussion of how journalism is evolving. Past candidates used the media as a way to get their message across and earn the respect of the public. Now candidates have to prepare speeches weeks in advance so they don't say something wrong that the media will display on the front pages.
How can journalist inform the people about candidates when WE are also the ones scaring the candidates away from the podium?
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=20513
This is appalling because it makes the media look evil. It raises the question "can we really blame Palin for refusing an interview when all reporters seem to do is use her own words against her?" The fact that Palin will only speak to reporters "off the record" really makes us look bad-- and even worse, untrustworthy.
This relates to our class discussion of how journalism is evolving. Past candidates used the media as a way to get their message across and earn the respect of the public. Now candidates have to prepare speeches weeks in advance so they don't say something wrong that the media will display on the front pages.
How can journalist inform the people about candidates when WE are also the ones scaring the candidates away from the podium?
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=20513
Cholera Outbreak in Iraq
I understood that Iraq and Baghdad in particular were having issues with rebuilding their home because of the current conflict. What I didn’t realize was that sanitation was so bad that there have been cholera outbreaks which have subsequently led to two deaths. To me, cholera conjures up the idea of an epidemic in a historical sense. Because we know the pathogens and that this is a quite preventable disease reflects just how bad the situation in Iraq truly is.
The article explained how Jordan is weary of relations and trade with Iraq which could create stigmas and prejudice behaviors to Iraqi’s who are obviously in need of help from neighbors. In addition to seeking refuge in Jordan, Iraqi’s have also gone to Afghanistan and Pakistan that have been warned against the threat of a cholera epidemic.
I thought that this was a well constructed article because fingers are not being pointed towards particular political figures but rather the entire war. The article does however explain certain attitudes of health organization within Iraq and the World Health Organization and basically addresses that this is a major public health issue.
As American’s I think there is definitely the tendency to tune out when it comes to issues with Iraq because it is always present and there are so many gray areas that one becomes frustrated with the problem. However, I think that this article is worth a look so to speak, because as annoying or tedious as the war is, America has made a major footprint in the country. Cholera is only a precursor to greater health problems that the country is going to face if basic sanitation is not dealt with.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-cholera,1,2918568.story
The article explained how Jordan is weary of relations and trade with Iraq which could create stigmas and prejudice behaviors to Iraqi’s who are obviously in need of help from neighbors. In addition to seeking refuge in Jordan, Iraqi’s have also gone to Afghanistan and Pakistan that have been warned against the threat of a cholera epidemic.
I thought that this was a well constructed article because fingers are not being pointed towards particular political figures but rather the entire war. The article does however explain certain attitudes of health organization within Iraq and the World Health Organization and basically addresses that this is a major public health issue.
As American’s I think there is definitely the tendency to tune out when it comes to issues with Iraq because it is always present and there are so many gray areas that one becomes frustrated with the problem. However, I think that this article is worth a look so to speak, because as annoying or tedious as the war is, America has made a major footprint in the country. Cholera is only a precursor to greater health problems that the country is going to face if basic sanitation is not dealt with.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-cholera,1,2918568.story
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