Chapter 5-Transparency
This is an article I found while doing research for my project. So, I thought I would use it for my last and final blog. It’s actually about blogs. How weird?
“The news media have more watchdogs today than anytime in history.”
This statement is in true support of what we’re experiencing in modern news delivery and how blogs are impacting not only the delivery but the “watch dog” role within the old media and the new media.
“The newest source of media criticism is the variety of blogs that have sprung up in recent years. Suddenly there are about 10 million more media critics than there were 10 years ago. I actually think there are a lot of bloggers who are so good at it that I sort of wish they would be picked up by mainstream outlets and do both.”
What a testament to the new watch do role bloggers have in society today!
This article outlines the first amendment and how it is so prevalent and important in today’s society (and probably more important than ever before).
Within the text Smith outlines this importance of this new media, “The blogs police the media in two ways. Sometimes they challenge the validity of media report…Perhaps the most popular task for many bloggers is to find bias in what they call MSM (mainstream media). Blogs are often politically partisan and consistently argue that the MSM is too liberal or too conservative.
If you read on in the article it goes on about Blogs new roles and influences just like the chapter outlined. It speaks volumes about their impact and really points out that they are here to say and will continue to be more influential and powerful in the future.
First Amendment anniversary finds press in sea change
Advertisement
By Gene Policinski
First Amendment Center
Wed Dec 17, 2008, 10:38 AM CST
Story Tools: Email This Email This | Print This Print This
WASHINGTON, D.C, -
As the First Amendment marks its 217th anniversary on Dec. 15, here’s a quick look at where our basic freedoms stand – starting with a free press:
As 2008 ends, most newspapers are shrinking dramatically in size, staffing, circulation. At least a few sizable cities – including, at one point, Portland, Maine – have faced the possibility of having no local daily newspaper at all. Analysts predict similar changes in local and network broadcasting in 2009.
Ironically, this “free press” vanishing act is propelled in no small part by “free media” (as in “no charge”). Even as the Internet and new technology spur new and ever-more-varied methods of sending and receiving news and information, they are helping to decimate once-lucrative business models that supported what we now call mainstream media.
In one sense, this latest American media revolution also is about opportunity, and a return to its individual, locally owned, locally focused roots. In our early history the emphasis was on the opportunities of a free press, not its size or wealth. No longer was a king’s license required, a king’s voice the only one heard, or a king’s wrath to be feared.
Echoing that history, an explosion of community bloggers and community online ventures is providing commentary and some reporting, and Yahoo, Google, America Online and other sites are piling up regular users though they originate little reporting of their own.
But while there’s more news and information available, the First Amendment question of the year – and likely for the next several years – is whether the “watchdog” role of a free press will carry over from the “dead tree” media to their electronic progeny. Some blogs fill the bill: Multiple sites reporting on the U.S. Supreme Court are an example. But there is no new-media machinery yet in place to provide most of us with expert, year-after-year reporting and tracking of courts, legislatures, police departments, schools and taxes.
A free press as an effective check on government is what the nation’s Founders had in mind when they provided constitutional shelter for scribes of their time and ours. Individual expression and opinion are vital in a democracy, but so are accurate information and public accountability. And for more than two centuries, we’ve been able to expect all of that from a free press – even if it cost us some coins to purchase the means of reporting.
New technology is creating other First Amendment challenges, as well:
• President-elect Obama’s successful fundraising, with a powerful online component, attracted $750 million as he spurned public funding. In the process he challenged a creaky system of federal campaign-finance limits that some maintain improperly limit free speech. In this year’s State of the First Amendment national survey, support declined for limits on contributions.
• Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace spawned controversies ranging from defamation flaps between school administrators and students to a trend involving teens’ sending naked or semi-naked pictures of themselves to friends – triggering child-pornography charges.
• Spurred by a teen’s suicide, Missouri lawmakers enacted a law making online harassment – “cyberbullying” – a crime.
Not all First Amendment challenges are electronic in nature:
• In Boston, a Rastafarian man will get his day in an appeals court challenging as religious discrimination a Jiffy Lube company policy requiring him to cut his hair and shave off his beard. A lower court held the company had a right to control its public image and that it did not have to exempt the employee because of his beliefs.
• Legal fights erupted in several state courts over vanity or specialty license plates, prompted by individuals seeking to display creative messages or by state-approved slogans like “In God We Trust” or “Choose Life.”
• Laws to ban picketing at military funerals were challenged in several Midwestern courts, and a small protest group vowed to fight criminal charges.
• On a Sunday in September, pastors in as many as 22 states defied an Internal Revenue Service regulation barring direct candidate endorsement from the pulpit under penalty of their churches’ losing tax-exempt status.
And with the holiday season, one more First Amendment debate is worth noting. In Washington state, officials permitted atheists to post a message alongside a Capitol hallway Nativity scene. That upset some, including demonstrators who marched around the building with protest signs – exercising their rights of free speech, free press, assembly and petition.
All in all, a pretty vigorous 2008 workout for a 217-year-old.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Chapter 10 BLOG 8
Chapter 10-Reporting the News
This is an article about the actual topic at hand discussed in Chapter 10 involving when is deception justified in journalism.
This is a great example of how it impacts news stories, news, newspapers, editors, and journalists alike.
The “Improving the profession” in the book is a good reference to follow while reading this article and it opened my eyes to how much deception really plays in writing news stories.
The guidelines provided in the book are useful and make a lot of sense when it comes down to evaluating stories and journalists that use this type of method in writing the story.
• When the information obtained is of profound importance.
• When all other alternatives have been exhausted.
• When journalists involved are willing to disclose the nature of the deception and reason for it.
• When the individuals involved and their news organizations apply excellence.
• When the harm prevented revealed through deception outweighs any harm caused by the act of deception.
Also, like the article outlines there is harm involved by using deception as a tactic:
• The impact on journalistic credibility.
• The motivations for the actions.
• The deceptive act in relation to their editorial mission.
• The legal implications of the action.
• The consistency of reasoning and their action.
Here is the article:
The Maverick
Veteran editor and transparency maven Steve Smith follows the rules he believes in—his own.
By Megan Miller
Miller (mmiller@ajr.umd.edu) is an AJR editorial assistant.
Steven A. Smith's career brings to mind a character from a 1950s western. The Seattle Times once called him "the new sheriff in town," but it seems more accurate to describe him as an outlaw. He's a man who's more than willing to break the rules if there's something valuable to gain, but who lives by a personal code of honor.
You can hear it in his description of his reporter years, beginning in 1973 at the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon. "I liked to break the rules," he remembers. "I did not honor embargoes – if I learned something, I put it in the paper. I was relentless. I was always polite, but I did not back off of sources. I'd like to think I was resourceful."
"I never got sued!" he laughs. "But it was close."
As an editor, Smith, 58, is probably best known for the Spokane Spokesman-Review's investigation of sexual misconduct by then-Mayor Jim West, which was published in May 2005. Smith authorized the employment of an outside expert to pose as a 17-year-old boy on Gay.com, to see if West would make contact. The tactic, which Smith readily calls "deception," was much debated by journalists nationwide.
Even beyond the West investigation, Smith is no stranger to controversy. He's made waves with his pursuit of newsroom transparency, which has included measures from investigating his own paper for possibly biased coverage to Webcasting daily news meetings for all the world to see. Most recently, Smith created a buzz by resigning as editor of the 88,000-circulation Spokesman-Review. He quit in October in anticipation of Publisher W. Stacey Cowles' deep staff cuts, the fourth round of downsizing since Smith arrived at the paper in July 2002.
Smith's resignation sparked serious debate in journalistic circles, including former McClatchy Washington Editor David Westphal's post on OJR questioning whether experienced editors like Smith should hang on through the tough times or just get out of the way of the next generation. Veteran editors are "handicapped by their investment in a fast-disappearing past and are sometimes slow to see how quickly the information revolution is occurring. So are they still the best people to lead newsrooms to a digital future?" asked Westphal, executive in residence at University of Southern California-Annenberg's School of Communication.
At least in his own case, Smith thinks the answer is "yes."
"I believe that my record shows that I'm as innovative, as experimental, as willing to empower young journalists who have a sense of our future as anybody in the business. So I don't think that I need to step aside to make way for new blood," Smith says.
His innovations included restructuring the Spokesman-Review's newsroom operation. Carla Savalli, former assistant managing editor for local news, gives Smith much of the credit for changing "our workflow and our culture from a one-deadline newsroom to a multiplatform information company." Under his guidance, the Spokesman-Review expanded its operation to include an active Web presence and AM radio broadcasts that began in April.
So why resign?
According to Smith, it was a question of principle, since almost half the newsroom's online staff was laid off and the paper canceled its daily radio talk show and laid off its host. "And so our multiplatform strategy, in my view, becomes impossible, and the general quality of our coverage has got to decline. It's insane to argue otherwise."
There were 104 newsroom staffers before the cuts, Smith says. Gary Graham, the Spokesman Review's new editor, says there are now 87. Smith thinks the paper can't reduce numbers that dramatically and argue that the quality is the same. "I believe in the values of journalism," he says. "I felt that I could no longer practice those values in this newsroom."
Smith's values seem inextricably connected with his heroes. He became interested in journalism at a very young age, and clearly remembers the reason.
"It was 'Superman' the TV show that did it," he says. "Clark Kent was just so cool. And I loved [Kent's editor] Perry White. The first time anybody called me 'Chief' in the newsroom, I've got to tell you, I got a little bit of a tingle. Because that's what they used to call Perry White, and he used to say 'don't call me Chief' – but I loved it."
His other role models range from larger-than-life figures–Ben Bradlee, Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow – to personal heroes like the late Knight Ridder CEO Jim Batten; Deborah Howell, his editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press; and W. Davis "Buzz" Merritt, his boss at the Wichita Eagle. Smith credits these mentors with the quality he admires most: "the courage to do what's right in the face of long odds."
"I aim, in my own way, to emulate that boldness, that fearlessness," Smith says, "which I think is a foundational quality for an effective journalist, because otherwise we just become mouthpieces."
From Howell and Merritt especially, Smith took ideas that drove him in his career-long pursuit of civic journalism. "He believes that you do journalism because you have a civic duty to inform your readers," Savalli says. "His whole philosophy is about serving the reader, and bringing the reader into the process." Jan Schaffer, former director of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism and current executive director of J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, calls Smith "one of the leading civic journalists in the country."
Smith believes newsroom transparency is crucial to maintaining credibility with the public and that technology is an especially useful way to achieve this goal. At the Spokesman-Review, his "Transparent Newsroom" initiative included inviting the public to news meetings, blogging about behind-the scenes decision-making, and eventually Webcasting daily news meetings.
Some of his transparency measures, the Webcasts in particular, provoked a mixed reaction from journalists inside and out of the Spokane newsroom. "I never agreed with that, and I still don't," says Savalli, who worried "about the chilling effect that would have on the robust debate that we could have in the newsroom."
"The other thing that tended to happen was that you tended to play to the camera," she says. "So you either saw people who didn't say anything at all anymore, or people who wouldn't stop talking."
While the Webcasting brought international attention, it was Smith's decision to invite an outside organization to scrutinize the quality of the Spokesman-Review's coverage that was truly unprecedented, says Washington News Council Executive Director John Hamer.
The paper had long covered River Park Square, a downtown development project by the Cowles Co. – which also owns the Spokesman-Review. "I knew the paper had gotten a lot of sniping and grumbling and criticism for what people said was not tough coverage of the project," Hamer says.
"When Steve arrived here," remembers 36-year Spokesman-Review reporter Bill Morlin, "he did inherit the whole River Park Square mess from his predecessors, and the newspaper had been pretty heavily criticized for its coverage of that. So he had a huge task on his hands when he arrived, and that was to rebuild the credibility of this newspaper in the community."
In 2006, Smith proposed that the Washington News Council audit ten years' worth of Spokesman-Review coverage on River Park Square. The council agreed on the conditions that it have complete independence and that the paper publish its findings unedited, Hamer says.
Smith "didn't get a lot of handclaps for what he did," Morlin says. "And they spent a fair amount of money on it that came out of our newsroom budget at a time when news organizations were feeling the beginnings of the economic squeeze they're in now." The project cost about $30,000, which the Spokesman-Review split evenly with the news council.
In May 2007 the paper published the complete findings, titled "Reporting on Yourself," on three full pages in agate type. The highly critical report's introduction stated, "If there is a moral to this RPS story, it is that the publisher-editor relationship got in the way of the public interest in the reporting of a sequence of events of great importance to Spokane's citizens."
The paper also ran reaction from Publisher Cowles, former Spokesman-Review Editor Chris Peck and Smith.
"Journalists are notoriously thin-skinned and defensive, and most of them will admit it," Hamer says. "Journalists hate to admit mistakes. They hate to apologize for anything. They hate to admit that they're wrong. It's in their DNA or something. But this was just an extraordinary example of willingness to be transparent, accountable and open."
Now, for only the second time in 35 years, Smith is out of the business of providing information to the public. In 2000 he was fired as editor of the Gazette in Colorado Springs. This time around, Smith stepped down on his own terms, for his own principles.
Smith is now considering his options, including a possible transition to academia. Meanwhile, he's consulting for the Oregon Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon's independent student newspaper, where he once worked as an undergraduate. He's also speaking in classrooms, working on a personal blog and "trying to stay connected until the next role comes around."
And though Smith says he's "so much less stressed out" and sleeping for the first time in a long time, he's still an editor to the core. There is a hint of regret in his voice when he remembers, almost reverently, evenings on deadline early in his tenure as managing editor of the Wichita Eagle.
He recalls looking out on the newsroom and thinking, "'My God, what comes out tomorrow morning is going to have my imprint on it. That is just absolutely amazing.' And I think at that point I knew that I was going to stay with the editing track for as long as I could.
"It's still my favorite time in any newsroom, just to stand in the door and watch what happens on an everyday kind of night, when people are just cranking and the phones are ringing, and boy, it's a beautiful sight."
This is an article about the actual topic at hand discussed in Chapter 10 involving when is deception justified in journalism.
This is a great example of how it impacts news stories, news, newspapers, editors, and journalists alike.
The “Improving the profession” in the book is a good reference to follow while reading this article and it opened my eyes to how much deception really plays in writing news stories.
The guidelines provided in the book are useful and make a lot of sense when it comes down to evaluating stories and journalists that use this type of method in writing the story.
• When the information obtained is of profound importance.
• When all other alternatives have been exhausted.
• When journalists involved are willing to disclose the nature of the deception and reason for it.
• When the individuals involved and their news organizations apply excellence.
• When the harm prevented revealed through deception outweighs any harm caused by the act of deception.
Also, like the article outlines there is harm involved by using deception as a tactic:
• The impact on journalistic credibility.
• The motivations for the actions.
• The deceptive act in relation to their editorial mission.
• The legal implications of the action.
• The consistency of reasoning and their action.
Here is the article:
The Maverick
Veteran editor and transparency maven Steve Smith follows the rules he believes in—his own.
By Megan Miller
Miller (mmiller@ajr.umd.edu) is an AJR editorial assistant.
Steven A. Smith's career brings to mind a character from a 1950s western. The Seattle Times once called him "the new sheriff in town," but it seems more accurate to describe him as an outlaw. He's a man who's more than willing to break the rules if there's something valuable to gain, but who lives by a personal code of honor.
You can hear it in his description of his reporter years, beginning in 1973 at the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon. "I liked to break the rules," he remembers. "I did not honor embargoes – if I learned something, I put it in the paper. I was relentless. I was always polite, but I did not back off of sources. I'd like to think I was resourceful."
"I never got sued!" he laughs. "But it was close."
As an editor, Smith, 58, is probably best known for the Spokane Spokesman-Review's investigation of sexual misconduct by then-Mayor Jim West, which was published in May 2005. Smith authorized the employment of an outside expert to pose as a 17-year-old boy on Gay.com, to see if West would make contact. The tactic, which Smith readily calls "deception," was much debated by journalists nationwide.
Even beyond the West investigation, Smith is no stranger to controversy. He's made waves with his pursuit of newsroom transparency, which has included measures from investigating his own paper for possibly biased coverage to Webcasting daily news meetings for all the world to see. Most recently, Smith created a buzz by resigning as editor of the 88,000-circulation Spokesman-Review. He quit in October in anticipation of Publisher W. Stacey Cowles' deep staff cuts, the fourth round of downsizing since Smith arrived at the paper in July 2002.
Smith's resignation sparked serious debate in journalistic circles, including former McClatchy Washington Editor David Westphal's post on OJR questioning whether experienced editors like Smith should hang on through the tough times or just get out of the way of the next generation. Veteran editors are "handicapped by their investment in a fast-disappearing past and are sometimes slow to see how quickly the information revolution is occurring. So are they still the best people to lead newsrooms to a digital future?" asked Westphal, executive in residence at University of Southern California-Annenberg's School of Communication.
At least in his own case, Smith thinks the answer is "yes."
"I believe that my record shows that I'm as innovative, as experimental, as willing to empower young journalists who have a sense of our future as anybody in the business. So I don't think that I need to step aside to make way for new blood," Smith says.
His innovations included restructuring the Spokesman-Review's newsroom operation. Carla Savalli, former assistant managing editor for local news, gives Smith much of the credit for changing "our workflow and our culture from a one-deadline newsroom to a multiplatform information company." Under his guidance, the Spokesman-Review expanded its operation to include an active Web presence and AM radio broadcasts that began in April.
So why resign?
According to Smith, it was a question of principle, since almost half the newsroom's online staff was laid off and the paper canceled its daily radio talk show and laid off its host. "And so our multiplatform strategy, in my view, becomes impossible, and the general quality of our coverage has got to decline. It's insane to argue otherwise."
There were 104 newsroom staffers before the cuts, Smith says. Gary Graham, the Spokesman Review's new editor, says there are now 87. Smith thinks the paper can't reduce numbers that dramatically and argue that the quality is the same. "I believe in the values of journalism," he says. "I felt that I could no longer practice those values in this newsroom."
Smith's values seem inextricably connected with his heroes. He became interested in journalism at a very young age, and clearly remembers the reason.
"It was 'Superman' the TV show that did it," he says. "Clark Kent was just so cool. And I loved [Kent's editor] Perry White. The first time anybody called me 'Chief' in the newsroom, I've got to tell you, I got a little bit of a tingle. Because that's what they used to call Perry White, and he used to say 'don't call me Chief' – but I loved it."
His other role models range from larger-than-life figures–Ben Bradlee, Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow – to personal heroes like the late Knight Ridder CEO Jim Batten; Deborah Howell, his editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press; and W. Davis "Buzz" Merritt, his boss at the Wichita Eagle. Smith credits these mentors with the quality he admires most: "the courage to do what's right in the face of long odds."
"I aim, in my own way, to emulate that boldness, that fearlessness," Smith says, "which I think is a foundational quality for an effective journalist, because otherwise we just become mouthpieces."
From Howell and Merritt especially, Smith took ideas that drove him in his career-long pursuit of civic journalism. "He believes that you do journalism because you have a civic duty to inform your readers," Savalli says. "His whole philosophy is about serving the reader, and bringing the reader into the process." Jan Schaffer, former director of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism and current executive director of J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, calls Smith "one of the leading civic journalists in the country."
Smith believes newsroom transparency is crucial to maintaining credibility with the public and that technology is an especially useful way to achieve this goal. At the Spokesman-Review, his "Transparent Newsroom" initiative included inviting the public to news meetings, blogging about behind-the scenes decision-making, and eventually Webcasting daily news meetings.
Some of his transparency measures, the Webcasts in particular, provoked a mixed reaction from journalists inside and out of the Spokane newsroom. "I never agreed with that, and I still don't," says Savalli, who worried "about the chilling effect that would have on the robust debate that we could have in the newsroom."
"The other thing that tended to happen was that you tended to play to the camera," she says. "So you either saw people who didn't say anything at all anymore, or people who wouldn't stop talking."
While the Webcasting brought international attention, it was Smith's decision to invite an outside organization to scrutinize the quality of the Spokesman-Review's coverage that was truly unprecedented, says Washington News Council Executive Director John Hamer.
The paper had long covered River Park Square, a downtown development project by the Cowles Co. – which also owns the Spokesman-Review. "I knew the paper had gotten a lot of sniping and grumbling and criticism for what people said was not tough coverage of the project," Hamer says.
"When Steve arrived here," remembers 36-year Spokesman-Review reporter Bill Morlin, "he did inherit the whole River Park Square mess from his predecessors, and the newspaper had been pretty heavily criticized for its coverage of that. So he had a huge task on his hands when he arrived, and that was to rebuild the credibility of this newspaper in the community."
In 2006, Smith proposed that the Washington News Council audit ten years' worth of Spokesman-Review coverage on River Park Square. The council agreed on the conditions that it have complete independence and that the paper publish its findings unedited, Hamer says.
Smith "didn't get a lot of handclaps for what he did," Morlin says. "And they spent a fair amount of money on it that came out of our newsroom budget at a time when news organizations were feeling the beginnings of the economic squeeze they're in now." The project cost about $30,000, which the Spokesman-Review split evenly with the news council.
In May 2007 the paper published the complete findings, titled "Reporting on Yourself," on three full pages in agate type. The highly critical report's introduction stated, "If there is a moral to this RPS story, it is that the publisher-editor relationship got in the way of the public interest in the reporting of a sequence of events of great importance to Spokane's citizens."
The paper also ran reaction from Publisher Cowles, former Spokesman-Review Editor Chris Peck and Smith.
"Journalists are notoriously thin-skinned and defensive, and most of them will admit it," Hamer says. "Journalists hate to admit mistakes. They hate to apologize for anything. They hate to admit that they're wrong. It's in their DNA or something. But this was just an extraordinary example of willingness to be transparent, accountable and open."
Now, for only the second time in 35 years, Smith is out of the business of providing information to the public. In 2000 he was fired as editor of the Gazette in Colorado Springs. This time around, Smith stepped down on his own terms, for his own principles.
Smith is now considering his options, including a possible transition to academia. Meanwhile, he's consulting for the Oregon Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon's independent student newspaper, where he once worked as an undergraduate. He's also speaking in classrooms, working on a personal blog and "trying to stay connected until the next role comes around."
And though Smith says he's "so much less stressed out" and sleeping for the first time in a long time, he's still an editor to the core. There is a hint of regret in his voice when he remembers, almost reverently, evenings on deadline early in his tenure as managing editor of the Wichita Eagle.
He recalls looking out on the newsroom and thinking, "'My God, what comes out tomorrow morning is going to have my imprint on it. That is just absolutely amazing.' And I think at that point I knew that I was going to stay with the editing track for as long as I could.
"It's still my favorite time in any newsroom, just to stand in the door and watch what happens on an everyday kind of night, when people are just cranking and the phones are ringing, and boy, it's a beautiful sight."
Chapter 10 BLOG 7
Chapter Ten: Reporting the news.
When reading this chapter I was inspired to GOOGLE search undercover reporting and this is the first article that caught my eye. This is a great example of undercover reporting and the new rebound of it occurring on television and also YOU TUBE!
This represents a controversial method that is outlined in the book and that caught my eye when reading it as well as the attention and like the book states, “public response to this article was dramatic.”
“For at least 30 years, people both in and out of journalism have been debating whether the news media’s use of undercover reporting is justified.” This is a perfect example of this ongoing debate with a very recent news story.
In evaluating this story (and others) we must ask our selves these questions that are usually centered within this ongoing debate:
Are there hidden cameras being used purely to hype the story?
Do the ends (uncovering wrongdoing) justify the means (using deception and possibly violating laws)?
Are there privacy concerns?
Are hidden cameras the best way to get the story?
How significant and widespread is the issue under investigation?
I think these are all valid questions that are outlined within the chapter and the answer in one way or another could go both ways. I think that is what makes this part of the book and the debate so hard. I think uncovering certain issues are important; however, privacy matters too!
PRESS RELEASE
Abuse Pattern Develops as Second Indiana Planned Parenthood Covers Up Statutory Rape of 13-Year-Old
Last update: 9:22 a.m. EST Dec. 16, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec 16, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Undercover footage from a second Indiana Planned Parenthood clinic shows an emerging pattern of abuse, as more clinic counselors evade their legal responsibility to report the statutory rape of young girls. The new footage is the second video in Live Action Film's "Mona Lisa Project," a series of investigations documenting how secret abortions keep young girls trapped in cycles of sexual abuse.
In the video, shot undercover this summer at a Planned Parenthood in Indianapolis, two employees state they "don't care" about the age difference between a 31-year-old man and the 13-year-old girl he was reported to have impregnated. A previously released video shot at a Bloomington Planned Parenthood showed similar results. Neither the Bloomington nor Indianapolis clinics reported the rape and both clinics counseled the 13-year-old to obtain a secret abortion across state lines where no parental consent laws applied.
At both clinics, Lila Rose, student journalist and president of Live Action, enters posing as a 13-year-old girl and discloses she is pregnant by a 31-year-old man. The Indianapolis staffer states, "We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend." She then sends Rose to a counselor, who after hearing about the 31-year-old also states, "I don't care how old he is." When Rose tells the counselor that her mother would be upset about the 31-year-old boyfriend, the counselor informs Rose that "the surrounding states don't have parental consent. I can't tell you anymore."
In Bloomington, the nurse declares, "I don't want to know how old he is" and instructs Rose to travel to an Illinois Planned Parenthood and say her 31-year-old boyfriend is only fourteen. Although the Bloomington clinic fired its nurse, Rose says this is not an isolated incident. "We have more videos documenting this pattern of law-breaking within Planned Parenthood. There are actual cases all across the country where their failure to follow state statutes has allowed predators to continue their sexual abuse of young girls."
On Monday, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter launched an investigation of Planned Parenthood in response to the Bloomington footage. Indiana State Representative Jackie Walorski and right-to-life advocacy groups including American Life League publicly called for the investigation. In 2005, the Attorney General also sought the records of 84 Planned Parenthood patients under the age of fourteen who may have been victims of sexual abuse, but Planned Parenthood sued to prevent their release.'
Rose commends the Attorney General's efforts. "We applaud Mr. Carter's integrity and urge him to conduct a thorough and complete investigation, despite any political attacks Planned Parenthood may attempt against him personally or his office."
Rose challenges Planned Parenthood to cooperate. "Planned Parenthood must release files they have previously sued to keep private and allow state authorities to conduct a complete investigation." She adds, "Mandatory reporting laws are necessary for the protection of young girls, and Planned Parenthood must not be allowed to sabotage them."
The video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxsWZz9whg and can also be found with more information on The Mona Lisa Project at LiveActionFilms.org. For interview or special requests for copies of footage and documentation, please contact lilarose@liveactionfilms.org.
When reading this chapter I was inspired to GOOGLE search undercover reporting and this is the first article that caught my eye. This is a great example of undercover reporting and the new rebound of it occurring on television and also YOU TUBE!
This represents a controversial method that is outlined in the book and that caught my eye when reading it as well as the attention and like the book states, “public response to this article was dramatic.”
“For at least 30 years, people both in and out of journalism have been debating whether the news media’s use of undercover reporting is justified.” This is a perfect example of this ongoing debate with a very recent news story.
In evaluating this story (and others) we must ask our selves these questions that are usually centered within this ongoing debate:
Are there hidden cameras being used purely to hype the story?
Do the ends (uncovering wrongdoing) justify the means (using deception and possibly violating laws)?
Are there privacy concerns?
Are hidden cameras the best way to get the story?
How significant and widespread is the issue under investigation?
I think these are all valid questions that are outlined within the chapter and the answer in one way or another could go both ways. I think that is what makes this part of the book and the debate so hard. I think uncovering certain issues are important; however, privacy matters too!
PRESS RELEASE
Abuse Pattern Develops as Second Indiana Planned Parenthood Covers Up Statutory Rape of 13-Year-Old
Last update: 9:22 a.m. EST Dec. 16, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec 16, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Undercover footage from a second Indiana Planned Parenthood clinic shows an emerging pattern of abuse, as more clinic counselors evade their legal responsibility to report the statutory rape of young girls. The new footage is the second video in Live Action Film's "Mona Lisa Project," a series of investigations documenting how secret abortions keep young girls trapped in cycles of sexual abuse.
In the video, shot undercover this summer at a Planned Parenthood in Indianapolis, two employees state they "don't care" about the age difference between a 31-year-old man and the 13-year-old girl he was reported to have impregnated. A previously released video shot at a Bloomington Planned Parenthood showed similar results. Neither the Bloomington nor Indianapolis clinics reported the rape and both clinics counseled the 13-year-old to obtain a secret abortion across state lines where no parental consent laws applied.
At both clinics, Lila Rose, student journalist and president of Live Action, enters posing as a 13-year-old girl and discloses she is pregnant by a 31-year-old man. The Indianapolis staffer states, "We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend." She then sends Rose to a counselor, who after hearing about the 31-year-old also states, "I don't care how old he is." When Rose tells the counselor that her mother would be upset about the 31-year-old boyfriend, the counselor informs Rose that "the surrounding states don't have parental consent. I can't tell you anymore."
In Bloomington, the nurse declares, "I don't want to know how old he is" and instructs Rose to travel to an Illinois Planned Parenthood and say her 31-year-old boyfriend is only fourteen. Although the Bloomington clinic fired its nurse, Rose says this is not an isolated incident. "We have more videos documenting this pattern of law-breaking within Planned Parenthood. There are actual cases all across the country where their failure to follow state statutes has allowed predators to continue their sexual abuse of young girls."
On Monday, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter launched an investigation of Planned Parenthood in response to the Bloomington footage. Indiana State Representative Jackie Walorski and right-to-life advocacy groups including American Life League publicly called for the investigation. In 2005, the Attorney General also sought the records of 84 Planned Parenthood patients under the age of fourteen who may have been victims of sexual abuse, but Planned Parenthood sued to prevent their release.'
Rose commends the Attorney General's efforts. "We applaud Mr. Carter's integrity and urge him to conduct a thorough and complete investigation, despite any political attacks Planned Parenthood may attempt against him personally or his office."
Rose challenges Planned Parenthood to cooperate. "Planned Parenthood must release files they have previously sued to keep private and allow state authorities to conduct a complete investigation." She adds, "Mandatory reporting laws are necessary for the protection of young girls, and Planned Parenthood must not be allowed to sabotage them."
The video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxsWZz9whg and can also be found with more information on The Mona Lisa Project at LiveActionFilms.org. For interview or special requests for copies of footage and documentation, please contact lilarose@liveactionfilms.org.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Nicholas' Blog Entry #6
Nicholas Savasta
Blog 6
Chapter 12-Privacy for Political Leaders
The American press has traditionally seen its role in our democracy as the Fourth Estate, an unelected but active player in the life of the republic. Some, however, would accuse the media of being too active of a player: writing stories from their own biases and mercilessly intruding on the privacy of political figures.
In the 20th century, the press went from being a watchdog of candidates’ morals to a lapdog. (Smith, 241-242)
In an editorial about health the New York Times outlines the presidential nominees health status in: “Questions About Their Health.”
Again, the media goes a little bit too far in investigating the health of the candidates. Yes, I do think it is important to measure the health of the world’s most powerful positions but a couple of things this article outlined prove how intrusive the media can be sometimes!
“Senator McCain allowed a small pool of reporters to review 1,200 pages of medical records during a three-hour period and then allowed a few of his doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona to answer questions by telephone for 45 minutes. The reporters were not allowed to photocopy any documents, making it harder for them to ask other experts what the medical findings might imply.”
Another bit that proves they go too far sometimes is outlined here:
“Senator Joseph Biden, who two decades ago was operated on for potentially life-threatening aneurysms in the brain, has released 49 pages of records and a letter from the Capitol physician saying that the senator has recovered fully. It is not known whether he has been evaluated by a neurologist recently. A doctor who relayed the Capitol physician’s thoughts said no tests were needed now because Mr. Biden had done well for 20 years.”
The fact that both of the older candidates release 1,200 pages and 49 pages of records is absolutely crazy to me! It seems as if with all of this information and a statement from Obama’s doctor the press should be happy, but they are not. I won’t even get into Sarah Palin (who hasn’t released any records and won’t even talk about her health at all) because the last of our problems if she is elected Vice President will be her health! One of our first problems will be if John McCain’s bout with cancer is more serious than anyone has let on and she becomes President. Yikes!
All in all, this article (although short) mentions just one case of the media being too obtrusive in the search for information on the four candidates of this election. The 1,250 pages of information released are not enough? Why not?
As far as I am concerned, and as important as the health of each candidate is, we need to focus on other issues. We need to continue to give politicians their personal respect and personal privacy. We need to stop intruding on personal matters and start reporting (more) on government, national, and global issues.
Blog 6
Chapter 12-Privacy for Political Leaders
The American press has traditionally seen its role in our democracy as the Fourth Estate, an unelected but active player in the life of the republic. Some, however, would accuse the media of being too active of a player: writing stories from their own biases and mercilessly intruding on the privacy of political figures.
In the 20th century, the press went from being a watchdog of candidates’ morals to a lapdog. (Smith, 241-242)
In an editorial about health the New York Times outlines the presidential nominees health status in: “Questions About Their Health.”
Again, the media goes a little bit too far in investigating the health of the candidates. Yes, I do think it is important to measure the health of the world’s most powerful positions but a couple of things this article outlined prove how intrusive the media can be sometimes!
“Senator McCain allowed a small pool of reporters to review 1,200 pages of medical records during a three-hour period and then allowed a few of his doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona to answer questions by telephone for 45 minutes. The reporters were not allowed to photocopy any documents, making it harder for them to ask other experts what the medical findings might imply.”
Another bit that proves they go too far sometimes is outlined here:
“Senator Joseph Biden, who two decades ago was operated on for potentially life-threatening aneurysms in the brain, has released 49 pages of records and a letter from the Capitol physician saying that the senator has recovered fully. It is not known whether he has been evaluated by a neurologist recently. A doctor who relayed the Capitol physician’s thoughts said no tests were needed now because Mr. Biden had done well for 20 years.”
The fact that both of the older candidates release 1,200 pages and 49 pages of records is absolutely crazy to me! It seems as if with all of this information and a statement from Obama’s doctor the press should be happy, but they are not. I won’t even get into Sarah Palin (who hasn’t released any records and won’t even talk about her health at all) because the last of our problems if she is elected Vice President will be her health! One of our first problems will be if John McCain’s bout with cancer is more serious than anyone has let on and she becomes President. Yikes!
All in all, this article (although short) mentions just one case of the media being too obtrusive in the search for information on the four candidates of this election. The 1,250 pages of information released are not enough? Why not?
As far as I am concerned, and as important as the health of each candidate is, we need to focus on other issues. We need to continue to give politicians their personal respect and personal privacy. We need to stop intruding on personal matters and start reporting (more) on government, national, and global issues.
Nicholas' Blog Entry #5
Nicholas Savasta
Blog 5
Chapter 12-Privacy for Political Leaders
The American press has traditionally seen its role in our democracy as the Fourth Estate, an unelected but active player in the life of the republic. Some, however, would accuse the media of being too active of a player: writing stories from their own biases and mercilessly intruding on the privacy of political figures.
In the 20th century, the press went from being a watchdog of candidates’ morals to a lapdog. (Smith, 241-242)
One story I chose about “Privacy for Political Leaders” is a brand new story tonight about Obama’s ailing grandmother and his suspension of his campaign for two days because he is going to see her. Just the fact that this is news really speaks volumes. The article goes as far as telling about Obama’s grandmother being in the hospital last week and here being at home resting now. I think they went a little bit far but I guess in a historic election comes historic news coverage, opinions, and active playing in the Presidential nominee’s personal lives.
The article is called: “Obama Cancels Campaign Events To Visit Ailing Grandmother” written in The Wall Street Journal.
There were a couple of different views of why the schedule changes were being made. Almost to over look the fact that his grandmother is sick and in serious condition!
“Campaign aides insisted the schedule changes were not driven by political concerns. However, they coincide with recent reports that Republicans are contemplating moving resources out of the two states, Wisconsin and Iowa, where recent polling shows Sen. Obama's lead widening. Indiana, a traditionally Republican state, is far more competitive. Sen. Obama's mother died at age 54 of cancer. His maternal grandfather and his father are deceased.”
It also goes into detail about his recent vacations and quoting Senator Obama about his grandmother. Who knows if this is even true!
Sen. Obama vacationed with his grandmother this summer, saying she had reached an age when he wanted her to spend as much time as possible with her great grand children, his daughters, Malia and Sasha.
The Wall Street Journal even goes into Obama’s past speeches and mentions the “raising some eyebrows from his critics” in part of it. I just really don’t think this needs to be mentioned!
“She has always featured prominently in his stump speeches and biography, a "Rosey the Riveter" in World War II Kansas. He also raised her in a somewhat critical way -- raising some eyebrows from his critics -- in his closely watched speech on race in March in the wake of the controversies surrounding his long-time Chicago pastor, Jeremiah Wright. "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother," Sen. Obama said. He described her as "a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.””
Beyond this, the article goes on to talk about why this might be a positive thing for Obama during the campaign. They actually think it might be a positive thing! What happens if his grandmother dies? Will that be positive too? I think this part is a little deranged.
“Nothing a presidential candidate does in the final weeks of a campaign can be divorced from politics. Here are three reasons the suspended campaign will not hurt Obama:
1. The trip emphasizes Obama's human side. A former law school faculty member, he can come across as aloof and overly intellectual. He has a compelling family story and a trip to visit his sick grandmother brings that story to the attention of more voters.
2. The trip may make some Obama critics tone down their attacks. It's hard to throw rocks at a guy when he is caught up with a very tough family situation. Political attacks pose new risk to any Republican tempted to play in the gutter.
3. Democratic surrogates will get new attention. Michelle Obama and Joe Biden are strong campaigners. Bill and Hillary Clinton will be on the trail, too. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were together in Florida on Monday. Even with Barack Obama out of the picture for a few days, his high-profile supporters will keep the momentum rolling”
Blog 5
Chapter 12-Privacy for Political Leaders
The American press has traditionally seen its role in our democracy as the Fourth Estate, an unelected but active player in the life of the republic. Some, however, would accuse the media of being too active of a player: writing stories from their own biases and mercilessly intruding on the privacy of political figures.
In the 20th century, the press went from being a watchdog of candidates’ morals to a lapdog. (Smith, 241-242)
One story I chose about “Privacy for Political Leaders” is a brand new story tonight about Obama’s ailing grandmother and his suspension of his campaign for two days because he is going to see her. Just the fact that this is news really speaks volumes. The article goes as far as telling about Obama’s grandmother being in the hospital last week and here being at home resting now. I think they went a little bit far but I guess in a historic election comes historic news coverage, opinions, and active playing in the Presidential nominee’s personal lives.
The article is called: “Obama Cancels Campaign Events To Visit Ailing Grandmother” written in The Wall Street Journal.
There were a couple of different views of why the schedule changes were being made. Almost to over look the fact that his grandmother is sick and in serious condition!
“Campaign aides insisted the schedule changes were not driven by political concerns. However, they coincide with recent reports that Republicans are contemplating moving resources out of the two states, Wisconsin and Iowa, where recent polling shows Sen. Obama's lead widening. Indiana, a traditionally Republican state, is far more competitive. Sen. Obama's mother died at age 54 of cancer. His maternal grandfather and his father are deceased.”
It also goes into detail about his recent vacations and quoting Senator Obama about his grandmother. Who knows if this is even true!
Sen. Obama vacationed with his grandmother this summer, saying she had reached an age when he wanted her to spend as much time as possible with her great grand children, his daughters, Malia and Sasha.
The Wall Street Journal even goes into Obama’s past speeches and mentions the “raising some eyebrows from his critics” in part of it. I just really don’t think this needs to be mentioned!
“She has always featured prominently in his stump speeches and biography, a "Rosey the Riveter" in World War II Kansas. He also raised her in a somewhat critical way -- raising some eyebrows from his critics -- in his closely watched speech on race in March in the wake of the controversies surrounding his long-time Chicago pastor, Jeremiah Wright. "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother," Sen. Obama said. He described her as "a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.””
Beyond this, the article goes on to talk about why this might be a positive thing for Obama during the campaign. They actually think it might be a positive thing! What happens if his grandmother dies? Will that be positive too? I think this part is a little deranged.
“Nothing a presidential candidate does in the final weeks of a campaign can be divorced from politics. Here are three reasons the suspended campaign will not hurt Obama:
1. The trip emphasizes Obama's human side. A former law school faculty member, he can come across as aloof and overly intellectual. He has a compelling family story and a trip to visit his sick grandmother brings that story to the attention of more voters.
2. The trip may make some Obama critics tone down their attacks. It's hard to throw rocks at a guy when he is caught up with a very tough family situation. Political attacks pose new risk to any Republican tempted to play in the gutter.
3. Democratic surrogates will get new attention. Michelle Obama and Joe Biden are strong campaigners. Bill and Hillary Clinton will be on the trail, too. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were together in Florida on Monday. Even with Barack Obama out of the picture for a few days, his high-profile supporters will keep the momentum rolling”
Nicholas' Blog Entry #4
Chapter 11-Compassion, Privacy, and Ordinary Citizens
The news stories that I wanted to examine for chapter 11 involve new stories on the Middlebury student Nicholas Garza from this winter. Nicholas Garza Story By: Eva Sollberger (Seven Days) is a great example of “Compassion, Privacy, and Ordinary Citizens. Eva wrote a couple of really informative compassionate articles and videos about Nick Garza when he was missing. When reading this chapter and deciding which articles to write about this one came right to mind.
In reading this chapter a couple of things stuck out to me:
“These two incidents (outlined in the chapter) highlight the basic questions of this chapter: How do you handle the privacy of ordinary people who get drawn into the news? What is the role of compassion in the demands of daily journalism?”
Although many journalists and newspaper reporters think compassion shouldn’t be involved in reporting Eva did to a certain extent. She was respectful, well informed, kind, and set the tone in her videos and articles about Nick Garza. Back when this was a headline, I remember thinking about her compassion and how thoughtful her coverage was. Times like these call for sensitive, tasteful reactions and reporting from the media and I think Eva did just that.
“It wasn’t clear at that stage what kind of missing person’s case this was. For starters, who was Nick Garza? To his parents, Natalie and Demetrius, Nick was beyond exceptional. He was smart, handsome, talented and caring, and he seemed to possess a degree of self-control unusual in someone his age. But to someone who didn’t know him, Nick Garza could have been just another Middlebury freshman, probably away from home for the first time, who got himself into trouble he couldn’t handle.”
The chapter goes on about what the majority of journalists and newspaper reporters think about compassion. It brings about the term “objectivity” and whether or not compassion conflicts with this notion.
“Many journalists, especially newspaper reporters, shun the notion of compassion. They believe compassion runs counter to objective reporting, which most reporters try to practice despite widespread doubts as to whether it’s achievable or even desirable.” (Smith 213-14)
When ABC aired a segment linking Nick Garza and a 23 year-old Wall Street broker that had been seen drinking 20 martinis before he went missing titled, “Two Missing Men Are Likely Buried in Snow: Intoxication Plus Exposure to Elements Makes for Deadly Combination.” The family felt “stung” after this news story was aired. It is a perfect example of news reporters being uncompassionate. There was really no need to make assumptions and to point out the obvious in this story. With a bit more sensitivity and compassion the story would have been tasteful and actually helped out two ailing families. They did not need to be pushed down further!
“Hanley’s comments, which he reiterated on a subsequent Fox News broadcast, stung Nick’s family. Since arriving from Albuquerque, Natalie, when not with the search team or talking with police, was working the phone and her laptop, gathering knowledge and support from missing-person’s advocates. She hunted for scent-dog handlers and, she admits, so-called “intuitive counselors.” She made contact with an organization that helps maintain awareness of missing-person cases by raising reward money. And, like Tom Hanley, she too was talking to the media. Natalie knew the cable and network news outlets, in particular, love mysterious disappearances. But she soon discovered that the stories with the greatest traction don’t involve missing persons who are victims of their own irresponsibility.”
“Nobody cares about a drunk college student,” Natalie says. “I wanted people’s eyes to be out for Nick, to get some attention. That ABC article hurt very much. I felt like it undermined everything I was trying to do.”
The news stories that I wanted to examine for chapter 11 involve new stories on the Middlebury student Nicholas Garza from this winter. Nicholas Garza Story By: Eva Sollberger (Seven Days) is a great example of “Compassion, Privacy, and Ordinary Citizens. Eva wrote a couple of really informative compassionate articles and videos about Nick Garza when he was missing. When reading this chapter and deciding which articles to write about this one came right to mind.
In reading this chapter a couple of things stuck out to me:
“These two incidents (outlined in the chapter) highlight the basic questions of this chapter: How do you handle the privacy of ordinary people who get drawn into the news? What is the role of compassion in the demands of daily journalism?”
Although many journalists and newspaper reporters think compassion shouldn’t be involved in reporting Eva did to a certain extent. She was respectful, well informed, kind, and set the tone in her videos and articles about Nick Garza. Back when this was a headline, I remember thinking about her compassion and how thoughtful her coverage was. Times like these call for sensitive, tasteful reactions and reporting from the media and I think Eva did just that.
“It wasn’t clear at that stage what kind of missing person’s case this was. For starters, who was Nick Garza? To his parents, Natalie and Demetrius, Nick was beyond exceptional. He was smart, handsome, talented and caring, and he seemed to possess a degree of self-control unusual in someone his age. But to someone who didn’t know him, Nick Garza could have been just another Middlebury freshman, probably away from home for the first time, who got himself into trouble he couldn’t handle.”
The chapter goes on about what the majority of journalists and newspaper reporters think about compassion. It brings about the term “objectivity” and whether or not compassion conflicts with this notion.
“Many journalists, especially newspaper reporters, shun the notion of compassion. They believe compassion runs counter to objective reporting, which most reporters try to practice despite widespread doubts as to whether it’s achievable or even desirable.” (Smith 213-14)
When ABC aired a segment linking Nick Garza and a 23 year-old Wall Street broker that had been seen drinking 20 martinis before he went missing titled, “Two Missing Men Are Likely Buried in Snow: Intoxication Plus Exposure to Elements Makes for Deadly Combination.” The family felt “stung” after this news story was aired. It is a perfect example of news reporters being uncompassionate. There was really no need to make assumptions and to point out the obvious in this story. With a bit more sensitivity and compassion the story would have been tasteful and actually helped out two ailing families. They did not need to be pushed down further!
“Hanley’s comments, which he reiterated on a subsequent Fox News broadcast, stung Nick’s family. Since arriving from Albuquerque, Natalie, when not with the search team or talking with police, was working the phone and her laptop, gathering knowledge and support from missing-person’s advocates. She hunted for scent-dog handlers and, she admits, so-called “intuitive counselors.” She made contact with an organization that helps maintain awareness of missing-person cases by raising reward money. And, like Tom Hanley, she too was talking to the media. Natalie knew the cable and network news outlets, in particular, love mysterious disappearances. But she soon discovered that the stories with the greatest traction don’t involve missing persons who are victims of their own irresponsibility.”
“Nobody cares about a drunk college student,” Natalie says. “I wanted people’s eyes to be out for Nick, to get some attention. That ABC article hurt very much. I felt like it undermined everything I was trying to do.”
Nicholas' Blog Entry #3
Nicholas Savasta
Blog 3
Chapter 8- The Government Watch
The relationship of the news media and the government is marked by constant tensions. The case of the missing children illustrates at least two of them.
Article:
Vermont to Implement New Sex Offender Laws
ABC News- July 28, 2008
A second tension comes from defining the role the news media should play in the running of government. Sun-Sentinel’s Maucker, however, believed the media should be independent of the government. It was the government’s job to watch over the children in its custody; it was the media’s job to watch over government. (Smith, 143-144)
The new stories early this year about Brooke Bennett are the kind of news stories that reminded me of “The Government Watch” role that the media plays.
This story and the coverage from national news stations peaked my interest in the topic and many other Vermonters. There was a call for action in updating our laws in Vermont and something has finally been done.
In this way, the medias’ job wash to watch over the government and with that watch and push new laws are being passed to protect children and keep sexual predators at bay.
“When a state Senate committee begins deliberating later this summer on how to respond to the kidnap and killing of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, it also will be under pressure to deal with a new federal law named for another slain child.”
These changes were mentioned here:
"It will mean some huge changes for Vermont," said Sherry Englert, sex offender registry program coordinator with the Department of Public Safety.
The article goes on to talk about this classified information that is sometimes necessary to release.
“Vermont currently has about 2,500 sex offenders on its registry, but access to the information is tightly controlled in a system lawmakers designed to take into account the privacy rights of people who've already served their time and in the hope that they'll have a smooth transition back into society.”
“Sears said he expects one result if the state complies with the Adam Walsh Act will be a larger number of offenders with information posted online, including some as young as 14 if they are convicted in adult court. But with Gov. Jim Douglas and others calling for a "Jessica's Law," with 25-year mandatory minimum sentences for sex offenders, and with national media personalities pummeling Vermont as being soft on sexual predators, any concern for youthful offenders or for the privacy of those promising to mend their ways is at an ebb.”
Overall, I thought this article was a great example of the role that media sometimes has to play and some of the positive things media can bring to the table. Without this coverage, questioning, and push something might not have changed.
Blog 3
Chapter 8- The Government Watch
The relationship of the news media and the government is marked by constant tensions. The case of the missing children illustrates at least two of them.
Article:
Vermont to Implement New Sex Offender Laws
ABC News- July 28, 2008
A second tension comes from defining the role the news media should play in the running of government. Sun-Sentinel’s Maucker, however, believed the media should be independent of the government. It was the government’s job to watch over the children in its custody; it was the media’s job to watch over government. (Smith, 143-144)
The new stories early this year about Brooke Bennett are the kind of news stories that reminded me of “The Government Watch” role that the media plays.
This story and the coverage from national news stations peaked my interest in the topic and many other Vermonters. There was a call for action in updating our laws in Vermont and something has finally been done.
In this way, the medias’ job wash to watch over the government and with that watch and push new laws are being passed to protect children and keep sexual predators at bay.
“When a state Senate committee begins deliberating later this summer on how to respond to the kidnap and killing of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, it also will be under pressure to deal with a new federal law named for another slain child.”
These changes were mentioned here:
"It will mean some huge changes for Vermont," said Sherry Englert, sex offender registry program coordinator with the Department of Public Safety.
The article goes on to talk about this classified information that is sometimes necessary to release.
“Vermont currently has about 2,500 sex offenders on its registry, but access to the information is tightly controlled in a system lawmakers designed to take into account the privacy rights of people who've already served their time and in the hope that they'll have a smooth transition back into society.”
“Sears said he expects one result if the state complies with the Adam Walsh Act will be a larger number of offenders with information posted online, including some as young as 14 if they are convicted in adult court. But with Gov. Jim Douglas and others calling for a "Jessica's Law," with 25-year mandatory minimum sentences for sex offenders, and with national media personalities pummeling Vermont as being soft on sexual predators, any concern for youthful offenders or for the privacy of those promising to mend their ways is at an ebb.”
Overall, I thought this article was a great example of the role that media sometimes has to play and some of the positive things media can bring to the table. Without this coverage, questioning, and push something might not have changed.
Nicholas' Blog Entry #2
Nicholas Savasta
Blog 2
Chapter 8- The Government Watch
The relationship of the news media and the government is marked by constant tensions. The case of the missing children illustrates at least two of them.
One is the clash between the need for government secrecy and the obligation to openness in a democracy. No one questions the requirement for government to keep private some of the information that its agencies collect about citizens, particularly abused or abandoned children. Yet, the public must know what its government is doing. When government agencies conduct business in secret, things can go terribly wrong.
Article:
NSA Has Massive Database of Americans’ Phone Calls
USA Today- May 11, 2006
In finding this article I was trying to find something that brought about the government’s role in something that has never really been cleared up, explained with legal jargon, and to a certain extent in support of when government agencies conduct business in secret, things can go terribly long.
“The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.”
How would you feel if you were on the phone right now and “someone somewhere” was listening to you? I know I personally would feel violated, violated, and utterly helpless. Do this happen? And who has made for this action to be acceptable? I really don’t trust huge corporations even more than I did before!
"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.”
How is this okay?
This article is a perfect example of secrets that most (or all) Government agencies can keep. They can even be revealed (like in this article) and “explain” themselves and be off the hook.
And this is where the legal jargon goes on and on to offer some explanation to make people like me feel better:
“Don Weber, a senior spokesman for the NSA, declined to discuss the agency's operations. "Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues; therefore, we have no information to provide," he said. "However, it is important to note that NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
The White House would not discuss the domestic call-tracking program. "There is no domestic surveillance without court approval," said Dana Perino, deputy press secretary, referring to actual eavesdropping.
She added that all national intelligence activities undertaken by the federal government "are lawful, necessary and required for the pursuit of al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists." All government-sponsored intelligence activities "are carefully reviewed and monitored," Perino said. She also noted that "all appropriate members of Congress have been briefed on the intelligence efforts of the United States."
All I have to say is this: blah, blah, blah. I still don’t feel really any better. I guess I am lucky because I don’t have a land line. But that reminds me: I have a cell phone with service provided from Verizon. Shit!
This is how something is going to go terribly wrong:
“Sources, however, say that is not the case. With access to records of billions of domestic calls, the NSA has gained a secret window into the communications habits of millions of Americans. Customers' names, street addresses and other personal information are not being handed over as part of NSA's domestic program, the sources said. But the phone numbers the NSA collects can easily be cross-checked with other databases to obtain that information.”
Overall, these programs like the one the NSA initiated after 9/11 in “good intentions” are the exact secrets that must be revealed. Hopefully, with the graces of the press we will get more answers, protection, and an advocate through their processes of questioning and investigation.
Blog 2
Chapter 8- The Government Watch
The relationship of the news media and the government is marked by constant tensions. The case of the missing children illustrates at least two of them.
One is the clash between the need for government secrecy and the obligation to openness in a democracy. No one questions the requirement for government to keep private some of the information that its agencies collect about citizens, particularly abused or abandoned children. Yet, the public must know what its government is doing. When government agencies conduct business in secret, things can go terribly wrong.
Article:
NSA Has Massive Database of Americans’ Phone Calls
USA Today- May 11, 2006
In finding this article I was trying to find something that brought about the government’s role in something that has never really been cleared up, explained with legal jargon, and to a certain extent in support of when government agencies conduct business in secret, things can go terribly long.
“The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.”
How would you feel if you were on the phone right now and “someone somewhere” was listening to you? I know I personally would feel violated, violated, and utterly helpless. Do this happen? And who has made for this action to be acceptable? I really don’t trust huge corporations even more than I did before!
"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.”
How is this okay?
This article is a perfect example of secrets that most (or all) Government agencies can keep. They can even be revealed (like in this article) and “explain” themselves and be off the hook.
And this is where the legal jargon goes on and on to offer some explanation to make people like me feel better:
“Don Weber, a senior spokesman for the NSA, declined to discuss the agency's operations. "Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues; therefore, we have no information to provide," he said. "However, it is important to note that NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
The White House would not discuss the domestic call-tracking program. "There is no domestic surveillance without court approval," said Dana Perino, deputy press secretary, referring to actual eavesdropping.
She added that all national intelligence activities undertaken by the federal government "are lawful, necessary and required for the pursuit of al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists." All government-sponsored intelligence activities "are carefully reviewed and monitored," Perino said. She also noted that "all appropriate members of Congress have been briefed on the intelligence efforts of the United States."
All I have to say is this: blah, blah, blah. I still don’t feel really any better. I guess I am lucky because I don’t have a land line. But that reminds me: I have a cell phone with service provided from Verizon. Shit!
This is how something is going to go terribly wrong:
“Sources, however, say that is not the case. With access to records of billions of domestic calls, the NSA has gained a secret window into the communications habits of millions of Americans. Customers' names, street addresses and other personal information are not being handed over as part of NSA's domestic program, the sources said. But the phone numbers the NSA collects can easily be cross-checked with other databases to obtain that information.”
Overall, these programs like the one the NSA initiated after 9/11 in “good intentions” are the exact secrets that must be revealed. Hopefully, with the graces of the press we will get more answers, protection, and an advocate through their processes of questioning and investigation.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Nicholas' response to recent politics!
Nicholas Savasta
Blog Entry #1
In trying to find the “perfect” articles to compare and contrast, I thought it would better to compare different coverage of the presidential election of the two different nominees from the Republican and Democratic parties. As I looked to find the best articles to use I found one titled, “In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama too Cool?” from the New York Times. The other, highlighting some of John McCain’s latest ongoings is titled, “McCain the Show Horse: Way Off Track” from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Even from the start, I knew one article would be more ethical than the other. Even though it didn’t make it easier to complete the assignment, I found it interesting just highlighted in the titles that the ethics in one article were more apparent than in the other.
In the first article titled, “In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama Too Cool?” it outlines recent events involving the economy and the way Obama has handled these events. It goes on to give examples of how he acts, his stance on a couple of things, and what he should do next. In general, this article is not too critical. It states well known facts about Obama and his past voting records (like the vote on the war). At the end of the article the other goes on to state the exact purpose of this article: “His way of approaching things may not work for everyone who’s angry nowadays, but I sense some anger just below the surface,” Ms. Younce said. “Though if things keep getting worse, he may need to turn it up a little, to show passion some more.” Basically, with this ending, the author answered the question posed within the title, “In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama Too Cool?” and leaves it at that. Posing a recommendation for Obama is much better than assuming something and making a statement (opinion) about him. The second article chosen is not as fair.
The second article titled, “McCain the Show Horse: Way Off Track” starts with a statement not a question imposing the author’s view immediately upon the reader from the beginning. Even though the author uses a slick metaphor it is highly opinionated and not as open ended as the first article. It goes on to explain (once again, like the first article) current affairs and a politician’s (John McCain) response to these events. Towards the end, after summing up McCain’s recent actions of “suspending” his campaign because of economic worries and the economic condition of the country it ends with some advice for John McCain! “At the climactic moment, a senior Conservative, Leopold Amery, faced Chamberlain and spoke withering words to his friend of 40 years: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" Not a bad message, not only for the failed George Bush but also for the rudderless John McCain.” The use of this quote is misleading and uses the word “rudderless” to sharpen the blow.
Overall, as I have pointed out with the two examples above and within the titles of each article, the first one involves a question not a statement. In doing this, the article about Obama is more open ended and “nurturing” towards its readers. It presents facts, questions, and a recommendation for Obama. It doesn’t make a broad statement in its title and does not end with a “low blow” quote from one of his friends. As for the second article (and I never care to point it out really) there are less ethics in the way that it is written. Even with the beginning title/ statement this article almost goes too far. The author is pushing his opinion and a quote from an entirely irrelevant event upon the reader. In doing this, the article doesn’t nurture democracy or the reader’s own opinion, it is one sided and is borderline unethical.
Blog Entry #1
In trying to find the “perfect” articles to compare and contrast, I thought it would better to compare different coverage of the presidential election of the two different nominees from the Republican and Democratic parties. As I looked to find the best articles to use I found one titled, “In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama too Cool?” from the New York Times. The other, highlighting some of John McCain’s latest ongoings is titled, “McCain the Show Horse: Way Off Track” from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Even from the start, I knew one article would be more ethical than the other. Even though it didn’t make it easier to complete the assignment, I found it interesting just highlighted in the titles that the ethics in one article were more apparent than in the other.
In the first article titled, “In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama Too Cool?” it outlines recent events involving the economy and the way Obama has handled these events. It goes on to give examples of how he acts, his stance on a couple of things, and what he should do next. In general, this article is not too critical. It states well known facts about Obama and his past voting records (like the vote on the war). At the end of the article the other goes on to state the exact purpose of this article: “His way of approaching things may not work for everyone who’s angry nowadays, but I sense some anger just below the surface,” Ms. Younce said. “Though if things keep getting worse, he may need to turn it up a little, to show passion some more.” Basically, with this ending, the author answered the question posed within the title, “In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama Too Cool?” and leaves it at that. Posing a recommendation for Obama is much better than assuming something and making a statement (opinion) about him. The second article chosen is not as fair.
The second article titled, “McCain the Show Horse: Way Off Track” starts with a statement not a question imposing the author’s view immediately upon the reader from the beginning. Even though the author uses a slick metaphor it is highly opinionated and not as open ended as the first article. It goes on to explain (once again, like the first article) current affairs and a politician’s (John McCain) response to these events. Towards the end, after summing up McCain’s recent actions of “suspending” his campaign because of economic worries and the economic condition of the country it ends with some advice for John McCain! “At the climactic moment, a senior Conservative, Leopold Amery, faced Chamberlain and spoke withering words to his friend of 40 years: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" Not a bad message, not only for the failed George Bush but also for the rudderless John McCain.” The use of this quote is misleading and uses the word “rudderless” to sharpen the blow.
Overall, as I have pointed out with the two examples above and within the titles of each article, the first one involves a question not a statement. In doing this, the article about Obama is more open ended and “nurturing” towards its readers. It presents facts, questions, and a recommendation for Obama. It doesn’t make a broad statement in its title and does not end with a “low blow” quote from one of his friends. As for the second article (and I never care to point it out really) there are less ethics in the way that it is written. Even with the beginning title/ statement this article almost goes too far. The author is pushing his opinion and a quote from an entirely irrelevant event upon the reader. In doing this, the article doesn’t nurture democracy or the reader’s own opinion, it is one sided and is borderline unethical.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Howard Dean BYAHH! Blues
So I'm sure most of you have heard about a recent statement Obama made that got him into hot water.
Here is my take on it, feel free to share yours:
How long, how long
Until you step in a heaping fecal mound
Ohhh how long, Obama, how long
Howard Dean did and you could too
Oh yes, Howard Dean did it and you can too
If you don't be careful it won't be long
Until Hillary walks right over you
~ The Howard Dean BYAHH! Blues
Peaking too early is dangerous, especially in political races and Texas Hold'Em tournaments. It doesn't work to relieve the pressure that comes with running the mind-rattling marathon that is political campaigning or high stakes gambling. And our friend Obama is starting to realize the grim consequences of reaching the top well before his competitor, Hillary "Pants Suit" Clinton. Like a horse who managed to win both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, only to snap a leg thirty-feet from the finish line at Belmont, Obama might be on his way to the glue factory with the rest of the former hopefuls turned dud.
To Read More Click the Following Link:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/711281/the_howard_dean_byahh_blues.html
Sunday, April 6, 2008
iTunes records a sales mileston.
Here is an article highlighting Apple's iTunes success over the past few years.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-itunes4apr04,1,4873885.story
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-itunes4apr04,1,4873885.story
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Movies and 3D
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/movies/12scre.html?ref=arts
This is an article for the push of movies and 3D. Just thought it was interesting...
This is an article for the push of movies and 3D. Just thought it was interesting...
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Summary of Lecture on Magazines
Last week’s lecture on magazines covered the state of magazine publishing today, the big issues facing print publishing, aspects that make a magazine successful, and a brief look at publications that are recognized as classics.
There are more magazines published today than ever before (estimated at more than 6000), yet many have a niche readership. The trend in magazine publishing has been to design content for special interests and the associated targeted buying power of those audiences.
Generally, readership is down for all three major news magazines (Time, Newsweek, and US News). Over the last ten years these publications have lost thirty percent of their readership. The main challenge for these weeklies is to find a way to regain the lost audiences while at the same time cultivating new audiences. A key concern for these magazines is the competition from online news sites and from cable television for content and for advertising dollars. Young audiences 18-21 almost exclusively turn to online news sources for their information (evidenced also by the class surveys at the start of the semester).
Production costs for print publications keeps going up. The cost of paper, inks, coatings can be high when environmental regulation is factored into the printing process. Labor costs increase as well as bargaining unit employees call for sustainable wages. Add to that delivery (trucking costs of magazines) and mailing (postal rate to the subscriber base).
Despite these issues, many magazines are enormously successful and enjoy a growing niche audience base. Lifestyle magazines and celebrity-centered magazines are two categories that have done very well in recent years and their ad pages keep increasing.
Other publications that lead growth in the industry: The Economist, The New Yorker, and The Week (all three have excellent online presence as well).
But what makes a magazine great? Ad pages are only part of the equation. Without a doubt, one key component of a great magazine is great editorial leadership and vision at the helm. Everything flows from that leadership: A magazine with a strong perspective that offers its readers topics of interest and relevance written by good writers will find loyal audiences. Other components of great magazines: A signature design that blends photography, illustration and layout in a manner that complements the content of the publication.
We examined several publications that are notable for the distinguished vision of their founder. Among these is Life, the glossy general interest weekly, which kept us informed about world events through powerful photo essays by noted photojournalists for 36 years.
(Founded by Henry Luce, who also founded Fortune and Time). We also noted Esquire, the Sixties years, when New Journalism and the personalized approach to reporting offered us the works of Tom Wolfe (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers) and Gay Talese (Frank Sinatra Has a Cold) among others. (Under editor Harold Hayes). We looked at magazines distinguished by great reporting: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, the Economist (and the long- defunct Collier’s). We noted that men’s magazine’s such a Playboy once published the works of some of the best writers of their time (in the Fifties and Sixties). Not to be overlooked, Rolling Stone, whose cover stories have included everyone famous and infamous in music from Janis Joplin to Amy Winehouse (see info on Jann Wenner and Greil Marcus). Also discussed: Ebony (founded by John Johnson); The Atlantic (founded by Emerson and Longfellow); Details (Annie Flanders); National Geographic; Vogue; and Mademoiselle (now defunct).
The lecture covered another dozen or so magazines distinguished by great editorial leadership.
There are more magazines published today than ever before (estimated at more than 6000), yet many have a niche readership. The trend in magazine publishing has been to design content for special interests and the associated targeted buying power of those audiences.
Generally, readership is down for all three major news magazines (Time, Newsweek, and US News). Over the last ten years these publications have lost thirty percent of their readership. The main challenge for these weeklies is to find a way to regain the lost audiences while at the same time cultivating new audiences. A key concern for these magazines is the competition from online news sites and from cable television for content and for advertising dollars. Young audiences 18-21 almost exclusively turn to online news sources for their information (evidenced also by the class surveys at the start of the semester).
Production costs for print publications keeps going up. The cost of paper, inks, coatings can be high when environmental regulation is factored into the printing process. Labor costs increase as well as bargaining unit employees call for sustainable wages. Add to that delivery (trucking costs of magazines) and mailing (postal rate to the subscriber base).
Despite these issues, many magazines are enormously successful and enjoy a growing niche audience base. Lifestyle magazines and celebrity-centered magazines are two categories that have done very well in recent years and their ad pages keep increasing.
Other publications that lead growth in the industry: The Economist, The New Yorker, and The Week (all three have excellent online presence as well).
But what makes a magazine great? Ad pages are only part of the equation. Without a doubt, one key component of a great magazine is great editorial leadership and vision at the helm. Everything flows from that leadership: A magazine with a strong perspective that offers its readers topics of interest and relevance written by good writers will find loyal audiences. Other components of great magazines: A signature design that blends photography, illustration and layout in a manner that complements the content of the publication.
We examined several publications that are notable for the distinguished vision of their founder. Among these is Life, the glossy general interest weekly, which kept us informed about world events through powerful photo essays by noted photojournalists for 36 years.
(Founded by Henry Luce, who also founded Fortune and Time). We also noted Esquire, the Sixties years, when New Journalism and the personalized approach to reporting offered us the works of Tom Wolfe (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers) and Gay Talese (Frank Sinatra Has a Cold) among others. (Under editor Harold Hayes). We looked at magazines distinguished by great reporting: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, the Economist (and the long- defunct Collier’s). We noted that men’s magazine’s such a Playboy once published the works of some of the best writers of their time (in the Fifties and Sixties). Not to be overlooked, Rolling Stone, whose cover stories have included everyone famous and infamous in music from Janis Joplin to Amy Winehouse (see info on Jann Wenner and Greil Marcus). Also discussed: Ebony (founded by John Johnson); The Atlantic (founded by Emerson and Longfellow); Details (Annie Flanders); National Geographic; Vogue; and Mademoiselle (now defunct).
The lecture covered another dozen or so magazines distinguished by great editorial leadership.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The Iraq War and the Media's Coverage of It
I've always thought the Iraq War was a major mistake, but after interviewing a Marine who spent time in Ramadi and al Anbar Province, in addition to talking with other soldiers who have served, I have to say I am more appalled by the media's coverage of the war. Most people know that major news networks tend to always focus on the bad, but the effect that has on a population's mentality is a monumental one.
Nevertheless, here is a link to the article I wrote after interviewing Lance Corporal Steven Hayes who was part of the March 2007 troop surge. It'd be nice to get a discussion going in regards to the media's coverage of the Iraq War and the war in general.
The al Anbar Awakening: A Marine's Eye View
On a side note, it would be greatly appreciated if you could vote for the article if you enjoy it or find it interesting.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Don't Vote. It Doesn't Matter, Right?
This is a little shameless self-promotion, but I need some money. Anyway, it's a social commentary piece on voting. It also has an abridged explanation of the Electoral College for those who might not know the deal with that.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/499759/dont_vote_it_doesnt_matter_right.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/499759/dont_vote_it_doesnt_matter_right.html
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Naomi Wolf Talks About Her Book
The author of the article referenced in the post below speaks at the University of Washington. She defines her motivations for writing the book.
Interesting Article on Potential Fascism in America
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.htm
Personally, the article gives far too much credit to Bush because I highly doubt he is the mastermind of some great conspiracy. However, research into any of the following groups/topics will bring about unsettling results: Council on Foreign Relations, Carlyle Group, KBR, Bilderberg Group, origins of the Federal Reserve, North American Union, and so on. Also, the REAL ID, which I posted about earlier ties into this as well.
However, the linked article does mention the consolidation of Mass Media.
Here is a quote from David Rockefeller of the infamous Rockefeller Family:
"For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents ... to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."
- David Rockefeller, "Memoirs" autobiography (2002, Random House publishers), page 405
Personally, the article gives far too much credit to Bush because I highly doubt he is the mastermind of some great conspiracy. However, research into any of the following groups/topics will bring about unsettling results: Council on Foreign Relations, Carlyle Group, KBR, Bilderberg Group, origins of the Federal Reserve, North American Union, and so on. Also, the REAL ID, which I posted about earlier ties into this as well.
However, the linked article does mention the consolidation of Mass Media.
Here is a quote from David Rockefeller of the infamous Rockefeller Family:
"For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents ... to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."
- David Rockefeller, "Memoirs" autobiography (2002, Random House publishers), page 405
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Article
So, it won't let me copy paste. However, you can find the article via hillaryclinton.com
Go to the newsroom tab and click on endorsements! You'll find it there.
Go to the newsroom tab and click on endorsements! You'll find it there.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The New York Time's Influence
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/opinion/25fri1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
This is the New York Times article and their endorsement of John McCain and Hillary Clinton for President. This kind of presence and respect for the opinions of a national newspaper such as the NYT says a lot about the newspaper business and the impact it still has.
Would I be swayed by an endorsement like this one?
It depends. I do value the opinion of the well respected, well read, and well educated staff. However, does it sway my opinion? No. For an undecided voter; however, I could see the potential influence and impact of an article like this.
This is the New York Times article and their endorsement of John McCain and Hillary Clinton for President. This kind of presence and respect for the opinions of a national newspaper such as the NYT says a lot about the newspaper business and the impact it still has.
Would I be swayed by an endorsement like this one?
It depends. I do value the opinion of the well respected, well read, and well educated staff. However, does it sway my opinion? No. For an undecided voter; however, I could see the potential influence and impact of an article like this.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Get in SANE
SANE is a community that promotes the pursuit of a neverending education. The acronym SANE stands for Socratic Americans for Neverending Education, and SANE's main purpose is to encourage active discussion on a wide array of topics in addition to spreading the message that education is something that shouldn't end once a degree is achieved.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2251682655&ref=mf
Say "No" to the REAL ID (National ID)
Some of you may have heard about the REAL ID act, which will require all US citizens to have a National ID card, equipped with a RFID chip, which will enable those with access to the system to track a person's every move. Not only is the REAL ID invasive, but it makes identity theft much easier for tech savvy hackers. For a comprehensive breakdown and up to date news on the REAL ID goto http://epic.org/privacy/id-cards/ EPIC is the Electronic Privacy Information Center and they work to ensure Americans have the privacy and freedom that they deserve.
While the government wants to implement the REAL ID by May 2008, they have allowed extensions to states that can't adjust in time. Nevertheless, the goal is for every American to have a REAL ID by 2012. If you value your privacy and freedom, resist the REAL ID at all costs. The government has been using the threat of terrorism to restrict the liberties of American citizens and the REAL ID is the perfect example of the mind games the government plays to keep American citizens in check.
While the government wants to implement the REAL ID by May 2008, they have allowed extensions to states that can't adjust in time. Nevertheless, the goal is for every American to have a REAL ID by 2012. If you value your privacy and freedom, resist the REAL ID at all costs. The government has been using the threat of terrorism to restrict the liberties of American citizens and the REAL ID is the perfect example of the mind games the government plays to keep American citizens in check.
Friday, January 25, 2008
A Mystery Novel or a Novel Mystery?
In scanning the Wall Street Journal this morning, I found an article relevant to the book publishing unit we completed last week. Author Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code) is about to release a new blockbuster. If you are a fan, it has been a long three-year wait. If you are not a fan, then you must be hoping there will be something else replacing the Da Vinci paraphernalia on display at Barnes & Noble. Mr. Brown, who no doubt knows the incredible value of publicity, is keeping his readers guessing as to the release date of his next tome. Neither he nor his agent Heide Lange have said anything thus giving fans lots to speculate about. Those in the know say this next book is about Freemasons and the Founding Fathers. Public relations students: What would you suggest as a good tie- in release date? The pros at Bertelsmann, the European media conglomerate that owns Doubleday, are probably working on the very same task.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Amazon Kindle
Sold-Out Kindle Lacks Rave Reviews
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347160_kindle14.html?source=mypi
This is an article I spotted after looking into the new E-Device that is an electronic book reader. It is Amazon's own product The Kindle that has been floating within the top three best selling electronic devices on their site.
Products like these (The Kindle, iPod, etc.) revolutionize not only the way we live but also shape the industries or Mass Media sectors involved.
Personally, the design of the Kindle isn't too appealing. I don't think I would order it right away on the Internet. I would probably wait until the second or third generation came out (like I did with the iPod) and then buy it.
What do you think?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347160_kindle14.html?source=mypi
This is an article I spotted after looking into the new E-Device that is an electronic book reader. It is Amazon's own product The Kindle that has been floating within the top three best selling electronic devices on their site.
Products like these (The Kindle, iPod, etc.) revolutionize not only the way we live but also shape the industries or Mass Media sectors involved.
Personally, the design of the Kindle isn't too appealing. I don't think I would order it right away on the Internet. I would probably wait until the second or third generation came out (like I did with the iPod) and then buy it.
What do you think?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Readings
During the first week of class we read Cass Sunstein's Polarization of Extremes in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Sunstein develops his ideas in a fuller piece at the Boston Review and if you are still interested in reading more, check out the book Republic.2 No discussion of media is complete without learning a little more about Marshall McLuhan who is known for coining the phrase 'the medium is the message.' Another name to know well is Ben Bagdikian, the famed critic of conglomeration of the media. Hear it from the man himself in this interview on PBS.
Welcome to Mass Media & Society
This course is an introduction to the electronic, film and print media and their functions. An examination of the background, organization, current influence and future trends of books, newspapers, radio, film, audio recordings, television and the internet. Contemporary problems of the media are covered such as the legal, social, economic and psychological implications of their relationships with society. Application of advertising and public relations and their use of the eight mass media outlets are addressed. This course tracks the overarching themes of demassification and globalization throughout the semester.
Syllabus
Week One
Jan 7 Intro to Mass Media
READING: 'The Polarization of Extremes' by Sunstein
Jan 9 Media Literacy
READING: Chapter 1 Vivian
Week Two Books
Jan 14 READING: Chapter 2 Vivian
Jan 16 Publishing in an age of conglomeration and global ownership
Week Three Newspapers
Jan 21 READING: Chapter 3 Vivian
Jan 23
Week Four Magazines and Photography
Jan 28 READING: Chapter 4 Vivian; Good magazine online
Jan 30
Week Five Sound Recording
Feb 4 READING: Chapter 5 Vivian
Feb 6 Spinning, censorship and the legacy of iTunes
DUE: Media Critical Analysis Paper #1
Week Six Movies
Feb 11 READING: Chapter 6 Vivian
Feb 13 GUEST SPEAKER: Indie film maker
Week Seven Radio
Feb 18 READING: Chapter 7 Vivian
Feb 20 DUE: Mini interactive project (group)
Week 8 Television
March 3 READING: Chapter 8 Vivian
March 5 MIDTERM EXAM
Week Nine Internet
March 10 READING: Chapter 9 Vivian; CNN, Slate, New Yorker online
March 12 Political campaigning; Facebook and YouTube debates
Week Ten News
March 17 READING: Chapter 10 Vivian
March 19 Telling a story; redefining news for 24 hour coverage
Week Eleven Public Relations
March 24 READING: Chapter 11 Vivian; PR Week online
March 26 DUE: Media Critical Analysis Paper #2
Week Twelve Advertising
March 31 READING: Chapter 12 Vivian; Advertising Age online
April 2 Seth Godin on why ‘small is the new big.’
Week Thirteen Mass Media Effects
April 7 READING: Chapter 16 Vivian
April 9 Socialization and Isolation
Week Fourteen Global Media
April 14 READING: Chapter 18 Vivian
April 16 Western Influence, Media in the Near and Far East
Week Fifteen FINAL EXAM
Jan 7 Intro to Mass Media
READING: 'The Polarization of Extremes' by Sunstein
Jan 9 Media Literacy
READING: Chapter 1 Vivian
Week Two Books
Jan 14 READING: Chapter 2 Vivian
Jan 16 Publishing in an age of conglomeration and global ownership
Week Three Newspapers
Jan 21 READING: Chapter 3 Vivian
Jan 23
Week Four Magazines and Photography
Jan 28 READING: Chapter 4 Vivian; Good magazine online
Jan 30
Week Five Sound Recording
Feb 4 READING: Chapter 5 Vivian
Feb 6 Spinning, censorship and the legacy of iTunes
DUE: Media Critical Analysis Paper #1
Week Six Movies
Feb 11 READING: Chapter 6 Vivian
Feb 13 GUEST SPEAKER: Indie film maker
Week Seven Radio
Feb 18 READING: Chapter 7 Vivian
Feb 20 DUE: Mini interactive project (group)
Week 8 Television
March 3 READING: Chapter 8 Vivian
March 5 MIDTERM EXAM
Week Nine Internet
March 10 READING: Chapter 9 Vivian; CNN, Slate, New Yorker online
March 12 Political campaigning; Facebook and YouTube debates
Week Ten News
March 17 READING: Chapter 10 Vivian
March 19 Telling a story; redefining news for 24 hour coverage
Week Eleven Public Relations
March 24 READING: Chapter 11 Vivian; PR Week online
March 26 DUE: Media Critical Analysis Paper #2
Week Twelve Advertising
March 31 READING: Chapter 12 Vivian; Advertising Age online
April 2 Seth Godin on why ‘small is the new big.’
Week Thirteen Mass Media Effects
April 7 READING: Chapter 16 Vivian
April 9 Socialization and Isolation
Week Fourteen Global Media
April 14 READING: Chapter 18 Vivian
April 16 Western Influence, Media in the Near and Far East
Week Fifteen FINAL EXAM
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