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Bush becoming too predictable

I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems that the state of the union addresses over the past several years have become somewhat repetitive. Sure, the president is supposed to address the important issues in our nation, but does it have to be the same thing every year.

Nothing against Bush, but it was almost predictable as to what he was going to say. It's like I already knew what he was going to say before the words left his mouth. To be fair I had the speech transcript, but still...when are the new issues going to come into play?

Here is the link to the transcript: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080128-13.html

Notice the visual editing in this

Note the symmetry and grouping of the readouts, the repetition of the red lead-ins. The "magnet" of this portion of the page is near Bush's hand. The directional lines in the image work perfectly to lead the reader into the information. What else can you find?

For a wonderful review of books on blogs...

...take a look at Sarah Boxer's article in The New York Review of Books. Here's an excerpt:

A growing stack of books has pondered the effects of blogs and bloggers on culture (We've Got Blog and Against the Machine), on democracy (Republic .com 2.0), on politics (Blogwars), on privacy (The Future of Reputation), on media (Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation and We're All Journalists Now), on professionalism (The Cult of the Amateur), on business (Naked Conversations), and on all of the above (Blog!). But what about the effect of blogs on language?

Are they a new literary genre? Do they have their own conceits, forms, and rules? Do they have an essence?

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Journalists invade Arizona

With the Super Bowl a week away, journalists are flooding into the Valley -- more than 3,500 of them, according to an azcentral.com article.

I think this is pretty cool considering the consistent notion of print journalism being a reeling field and at least for this week, Arizona will be hosting a massive contingency of the "endangered species."

I've had the opportunity to work for the Arizona Cardinals as a media relations assistant the past two seasons, so I've seen the activity in the University of Phoenix stadium press box and I can't imagine what it'll be like filled to the brim. It was always cool to see all the writers rushing on deadline and after the big game, I'm sure the tension will be thick enough you could cut it with a knife.

And to think, more than 2,000 other journalists had their applications for credentials rejected, according to the article.

Read the entire article

The photo above is roughly the view from the press box. Photo from thenewstribune.com

Errors and Corrections

Here's a link to a recent column in The News & Observer (based out of North Carolina) entitled "Errors and their flip side: corrections."

"Errors and their flip side: corrections"

The column starts off with an anecdote about how the paper named the wrong fitness center in a front-page story about a burglary, confusing readers and potentially causing loss of business for the center mentioned. This illustrates how a small mistake can have unforeseen consequences.

The article also mentions "Regret the Error," a new, 366-page book about newspaper errors written by Craig Silverman.

The following example of a correction from the book is this excerpt from the New York Times:

"'An article in some copies on Wednesday about congressional efforts to pass legislation to expand the government's electronic wiretapping powers misspelled -- yet again -- the surname of the attorney general of the United States, in three of four references. He is Alberto R. Gonzales, not Gonzalez. (The Times has misspelled Mr. Gonzales's name in at least 14 articles dating to 2001 when he became White House counsel. This year alone Mr. Gonzales's name has been misspelled in February and March, and in two articles in April.)'"

I commend the Time's comprehensive correction and offering of full disclosure. I think being honest with readers, even if it brings to light a series of embarrassing mistakes, might help to regain some of the credibility lost in making the mistake in the first place.

Study says young journalists are leaving the profession.

According to a new study, released by a Ball State University professor, a high percentage of young journalists are leaving their papers behind.

The main reasons for exiting is low salary, long and lousy hours, and too much stress.

The survey, including results from 770 journalists, indicated 25.7% said they were leaving the newspaper industry and 36.2% were unsure if they were going to leave or not. Meanwhile, these numbers were even higher for journalists 34 years old and younger, with 31% planing on making an exit.

Interestingly, copy editors at small papers were found to have the highest rate of burn-out.

The good news: Though journalists report they are leaving newspapers behind, they are not necessarily leaving the industry, with some are considering free-lance or public relations. However, there are others who are looking into academia or returning to school in pursuit of a new career

Here's your question:

What in-the-news topic -- international, national, state or topical (the environment, health, education, etc.) -- would you like to know more about either out of interest or to make yourself a better journalist/editor? Click on the "comments" link below to give your answer (ASAP, please) and we'll have an easily accessible archive. Your answers will help me draw up the assignment options for the backstories we will be doing through the semester. I want to make the assignments on Monday so you have as much advance notice as possible. So the earlier you respond, the greater the likelihood your suggestion will make it into the mix. Thanks! Looking forward to seeing the range of answers.

Almost lose the flag...

Here's what you see top of the fold in the Press Register today. Can't deny the influence of a news designer here... but what does it say visually?
In the Pilot's front, you lose part of the flag for a refer. Take a look at the good example of layering on the main story.

New Tribune flag

Since we have at least two Tribune fans in the class, thought you'd like to see this. The paper debuted a new flag and a new page width today. A blog -- newsdesigner -- you'll find very interesting if you have any interest in news design at all has a writeup. The SND (Society for News Design) blog has even more, including an interview with the news designer.

D'oh

Can't be good if the Simpsons are taking a shot at newspapers now. Nevertheless, keep the faith.

AP launches Q&A column online

It's not up yet, but AP has announced:

Here's your chance to get some answers from the people who really know the news: journalists at the world's largest newsgathering organization.

Introducing "Ask AP," a Q&A column where The Associated Press answers your questions about the news — anything from "What's a subprime mortgage?" to "What ever happened to Linda Tripp?" to "How does a reporter prepare to be embedded with the military in Iraq?"

Questions are to be sent to newsquestions@ap.org with ASK AP in the subject line. The press release doesn't say, but I'm assuming the column will appear on the AP Web site, www.ap.org.