Another nail in the coffin?
The dismissal of Dean Baquet, the editor of the Los Angeles Times late yesterday is another sad turn at the beleaguered newspaper and is a reflection of the state of the news media.
Welcome to PressingMatters, a look at what's happening in American journalism today, with special emphasis on the changing ways in which people get news. PressingMatters is operated by Class CIS 453, taught by Larry Jinks, the James K. Batten Visiting Professor of Public Policy. Prof. Jinks is a veteran newspaper editor and publisher. Students in the class are spending a semester looking at what's happening with newspapers, broadcast news, magazine journalism and news online, with particular attention to the news habits of young people. In our blog, we hope to lead a conversation on the changes that are occurring and what they mean to our society.
PressingMatters was created last spring by a class led by a previous Batten Professor, Jennie Buckner. Now, we invite you to click the comments link on any post and join the conversation.
November 8, 2006
November 6, 2006
Fox: "We Torture Our Reporter...You Decide"?
This is maybe the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen on Cable TV. Intrepid Fox News reporter submits himself to...waterboarding (no joke..."phase 3" and all) so that he can emerge and exclaim how effective torture is. Is anybody else flabbergasted by this stunt? It's not that this isn't 'fair' or 'balanced'...it's just supremely twisted. Video is below; warning: this is literally a video of a man willingly subjecting himself to a technique considered torture by most societies. [insert joke here about how working for Fox News is like torture]
Continue reading "Fox: "We Torture Our Reporter...You Decide"?" »
October 30, 2006
Looking to the Web for Political News
A new poll, summed nicely in this AP piece, calls our attention to spectacularly significant findings related to political news consumption. I quote the major findings:
--four in 10 men search the Web for political news, compared with three in 10 women.--about four in 10 of those under age 50 search the Web for political news, compared with fewer than two in 10 of those 65 and over.
--more than half of those with college degrees look to the Web for politics, compared with one-third of those who have some college, and fewer than one in six with a high school education or less.
October 25, 2006
Jill Carroll: Reflections
Today, Jill Carroll - the Christian Science Monitor reporter kidnapped in Iraq - was recognized for her bravery along with three other courageous female journalists by the International Women's Media Foundation. If you haven't had the chance, I highly recommend the Monitor's series retelling the behind-the-scenes account of her kidnapping and the incredibly complex set of factors precipitating her release.
"Who Should Apologize? Another view of the Pope-Islam controversy"
In a commentary piece from the American Prospect Online from September 25, Kristen Powers remarks on the debate over Pope Benedict XVI’s controversial statements about Islam. Powers begins her comments with the weak connection between statements made by Rosie O’Donnell of “The View” and Pope Benedict XVI. In response to the pope’s comments about Islam, Rosie made the statement that “radical Christianity is just as dangerous as radical Islam.”
Continue reading ""Who Should Apologize? Another view of the Pope-Islam controversy"" »
Tuned in: how some ‘benefit’ from changes in mass media
On March 9th, 2000 the international terrorist organization Hizballah declared that it had decided to start broadcasting its South Lebanese TV station Al-Manar via satellite transmission. Since then, it has been able to reach between 10-15 million people a day across the world. Earlier that year, multiple bombings in London demonstrated the development of new trends in terror, which were propelled by the revolution of media as well. Indeed, terror organizations, such as the Hizballah, have been affected by the technological revolution just as the rest of the digitally connected world yet, private American and governmental organizations are not alarmed.
Keep reading why this matters below the fold...
Continue reading "Tuned in: how some ‘benefit’ from changes in mass media" »
Don't lie, the bloggers are watching
Aleksey Vayner is probably the most unpopular college senior in the U.S right now. His egomaniacal job application video, in which he serves tennis balls at 140 miles an hour, gyrates with a scantily clad woman, does skiing stunts and karate chops bricks has successfully destroyed any chance he had to make it as an investment banker. What he has managed to do is make himself a laughing stock. He has also managed to make himself a living example of how in today’s internet age, you have nowhere to hide if you lie because once your stories are shown to the world, you will be exposed as the liar you are.
October 24, 2006
Why NPR is Great
This journalism class has opened my eyes up to the wonder that is National Public Radio. Until recently, I always associated NPR with my grandparents who always listened to it in the car when they picked me up from school. In my younger years, I didn’t understand what was so appealing about news on the radio, but now that I have aged, the idea of NPR is great. Here are 3 fantastic ways to incorporate NPR into your daily life:
The Daily Show as News Source
Jon Stewart. A powerful orator of in-depth, detailed daily news…or a well informed comic genius? Stewart is the host of “The Daily Show,” a popular nightly program on Comedy Central. Based on ratings, Stewart and his chartbuster show seem to be providing an acceptable alternative to nightly network news, especially for young adults.
Creating Our "Own Brand"
I am a part of the demographic that, in general, doesn't follow the news. There. I said it. It's not something I'm proud of, but it is something I'm trying to change. And although my generation might not be as engaged in newspapers or watching the nightly news as our parents' generation, we are still socially conscious.
Hear me out…
Facebook Reliability?
Is Facebook.com a reliable news source? We often cite NBC, ABC, Fox or Yahoo News as common sources of gathering and analyzing our information. Yet, I bet the majority of students rely more heavily on Facebook.com for their day-to-day updates on information they view as “news”. Is the information acquired from this website reliable and/or even true? Members of this popular website are their own editors, allowing each individual to release information they want to be seen, regardless of its content. No one can alter another person’s profile. Do we live in a society where self-editing is enough to be released as news? Can a person’s idea of how he/she wants to be perceived be enough to be considered reliable news about the individual?
October 22, 2006
NBC News' Drastic Budget Cuts
I'd like to highlight an article in Friday's Washington Post that paints a bleakly accurate portrait of the future of network news. The bottom line (pun intended): NBC News is cutting 5% of their staff, and trimming costs by a neat little $750 million.
The article makes brief reference to the changing media landscape challenging network news' turf and supremacy, particularly using online video. I can't help but think this little bit of recent news had something to do with the NBC decision.
A few telling clips from the Post article below the fold.....
The Wonders of a "Strong" Resume
There's nothing like the barrage of questions Parents' Weekend undoubtedly brings to make me sit down and really think about my (nonexistent) plans for next year. So it was while I was working on my own resume (and by working, I mean experimenting with fonts and debating whether or not it was appropriate to include include my love of baby pandas) that I discovered this New York Times article about Aleksey Vayner, a student at Yale whose video resume is reaching a slightly wider audience than he intended.
(And yes, the video, replete with Zen-like aphorisms about success, bench pressing, tennis playing, trick skiing, brick breaking, and of course a little ballroom dancing is only a click away...)
October 3, 2006
Google News
Google News, our favorite search giant's automated news aggregation service, has drawn a great deal of criticism over the course of its brief lifetime for presenting as legitimate stories which, by journalistic standards, could fairly qualify as trash. Never have I seen a more succinct exposition of this argument than on Google News' own page this afternoon (blurring and circle added).
October 1, 2006
Online Efforts by Major National Newspapers
I'd like to highlight an interesting chart compiled by a team of researchers at NYU (and posted on the NYU Journalism blog--Blue Plate Special), The chart (available here, explanation here) offers a comparison of national newspapers, including their circulation and the resources dedicated to online journalism for each paper. More reflection on the study's findings after the jump...
Continue reading "Online Efforts by Major National Newspapers" »
September 27, 2006
Some call it 'fluff;' I call it 'fur'
I figured what better way to start of the blog than with an example of hard hitting investigative journalism...
...or outtakes from a story on the recent panda boom in China. Courtesy of NBC Nightly News:
(Click through to see the video)
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Recent Posts
- Another nail in the coffin?
- Fox: "We Torture Our Reporter...You Decide"?
- Looking to the Web for Political News
- Jill Carroll: Reflections
- "Who Should Apologize? Another view of the Pope-Islam controversy"
- Tuned in: how some ‘benefit’ from changes in mass media
- Don't lie, the bloggers are watching
- Why NPR is Great
- The Daily Show as News Source
- Creating Our "Own Brand"
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Acknowledgements
Technical and creative assistance provided by Davidson's Instructional Technology Group, and Pressing Matters II is hosted at Davidson College, Davidson, NC.