I don't know if that is exactly the career path for me. I respect it and everything, but jeeze, I have enough problems with me emotions as it is. I don't need more pain and sadness. But jokes aside, I see the interest and challenge of trying to respecfully explain an inevitably sad situation, such as someone's passing. Also about the reluctance of newspapers to post addresses or even funeral times, understandable, but WTF? Excuse the language. I am from L.A. and people are jerks, but man that was surprising that obituaries still pose risks of some sort to the living. I can understand the idea of it being a once in awhile occurance, for example the overzealous stalker or criminal, but to the point where it is a common policy for many newspapers?
A bit disconcerting if you ask me.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Obama, Clinton and Jena 6
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297409,00.html-two seperate stories
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297764,00.html
This is really interesting. And confusing. 6 Black Americans face trumped up charges. Americans all over cry outrage and injustice. Thousands rally to protest and amidst all this, there is irony. Obama is Black, Hilary is White. However, Clinton moves quickly to speak out against this injustice and has no proble, if she didn't, what would have probably happened is that she would have lost some of the black vote. HOwever, when Obama doesn't say anything, he is alienating his people, and I am sure if he went down there and represented the black agenda, he would alienate everyone else. Interesting that Obama is trapped by people who, despite everything Jackson says about acting white or whatever, would have sat in the same section as he did in a bus, or restaurant in the 60s in the south. I think obama has a point that it isn't an injustice that should only anger the south or blacks, it really should anger everyone, but it says so much when it is only obama's statements that matter. Interestingly enough, polls show(according to the article by fox news) that CLinton has a lot of the black vote. Why? It has to be that voters are picking candidates over more than skin color. Or is it that in this current state of affairs, being a black man is not as acceptable as being a white woman? Maybe the Black community has no faith in their own skin color, or they know better? Or maybe it doesn't matter. I think this is insane. I was discussing the matter of skin color and oppression and desppite obama's best efforts to avoid the race question, it seems like he cannot escape being the black candidate. Clinton doesn't receieve nearly as much heat for not speaking out about women's rights and things pertaining to that such as abortion or domestic violence. Makes sense though, gender and race are not in the same stratosphere and are not the same debate. There are more women than there are blacks, so it just seems to coincide with more people are able to deal with. I feel bad for obama because as I far I know,he seems like a really intelligent and benevolent man who loves his country and really wants to reconcile things. He is too political and long winded though. he needs to say something straigh forward, like I am Black, if I were one of those boys, I would be in the same boat, but if I were white, it wouldn't stop me from being angry about it.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297764,00.html
This is really interesting. And confusing. 6 Black Americans face trumped up charges. Americans all over cry outrage and injustice. Thousands rally to protest and amidst all this, there is irony. Obama is Black, Hilary is White. However, Clinton moves quickly to speak out against this injustice and has no proble, if she didn't, what would have probably happened is that she would have lost some of the black vote. HOwever, when Obama doesn't say anything, he is alienating his people, and I am sure if he went down there and represented the black agenda, he would alienate everyone else. Interesting that Obama is trapped by people who, despite everything Jackson says about acting white or whatever, would have sat in the same section as he did in a bus, or restaurant in the 60s in the south. I think obama has a point that it isn't an injustice that should only anger the south or blacks, it really should anger everyone, but it says so much when it is only obama's statements that matter. Interestingly enough, polls show(according to the article by fox news) that CLinton has a lot of the black vote. Why? It has to be that voters are picking candidates over more than skin color. Or is it that in this current state of affairs, being a black man is not as acceptable as being a white woman? Maybe the Black community has no faith in their own skin color, or they know better? Or maybe it doesn't matter. I think this is insane. I was discussing the matter of skin color and oppression and desppite obama's best efforts to avoid the race question, it seems like he cannot escape being the black candidate. Clinton doesn't receieve nearly as much heat for not speaking out about women's rights and things pertaining to that such as abortion or domestic violence. Makes sense though, gender and race are not in the same stratosphere and are not the same debate. There are more women than there are blacks, so it just seems to coincide with more people are able to deal with. I feel bad for obama because as I far I know,he seems like a really intelligent and benevolent man who loves his country and really wants to reconcile things. He is too political and long winded though. he needs to say something straigh forward, like I am Black, if I were one of those boys, I would be in the same boat, but if I were white, it wouldn't stop me from being angry about it.
Monday, September 17, 2007
multimedia journalism
I agree. Using a timeline dramatically increasing the value of understanding for the reader. The value of comprehension increases so much. id like to have a class that pushes the boundaries of producing online or multimedia content. I know tehre are classes that ask you to produce media, but it would be interesting to have a class that asks you to experiment with creating multimedia pckages. An online video with links to text or something that could be a lot more of a clean package. Or maybe I am asking to be a bit too creative. Just getting kind of tired of the overemphasis on practicality.
On quotes.
Perhaps my favorite part of journalism. Quotes mean talking to people and and interviews. If it were up to me, I would just get to interview people, do some research and find out what is going on. Talking to people is the best part. It was interesting because last year, in doing a report of yours truly, mead loop, I got to interview John Batelle, the author of Google: The Search and he said to me that yahoo and search engines like that could never possible replace journalists because we as an industry, are paid to have conversations with people. And that was one of the cool things that I've come across speaking to people.
On quotes.
Perhaps my favorite part of journalism. Quotes mean talking to people and and interviews. If it were up to me, I would just get to interview people, do some research and find out what is going on. Talking to people is the best part. It was interesting because last year, in doing a report of yours truly, mead loop, I got to interview John Batelle, the author of Google: The Search and he said to me that yahoo and search engines like that could never possible replace journalists because we as an industry, are paid to have conversations with people. And that was one of the cool things that I've come across speaking to people.
The yahoo message boards
http://mb.debates.news.yahoo.com/Democratic_Candidate_Mashup/threadview?m=tm&bn=nws-iraq&tid=5&mid=879&tof=-1&rt=2&frt=2&off=51
Its pretty disconcerting. I think this is a bit of tangent, but I felt that it was notable. So I was looking around Yahoo!'s coverage of the 08' election and stumbles upon la message board that discusses the idea that Yahoo! favors Democrats. I decided that maybe this might be something worth reading and looking over, especially to view what a lot of Americans have to say. It was pretty dissappointing. Instead of a forum to openly discuss the reality of Yahoo! news or Liberal Bias of news or politics for that matter, it was just relentless slew of slander and insults. "And God Almighty let's try to keep it that way. We don't need another Mexico." Umm, what?
"Typical Leftist rhetoric. Instead of addressing the actual question, it's used as a platform to launch another attack on the Republican party. Leftists (Socialists) prevaricate. The reason the Dems. find the I-net so attractive is that it allows them to spew their vile lies without having to worry about confronting the public Leftists are not only liars, they're cowards, too."
Liars and cowards? Really. Any rational human being could understand that on more than one occasion, the republican party, or as this moron considers it, the right (meaning the opposite of socialists, thus FASCISTS[not saying that republicans are fascists, just saying his argument is ill-informed]) has been guilty of lying or to put it in a less aggressive semantic, misleading the public. What a bunch of jerks, and the people who sit behind their desktops and spew out uniformed garbage to the masses. Anywho, besides that, it is interesting though because I can completely understand the value of such a message board to anyone that may be interested in what is important to people, despite how poorly it is expressed. I.E. polticians. Mexico, socialized medicine, etc. But more importantly, I think it is valuable to see the way people handling the issues important to them in such an emotional way.
"so typical. someone asks a biased question, someone else gives a substantive answer, and then the replies are all bashes and don't speak to the main point: why is it Yahoo's fault that the Republicans aren't joining or organizing their own online debates? Do the Democrats have to do it for them???? And finally, by the spelling and grammar of the posts, a lot of you better hope English is never made the official language of the US because you, too, will be kicked out for not knowing it."
I see that point completely, but alas, there is value to this message board. Unfortunately, none of these bashers would ever own up to what they are saying and follow up with facts or anything meaningful like that.
Frustrating.
Its pretty disconcerting. I think this is a bit of tangent, but I felt that it was notable. So I was looking around Yahoo!'s coverage of the 08' election and stumbles upon la message board that discusses the idea that Yahoo! favors Democrats. I decided that maybe this might be something worth reading and looking over, especially to view what a lot of Americans have to say. It was pretty dissappointing. Instead of a forum to openly discuss the reality of Yahoo! news or Liberal Bias of news or politics for that matter, it was just relentless slew of slander and insults. "And God Almighty let's try to keep it that way. We don't need another Mexico." Umm, what?
"Typical Leftist rhetoric. Instead of addressing the actual question, it's used as a platform to launch another attack on the Republican party. Leftists (Socialists) prevaricate. The reason the Dems. find the I-net so attractive is that it allows them to spew their vile lies without having to worry about confronting the public Leftists are not only liars, they're cowards, too."
Liars and cowards? Really. Any rational human being could understand that on more than one occasion, the republican party, or as this moron considers it, the right (meaning the opposite of socialists, thus FASCISTS[not saying that republicans are fascists, just saying his argument is ill-informed]) has been guilty of lying or to put it in a less aggressive semantic, misleading the public. What a bunch of jerks, and the people who sit behind their desktops and spew out uniformed garbage to the masses. Anywho, besides that, it is interesting though because I can completely understand the value of such a message board to anyone that may be interested in what is important to people, despite how poorly it is expressed. I.E. polticians. Mexico, socialized medicine, etc. But more importantly, I think it is valuable to see the way people handling the issues important to them in such an emotional way.
"so typical. someone asks a biased question, someone else gives a substantive answer, and then the replies are all bashes and don't speak to the main point: why is it Yahoo's fault that the Republicans aren't joining or organizing their own online debates? Do the Democrats have to do it for them???? And finally, by the spelling and grammar of the posts, a lot of you better hope English is never made the official language of the US because you, too, will be kicked out for not knowing it."
I see that point completely, but alas, there is value to this message board. Unfortunately, none of these bashers would ever own up to what they are saying and follow up with facts or anything meaningful like that.
Frustrating.
Monday, September 10, 2007
media intro
It was interesting that the book mentions the idea or possibility that the skills of a journalist may change. I dont know if mine is just dated or this book is just really conservative, but its like you MAY have to produce video and audio ina package? Its like why not? The whole idea of journalism is bringing the experience to the consumer and what better way to do that then offer some sense of it from as many senses as possible isn't it? I know we want to convey some level of understanding, but the way I see, ideally and in its most fundamental state of being, the only reason journalists exists is because people can't be inmultipleplaces at once. They say journalists are they eyes and ears, but why not also be the nose, skin, and tongue. If there were a device that could fully reproduce an experience,that would be the only perfect way to be objective. Of course, there are other things that just need to be understood, perhaps money laundering or pork barreling public fund towards your house, but still I think if you really want to be a good journalist, you'd want to convey as much tactile, auditory, visual or whatever sense of information as possible. With a place like the internet, where time is less of a constraint, and data space is, for the moment, not a constraint at all, why not produce material that will teach someone more than just ideas. SO then, how the hell is one to do that? The book goes over the impossibility of such a skilled journalist, but I think it is more about organization. The news industry is doing it now, but I still see this odd fear of convergence. I dunno, I guess maybe it will be like technological convergence, convient (i.e. the iphone), but not for everyone.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Spanish democratic debate
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/democrats_spanish_debate;_ylt=AmmPDdb9KcaJOG7CdK0DVszkbeRF
The idea is that the democrats will hold a debate in that will be translated into spanish, but also the questions will be asked in spanish and translated into english. I have to say that the democrats are definitely themost innovative in terms of debates this year. the republicans were asked the same thing, but only McCain accepted. Anywho, it just seems like despite how bad it seems or how unfair it seems, every large group of immigrants must go through an initiation process. The majority,however you want to define majority, sees a growing power of influence that has a significantly different agenda and starts to freak. The insecurity leads to a lot of things such as the reluctance to hire the unfair and inhumane public policies. For instance, I was reading the WAshington Post and I remember seeing an article about Prince George County in Virginia. PG county decided that the illegal immigrant population was too high and wanted to make it illegal to provide public services to someone who hasn't proven their citizenship. Obviously, the most extreme version of this law was shot down, but they did eventually decide that services should be denied on some level and that anyone caught breaking the law should proove their citizenship. I think what I found interesting was that the quote the post got from the anti-immigrant side was, "I'm tired of having to hear two options of english and spanish on the phone service." I was like wow. you are willing to deny thousands of people fundamental rights and priviledges to live healthy liives because you are inconvenienced? Kind of disgusting. But I think this debate is all the mosre an important testimony to the existence of democracy. I mean, really why bother with this if it meant nothing? If the Latino vote had no power, why even appeal to it? So I think as pessimistic as I'd like to be about Prince George county, things still change for the better. The oppresed find their way to fight for their rights. It should probably be easier, but there is always hope at least.
The idea is that the democrats will hold a debate in that will be translated into spanish, but also the questions will be asked in spanish and translated into english. I have to say that the democrats are definitely themost innovative in terms of debates this year. the republicans were asked the same thing, but only McCain accepted. Anywho, it just seems like despite how bad it seems or how unfair it seems, every large group of immigrants must go through an initiation process. The majority,however you want to define majority, sees a growing power of influence that has a significantly different agenda and starts to freak. The insecurity leads to a lot of things such as the reluctance to hire the unfair and inhumane public policies. For instance, I was reading the WAshington Post and I remember seeing an article about Prince George County in Virginia. PG county decided that the illegal immigrant population was too high and wanted to make it illegal to provide public services to someone who hasn't proven their citizenship. Obviously, the most extreme version of this law was shot down, but they did eventually decide that services should be denied on some level and that anyone caught breaking the law should proove their citizenship. I think what I found interesting was that the quote the post got from the anti-immigrant side was, "I'm tired of having to hear two options of english and spanish on the phone service." I was like wow. you are willing to deny thousands of people fundamental rights and priviledges to live healthy liives because you are inconvenienced? Kind of disgusting. But I think this debate is all the mosre an important testimony to the existence of democracy. I mean, really why bother with this if it meant nothing? If the Latino vote had no power, why even appeal to it? So I think as pessimistic as I'd like to be about Prince George county, things still change for the better. The oppresed find their way to fight for their rights. It should probably be easier, but there is always hope at least.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Obama
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070904/ap_on_el_pr/obama_ethics_6;_ylt=AsfBh4xGD4o4ybidjgtlFBElbuRF
A huge huge task that my pessimistic side, thinks is hopeless. I want to see all of these reforms happening especially the one about staff being prohibited from working for contractors for two years and public access to lobbying statements. Those seem to be so critical in terms of public oversight of government action. Obama may be new, but old and experience has only proven to a be fatal so far. Not saying Obama is perfect, since he himself has taken contributions from lobbyists, but its a great idea. Kudos to Edwards for challenging Clinton to not take lobbyist campaign contributions. I hope clinton comes around or at least sees the value of lobbyist reforms.
A huge huge task that my pessimistic side, thinks is hopeless. I want to see all of these reforms happening especially the one about staff being prohibited from working for contractors for two years and public access to lobbying statements. Those seem to be so critical in terms of public oversight of government action. Obama may be new, but old and experience has only proven to a be fatal so far. Not saying Obama is perfect, since he himself has taken contributions from lobbyists, but its a great idea. Kudos to Edwards for challenging Clinton to not take lobbyist campaign contributions. I hope clinton comes around or at least sees the value of lobbyist reforms.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Chpt8
Detail of good reporting is so so so important. It also just makes everything easier and creates much more of a powerful experience to read. I had such a huge problem with telling and not showing in scully's class, but it was again, referring back to my other blog, being out there and finding a good story and source that helped me the most.
Inverted Pyramid
Again with the inverted pyramid. There really needs to be more to journalism education that the idea that we need to cover broad information first then slowly specialize. I understand the importance of it and I am not saying we should go over it, it is just that I feel that is all I've learned in classes. when I went to D.C, the inverted pyramid was not what helped me, getting out there and learning how things went and who you needed to talk to when was so much more important. It showed me what kind of beat I may like and how I should go about building sources for a story and really never to trust the government to call you back, much less any major organization. Inverted pyramid is the holy grail of journalism, I am just saying that the holy grail isn't going save me from a bad source. XP is what counts.
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