Election Coverage Recap

After a semester of perusing the internet for coverage of the 2008 presidential election, the conclusion that I have come to is that there is a lot more “stuff” out there than I thought there would be. Media outlets are going beyond the traditional news story to offer new ways of coverage.

• USA Today has their state-by-state coverage map, offering local coverage by a national news service. The map itself is easy to navigate, attractive and informative.
  

• XM Radio launched at 24 hour election coverage station, POTUS ’08.

• CNN’s politics page has a whole section titled “Videos in Politics”

• YouTube and CNN hosted the “YouTube Debates.” The debates are citizen driven, with individuals submitting questions on YouTube. These questions are then used in moderated debates with the presidential hopefuls.

• More clips and full episodes from television are making their way onto the internet. Though this is not a new tactic, it continues to draw more people to the internet for their news. I watch Meet the Press with Tim Russert every week, but never on Sundays. The entire show is viewable online, with shorter clips from the episodes titled by content at the bottom of the page.

These are just a few of the examples of things that media outlets are doing to utilize new media and draw in readers. The interactive media is supplementing the news story, and in some cases, replacing it. That is not to downplay the import of the basic news story. It still is the most prevalent form of journalism around and the most easy to create. Still, media is tailoring their coverage to feed readers desires. It’s clear to see that it must be working, with more interactive tools coming up everyday.

Thoughts on the readings

While reading the Poynter article about the recent plagiarism case surrounding The Maneater, I was astonished to read that some people actually defended Merrill's actions. I think that most journalists of my generation, those who are in school now or who have recently graduated, would agree with me that lifting quotes from other people's articles without attribution is blatant plagiarism. Really - just blatant plagiarism. The definition of it in fact.

That's why I am so surprised that there are people who were defending Merrill's actions. Maybe it's a generational thing. I wonder if a different generation of journalists were trained differently. Maybe while they were in j-school things were done differently and the rules surrounding plagiarism were more blurry and open to interpretation.

In Merrill's response he says that he did not lift the authors written words, and though this is true, it does not make his lifting quotes right. The reporter from The Maneater conducted interviews to get those quotes. Those quotes were her property. And his lifting those quotes makes it look as though they were his property - as if he did the interviews.

While he is apologetic and while I believe he is sincere, I do think the paper did the right thing in canceling his column. If the mistake would have been made by a non-veteran writer, the decision would have been very clear ... fire the writer. Just because Merrill is a senior writer does not mean he should not be held to the same standards.

Study gets at student opinions on voting and the 2008 election

A new study conducted by American University and washingtonpost.com surveyed students from more than 75 colleges about what matters to them in the next election.

Most of the results weren't surprising. The war was the most important issue. The environment also seemed to be a big concern. If the election were held today, most would vote for Obama.

What is surprising is the fact that 96 percent of the students said they intended to vote. Disconnect? Of course. No where near 96% of students will vote. If 1/2 of students vote, that would be a good turn-out. If the intent is there, it really makes me wonder why more young adults don't vote. Laziness I would guess. Which is quite sad.

From an article about the study on washingtonpost.com:

And, with a year left until the election, about 82 percent said they were already registered to vote. This continues the trend that began with the 2004 election. Forty-seven percent of 18-to-24-year-olds voted in the 2004 election, up 11 points from 2000

Maybe students are finally going to get excited about politics again... think 1960s. It certainly seems like things are moving that way.

Thoughts on the readings

I don't really know if I prefer audioslide shows or video. I think that it really depends on the story. Action stories obviously come across a lot better with video. But at the same time, there can be something very poignant about the sound of a crowd cheering while stills of fans screaming flash on the screen. To think more about it, I think I am very impartial to the art of audio slideshows. For how easy they can be to put together, the effect is amazing.

As far as the specifics of the audio slideshow - I think that images should be kept on the screen for a good amount of time.... and by a good amount, I mean longer rather than shorter. People need time to process the photos.

Panning across an image can give a great effect and lead the readers eye toward an important spot, rather than leaving them to scan the whole picture.

As far as other tools go - I am very impartial to iMovie. As a fairly new mac user, I was amazed at how easy the software is. After returning from a trip to Rome I quickly put together a movie for my friends with images, sound and video from our trip. It really couldn't have been any easier.

GarageBand, oddly enough, I don't care for. I think there are other programs that do what it does much better.

This all coming from one of the most media-unsavy people around.

Thoughts on the readings

The Potter Box:

I have studied this ethical decision making model in other classes and for the most part I find it rather unhelpful. The box has the following steps:

1) Appraising the situation
2) Identifying values
3) Appealing to ethical principles
4) Choosing loyalties

It is very straight forward. The process in journalism decision making is so similar to decision making in other areas of our lives. We asses our options, think about what others would want us to do, and pull from past experiences. All of this goes into making our decision.

While ethical decisions can be discussed, teaching how to make these decisions is difficult. So much of it is based on personality, upbringing and other subjective factors. Still, I do believe that it is important to discuss the tough ethical decisions that journalists are bound to face in their career in hopes of starting the mental dialogue before the issue comes up.

Freebies -

For the most part I believe that freebies can get in the way of journalistic objectivity. I think it tarnishes journalistic integrity and causes readers to question true motive in stories. I like the Chicago Tribune's take on freebies: reporter can accept nothing over the value of a keychain. No reporter is going to sway the direction of a story over a ballpoint pen, notepad or keychain. I think one acceptable type of freebie would be tickets to an event which the paper plans on covering. Entertainment writers are in this position every day. From the perspective of a news writer, I see this as no different than accepting a press pass to a major speech or convention.

Advertising -

If the journalism world were perfect, advertising would have no say in what was printed.

period.

I really hate the idea of advertisers pushing for stories that highlight specific industries. It ties into the issue of impartiality and objectivity. Still, it is a reality in today's newsrooms. I think that all journalists can try to do is remain as separate as possible. By deciding early on that you will never change the direction of a story or publish something based off of advertising and not news value, it will be come easier to make these decisions when they come up.

My verdict - I think that the most important thing a young journalist can do to prepare themselves for making ethical decisions is to practice. Reading what other writers have decided in tough situations and assessing what you would have done in the same place will lead to a higher level of thought. While you will never be able to entertain every possible ethical dilemma, simply considering major issues will help tune your instincts toward ethical decisions.



LOVE IT

"At their best, the newspapers’ online videos are, minute for minute, superior to TV news. As I write, CNN is airing a live press conference by Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer and a loop of Smith vamping, while a significant breaking news story—the U.S. claim that Muqtada al-Sadr has left Iraq for Iran—is running in tiny type across the bottom of the screen. Given the dumb-and-dumber choices, I can easily imagine newspapers’ Web-video portals becoming the TV-journalism destinations of choice for smart people—that is, in the 21st century, the dominant nineteenth-century journalistic institution, newspapers, might beat the dominant twentieth-century institution, TV, at the premium part of its own game."
- http://nymag.com/news/imperialcity/28152/

My main problem with television news is that in my mind, it has a tendency to become watered down. At very little fault of the broadcast journalist, 24 hour news stations end up running the same stories continuously, rarely adding new information. I sympathies. Really - it must be tough to be a broadcast journalist for CNN. But seriously - sometimes it gets ridiculous.

Just this weekend when flying back to Houston to Ithaca and had a 2 hour layover in the Newark airport. I was watching the breaking news of the fires in California. In 2 hours no new news was reported. They interviewed people who had the same things to say, repeated footage of the same houses being burned, and really annoyed me in the process. It is not to say that there is no value in this kind of news. Broadcast can get out breaking news in a way that print just can not. But I think that overall print journalism is able to offer a more comprehensive view of an issue. With more time to contact valid sources and check new leads, print journalism offers an all-in-one approach.

And as the quote about demonstrates - this tendency is spreading to newspapers websites and online media. Television-like video clips and packages put up on newspapers websites seem to me to be more comprehensive than television alone. Also, with easy searching on websites multimedia pages and toolbars, it is very easy to navigate to specific issues.


Covering a Catastrophe

I think that this article really speaks to one of the main tenants of journalism: personal stories. Localizing major issues through individual stories is one of the most effective journalism tools (in my opinion.) For major national catastrophes, the story can reach a new level of import for people across the country when individual stories are highlighted.

Immigration backlog leaves possible voters out of luck

A backlog of citizenship applications filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could cause repercussions in the 2008 presidential elections, according to the Associated Press.

Due to a fee increase scheduled for this summer, the amount of applications has increased drastically. According to the Agence France- Presse, the department has received twice as many applications as it normally would. They have hired an extra 1,5000 employees, but still believe that those who recently filled for citizenship will be waiting 16-18 months.

According to an article from the BBC, the department is adamant that there is no political motivation driving the backlog.

"We are going to process these cases as responsibly and as quickly as we can, but we're not focused on any of the election cycle," Michael Aytes, associate director of the agency, told the Washington Post.

Still, the problem will keep thousands of would-be voters from participating in the upcoming election.

From the AFP:

Cecilia Munoz, executive vice president of the National Council of La Raza, predicted to the daily Sun-Sentinel that hundreds of thousands of immigrants could miss their chance at the ballot box.

"It's an unhealthy thing for a democracy when you invite people to the door, but slam it in their face when it comes time to participate," Munoz told the Fort Lauderdale, Florida paper.

USA Today State-by-state coverage

Something kind of cool in the world of political journalism: USA Today recently published on their website a "State-by-state lookahead: What's at stake in 2008."

As a sample of what is covered for each state, here's the blurb for NY:

New York

The last two presidents have been Southerners, but both parties' 2008 front-runners for the top job have New York credentials: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former New York mayor Rudy Guliani.

A number of potentially competitive House races loom here. Democratic Reps. John Hall and Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Reps. Jim Walsh and Randy Kuhl could all face tough re-election bids. Hall, of the 1970s pop group Orleans, won his seat from Republican Sue Kelly in 2006, with Kelly facing questions about her tenure on the House Page Board following the Rep. Mark Foley page scandal. Hall hopes voters will think he's Still the One in 2008, with Republicans Andrew Saul, a businessman, and Kieran Lalor, an Iraq war veteran, challenging the freshman congressman.

Kuhl's seat lies in one of the state's most heavily Republican districts, but Democrats consider him vulnerable. Democrat Eric Massa, a Navy veteran, narrowly lost to Kuhl in 2006 and plans to repeat his challenge.

2004 results: Sen. Kerry won the state's 31 electoral votes with 58% of the vote.

After reading the notes about my home state, Illinois, I officially love this feature. It very astutely points out that three major Republicans, including the speaker of the House - Dennis Hastert - are set to retire. Those races will become pivotal in who controls the House. Also in the Ill. post:

Illinois, home to Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, has moved its primary up to Feb. 5.

2004 results: Sen. Kerry won the state's 21 electoral votes with 55% of the vote.

I love the fact that it shows the results from 2004. It gives their coverage context.

Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 19 - Writing News for Radio and Television

The first thing that I noticed when reading this chapter was the similarity between news value for broadcast and print journalism. As a mainly print journalist, I value timeliness just as much as broadcast journalists. Broadcast simply speeds things up a bit, and from my point of view, often gives shorter bits of news, which are updated more often. All of their news is breaking. Print can afford to take more time to get all of the details before an issue comes out, often giving more information in one package.

While the book points out the importance of visual impact for broadcast, I tend to see this distinction as becoming less important. Captivating photography is one of the most important aspects of a newspaper. I know that at The Ithacan, the photography section has really pulled the paper through this semester and strengthened each section. And with multimedia becoming a regular for print, it is just as important for newspapers to get good video and audio as it is for broadcast. I think as time continues, the distinction between the two will continue to blur.

Where print and broadcast do differ is in writing style. When simply looking a verbs: broadcast uses 'says' while print uses 'said.' Broadcast writing can also be more conversational. While much news writing is meant to be void of emotion, broadcast allows pauses, inflection, and other vocal devices which bring the listener along and make the experience entertaining.

Like print, however, broadcast writing is tight and to the point. As in print, there is not always enough room for a story, which means choosing facts carefully and phrasing things crisply.

There are a lot of stylistic things that will be different for a print writer to become use to. Abbreviations, for instance, are used less often. Only when the abbreviation is very well known is it used. In writing copy, word rather than symbols are used. A broadcast copy sheet would never have %, while in print it is standard.

BARACK OBAMA OPENS SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

i love barack obama.

So it's about time I devote a whole post to him... as if it hasn't happened before.

In what CNN is calling a pivotal speech of his campaign, Obama came out with harsh words against Hillary Clinton. During the speech in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he said the following:

"Much has been said about the exchanges between Senator Clinton and myself this week," Obama said. "Now, understand that Hillary Clinton is a colleague and a friend. She's also a skilled politician, and she’s run what Washington would call a 'textbook' campaign. But the problem is the textbook itself."

And the beating only continued. Toward the end of his speech:

"I don't believe we can bring about real change if all we do is change our positions based on what's popular or politically convenient," Obama said, in a clear reference to Clinton.

Still, CNN points out that many of his comments were less harsh than his opponents. John Edwards criticized her earlier this week for what he called "double talk."



In other crazy news... DICK CHENEY AND BARACK OBAMA ARE RELATED!

Well kind of ... Barack's wife and Cheney are distant relatives. And in marvelous Obama style... he went on to refer to Cheney as "the crazy uncle in the attic."

Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 18: Investigative Reporting

Got to love it. It's the exciting part of journalism... or at least the part that seems most exciting to outsiders. Practicing journalists find most reporting exciting... but this... this is drama.

And it all starts with a question. A hunch. A tip

The basis of investigative reporting comes as instinct to many journalists. We tend to sense when something is off, and we ask why. That inquiry is the first step in investigative reporting. From there it gets tricky. It is the journalists job to find sources. Investigative reporting often means scouring records and sniffing out the right facts.

It is important to remember that with investigative reporting, as with all journalism, people tell the story best. Especially with sensitive stories, it is best to attribute and quote correctly, and to tell the story through other people's voices and stories.

I think the most important obstacle to investigative reporting the book listed is the lack of courage. So many journalists - myself included - are afraid to take on tricky topics. I did it once... and did it poorly ... and it took me a good 6 weeks to take even the most basic reporting assignment from my editors. But I think the more hard stories a reporter takes ... and the more guidance they get from their editors ... the easier it will be for them to build their confidence.

Extra! Extra!

Cool stuff -

• Earmarks added $11.8 billion to defense bill
• One-third of S. Florida gas pumps inaccurate
• Investigation finds animal corpses in Colorado Humane Society trash

Tidbits from the 2008 election

I didn’t find any huge issue in the 2008 presidential election that was of great interest to me to cover this week, so I decided to gather some small notes from around the web.

CNN/YouTube debate

According to the CNN Political Ticker, the next CNN/YouTube debate will feature all eight major Republican presidential candidates. The debate, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 in St. Petersburg, Fl., will be driven by questions submitted on YouTube. CNN’s Anderson Cooper will moderate the debate.

Stephen Colbert’s presidential run gains support

Comic Stephen Colbert announced his presidential candidacy on his satirical news show “The Colbert Report” on Oct. 16. Although the candidacy is a joke, a facebook group has now sprung up with more than a million members in less than a week – all in support of the pseudo-candidacy.

The group was created by Raj Vachhani. According to a New York Times article, Mr. Vachhani was surprised that the group has become so popular.

“What amazed me the most was how Barack Obama's 1 Million Strong Group took more than 8 months to get about 380,000 members, but Colbert’s 1 Million Strong Group took less than a week to get 750,000 members,” he wrote in an e-mail message Wednesday.

Iowa Caucus is crazy early

It was make official yesterday by the Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee that the Iowa Democratic Caucus will take place on January 3. Now both the Republican and Democratic parties will hold their caucuses on the same – very early – date

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/iowa-primary/index.html?ref=politics

Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 14

I personally think that writing a city beat is one of the hardest kinds of reporting. The reporter has to navigate records, numbers and office politics - and often make a rather dull meeting into an interesting column. But through following an office closely, getting to know the players, beat reporters can ultimately make connections that others would not be able to.

Forging relationships with the people journalists write about is extremely difficult. I would think it would be very easy to hurt a relationship with a source when you are writing so many stories about them. For example, if a reporter is assigned to cover the school board, it would be hard to keep good relationships with the members while publishing any kind of critical article. I think a strong level of professionalism will help in these instances. If a reporter and source have a strictly professional relationship during both critical and non critical pieces, it is easier to ensure solid reporting.

It sounds simple, but especially in cases of beat reporting, it is important to remember that your loyalty is to the community comes first.

Online Reading
Chapters 8 and 9 -

I think it's really important for all reporters to understand the workings of the court because at some time, most will have to cover a story there. The courts can become really confusing and it is better to be versed in the legal jargon and proceedings prior to getting an assignment that deals with them. A reporter will never be able to understand everything pertaining to the courts, but a general knowledge is helpful.

A few interesting things I didn't know before, but do know now
- Most cases are resolved through plea bargaining.
- Most plea bargains are arranged outside of court between defendants and their lawyers
- It is important for a reporter to pay attention during the jury selection. The reporter will be able to contact the jurors after the announcement of a verdict.
- Civil cases begin with the filing of a complaint, which is also referred to as a petition. The chapter says that is important to remember that some lawsuits may be filed without any legal basis. This can help a reporter decide whether to report the filing of a particular case.
- Reporting numbers can get confusing - especially reporting monetary damages sought. The figures reported may ultimately be more or less than the actual damages.

Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 1: The Crime Beat

The crime story has natural drama - something that I really learned just last night.

Last night at The Ithacan I was editing a public safety story about a string of car break-ins. The writer had written the story so that it was really convoluted and had added suspense. For me, it was the first time that I had edited a public safety story, and I was confused as to where I should start cutting. Ultimately, I started to simplify, and told the story through the quotes from those who were witnesses. And still - without all of the added drama - the story is amazingly interesting. It is written in a clear and concise manner that is easy to read.

I enjoyed journalist Russel Baker's advice for dealing with criticism as a crime reporter: "It happened, didn't it?" He said that keeping it out of the paper can't make it unhappen. Journalists are constantly criticized for what we do print or what we don't print. All that we can really do is print the truth. We can print what happened and do so through the voices of those who were there.

I think it's interesting that the chapter notes the fact that we as journalists may be arrested while covering a story. It's a strange reality, but one that journalists have to be prepared for. The chapter suggests carrying credentials and wearing them prominently, knowing state laws regarding public vs. private property, have a plan of action prepared in case of a conflict with an officer and don't use verbal or physical abuse. Finally, they remind us to BE A JOURNALIST, and take notes about the circumstance of your arrest. I suppose you should follow the event as though you were writing a story on it.


Chapter 5: Covering Crime and its Victims

I think it's important to remember that there are a lot of victims when crime occurs. There are the obvious - the ones involved in the police report. But then there are less obvious victims. There are neighbors who's streets may be swarmed with reporters. There are family members who's lives may be completely disrupted. It is important to consider everyone who is being inconvenienced by a crime.

The chapters tips for interviewing in crime stories were really helpful to me. I think compassion can go a long way when interviewing victims of crime. Allowing people to take their time and reminding them that they can do so will create a much easier environment and allow the person to feel comfortable. Also, letting them narrate after asking a simple - tell me what happened - question, may be the best way to get information from a source. It allows them to take you back to the crime and candidly tell you what happened.

Chapter 7: Covering the Courts

Truthfully, I hope that I never have to cover court cases. It really sounds like tedious reporting to me, reporting that would be riddled with a lot of legal jargon which I would have to interpret. Still, I realize the importance of knowing how to cover the courts, because journalists can no designate where and when news happens.

I think that journalists who cover the court have a unique responsibility to readers. Because so many court cases are closed to the public, it is the journalists job to translate the workings and inform the public. Furthermore, because the language used in courts can be very lofty and hard to understand, journalists have to translate the workings into easier thoughts.

I think it's interesting that while reporters have the right to free press, given by the First Amendment, those on court have the right to a fair trial, given by the Sixth Amendment. The two clearly come in conflict quite often. Information journalists may report on could sway public opinion and therefore sway a case. Because of this, some cases may be closed to journalists. The chapter points out that journalists should not be afraid to stand up, approach the bench and make an objection to the closing of a proceeding. It says we should as for a recess to consult with our editors about legal representation in seeking to oppose the closure. I really would have never considered that journalists could be that vocal in a court room.

Comments on blogs

• http://thestorysofar-jt.blogspot.com/ - Separation of Church and State
• http://thestorysofar-jt.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html - The O's Have It
• http://thestorysofar-jt.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html - Road Trip with Hilliary
• http://emokenews.blogspot.com/2007/10/truest-republican-of-republican-wing-of.html - The truest Republican of the Republican wing of the Republican Party ... or something like that
• https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3167739809901828543&postID=8681346809597784093- Romney's water race adventures
• http://lvpdnews-lara.blogspot.com/ - $$$
• http://seagullatemycheetos.blogspot.com/ - NYT Campaign Map
• http://archanatalk.blogspot.com/ - Showdown Hilliary and Michelle ... just verbally
  
  

  
  

Thoughts on the readings

While it is important in any news story, I think it is even more true with crime coverage:

Accuracy is key.

In sensitive cases like this, gathering information correctly and in a timely fashion is so important. Crime stories are normally breaking news. They get posted online as soon after the event as possible. The room for error in these situations is large. Especially because information in crime cases is sometimes hard to come by and takes a lot of prodding. The room for libel is much larger.

On a side note - I don't think i ever realized just how much crime stories can hook the reader into a story. They're sensational without us having to do any work. They have drama, heroics, good vs. evil. It's great stuff.

I like the fact that the book says it is important to try to reach the friends and relatives of the victims. While in many cases the issue is sensitive, information from these individuals adds depth and accuracy to a story.

Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize

Yesterday it was announced that former vice president Al Gore won this years Nobel Peace Prize for his work against global warming.

According to the Chicago Tribune, he will share the award with a United Nations-sponsored group which is also working toward stopping climate change. This win brings up questions of Gore possibly using the award as a platform to run for president in 2008, a possibility that many say seems unlikely.

From the LA Times:

But Gore, 59, has laid no groundwork to build the vast organization needed to run for president. He has repeatedly said he has no plans to run for public office again. And longtime advisors say he should be taken at his word when he says he wants to stay focused on a crusade to persuade the world to take stronger steps against global warming.

I think the win is so interesting after Gore's narrow loss in the 2000 election. He has taken his loss and come to a point where he is 10x more popular than the man who beat him.

Yay, Al Gore.

Fox News has used the prize as an opportunity to attack Gore. Check out the video at the top of the post.

Personally, the FOX news clip really bothers me. I couldn't even watch the whole thing, because the anchors questioning was so skewed and one sided. It was clear that he had his mind made up. He thought Al Gore did not deserve the award. And he made it clear. By not allowing varying opinions to be shown on his show. Why even invite someone with another view to be on your show if you are literally going to interrupt them every time they try to talk?

Ridiculous.

Just another reason for me to not like Fox News.

Thoughts on the readings

Politics and the English Language by George Orwell

I thoroughly enjoyed this reading, not so much because of what it said about political writing, but because of what it said about writing in general.

It is my firm belief that students in grammar and high school are not taught to write. Standards are not high enough, which leads to convoluted and unclear prose.

Orwell lists 4 writing sins: dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words.

I think one of the reasons I enjoy journalism so much is because it isn't convoluted (for the most part.) We are taught to simplify. Good journalists are experts and taking a complicated topic and putting it into words that a reader who has no knowledge of the subject can understand.

Five characteristics of academic or scholarly prose

According to the reading, they are:
1. Academic prose emphasizes nouns rather than verbs.
2. Academic prose uses static verbs rather than action verbs.
3. Inflation and embellishment characterize academic prose.
4. and 5. Academic prose is also characterized by long and complex sentences.

As I mentioned above, I think that many of these characteristics make writing unnecessarily complex. Too often, people write with the intent of sounding smart, not making sense.

Again, this is why I like jornalism. We would never say :

A fumigation occurred.

Rather than:

The farmer fumigated his field.

Chapter 8

"Short is beautiful. Short and simple is more beautiful. Short, simple and interesting
is most beautiful."
- Don Gibb, educator

Soooooooo true.

I think it is important that the book points out that good writing begins with good reporting. I think that too many reporters don't get detail. It's the small things that make a story special. Small descriptives sprinkled throughout a story make for easier reading and a more enjoyable experience for the reader.

I also liked the section on making numbers powerful. I have found that it is best to hold numbers unless you can write it in a way that is truly astounding. Numbers in lede's rarely work. They cause the reader to get stuck unless they are written in a way which they flow well.

Three Mile Island Report

Observations:
I love the fact that in the five hours between the press conferences, Livingood talked to another reporter who could explain the terminology. He found a way to understand something that was completely foreign to him. The other reporter told him to ask a question which Livingood didn't understand, but he did it anyway. The anwer to that question ended up showing the reporters that the accident was far worse than they had thought. He made sure he had his bases covered and decided that he could get a better grasp on it later.

I think it was really interesting to see that different papers assigned drastically different numbers of reporters to the scene. The Philadelphia Inquirer had 2 dozen reporters on the story. A vast majority of papers simply relied on 1 or no reporters and AP or other major news sources for coverage.

I thought the section on sensationalism was very interesting. Because the TMI incident had so many unanswered questions, speculation was bound to occur. And with speculation comes misinformation, possibly misinformation taken as fact. It also mentioned that because so many reporters were on the scene, the need for new information was huge. Every paper and broadcast station was trying to find a unique angle on the accident, which lead to sensational reporting.

In the section about what reporters would have done differently, I think it is interesting that they say they wished they had had more technical information. I think that with clear information, especially in a situation that was as confusing as this one, covering a story is much easier.

9.11 in 2008

According to the New York Post, Hillary Clinton released a "darkly emotional" television add this week.

The add, aimed to raise support for her health care plan, show scenes of her at ground zero after 9/11 and criticizes Rudy Gulliani's handling of the situation, in regards to injured workers.

From the NY Daily News:

"She stood by Ground Zero workers who sacrificed their health after so many sacrificed their lives," the script says, with a stark photo of Clinton wearing a mask near the wreckage of the twin towers.

While the video does not say Guliani's name, it is clear that the add does not look kindly upon the former NYC mayor, who has come under critisizm by many for not doing more to help workers.

According to Anorak, President Bush was criticized during the 2004 election for using 9.11 images in his campaign.

Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 11 is on News Releases. I found it interesting in this chapter that the book says release dates are often broken by newspapers. It says that, as a courtesy, most newspapers honor release dates, but then adds that if one newspaper breaks a release date, the others will follow. I am really surprised to learn that this happens. I would expect honoring release dates to be a strict rule in newsrooms.

I also thought that it was interesting that the book recommends checking all of the information in a news release. I would expect that a news release would be assumed correct. I also was surprised that the book recommends the writer to check all of the information, rather than the copy desk.

I am glad that the book pointed out the importance of not taking quotes from news releases. A lot of my writers at The Ithacan get into the bad habit of quoting documents. A call to the person in the document will yield better quotes and bring credibility and depth to your writing.

Chapter 12 covered speeches, news conferences and meetings. The sections on preparing for covering the different events was very helpful to me. I find that I have a hard time preparing for not only events, but interviews as well. I have a tendency to slack on preparation, which leads to awkward interviews with little raport and bad quotes.

I also was glad the book included a comment on watching the speakers gestures and facial expressions. I haven't covered very many speeches, but I imagine that a story with those descriptive details would be much more interesting for the reader. I am actually covering the Dalai Lama's visit to Ithaca in a few weeks and am hoping to write a story with these important details.

The book stated that sometimes what happens at news conferences or meetings is more interesting than what is being presented, and I agree. Comments from and about those in attendance will make the reader feel as though they were at the event, which is one of the purposes of the story.

XM Radio launches new station

XM radio launched a new channel on September 24th, which will be devoted only to the 2008 Presidential election.

According to CNN, the station, titled POTUS '08, will give 24 hour coverage of the elections. It will broadcast shows produced by XM radio, as well as those produced by other publications and well-known journalists.

"We want this to be a town square where people can come to hear the candidates, listen to the debates, get the news, and gather opinions from all sides," said Kevin Straley, senior vice president of news, talk, and sports programming, XM Satellite Radio. "You can hear diverse views across the political spectrum, including voices you don't typically hear on traditional media. There's an enormous amount of interest in this particular election, and people across the country can tune in anytime, wherever they are, as the campaign unfolds."

On Sunday's, the station will broadcast audio of the following shows: "FOX News Sunday" "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," among others.

According to EGear.com, the station's name - POTUS - stand for "President of the United States.

The station is channel 130 on XM radio.

Find out more information at www.xmradio.com/potus.

Thoughts on the readings

I found the information in Chapter 10 on obituaries to be really interesting. I had truly never thought about obituary writing as a crafted form of journalism.

The book gave the tip of checking the newspaper library when writing an obituary. The deceased may have given an interview earlier in his or her life. Their quotes may be pertinent and make for a good addition to their obituary.

The section on interviewing the family also was very helpful. I would personally worry about approaching a family for an interview during the difficult time, but it is good to remember that many families may want to share stories and memories of the deceased, in hopes that he or she will have a worthy obituary.

This chapter really showed me that obituary writing is an art. I expected obituary writers to fall back on form journalism, which I'm sure, some do. But it's the one's who take the duty as a responsibility to the deceased who are doing the job justics.

Unions give record funds to 2008 election

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a group of 55 national and international unions, announced Friday that they would devote $53 million to the 2008 election, a figure that is up 11% from the amount in the 2004 election. It also plans to mobilize 200,000 volunteers who knock on doors and make phone calls in hopes of a higher voter turnout.

According to an article from the Associated Press, much of that budget is going to be dedicated to battleground states, such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

"Today the AFL-CIO is sending a powerful message that we are going to change the course of our country in 2008 by electing a president and candidates at all levels who are committed to restoring the promise of America to working people," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said.

According to the WSJ article, much of the money from the AFL-CIO will go to text-messages and emails, a new technique to pull in more voters.

While the AFL-CIO has not endorsed a specific party, it has given its members the right to do so. According to a New York Times blog, however, nearly 90% of the candidates the group endorses on a given year are democrats.

The Laborers International Union of North America, a union which is part of AFL-CIO, will spend nearly double what they did in 2008, much of it on new outreach methods.

The union will send text messages to members' cellphones and will tailor messages to retirees and Hispanic members, among others, via email and online documents.

Why are they doing all of this?

In the WSJ article, Gary Chaison, a labor expert at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., answered that question.

"This is the all-or-nothing election for them. They can't have another four years of not having the White House," he said.

Thoughts on the readings

E-Media Tidbits - Poynter Institute Online

As a person who fears online journalism, I have to give credit to what the folks over at the Michigan State Knight Center for Environmental Journalism did, in creating on online community and fully functioning citizen journalist forum.

I am really intrigued by citizen journalism, and an RSS feed is a form of that which I haven't really looked into. In the case of the Knight Center, the feed was able to connect people from all over the country to a topic that they otherwise wouldn't have known about. And it gave them a space to share their own ideas with the other members.

Using a timeline to tell a story

At The Ithacan, we have actually been using timelines a lot. Really, we've been thinking about what is the BEST way to tell a story. We we are now able to start thinking outside of the article. We have online multimedia to add to the online story, and for the print, we are using other kinds of sidebars to add to the story.

I find that timelines are really useful when there are a lot of dates in the story, or a clear progression of an idea or organization. By pulling that information out of the story and into a timeline, it gives the reader a clearer way to take in the information.

Chapter 4 in News Reporting and Writing

Quotes are like candy for the reader. They break up informative text and offer flavor to an article. Many new journalists, however, sprinkle cheap candy all over their articles. Rather than paraphrasing what can be easily paraphrased, they get into the trap of thinking they need a quote every other paragraph. I think it is much more effective to hold off for a really good quote. I try to quote people when they say things better than I could paraphrase it, or with colorful language that shows their personality.

The section on quotes really reminded me just how important it is to RECORD EVERYTHING. Even the most seemingly straight forward interviews should be recorded. This is constantly stressed at The Ithacan. I also just found out last week that in NY state, the law says that you do not have to tell someone you are doing a phone interview with that you are using a taping devices. I'm not sure on the other state laws, but hearing my editors talking about that reminded me of how important it is to check that.

Quoting brings a whole new possibility of libel into the picture, and the only way to fully avoid that is to tape everything, and never misquote what you've taped.

The possible first ladies ... and the possible first man

Earlier today, republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that his wife would make a prettier first lady than former president Bill Clinton.

The comment was in reference to a TIME MAGAZINE article, "The Real Running Mates." The

According to a CNN blog, Romney said,

"It has a picture of five of the possible first ladies," the former Massachusetts governor said. "In the upper left hand corner it has my wife, and then next to it, it has Bill Clinton. And she is a much prettier first lady than Bill Clinton, I can tell you that!"

Regardless of what a pretty first lady shew would make, Ann Romney has been a visible part of her husband's presidential campaign. According to an article in the Desert Morning News, she's hitting to trail to aid her husband, who as of now is most well known as being the races only Mormon candidate.

Since April, she has maintained her own campaign schedule, pitching her husband's presidential bid to mostly Republican women's organizations throughout the South as well as in California and other states.

And Ann Romney is convinced there will come a time when the campaign can move on from discussing religion. "That's exactly what happened in Massachusetts," she said, referring to her husband's term as that state's governor.

Check out the article in TIME to learn more about the campaign styles of the other possible first ladies (and first men.)

Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 1 of News Reporting and Writing writes that the newest form of journalism is based on two main points:

1) Democracy isn’t working as well as it should
2) Journalists have a responsibility to do something about that.

Traditional journalists, the book writes, would believe that simply because public life does not work well, dose not mean that it is our responsibility to make it work. It adds that traditional journalists would find this kind of thinking to be dangerous.

Truthfully, I think that the idea that journalists have a responsibility to fix democracy is crazy. We have a responsibility to report the news. We tell the public what is happening, and we do so in an unbiased fashion.


Chapter 2 describes the layout of a typical newsroom. The chapter also talks about the changing nature of reporting. One of the most fascinating changes I have seen in the newsroom is the addition of the citizen journalists, a non staff writer who is used by mid-sized newspapers to cover town events.
I have put al of thought into the reality of citizen journalists and decided that in years to come, a restructuring of the newsroom may be needed. There would, in fact, be another tier added to the newsroom (editor-in-chief, section editors, reporters, citizen journalists). More copy editors would be needed to deal with style issues from the citizen pieces, possibly one for each section. Staff reporters in the newsroom should also be expected to assist in editing, with citizen writers reporting to a staff journalist. For example, each town in the newspaper’s area could have one reporter assigned to it who would oversea all of the citizen reporters from that area. Their job would be to cover the town’s main events and to help assist the citizen journalists on their pieces, doing the first edits.


From the interviewing tips section of Chapter 3, I was reminded that I really need to work on keeping my questions short and concise. I tend to ramble too long in my questions to make sure that I have gotten the point across right.

My favorite interview technique is to simply act like I don’t know what I'm talk about. I find that a lot of people are much more willing to tell me everything about what they do if I act like I don’t know, and am very interested. It works especially well for profile pieces. Obviously, for hard news, you need the person to know that you’re not gullible. But I do find that a little bit of naivety goes a long way.

Oprah puts in her two (very powerful) cents

Oprah Winfrey has officially endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama.

According to a video at CNN.com, the two have known each other since 2000 when they met in the Chicago social circuit.
As a Chicago resident, its pretty much a law that I watch Oprah regularly. I remember the first appearance Obama made on her show. It was around the time he was running for Illinois state senator, and as he sat on her couch with his lovely wife and pictures of his two girls on the screen behind him, you couldn't help but be intrigued. I remember thinking then that he was pursuading 1/2 of the women in America to like - if not love - him.

Oprah is holding a fundraising event for him this Saturday at her California home, where she plans to raise nearly $3 million.

According to a washingtonpost.com blog, this is a new step for Oprah, who has never before officially supported a candidate.

And her support means a lot. Most have expected Clinton to take a large percentage of the female vote, but now, Obama has a chance to take some of those important votes back.

Interesting fact from that CNN video: a recent Gallup poll shows Oprah Winfrey as the second most popular woman in America. The first - Hillary Clinton.


Other source

Thompson to make it official

So it took him five months, but Fred Thompson (Tenn.-R) is finally ready to announce his candidacy for president. He will do so tomorrow, first on the internet, and then at a rally in DesMoines, Iowa.

It seems as though he is going to continue avoiding questions until then. Tonight, the Republican presidential candidates are gathering for their 5th debate, and Thompson has declined to attend. Instead, he will be featured in a taped appearance on The Tonight Show, and will release a video announcement on the internet early tomorrow morning.

According to Fox News, this plan differs greatly from his original arrangement. After a June appearance on The Tonight Show, Thompson’s staff said he would not “return to Hollywood.” The latest announcement obviously leaves many of his supporters annoyed.

By holding his announcement, he really has been able to avoid the important questions that every other candidate has had to answer. It will be interesting to see how he handles the barrage that is sure to come his way as of tomorrow.

SILLY: The announcement hasn’t even been made yet, and Rudy Giuliani, is already coming out against Thompson. A top advisor to Giuliani said Thompson’s only experience in fighting crime is on television.



Sources

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09052007/news/nationalnews/tv_fred_only_acts_tough.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-09-04-thompson-campaign_N.htm

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/12769.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295796,00.html

The State of the News Media

As a true lover of the newspaper, I chose to focus mostly on print media conclusions from the recently released (and HUGE) 2007 State of the News Media report.

If you want to read the whole thing, go for it. http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2007/narrative_newspapers_intro.asp?media=3

Really though, it's crazy long.

Some Observations
- I was pleased to see the reports conclusion that people are NOT losing interest in media. Still, they do seem to be losing interest in newspapers – at least in their print form.
- I suppose this ties in well to the above point: THERE IS A WHOLE SECTION TITLED “DIGITAL JOURNALISM,” AND ANOTHER TITLED “ONLINE.” Even with how many of my professors have told me that digital journalism is an unavoidable part of reporting, I was still surprised to see a whole section of the report dedicated to its existence. As more of our consumers change their wants and stop buying newspapers, we are reacting with a steadily growing amount of online media. For me, the response will be full of protest. I really with I could have been a journalist 20 years ago.
- I was worried to see that the public is losing faith in their media – an understandable attitude, when even the beloved Katie Couric is accused of plagiarism. Read about it - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18046837
A staggering quote from the report: “The number of Americans with a favorable view of the press, for instance, dropped markedly in 2006, from 59% in February, to 48% in July.”


Additional Thoughts
Basically, the report made me concerned about my choice to be a journalist in the 21st century. With the race to win-over viewers, more and more journalists are creating content with less fact-checking and care, leaving Americans with less faith in their media.

Furthermore, I think that the space for individuality and literary journalism – and the appreciation of a perfectly crafted sentence – are slipping out of most journalist’s values. We are asked to write our news in inverted-pyramid form, with little room for creativity.

And with hope that it is not naïve – I will continue to hold onto my deep love of printed newspapers. … Per the request of my professors and the rational part of me that knows they are right, I will try to become comfortable with online and digital media.

I could write pages on this massive report, but that’s the bulk of what I’m feeling about the state of journalism in 2007.