49th ALDERMANIC ELECTION
Where Broadcast Issues 403 keeps watch.
This week, the Columbia Journalism Review reported that the Iraqi government is now censoring the press. It was reported that last week in the Guardian that, "police in Baghdad fired warning shots into the air to force a group of Iraqi journalists to leave the scene of a car bombing that killed seven people." This struck me as ironic, seeing that Iraq is trying to become democratic, yet, they are destroying a fundamental component of democracy--free press. In fact, the Iraqi government issued a decree stating that journalists are no longer allowed to access sites of car bombings or other violent attacks. According to Iraqslogger, the Iraq Interior Ministry Operations Director Brigadier General Abdul Kareem Khalaf gave the following reasons for censoring the press:
I've seen everybody reflecting on their Medill Reports, and I can understand. My issues have been slightly different though. It's not about the access, its about what happens once you get the access.
A couple of weeks ago I came across a quick blurb on Media Bistro about a news magazine show that NPR is launching in September, called--tentatively--"The Bryant Park Project." The program is self-described as targeting 25 to 44 year olds and will be a daily, 2-hour news show.
A friend of mine has a relative who produces a morning news show in Detroit. Recently that friend got to accompany his relative and the news show staff to a Detroit Red Wings playoff game and sit in their suite. As a big hockey fan, I was naturally very jealous (not to mention the free food and drink). Then he told me the suite was provided by the team's owner.
The new age of media is all about interactivity. We see that trend unfold via blogs, Web forums, user reviews, etc. all over the Internet. But how about interactivity with your television screen? No, not the type you’re thinking of (hint: It doesn’t involve cousin Joe screaming at the TV when his home team doesn’t score.)
Getting a good story is all about access-- and it's extremely frustrating that as more people are skeptical of reporters, getting people to talk on camera becomes a power struggle.
News To Me, the first cable news program comprised of user-generated video, debuted on Headline News on today, May 19, at 12:30 p.m. The program is hosted by Eric Lanford and showcases the most compelling videos, pictures and stories traversing the Internet. The program will air on Headline News each Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
I just read this article (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=103&aid=123269) about an article posted on a California newspaper's web site and the comments it elicited. The article was about a 40-year-old woman who had a full-term baby 2 days after finding out she was pregnant. The woman's sister had called the newspaper about this "miracle" - the woman had been trying for years to get pregnant before unknowingly conceiving and then delivering the healthy baby. The article featured a picture of the woman, who happens to be overweight, and the newborn. What was supposed to be a feel-good story turned awful after people started posting rude and disgusting comments about the woman and even her baby. They said the woman ate donuts and fast food all day, couldn't clean her house because she was too fat, was immobilized by her weight and most appallingly, that the newborn was alternately going to be taken away from the mother or would grow up to be a fat, drain-on-society. The editor and reporter were horrified for subjecting the woman to the comments. This was supposed to be a feel-good story after all. Interactiveness and participation are the future of news, but how do we deal with idiots who post horrible inaccuracies as amendments to stories? Will sources and subjects be in jeopardy in the future for fear of stinging posted comments? How can readers' comments be controlled without exercising censorship?
Working on Medill Reports has allowed me to experiment with different techniques as a reporter. Usually, when I am daily reporting, I go into a story already with a pretty good idea of what I’m expecting people to say. Sometimes, when my last interview is pretty late, I will begin scripting before I have even finished the last interview. I go into that last interview with an idea of the exact bytes I need, and as soon as I get them, I pretty much close up shop.
I sometimes feel bad after these interviews—sometimes I’m more worried about deadline and getting good sound bytes than taking the time to get to know someone and hear their story.
This week I've had to ask myself a lot of tough questions. I'm reporting on incarcerated mothers for Medill Reports. I've had trouble convincing incarcerated moms to let my videotape them interacting with young children. Nearly all of the seven women I've tried to recruit as my "face" have had reservations about including their kids in the story.
We've been talking a lot on this blog and in class about apperance, and how important it is for those of us who want to be in front of the camera. We've talked and written about female sportscasters, redheads, last names and every sort of other thing that we think might be held against us when we go out into the job world. But watching a whole bunch of TV this quarter (and over, say, the past 20 years) I've realized more and more all that stuff doesn't really matter that much.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Alexandra Wallace, executive producer for 'NBC Nightly News,' "plans to beef up the program’s environmental coverage, a process that has already begun with the appointment of Anne Thompson to be the network’s chief environmental affairs correspondent." It was interesting to see because the headline of the article was "New Producer at ‘Nightly News’ Seeks to Regain NBC Dominance." I sincerely hope the implied interest in environmental news is accurate, but I also think it's arguably the toughest beat to cover.
At the risk of sounding glamour-greedy, I have been aspiring toward international/foreign network correspondence since I can remember. Christiane Amanpour's work inspired me to pursue a career in journalism, partly because I admired her creative ability to report stories and maintain poise and porfessionalism in any environment. Like Amanpour, I wanted to be based in London, preferably CNN or BBC, and travel all over the world finding the breaking news and delving into the worldy meaning and significance behind them. While my dream to become a foreign correspondent has subsided a bit, I was a bit unnerved when I read on Poynter.org that foreign correspondence is essentially disappearing. Where are they going? According to Fons Tuinstra, who wrote a blog titled, "Foreign Correspondents Abandon Ship," the foreign correspondence job title is becoming obsolete. Tuinstra wrote that citizen journalists have displaced, and continue to displace, foreign correspondent positions - partly because viewers are demanding more local news and news that is relevant to their lives. This means to me that my career aspiration is gradually, or not so gradually, signing off the journalistic scene.
Don’t Read, Personal! Now that to me is a pretty clear message. It was written by Anna Nicole Smith on the inside of her diary. Excerpts are being released to the Associated Press, and they are running with it.
If you've played the card game "BS", you know that calling someone's bluff can cost you when you're wrong.
A recent gallup poll surveyed Americans about network nightly news anchors Charles Gibson, Brian Williams and Katie Couric. Overall, all three were evaluated more negatively by Republicans than Democrats. This seems to make sense since the media has a reputation of being more liberal, especially among conservatives. The more interesting aspect of the survey was that Couric had the most negative ratings and she did not fare better in the eyes of women.
So, I was talking with one of my friends in the car yesterday about how it is really sad that more people in the United States know about Paris Hilton and her new saga than about what is going on in Iraq. Could this be true? Not for many of the people here at Medill, but outside our bubble?
Let me put my biases up front. I dislike Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. I think he's an unrepentant self-promoter, someone who spouts his mouth off at any moment, and, from what I've heard, not a very nice guy. But even for Schilling, his recent talk about Barry Bonds on a Boston radio station was over the top.
James Macpherson, the editor and publisher of Pasadena Now has hired two reporters from India to cover the Pasadena City Council. The meetings are broadcast on the internet and the reporters will watch the meetings online and then write their articles. One of the benefits he cited of having the reporters cover the meetings is that they often run late into the night. Because of the time change, the reporters in India will be able to watch the meetings and work on their articles while the rest of the staff in Pasadena can go to bed. The editors will be able to come back in the morning and have the articles ready to go.
I read an article in the Sun-Times a few weeks ago about Gage Park High School on the Southwest side. They are suffering from massive overcrowding that the reporter surmised has led to an uptick in school violence and just hotter tempers. A first year teacher talked about his experience of being hit in the head and having to go to the hospital after breaking up a fight. A student said she was scared about accidentally bumping into someone in the teeming hallways and getting in fight trouble. I was so excited after reading the article - it had names, specific examples, numbers - I thought this would be a great idea for my final project. I thought, "This reporter has done some work for me already." I was not so lucky, though. I called the first year teacher, and he went on and on about how "two-faced" the reporter was and how he was afraid he would lose his job after the article came out. He said the principal was so angry about the article and that everyone at the school would be very hesitant to talk to the media ever again. I assured him I was not interested in smearing his school, but he seemed unconvinced. After 3 calls and 2 e-mails to the principal, she still has not responded to me. I am certain I'll have to ditch this story. I read another teacher's blog about the article. He said everything in the article was true, but students and faculty were angry about the school sounding like thug land. I have not had an experience where I have had to appear "two-faced." But I was almost ready to tell the first year teacher whatever he wanted to hear to get him to talk to me.
I'm not a huge fan of Roger Ebert's film criticism. I'm not saying he's bad, but I rarely read the Sun-Times and the last time I saw his syndicated broadcast from start-to-finish, the late Gene Siskel was still hosting.
It's May and that means it's time for TV to get sweep-tastic!
Rupert Murdoch says global climate change is a serious issue and News Corp. is going to take major steps to become carbon neutral. Murdoch thinks global warming is real, he thinks its a serious problem, and he's making changes at all his companies. All this according to an editorial written by him in the New York Post.
Is local news still local if it's covered by someone on a different continent?
This week I watched as an inside news scandal seemed to unfold in process. I felt particularly atuned to it and intrigued by it because of our recent case study work. The paper in question was The Wall Street Journal. And the scandal? The possibility that one of the Journal's top executives leaked information on the pending Murdoch bid to a Hong Kong businessman accused of insider trading.
I have started to try and decide what to do with my life when August rolls around and I officially am a Medill alum and have to enter the real world and get a JOB! I must admit, I cannot wait! I am looking forward to finally have a stable income, living closer to my friends and loved ones, and making my parents proud (or relieved that they don't have to fork out tuition anymore!)
Boo Hoo - Court TV reports Wednesday said Nancy Grace announced she is leaving the network to focus entirely on her CNN Headline News show, "Nancy Grace." Grace hosted a two-hour show on Court TV called "Nancy Grace -- Closing Arguments." Sources say Grace has been consdering the move for some time now, but my questions is when will she consider moving entirely off air?
This week was probably a slow week in news...at least I hope. I was absolutely disgusted with prominent news outfits showing the David Hasselhoff tape or running stories on Paris Hilton going to the penitentiary. And, to make matters worse, these stories were not in the B block of new or the C block, they were top stories or the subject of entire shows.
As some of you may know I'm on the road this weekend, in New York City. There are so many similarities between the media institutions in the two cities, but there are also a couple of striking differences. In bullet point form I'm gonna go through those similarities and differences as I see them. This is a highly unscientific exploration, but I figured it would be fun.
I was surprised by own reactions to two intimate, though definitely not positive, celebrity father-daughter moments exposed to the world.
For about 12 hours or so, the main story on many news websites was Paris Hilton. Apparently, a judge sentenced her to 45 days of jail. Why? She drove with a suspended license, in violation of her parole. In case you don't remember - or don't care - she was involved in an alcohol-related traffic incident not too long ago. Actually, she's been involved in several, it's just this last one that REALLY counted. Anyway, she got hit with her sentence, and then her mother threw a little tantrum over it.