Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in one of the greatest political dogfights in recent history, so every aspect of their campaigns is highly scrutinized. Even things that would perhaps not be news in virtually every other situation make big headlines (such as Obama's ex-pastor's famewhoring comments on race--I'm looking at EVERYONE who thought that didn't belong on the front page today). Newsworthy indeed is Clinton's stance on Iran and her threat to obliterate one-time-Persia if said nation takes missile-related action against Israel, a nation to which the U.S. seems to have an unassailable alliance.
This lends more credence to the theory of the continuous Bush-Clinton political dynasty in the White House if Clinton should be elected, since her stance on Israel v Iran is remarkably similar to that of President Bush Part Deux (boy, he'll hate it if he found out I put a French word next to his name). Obama has accused Clinton of emulating the Republican president to very non-committal rebuttals from the New York Senatrix. -- Justin
The impacts of this continuous battle between the historically-important candidates (pigmentation and chromosomes go a long way toward rewriting certain encyclopedia entries) are various, but one thing is for certain: Conflict breeds interest. An Associated Press survey found that over 3.4 million new voters have registered for the 2008 election, including (per the AP story on the survey) noteworthy spikes among women and blacks. Theoretically, this would be a boon for Clinton or Obama in at least some estimation, but if the candidates continue to fight in such vitriolic fashion, voters could become disenchanted and either not vote or begin supporting another candidate. -- Justin
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Bolles' killer to stay in prison
Not sure how many of you saw this, but one of the three people tied to the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles applied, and then was denied, clemency.
Max Dunlap's plea on the grounds of poor health was denied Friday morning by the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. He is 78 years old and won't be eligible for parole for another six years.
While hearing about an old guy rotting away in jail make me feel bad, reading the detailed stories about Bolles and the thoughts of his daughters today make me quickly lose all sympathy. Also seeing how much the whole thing means to people at the Republic (they ran a big B1 package the day before the hearing) makes me feel even less sorry. I knew the story of Bolles, and like many of you, walk by the posters of the Cronkite School's in-depth on his murder several times a week. Yet, I didn't know the gruesome detail of him remaining alive 11 days after his car exploded as he had three limbs removed. And though it's not a situation any of us would ever want to encounter, I must say that it's admirable that Bolles did such good work that people would want to take his life.
Republic story
Max Dunlap's plea on the grounds of poor health was denied Friday morning by the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. He is 78 years old and won't be eligible for parole for another six years.
While hearing about an old guy rotting away in jail make me feel bad, reading the detailed stories about Bolles and the thoughts of his daughters today make me quickly lose all sympathy. Also seeing how much the whole thing means to people at the Republic (they ran a big B1 package the day before the hearing) makes me feel even less sorry. I knew the story of Bolles, and like many of you, walk by the posters of the Cronkite School's in-depth on his murder several times a week. Yet, I didn't know the gruesome detail of him remaining alive 11 days after his car exploded as he had three limbs removed. And though it's not a situation any of us would ever want to encounter, I must say that it's admirable that Bolles did such good work that people would want to take his life.
Republic story
Sportswriting showdown
Last week on sportscaster Bob Costas' HBO show, "Costas Now," there was a heated debate about the affect of blogs on sportswriting between Pulizter-Prize winning writer Buzz Bissinger and Will Leitch, the editor of deadspin.com, the Internet's top sports blog. Thought sports blog have often been credited with being obnoxious annoying, on this show it was Bissinger who came across as the angry, classless person. And even though he also wrote "Friday Night Lights," I have to say Bissinger is out of touch and wrong. Blogs in a certain way are becoming part of the fabric that makes up a writer.
Enjoy the footage...
Enjoy the footage...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Getting Personal
Upon finishing JMC 366: Ethics and Diversity, our final assignment was to write our own codes of ethics. I thought this was kind of a cheesy assignment at first. Everyone knows the ethics. I recommend checking SPJ.org or RTNDA.org, if you haven’t already, for a couple of solid codes of ethics.
But, because I want to graduate this week, I went ahead with the task of writing my own personal code of ethics. I drew mostly from the standard codes of ethics and philosophers we had studied throughout the semester.
I had a really good time with it because it allowed me to explore and accentuate what I deem to be most important of the conventional wisdom and to expand on my own observations. I think it was a valuable reflection. I would correct some parts of it already, but I still think it was interesting.
I think, as editors ourselves (and reporters are the most important editors of their stories), we are the gatekeepers of ethics. Below I’ve pasted my code of ethics. I encourage everyone to try it as a drill.
Preamble
The Quigley Society of Journalists (QSJ) believes that an informed, educated society is the true path to social justice, the revival of democracy and the avoidance of tyranny.
***Aggressively and Courageously Pursue Truth and Report it as Aggressively and Courageously as It Is Sought
* Never omit information that is relevant to the understanding of the facts.
* Seek new areas of truth, such as new sources or angles that others may have missed.
* Never lie or accept a lie as truth. Check sources’ statements for accuracy, as well as your own.
* Do not be afraid to alienate sources with tough questions.
* Report all information relevant to a story no matter how disgusting or disheartening the information may be to the public.
* Never withhold information because it may insight a negative reaction, such as alienating the public or motivating criminal acts. The public chooses how it reacts to stories. The truth is always the truth. It is not our duties to be protectors or law enforcers.
* Always provide context to stories that helps the public understand the relevance and importance of information that could be repulsive or confusing.
* Be transparent to sources and the public. Anonymous sources and undercover work should only be used when it provides the public with vital knowledge not otherwise attainable. All methods, reasoning and products of such practices should be divulged to the public when such information is no longer a detriment to the story. All information acquired in these manners should be provably true.
***Be Completely Independent
* Do not let editors, managers or other bosses dictate a message if accuracy would be sacrificed.
* Do not let the public’s emotions guide a story if it does not increase accuracy.
* Do not be afraid to quit an outlet that does not uphold your values.
* Never heed threats or take bribes or gifts of any sort unless there is an immediate danger of the loss of life.
* Never look at a source, such as a law enforcement officer, government or military officer or any other person, as someone to whom you owe allegiance or subordination. Journalists are observers.
***Be Part of a Diverse Community
* Keep an open mind. An independent journalist is not afraid to change his/her own – or accept others’ – perceptions. Cooperation, negotiation and argument that uphold or enhance accuracy of stories or the codes in this document are essential to our field.
* Treat everybody with honesty and respect.
* Find the humanity in every story.
* Include diverse views of the meanings of information from experts and other members of the community.
* Cover diverse ethnic and cultural issues and use diverse sources in ordinary contexts where diversity is not the issue.
* Include all stakeholders in decision-making.
* Avoid using sources who are trying to block members of the community from accessing others. For example, call the company president rather than a crafty PR officer or other gatekeeper hired to stonewall or deceive.
But, because I want to graduate this week, I went ahead with the task of writing my own personal code of ethics. I drew mostly from the standard codes of ethics and philosophers we had studied throughout the semester.
I had a really good time with it because it allowed me to explore and accentuate what I deem to be most important of the conventional wisdom and to expand on my own observations. I think it was a valuable reflection. I would correct some parts of it already, but I still think it was interesting.
I think, as editors ourselves (and reporters are the most important editors of their stories), we are the gatekeepers of ethics. Below I’ve pasted my code of ethics. I encourage everyone to try it as a drill.
Preamble
The Quigley Society of Journalists (QSJ) believes that an informed, educated society is the true path to social justice, the revival of democracy and the avoidance of tyranny.
***Aggressively and Courageously Pursue Truth and Report it as Aggressively and Courageously as It Is Sought
* Never omit information that is relevant to the understanding of the facts.
* Seek new areas of truth, such as new sources or angles that others may have missed.
* Never lie or accept a lie as truth. Check sources’ statements for accuracy, as well as your own.
* Do not be afraid to alienate sources with tough questions.
* Report all information relevant to a story no matter how disgusting or disheartening the information may be to the public.
* Never withhold information because it may insight a negative reaction, such as alienating the public or motivating criminal acts. The public chooses how it reacts to stories. The truth is always the truth. It is not our duties to be protectors or law enforcers.
* Always provide context to stories that helps the public understand the relevance and importance of information that could be repulsive or confusing.
* Be transparent to sources and the public. Anonymous sources and undercover work should only be used when it provides the public with vital knowledge not otherwise attainable. All methods, reasoning and products of such practices should be divulged to the public when such information is no longer a detriment to the story. All information acquired in these manners should be provably true.
***Be Completely Independent
* Do not let editors, managers or other bosses dictate a message if accuracy would be sacrificed.
* Do not let the public’s emotions guide a story if it does not increase accuracy.
* Do not be afraid to quit an outlet that does not uphold your values.
* Never heed threats or take bribes or gifts of any sort unless there is an immediate danger of the loss of life.
* Never look at a source, such as a law enforcement officer, government or military officer or any other person, as someone to whom you owe allegiance or subordination. Journalists are observers.
***Be Part of a Diverse Community
* Keep an open mind. An independent journalist is not afraid to change his/her own – or accept others’ – perceptions. Cooperation, negotiation and argument that uphold or enhance accuracy of stories or the codes in this document are essential to our field.
* Treat everybody with honesty and respect.
* Find the humanity in every story.
* Include diverse views of the meanings of information from experts and other members of the community.
* Cover diverse ethnic and cultural issues and use diverse sources in ordinary contexts where diversity is not the issue.
* Include all stakeholders in decision-making.
* Avoid using sources who are trying to block members of the community from accessing others. For example, call the company president rather than a crafty PR officer or other gatekeeper hired to stonewall or deceive.
Breaking the Rhythm
I was reading a very good story in this morning’s paper about two families brought together by an organ transplant. I don’t usually read too many of the long, mushy features, but I built a rhythm with this one. It was a touchy subject, and I enjoy reading how reporters handle those. This one was handled very well. However, about midway through the second column of a four-column by 8-inch jump, I stumbled. The sentence read: “He had been in three comas and, without a transplant, had only months to live without a transplant.”
As reader, this is just the kind of trip-up that usually makes me to stop reading. It doesn’t nullify the effort by the reporter, but it’s almost like I need that rhythm to keep my attention, so I move on. This time I finished the story because it was that good. The point, however, is that everyone agrees that lying or other dishonest practices are the worst that someone can do in our field, but bad editing is also a prominent threat to credibility. Luckily, most reputable newspapers and reporters build credibility over time that makes these slip-ups tolerable. After all, one paper can publish hundreds of stories in a week. As Billy Joel says, “You’re only human,” (He actually messed up in the studio recording of the song and kept the fumble in).
But such editing mistakes are something to think about in a world where formats and audiences are rapidly changing, and it will be up to us to build those new senses of credibility.
As reader, this is just the kind of trip-up that usually makes me to stop reading. It doesn’t nullify the effort by the reporter, but it’s almost like I need that rhythm to keep my attention, so I move on. This time I finished the story because it was that good. The point, however, is that everyone agrees that lying or other dishonest practices are the worst that someone can do in our field, but bad editing is also a prominent threat to credibility. Luckily, most reputable newspapers and reporters build credibility over time that makes these slip-ups tolerable. After all, one paper can publish hundreds of stories in a week. As Billy Joel says, “You’re only human,” (He actually messed up in the studio recording of the song and kept the fumble in).
But such editing mistakes are something to think about in a world where formats and audiences are rapidly changing, and it will be up to us to build those new senses of credibility.
Where in the World is Janet Cooke?
Well, I don’t have much more than Christopher on the search for old “Cook-it-up” Janet Cooke. I decided to check on some background-check Web-sites, and though I was too poor to buy the reports, supposedly there are recent records of her in Toledo, Ohio, which is promising because it’s her home town. There is also a record in Ann Arbor, Mich. I am pretty sure it is the correct Janet Cooke because of an eerily detailed profile of her background that I have pasted below as a quote, since it’s so short. I had read, however, that she made up going to Vassar, so I don't know how accurate all of the information is. However, I was able to confirm that my Janet Cooke did have the relatives listed.
I tried to call the Washington Post to see if they have kept tabs on her, but no one called me back.
If you want to check your friends' (or sources') Arizona criminal records, check out the Arizona Supreme Court Web site: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/publicaccess/notification/search.asp
If they do produce the Cooke movie, will you all watch it?
Father: Stratman Cooke
Mother: Loretta Cooke
Sister: Nancy (younger)
Boyfriend: Mike Sager (ex)
Husband: Joe Phillips (div.)
High School: Maumee Valley Country Day School, Toledo, OH (1972)
University: Vassar College
University: BA, University of Toledo
The Washington Post 1979-81
The Toledo Blade
Bloomingdale's counter clerk
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for "Jimmy's World" (1981), voluntarily returned
Risk Factors: Asthma, Dyslexia
as written on http://www.nndb.com/people/679/000115334/
I tried to call the Washington Post to see if they have kept tabs on her, but no one called me back.
If you want to check your friends' (or sources') Arizona criminal records, check out the Arizona Supreme Court Web site: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/publicaccess/notification/search.asp
If they do produce the Cooke movie, will you all watch it?
Father: Stratman Cooke
Mother: Loretta Cooke
Sister: Nancy (younger)
Boyfriend: Mike Sager (ex)
Husband: Joe Phillips (div.)
High School: Maumee Valley Country Day School, Toledo, OH (1972)
University: Vassar College
University: BA, University of Toledo
The Washington Post 1979-81
The Toledo Blade
Bloomingdale's counter clerk
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for "Jimmy's World" (1981), voluntarily returned
Risk Factors: Asthma, Dyslexia
as written on http://www.nndb.com/people/679/000115334/
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Are we a bunch of 'incognizant racists?'
I recently read a book called, White News: Why Local News Program Don’t Cover People of Color by Don Heider. In the context of two local, state-coverage news stations – one in Albuquerque, N.M. and the other in Honolulu ¬– Heider explains that news programs often fall into a cycle of “incognizant racism” when covering non-white races and ethnicities. That is to say, they are not openly racist, but still perpetuate stereotypes, sometimes without even realizing it. For his study Heider goes to the local news stations were he observes and interviews many different levels and races of newsroom employees and non-white viewers and community members. In Honolulu, Heider observes coverage of native Hawiians, Samoans and Asian-Americans, and in Albuquerque, he does the same for mostly Native Americans, but also Hispanics.
Heider finds is that the coverage of these “people of color” is almost always in the contexts of crime and ethnic festivals. Heider also finds that when coverage of important issues to these ethnicities does occur, it is usually from the points of view of the most eccentric and vocal activists.
Geography, Heider says, also isolates the coverage of ethnicities because, though their communities are within reasonable distances from the news outlets, they are often perceived as being far away, due to their isolation and exclusively ethnic populations. The perceptions that crimes occur unchecked in a lot of those areas add to the problem..
History – and reporters’ lack of knowledge of it – join into Heider’s theory. When covering ethnic communities, such as Indian reservations, reporters often know nothing about the history, culture or customs of the people they are covering. How can they portray anything essential to a culture, if they know nothing about its historical context or overall significance?
Heider writes that research and building relationships with these communities are the first steps toward solving this issue.
Another of Heider’s observations is that decision-makers are almost all white, if not male. All of the news, no matter how diverse the writing staff or anchor desk might be, funnels through less than a handful of people with their own agendas.
I have been taking a look around, and I have seen relatively few people darker than I (not counting my legs). How many do see?
How do Heider’s scenarios play out in coverage of ethnic groups in our state?
If you get a chance, the book is a good read. It has a lot to offer, even if you consider yourself culturally aware. A lot of us know it’s happening, Heider tells the how and why. And because of the places Heider chooses to observe, it a refreshing break from the same-old black/white, Latino/white examples. But it’s also clear to how it applies to any people of color.
It’s also only about a hundred pages long. I read it in a day, and I’m a slug.
Heider, Don. White News: Why Local Programs Don’t Cover People of Color. Lawrence
Erlbaum and Associates, Inc., 2000.
Heider finds is that the coverage of these “people of color” is almost always in the contexts of crime and ethnic festivals. Heider also finds that when coverage of important issues to these ethnicities does occur, it is usually from the points of view of the most eccentric and vocal activists.
Geography, Heider says, also isolates the coverage of ethnicities because, though their communities are within reasonable distances from the news outlets, they are often perceived as being far away, due to their isolation and exclusively ethnic populations. The perceptions that crimes occur unchecked in a lot of those areas add to the problem..
History – and reporters’ lack of knowledge of it – join into Heider’s theory. When covering ethnic communities, such as Indian reservations, reporters often know nothing about the history, culture or customs of the people they are covering. How can they portray anything essential to a culture, if they know nothing about its historical context or overall significance?
Heider writes that research and building relationships with these communities are the first steps toward solving this issue.
Another of Heider’s observations is that decision-makers are almost all white, if not male. All of the news, no matter how diverse the writing staff or anchor desk might be, funnels through less than a handful of people with their own agendas.
I have been taking a look around, and I have seen relatively few people darker than I (not counting my legs). How many do see?
How do Heider’s scenarios play out in coverage of ethnic groups in our state?
If you get a chance, the book is a good read. It has a lot to offer, even if you consider yourself culturally aware. A lot of us know it’s happening, Heider tells the how and why. And because of the places Heider chooses to observe, it a refreshing break from the same-old black/white, Latino/white examples. But it’s also clear to how it applies to any people of color.
It’s also only about a hundred pages long. I read it in a day, and I’m a slug.
Heider, Don. White News: Why Local Programs Don’t Cover People of Color. Lawrence
Erlbaum and Associates, Inc., 2000.
Monday, April 28, 2008
New York Newspaper's Circulation Drops
According to an article published on Newday's website, Newsday, The Post, The Daily News and The New York Times are experiencing print circulation declines.
In an article released yesterday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, circulation for Newsday's weekday paper declined another 4.7 percent in the last six months in comparison to last years circulation numbers. Similarly, the Sunday edition is down 4.8 percent.
However, in spite of these numbers, Newsday's publisher and chief executive Timothy P. Knight says Newsday's audience remains strong. According to Knight, Newsday reaches 72 percent of Long Island adults every week and the website receives 66 million monthly page views.
On the flip side, sources say New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch and Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman have both made $580 million offers for Newsday and Murdoch is said to have a hand-shake agreement to buy Newsday in an expected deal.
By the way, it is not just New York papers that saw a circulation decline. For the nation's 530 daily papers, weekly circulations dropped 3.57 percent and 601 Sunday papers dropped 4.59 percent.
To read more, click the headline to connect to the link or visit Newsday.com.
In an article released yesterday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, circulation for Newsday's weekday paper declined another 4.7 percent in the last six months in comparison to last years circulation numbers. Similarly, the Sunday edition is down 4.8 percent.
However, in spite of these numbers, Newsday's publisher and chief executive Timothy P. Knight says Newsday's audience remains strong. According to Knight, Newsday reaches 72 percent of Long Island adults every week and the website receives 66 million monthly page views.
On the flip side, sources say New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch and Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman have both made $580 million offers for Newsday and Murdoch is said to have a hand-shake agreement to buy Newsday in an expected deal.
By the way, it is not just New York papers that saw a circulation decline. For the nation's 530 daily papers, weekly circulations dropped 3.57 percent and 601 Sunday papers dropped 4.59 percent.
To read more, click the headline to connect to the link or visit Newsday.com.
headine writing for the Web
Just this past week at my copy editing internship at The Arizona Republic, we had to go through some video training for a new video software that azcentral.com has just started using. Among the gist of the training was the pounding-into-our-heads of the idea of "label" heads.
In case you aren't familiar with this jargon, a label head is one that doesn't necessarily require a verb; it is simply what it sounds like, a label. For example, "Tour through the city" or "Horseback riding lessons" are both label heads. They are pretty bland, but straight to the point, not giving much else detail but for the few key words that a user needs to know to associate with the story.
The reason for this is because when users search through azcentral.com, they may only type in those particular key words to find the video they are searching for, not necessarily some fancy verb that the copy editor wants to use.
That got me thinking... is this the new future of headlines? Since everything is gravitating toward the Web, is the art of the fancifully done headline soon becoming extinct? Headlines should just state the point of the story anyway, but the flowery, fancy, artsy ones for things like feature stories aren't going to cut it when the story goes up on a Web site.
Just some food for thought ...
In case you aren't familiar with this jargon, a label head is one that doesn't necessarily require a verb; it is simply what it sounds like, a label. For example, "Tour through the city" or "Horseback riding lessons" are both label heads. They are pretty bland, but straight to the point, not giving much else detail but for the few key words that a user needs to know to associate with the story.
The reason for this is because when users search through azcentral.com, they may only type in those particular key words to find the video they are searching for, not necessarily some fancy verb that the copy editor wants to use.
That got me thinking... is this the new future of headlines? Since everything is gravitating toward the Web, is the art of the fancifully done headline soon becoming extinct? Headlines should just state the point of the story anyway, but the flowery, fancy, artsy ones for things like feature stories aren't going to cut it when the story goes up on a Web site.
Just some food for thought ...
Advanced editing in the real world
I figured I would talk a bit about my application of some of the things I've learned in this course in the real world. While I am a print student, I am angling my career for sports communications and have worked for the Arizona Cardinals and currently the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.What I've learned with these positions is that a lot of organizations have no concept of style whatsoever. I can't tell you how much it drives me nuts to see the poorly styled products they put out.
But, thankfully enough, the Suns are not one of these offenders.
For about two months I worked closely with one of my bosses to prepare the Suns' postseason guide -- a 100+ page comprehensive guide to all the statistics and information you could ever want to know about the team. And the entire thing was laid out in Quark.
Since I had experience with Quark from class, I became essentially the primary designer of the guide (though a lot was template) and threw together the literature my boss wrote.
I got a couple of pats on the back for my attention to detail... things like margin sizes, consistency and so on... the same things Professor Thornton drilled into our heads this semester.
And while it was a bit of a change of pace from newspaper layouts, the experience I gained from this project I count as no less valuable. I also hope that the work I put into the guide will help others pay a bit more attention to their own work (the San Antonio Spurs' postseason guide would best be used as toilet paper... not just because it's the Spurs).
Draft Coverage
Watching the NFL draft really makes you appreciate how much work researchers and reporters do, and how well-prepared they are to talk about their findings. I watched the NFL draft Saturday and Sunday, and it was amazing how much information was given out. 252 players were drafted, and the reporters had information on all of them and were able to break them down. In an era were reporters are being questioned about how extensive their research is, I found this to be very impressive.
The draft was also a good example of how powerful a network ESPN has become. They had different reporters in different cities to talk to coaches and players from certain teams about the players they drafted. They also had as many as 10 reporters set up to talk about everything that was going on the past two days.
A lot of people can't stand the draft, but I really enjoy it. Obviously, I love football, but I also love to watch how so many hectic things are going on, but everyone keeps it together and the broadcast moves along smoothly. There are errors made, of course, but they are always corrected promptly and the proper information ends up being delivered.
The draft was also a good example of how powerful a network ESPN has become. They had different reporters in different cities to talk to coaches and players from certain teams about the players they drafted. They also had as many as 10 reporters set up to talk about everything that was going on the past two days.
A lot of people can't stand the draft, but I really enjoy it. Obviously, I love football, but I also love to watch how so many hectic things are going on, but everyone keeps it together and the broadcast moves along smoothly. There are errors made, of course, but they are always corrected promptly and the proper information ends up being delivered.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Pentagon blocks press from funeral
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042303244.html
"The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain."
What the heck? Isn't this a breach of the first amendment? What acceptable reason did the military have for blocking the media? This is censorship to keep America's attention off the Iraq war. If the public loses interests, that spares the government a lot of anti-war protests and the kind of pressure it was under during the Vietnam war.
A lot of people say the media lost us Vietnam because the intense coverage spurred so much anti-war sentiment that the military was forced to show restraint and the government eventually cracked under the pressure and pulled out. I highly doubt that because Nixon escalated the war in its final years, using every military option at his disposal to crack North Vietnam. It failed. There is little evidence that the U.S. pulled out prematurely costing it victory.
But I can understand the media rules being a little different in war time, especially when the news could directly undermine military efforts. However the line is going to have to be drawn somewhere. This was a funeral on U.S. soil, and the family gave the media permission to cover it. It's hardly a threat to national security.
"The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain."
What the heck? Isn't this a breach of the first amendment? What acceptable reason did the military have for blocking the media? This is censorship to keep America's attention off the Iraq war. If the public loses interests, that spares the government a lot of anti-war protests and the kind of pressure it was under during the Vietnam war.
A lot of people say the media lost us Vietnam because the intense coverage spurred so much anti-war sentiment that the military was forced to show restraint and the government eventually cracked under the pressure and pulled out. I highly doubt that because Nixon escalated the war in its final years, using every military option at his disposal to crack North Vietnam. It failed. There is little evidence that the U.S. pulled out prematurely costing it victory.
But I can understand the media rules being a little different in war time, especially when the news could directly undermine military efforts. However the line is going to have to be drawn somewhere. This was a funeral on U.S. soil, and the family gave the media permission to cover it. It's hardly a threat to national security.
And now, motion editing?
I have been watching the NFL Draft over the last two
days and could not help but be annoyed with the
obnoxious amount of information then have flashing on
the screen. The left side of the screen includes the
next six teams that are going to draft. Across the
bottom of the screen there are two bars of information
including the current round's selections and team
reviews of the players they have selected. On the
right side of the screen there is a section that
changes team information based on what team the
analysts are discussing. It reminds me of a SNL sketch
that I have seen where the anchors are completely
covered up by advertisements, information bars,
breaking news and other saturating information. I find
it hard any one viewer could possibly benefit from all
of the things moving across their screen.
-- Scott
days and could not help but be annoyed with the
obnoxious amount of information then have flashing on
the screen. The left side of the screen includes the
next six teams that are going to draft. Across the
bottom of the screen there are two bars of information
including the current round's selections and team
reviews of the players they have selected. On the
right side of the screen there is a section that
changes team information based on what team the
analysts are discussing. It reminds me of a SNL sketch
that I have seen where the anchors are completely
covered up by advertisements, information bars,
breaking news and other saturating information. I find
it hard any one viewer could possibly benefit from all
of the things moving across their screen.
-- Scott
The hippest name in news?
Just less than a week ago, CNN added a new feature to its Web site, cnn.com. Next to the headlines listed under "Latest News" there is a new icon: a T-shirt. It seems "The most trusted name in news" has entered the retail industry, producing T-shirts that bare the headlines of stories. Check it out:
Bush auditions of conductor in chief job
Why CNN bothered to start this new feature, I haven't a clue. It's weird. And if CNN was really interested in producing funny T-shirts, it should have started a site like bustedtees.com, not mixed it in with the news. One has to wonder what will happen the first time one of those little logos accidently appears next to a story about a tragic incident or Iraq. Not to mention, I'm worried about CNN's online producers now being more concerned with writing snappy headlines that will appear on T-shirts, not that will correctly inform readers of what the story is about.
Bush auditions of conductor in chief job
Why CNN bothered to start this new feature, I haven't a clue. It's weird. And if CNN was really interested in producing funny T-shirts, it should have started a site like bustedtees.com, not mixed it in with the news. One has to wonder what will happen the first time one of those little logos accidently appears next to a story about a tragic incident or Iraq. Not to mention, I'm worried about CNN's online producers now being more concerned with writing snappy headlines that will appear on T-shirts, not that will correctly inform readers of what the story is about.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Deadmen Don’t Give Names: Editing a Killer’s Identity
Well, I got through my last post without writing his name once, but the name of Virginia Tech mass murder, Seung-Hui Cho, brings up an interesting diversity and editing issue.
There are two helpful articles that cronicle the struggle to give the killer’s name properly. One is on Slate, and the other is on Gawker.com, a media gossip site. I will include links to all of the sources in this entry below.
In the initial coverage of the killer, several publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, identified him as Cho Seung-Hui. On the “Times Topics” entry on Virginia Tech, there are articles from April 17 and 18, 2007 that put the killer’s surname in front. According to Slate, it was the form given out by the police. It is also traditional in Cho’s native South Korea to list the surname first. However, in Times articles starting from April 21, the surname goes to the back. The Washington Post wrote a long editor’s note acknowledging their switching of the order, putting “Cho” last. They changed the order after learning Cho had signed forms using the Americanized version. The Slate article also stated that it was an ethnic issue. “Some Korean-Americans felt media groups were playing up Cho's foreign-ness, according to the Asian American Journalists Association, which advised reporters to use the American order.”
The Post also wrote in their editor’s note that they would not be using the hyphen in his name because it was against their style.
The AP Stylebook differentiates use of the hyphens among North and South Korean names: “North Korean names are generally three separate words, each starting with a capital letter: Kim Jong Il. South Korean names are three words with the second two names hyphenated and a lowercase letter after the hyphen: Kim Young-sam.”
Usually, the best policy is to ask the person how their name should be written, but this is an example of how difficult it can be to name a dead person.
Gawker.com article
http://gawker.com/news/cho-seung_hui/nations-papers-react-to-getting-everything-about-va-tech-shooter-completely-backwards-254262.php
Slate article
http://www.slate.com/id/2164659/
Times Topics on Virginia Tech
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/v/virginia_polytechnic_institute_and_state_university/index.html.
Washington Post editor’s note
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042002288.html?nav=hcmodule
There are two helpful articles that cronicle the struggle to give the killer’s name properly. One is on Slate, and the other is on Gawker.com, a media gossip site. I will include links to all of the sources in this entry below.
In the initial coverage of the killer, several publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, identified him as Cho Seung-Hui. On the “Times Topics” entry on Virginia Tech, there are articles from April 17 and 18, 2007 that put the killer’s surname in front. According to Slate, it was the form given out by the police. It is also traditional in Cho’s native South Korea to list the surname first. However, in Times articles starting from April 21, the surname goes to the back. The Washington Post wrote a long editor’s note acknowledging their switching of the order, putting “Cho” last. They changed the order after learning Cho had signed forms using the Americanized version. The Slate article also stated that it was an ethnic issue. “Some Korean-Americans felt media groups were playing up Cho's foreign-ness, according to the Asian American Journalists Association, which advised reporters to use the American order.”
The Post also wrote in their editor’s note that they would not be using the hyphen in his name because it was against their style.
The AP Stylebook differentiates use of the hyphens among North and South Korean names: “North Korean names are generally three separate words, each starting with a capital letter: Kim Jong Il. South Korean names are three words with the second two names hyphenated and a lowercase letter after the hyphen: Kim Young-sam.”
Usually, the best policy is to ask the person how their name should be written, but this is an example of how difficult it can be to name a dead person.
Gawker.com article
http://gawker.com/news/cho-seung_hui/nations-papers-react-to-getting-everything-about-va-tech-shooter-completely-backwards-254262.php
Slate article
http://www.slate.com/id/2164659/
Times Topics on Virginia Tech
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/v/virginia_polytechnic_institute_and_state_university/index.html.
Washington Post editor’s note
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042002288.html?nav=hcmodule
Ethics Disgust
I have been researching the Virginia Tech massacre lately as to the ethics of the media coverage of the killer’s videoed, photographed and written manifesto. My conclusion there was that they did not show enough. Most major networks and cable outlets shortened their coverage of the killer’s declaration to less than 10 percent the following day after the fallout of angry viewers. Likewise, newspaper’s received a lot of flak for publishing photos of the killer and drastically reduced their visual coverage of the murderer.
Unfortunately, by cutting the coverage and still having it in miniscule form, these outlets lost the context of a killer needing to be understood completely, so those like him can be spotted, and twisted folks, too, learn that they are accountable for their own actions. Furthermore, it is important to see that the killer is showed in some pictures with guns and others with hammers, knives and other instruments because each state of mind is different. For example, posing with a hammer reflects a much more violent state than with a gun because of the physical force, the proximity and the messiness involved in the former.When a man known as the Unabomber mailed his manifesto to the New York Times and the Washington Post, they were not going to publish it until the FBI asked them to. The language of the manifesto struck a chord with a reader who turned out to be Theodore Kaczynski’s brother and led authorities to the arrest. The Virginia Tech shooter materials could also produce the same results, spotting other would-be killers by their use of language and demeanor, or by producing materials, similar to the murderer. Ironically, there were a bunch of law enforcement officers and psychiatrists who said that publicizing the profile of the killer would produce copycats (and a lot more who said that was ludicrous). Remember, as journalists, we are not law enforcers, and these people are just there for us as sources, not policy-makers. Law enforcement may mean well, but they are more concerned about manipulating the media than our best interests or what’s ethical for us. It is the nature of their job, wearing a badge that gives them power over people and a gun that enforces that power. They are also people who lie, deceive others and sometimes even commit crimes, so they can catch the “bad guys.” We, as journalists, have much stronger ethical responsibilities and are not to be switched on or off at their requests.
I will instead fall back on leaders in our field. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute stated, “The job of a journalist is not to protect us from the truth; it’s to tell us the truth, now matter how repugnant it is.” I think we can all agree that the videos, picture, etc. of the killer were repugnant, but we cannot let even our audience’s disgust hinder us from telling the truth. Thompkins also interviewed several other ethics experts who echoed his statement. There are podcasts of these interviews at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=121760.
Despite the incredible tragedy of losing 32 innocent lives, their deaths are not the story. The story is that a man murdered them. The killer’s manifesto gives the who, what and why of the story. By the end, NBC had only shown only about 10-15 total minutes of the 28-minute video throughout their entire coverage. Even the newspapers that had the insight to publish the photos right in our faces on the front page could only publish a couple at a time (because of space, presumably, but they could have had special sections to publish the manifesto in near-entirety). Answering to public outrage killed the major elements of the story and lost meaningful context, when, all along, people should have outraged and disgusted because society failed the shooter and his 32 victims. They knew this guy was mental since he was in junior high and they unleashed him on these victims. That is the only truth to this story.
And understanding the murderer to prevent future tragedies would not have been the only benefit. It would have also have cut down on the hysteria that accompanies such tragedies, and there wouldn’t be stories like the imaginative 13-year-old child at Fountain Hills Middle School who was just charged with a class 6 felony for compiling a “death wish list,” though he had no weapons, other means or intentions of carrying out the slaughter, and he was just being a 13-year-old boy.
Even the AP makes mistakes
While reading the news this morning, I stumbled on this snafu from the AP's website.
Hmmm....after all the times I have gone to Southern California, I have apparently missed "Sand Diego." Even the all-knowing Associated Press makes occasional mistakes, and I for one feel better knowing that grammatical errors can happen to anyone. To err is human, to edit is divine...
Friday, April 25, 2008
Photoshop Extremes
As discussed in class, Photoshop has made it very easy to edit photos. This not only distorts the original image to something that is not real, but is unethical to use, particularly when portraying news. Having attended a lecture on beauty and self-esteem for another class last semester, I was exposed to many transformations that Photoshop is capable of. Here are two that really stood out to me.
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object width="425" height="355">
How to lose your job as a photographer
After looking at a bunch of altered photos in class, it made me think about how easy it is to touch up images. Thanks to Photoshop and other programs, even relative novices can manipulate their photos into whatever they want.
I'm an offender myself, generally only doing it for comical usage though. But others who would like to clean up a person can easily find guides like the one the post is linked to.
And with these guides, you too can become a professional photo alterer.
I'm an offender myself, generally only doing it for comical usage though. But others who would like to clean up a person can easily find guides like the one the post is linked to.
And with these guides, you too can become a professional photo alterer.
Achieving a natural looking smooth flesh tone is one of the many Holy Grail’s of commercial retouchers. -- Flawless Flesh Tutorial
Thursday, April 24, 2008
CNN being sued for 1.3 billion dollars
I was looking through Reuters today and stumbled upon this article: http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSPEK30866720080424
I can only say, “Wow!” Have we not learned anything from attacking a group of people over the years. CNN is backing up Cafferty’s comments, pulling out the “opinion card” and saying that the comments were about the government and not the people. But if this was the case, then at the time he should have made that clear. What’s even worse is that these comments comes amid the Olympic and
This doesn’t mean that you can’t talk about these critical issues, but it also doesn’t give somebody the ability to rant on about a subject without facing the heat. Make sure you know what you are saying and who you are saying it too.
The Chinese Ministry is asking for an apology, and whether CNN chooses too take that route is still undetermined. But this could potentially end up blowing in CNN’s face
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