Words are not just Words

The FBI is moving to redefine the word rape. Currently is it defined as a female forced to engage in sexual activity.

Female activists feel this is way over due because it has not been updated since 1929.

Due to this, there are many unreported cases of rape.

The FBI has moved to make the new definition "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

The new definition now accepts that not only women can be raped, not always forcible, rape by relatives and now non-vaginal/ penile rape.

Also this now allows more arrests of offenders than before.

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Why a Newspaper should Promote Itself

The newspaper is a business, and this must not be forgotten. Their priority, first and foremost,  is to sell papers and turn a profit. If a news organization cannot do this much, then it is just a matter of time before that company done.

With this in mind it is a bit of a surprise to me that the newspaper spends so little on advertising, it is a product after all. Just like any product, people will not buy it unless they feel a need to, so why are newspaper companies holding back.

An article on Mashable  points out that on average, newspapers spend less than 1 percent on advertising, which is interesting in comparison to the 14 percent Coca-cola spends. Coco-cola is on peoples minds, and in their hand because they take the time and money to promote.

Keeping this in mind, it is no wonder the print newspaper is dying. People are simply forgetting about it. If a newspaper is not willing to spend some money to promote itself then how can they expect people to be drawn to reading it.

Newspapers need to spend a little more money on their advertising in order to remind people why they are still important.

Photo Courtesy of Photo Bucket

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The Dreaded Words: "Talk About"

Many of the questions reporters ask to professional athletes after a game are asked to get an answer that will make a headline.

Today's post-game interviews consist of a room full of reporters and camera men all asking different questions, one right after another, to an athlete or coach.

No conversations are held during interviews anymore because after one question is asked, the next topic is brought up by another reporter.

The lack of knowledge reporters gain from these types of interviews is small, so what happens is a quote can be taken out of context and sound negative when it was actually not.

"It's a headline-driven world, and what I said provided a headline," said Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. "That's why I'm guarded, cautious. I don't want to accidentally give bulletin-board material. If someone asks me about a player, I say, 'He's a great player.' If they ask me about a coach, I say, 'He's a great coach.'"

Other athletes have been saying the same things when it comes to interviews. They are going to be more boring and guarded with what they say in fear it will be turned around and used against them for a headline.

An article by Tim Keown of ESPN The Magazine discusses the new type of interviewing.

"For better or worse, the post-interview age has created a generation of athletes who are overcovered but underreported," Keown said. "In the end, perhaps this much is true: If nobody asks any questions beyond the obvious, maybe nobody needs to ask anything at all. We see more and know less."

People are gaining more information from these types of interviews, but it sometimes can be inaccurate when taken out of context.

Photo- http://arkencounter.com/blog/2010/12/08/announcement-draws-international-attention/

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Plagarism Occurs More Than We Think

Angelina Jolie and the producers of her directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” plagiarized the work of Croatian journalist and author Josip J. Knezevic to create the film’s screenplay, Knezevic claims in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

As the Chicago Times brings up a good point about plagarism, I think plagarism happens more than we think or want to beleive. Students, teachers, employees copy and paste everyday without citing. People, including me, don't think copying a simple sentence, picture, or short article is a big issue.

However, a simple act as we like to think, can cause huge lawsuits which can damage peoples reputation. Jolie did this same mistake. According to Chicago Times this movie will show only little clips of the movie and with rack in few cash as well.

The sad thing about this lawsuit towards Jolie is that plagarism happens very often and very frequent with famous and non-famous people. With Jolie being famous it caused more attention and more feedback on this lawsuit than anyother person.

I don't see this lawsuit ruining Jolie's future or acting career but I could see it putting a negative view on her as a person until this is all out of the media. Chicago Times article on Jolie did a fairly good job on showing Jolie as a positive role model still and not blowing the whole lawsuit out of portion.

Plagarism is something that more people should take seriously. The charges, fines, and lawsuits can become out of portion. Jolie unfortunately is in the media more than she would want because of acting in a moving which involves plagarism.

Overall, I see this article becoming less and less important to the media. Jolie will still be a successful actress and viewed in a positive manner to most people.

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Videoblog #2

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Over Ran With Advertisements

CNN, Mashable, National Geographic, Forbes, and many others have been dubbed distracting websites that are flooded with advertisements that hide the actual content of the sites.

This causes the website to become very busy and discourages the reader to 'find' the actual content of the site to read. Plus these advertisements could cause problems such as constant pop ups on the readers computer.

I feel a little disheartened with this situation and believe that major news sites are only focused on one thing, money. If they really cared about the reader's thirst for news, they wouldn't have so many advertisements trying to seek revenue with every click of the reader.

works cited: www.poynter.org ; www.creativecommons.org

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Televisions in the Courts

The U.S. Courts are modeling themselves after Great Britain and Canadian courts: They may being broadcasting Supreme Court hearings.

Sen. Richard Grassley (R. - Iowa) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D. - Ill.) introduced of the Cameras in the Courtroom Act of 2011 have fired up a debate about the potential effects of television Supreme Court hearings.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D. – Minn.) opened the discussion by stating citizens have “the right to see how the court functions, and to see its rulings” because “democracy must be open.”

On the other side of the argument, Chief Judge Anthony Scirica of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was reluctant to allow cameras into the federal courts. “Co-equal branches of federal government have long-respected each other’s authority to govern itself.” The Supreme Court already is “transparent,” he argued.

If cameras are allowed to capture the Supreme Court hearings, the public would have complete access to the rulings and be able to gain a better understanding of how the courts come to their final rulings. This may allow citizens to gain a greater trust in the courts.

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Five Ways To Read The Paper And Keep Your Sanity Intact

Today's newspapers are filled with negative articles. Huffington Post lays out five ways to read the paper and crack a smile while reading some depressing articles.

First method is to read the headline and add naked at the end of it. This allows readers just to smile.

Second method the foreign press, which is reading the newspaper backwards. In doing this readers stay away from the more depressing articles up front in the newspapers.

The escapist method is basically taking the newspaper and turning it into modern art.

The Jon Stewart Method is pretending to write for the Daily Show. This method is to joke around with the news to lighten the mood of the article.

The last method is the hamster, which is using the newspapers as a way to catch the droppings in its cage.

These methods show that the newspaper is dieing and becoming boring. The newspaper is boring and these methods are trying to lighten the mood of the depressing news.

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