Poor Hawkeye

By: Gabe Gilson

In the few short days before the big game, quarterback Jake Christiansen for the Iowa Hawkeyes is going to be somewhat newsworthy. The former starter for the Hawks recently lost the job to sophomore Rick Stanzi.

At least one person is taking it well. Christiansen said in a post-game interview how every fan had the right to do what they did.

Christiansen was booed big time last Saturday as the Hawks played Florida International. Even though the game was won 42-0 by the University of Iowa, Hawk fans still found it necessary to boo the college athlete. Christiansen said in a post-game interview how every fan had the right to do what they did.

Is this wrong?

Sean Keller of the Des Moines register sure had a problem with it. In his weekly column Monday, Keller said it was pretty horrible of the noblest of all noble fans to do such a thing to a college athlete.

Andy Fales of WHO-TV 13 had a differing opinion. Sunday on the weekly show Sports Soundoff, Fales gave his 2 cents worth saying how Iowa is giving Mr. Christiansen a free tuition to play football. Why does every fan not have a reason to do such a thing?

What Fales said I tend to agree with. However, as a noble Cyclone fan, I know that Ames would never boo their former starting quarterback no matter how horrible he was playing.

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Magazines hurt by Web

By: Alex Jones

Yet another form of print media is being threatened by the shift in consumers from print media to online resources. Magazines are now feeling the move quite dramatically. Magazines like the National Enquirer that focus on celebrity gossip are really struggling with maintaining their newsstand sales. 

Surfing the Web it is easy to see why this is the case. It is nearly impossible to access a Web site  and not stumble upon some form of celebrity gossip. Let's be honest, if you can find the same stories, for free and be able to access them from the convenience of your home computer you're not going to spend the time and money to retrieve a print copy at the local supermarket. 

This is just another example of print media's decline and the rise of online media. Although the magazines are trying desperately to save their print sales using whatever tactics they can like only giving consumers half the stories online; I think in the near future we will see that the Web will be the true victor. 

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Political Truth-o-Meter

By: Callie McBroom

I have just discovered a cool site that seems to do the impossible: look at both sides of politics with an unbiased eye. PolitiFact.com looks at both Republican and Democratic party comments. It even addresses rumor emails directed towards a certain politician.

The St. Petersburg Times of Florida and Congressional Quarterly of Washington, D.C. team up everyday to check out speeches, TV ads, interviews, and other campaign communications for not-so-honest claims. The goal is to help voters navigate the fine line between true and false.

Some of the features provided include the Attack File, the Truth-o-Meter, and the Flip-o-Meter. Each claim is labeled as True, Mostly True, Half True, Barely True or False. A special category entitled, "Pants on Fire" is reserved for the worse offenders.

As a voter who is concerned about making the right decision in November, I find the site to be useful. As a person tired of political attack ads and speeches that exaggerate claims, I find the site to be refreshing. I know that this will become a valuable source for me in the next two months.

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Questions for Sarah Palin

By: Brian Steffen

Charlie Gibson of ABC News gets the first shot at interviewing hockey-mom-cum-vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, with the pieces to air on Thursday and Friday nights. At Slate, media critic Jack Shafer has his list of suggested questions. 

Tough questions, to be sure. Are they fair to ask, or do they show the dreaded lack of "respect and deference"?

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