Displaying the Death of Gaddafi in the Media

In the past week the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has made the headlines in the news and front pages of every news paper. Along with the stories some news outlets chose to show graphic images of Gaddafi after he had been killed. Now one of the major issues is whether or not the media should of displayed these pictures like they did.

In an article by Poynter, it shows how differently certain countries news papers decided to show images to go with these stories. Very few American newspapers actually showed Gaddafi's body after being killed.

In the newspapers in other countries some papers showed photos of Gaddafi before he we killed or photos of the rebels celebrating. However most of the newspapers decided to show the pictures of Gaddafi after being killed.

Is it appropriate to be showing these brutal photos of the death of Gaddafi?

Many people say that the tolerance of these images is starting to rise. In an interview for MSNBC Kelly McBride said that this is occurring because more people search for gruesome images then expected, then when they see them in the media it doesn't bother them.

The Week ran an article that saying that many news companies are defending their decision to show these images. They state that by showing theses photos they allow the public to know that Gaddafi is in fact dead.

Many people feel showing images like these in the media is now becoming unavoidable. The thing that the media needs to do now is decide how exactly to show these images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzfX_0jtyJs

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Heckled Geraldo

Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition and profanity. Most parts of speech are protected; however, cursing is not protected by the First Amendment.

An article found in The Huffington Post reported that Occupy Wall Street protesters swore at Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera. Rivera was covering the event for the third time. Fox News cameras caught a heckler shout the f word at the reporter.

Freedom of speech protects the right to say what one desires but profanity is not. This is because it infringes on another's rights. Swearing is like shouting "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater.

Journalists often report from the front lines to get the headlines. Reporters, like Rivera, try do their jobs, but citizens at the event did not agree with Rivera and Fox News's presence at Occupy Wall Street.

Regardless of intent, that protester did not have the right the yell profanities at Rivera. As reporters, we need to know our rights as well as the rights of others.

Photo by creativecommons.org

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The Anyday Paper

According to Sara Dickenson Quinn from Poynter.org, Sunday papers just aren't quite what they used to be.

"'Papers seem to be taking fewer chances,' says Suzette Moyer, creative director of the St. Petersburg Times' Bay Magazine."

Instead of being the biggest and best, many Sunday editions are looking more and more like any other day, with little distinguishing them from a Monday or Wednesday edition.

Quinn outlines four possible reasons as to why newspapers are producing less impressive Sunday papers.

1. Job cuts in the newsroom. Jeff Goertzen, graphics director of the Denver Post, says that news design and graphics staffs are about half the size that they were ten years ago.

2. Designers and graphic artists have many more responsibilities. With more roles to fill, designers cannot commit as much time to front page spreads.

3. The average news hole is smaller than in previous years. Big, expansive investigative stories may not be occurring as often due to it being easier to break news.

4. Design centers are simplified in order to save time. Design isn't really an assembly-line situation, which is what most newspapers are headed towards. Design takes more time and thought, which is not afforded due to business decisions.

The front page is often what grabs a reader's attention. With newspapers spending less time and resources on the front page design, especially on frequently-read Sunday editions, the downward spiral of newspapers is likely to continue.

Photo courtesy of www.creativecommons.com

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Advocate for Journalism Died

Laura Pollán, 63, died Friday from respiratory complications in Cuba at a hospital in Havana.

Pollán is well known for her efforts of seeking justice in human rights. 

Originally a Spanish teacher in Cuba, she was boycotted by the Cuban government for her work against it. She advocated for all the journalists imprisoned for work against Black Spring. Her own husband was one of the 75 journalists arrested during this movement.

The group started by Pollán is called the "Ladies in White," and these are women have had family members taken because of their voice. The goal these ladies had in mind was to oppose the Cuban government while wearing white. Showing that they are peaceful was the intention of the color white. 

Having a strong passion for what they were fighting for, they never allowed harassment from authorities to stop them. 

Often times, the authorities would try to prevent the members from being able to attend these weekly meeting and detain the women if they fought back. 

Having a big heart for others,  Pollan worked with CPJ to inform them of the travesties the families and detainees were enduring.

She started funds and raised money for those who needed it most and always worked towards freeing those in prison. 

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

"Sometimes they tell us, the Ladies in White, that we are brave women," she wrote. "We disagree: We've simply experienced so much pain and love that,without realizing it, we crossed that line between fear and bravery."

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The Importance of Media Literacy

Social media is a prominent force today. One of every eight minutes is spent on Facebook and thousand of tweets are posted each hour.

With this in mind it is important as a journalist to be on top of it all. It is not enough to just know how to work a computer, but you must be 'media literate.'

Recently a tweet was released by Mashable that stated the wrong number, accidentally changing it from billion to million. This tweet was then passed on by a very prominent journalist, further spreading the false information.

Was this journalist being media illiterate by further spreading false information?

Although the spread of false information was not catastrophic in this case, it was a cause for concern.

Journalists today are expected to keep up with the constant flow of news information, and breaking the news is only half of it.

Todays media world calls for a journalist that is media literate.

Ten years ago being literate meant you could properly read and comprehend what was being read. Today it is different.

In order to be literate today, you need to be able to objectively look at tweets and blog posts and decide what is in fact, reliable. Apply those helpful critical thinking skills that have been developing throughout your life.

If a journalist cannot properly discern what is true and false, reliable or not, then they should be hesitant to inform others of the information.

Not only do journalists need to practice this, but every person should be discerning when getting their news. People need to take caution and understand that any average joe can spread the information.

As the saying goes, don't believe everything you read.

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Sunday looks like Monday

Like in the movies or old black and white sitcoms, Sunday morning rituals consisted of a cup of coffee at the kitchen table with the Sunday paper in hand; however, due to newspapers taking fewer chances, the Sunday paper is starting to look a lot like any other day of the week's newspaper.

There are four main points why this is happening, which are:
1. There are major cuts in every area of the newsroom.

2.The designers and graphic artist are doing more jobs in the newsroom.

3. The average news 'hole' has gone down since 5 years ago.

4. The design centers are simplified due to business decisions to save time.

I found this article very interesting and agree that the front page design of the paper means everything. Its the first kick-start to get an audience into the world of the news. I believe we should head this warning and start working harder to regain those people back into that world.

Picture: creativecommons.org
Aritcle: Sara Dickenson Quinn from Poynter.org

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Wikileaks Needs Donations

Governments today are trying to stop the media from sending out top seceret information to the pubilc.

Don't the people have the right to know though?

Wikileaks is a website that provides information about government activites and presents it to the public eye.

Recently though Wikileaks had to shut down there website due to the lose of money over the last year.

In this article, linked here, reads a statement for the reasons Wikileaks needs to raise money.

Wikileaks says they are being forced to shut down because of the US fincance companys are trying to control what they do.

Wikileaks is asking for help by accepting donations from active users and anyone to raise the money to get the website back up and providing information to journalist or anyone that wants to know what the government is doing.

Why is the government trying to hide these things from the people? I believe that the government thinks that if the people have this information the people might be able to go against the government or sell the information to others that might want to use it against the government.

Wikileaks is providing information to the people, information that most people would never see in there life time. By helping donate money to Wikileaks, the people can get the information they want about the government.

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Turkey Takes the First Steps

Devastating and tragic events happen all over the world at any time. Most countries take pride and start cleaning up right away after a disaster.

However when New Orleans was hit by a hurricane and when Parkersburg was hit by a tornado they waited for the government to take action instead of taking pride themselves.

Turkey recently had a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the eastern part of Turkey. Most of the eastern side of Turkey was wiped out leaving 264 deaths and 1,300 people injured reported CNN.

Surrounding community members were devasted but never gave up hope for missing family members. Turkey citizens took the first steps of cleaning up by piecing through debri.

Citizens worked day and night cleaning up this mess never once waiting for help from their government or other countries. Due to many health service builings collapsing and houses destroyed people gathered at a camp fire to stay warm and to receive support.

CNN has many video clips showing the teamwork that Turkey demonstrated. CNN also captured the Prime Minister and the Health Minister chipping in their efforts as well. CNN also admired their efforts and hope Turkey demonstrated.

Never once did Turkey ask for help or cry out to government officials instead they got to work and started right away without hesitation.

This article is inspirational, positive, and should be motivation to all societies and countries. All countries, states, and cities should be able to provide for themselves. Leave the government out of issues that can be taken care of by the people, the government has enough issues already.

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Paywalls: Newspaper's New Best Friend

Earlier this year, the New York Times set up a paywall to limit the number of free views people could have for their online articles. Many people believed this would be a complete failure thinking people would simply refuse to pay for online articles, but the New York Times has proved those non-believers wrong.

At the end of it's third quarter, released October 20, 20ll, the Times revealed a quarter of a million readers payed at least $15 to access the online content of this paper. This shows it is possible to make a profit by implementing the paywall strategy.

This is a huge success for now just the Times, but the journalism industry as a whole. Because the Times showed they could profit off their online content, it is expected that many other media outlets will follow their lead.

The success of the paywall helps ease the mind of those who believed newspapers to be a dying entity. Newspapers are not dying, they are simply evolving with the new technologies introduced to the world.

Although the paywall has the potential to benefit the journalism industry, what does this mean for readers? If other newspapers begin to charge for their online material, will readers still be able to access those breaking stories immediately? Or will this slow down the rate at which news travels?

The way in which the paywall strategy has been implemented by the Times will help keep casual readers interacting with the online content. The Times allows each person 20 views per month before they demand their payment. This allows those who are not news enthusiasts to view the few articles that catch their attention without first having to hand over their credit cards.

With it's success at the Times, it can be predicted that many other major news companies will set up paywalls similar to this one to help raise their profits. This will enable the journalism profession to keep up to speed with the fast paced world we now all live in.

photo by DRB62 from creativecommons.com

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No Joke, The Daily Show is News

Twenty-one percent of adults age 18-28 cite that the "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is a place where they regularly learn presidential campaign news, but is "The Daily Show" reliable?

A study by Indiana University found that "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is as accurate and newsworthy as traditional broadcast network newscasts, which includes ABC, CBS, and NBC.

Political jokes, including bashing Michele Bachmann for saying she is proud to be from the same city as a serial killer and joking over the meaning of Rick Santorum's name, present the news in an interesting way that keeps audiences engaged.

Although the first goal of "The Daily Show" is humor, there is still substance to the show. Stewart interviews substantial news makers such as the president of Pakistan and presidential candidates.

In 2002, news was made on the show by John Edwards announcing that he was going to run for president in 2004.

A second-by-second study of "The Daily Show" found that there is considerably more humor than substance in the show, but Stewart insists that he is a comedian, not a journalist.

It was noted that broadcast network news stories about the presidential elections are significantly shorter than are the stories featured on "The Daily Show" so the amount of substance per story is not different.

There is nothing wrong with being entertained while learning about current events. Without "The Daily Show" many people would not consume any news.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbXpD7bj5rg

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Blog 1 Keith

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Occupy Wall Street Coverage

The Occupy Wall Street- and now Occupy X city across the country- movement is sweeping the country, thousands of people are participating and facing arrests for standing up against their political unhappiness.

Yet, as I have talked to people around Simpson, many of my peers have either never heard of the movement or know next to nothing about it. How could that be? Are we just a current events illiterate school? I don't think so.

While the mainstream media has picked up its coverage since the beginning of the protests, I still do not think that they are providing ample coverage to this movement that is affecting every part of our nation.

Todd Gitlin, as reported by Mallary Jean Tenore via Poynter.org, is also dissatisfied with the coverage. He calls the coverage "predictable," "lazy," and "the knee-jerk preconceptions."

Gitlin points out that the first thing that the media is doing wrong is "focusing on protesters who look like outcasts." It has been pointed out by those involved in the movement that media is focusing extensively on interviewing those who look odd- "on grungy looking people or people with dreadlocks or people beating drums."

He also advises journalists to look at the larger picture of the movement. The protests are not just isolated events, but a story. Look at how the dots are connected.

Finally, Gitlin suggests that journalists have to dig deep to understand what the underlying goal of the issue is. Being aware of history and other social movements can help to deepen one's knowledge of this movement.

On the bright side, however, the coverage has gotten better as the protests have gone on. What was nonexistent is at least getting some air time, helping more people become aware. As the movement continues, we can expect to see the coverage widen and become more influential in telling the stories of the protesters.

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What Does it Take?

Journalist Adam Wilson taught the importance of diversifying one's journalistic skills Tuesday evening, Oct. 4, to an aspiring journalist for Brian Steffen's Beginning Newswriting and Reporting course.

Stressing the importance of knowing all facets of journalism, Wilson, a Simpson alumnus and a group editor of the Des Moines Register Weeklies, provided many tips to aspiring journalists for how to be successful in journalism.

"You're either pitching an assignment or you're taking an assignment No. 1," Wilson said. "Either you bring me a story idea or I give you a story idea, and then I expect you to follow that through to deadline. So that's standard no matter where you go."

Taking this concept and applying it to the life of a student journalist may appear difficult. However, having graduated in the spring of 2002 with a major in mass comm journalism, Wilson is familiar with what it takes to combine the life of a student with the world of journalistic reporting.

"Student journalists are students, and then journalists," Wilson said. "Even if you want to become a professional journalist, and that's the path that you have chosen for your career, you still have a handful of classes that should also be your priority."

Nevertheless, in comparing the difference between student reporting and that of a paid professional, according to Wilson, there are still few variances between the two.

"No. 1, the biggest difference there is that you're going to class for a couple of hours a day, you're still expected to write your newspaper article or articles on deadline; so time management is huge there," Wilson said. "But then again, if you might have one or two story assignments a week as a student journalist, you're probably talking more like 10 or 12 as a professional journalist."

Later, Wilson emphasizes the necessity of meeting deadlines while once again highlighting the importance of time management. In doing so, he further displays the similarities between the student journalist and the professional.

"So that time management, you're managing different things," Wilson said, "but, if you're not organized you're not going to meet deadline; and whether you're a student journalist, or a professional journalist, or a freelancer or anything else, you're not going to have a job--or you're not going to keep a job very long--if you can't meet deadlines. Deadlines are key no matter what level you're at."

Even still, Wilson shows that there are yet several lessons to be learned as a student journalist that are significant in bettering a journalist in their field.

"When I started [at Simpson] I hadn't really ever been published," Wilson said. "We didn't have a school newspaper at my high school....I understood pretty quickly once I got to Simpson and started working for the newspaper, you have to really respect and understand the power of the words that you put together into a news story, because it's there forever."

Moreover, to be not only successful, but more valuable in the world of journalism, Wilson stresses to the aspiring journalist the ability to be able to do everything from writing to taking a photo.

"Don't just fancy yourself a writer," Wilson said. "Don't just concentrate on photography, don't just concentrate on videography. If you really want to be a commodity in the job market, you want to be able to be a good writer who can offer photography and videos to supplement their stories...The more that you can do and the more that you know, and the more that you can do well is just going to make you more successful...Learn every aspect and learn it well."

Photo: Courtesy of Adam Wilson

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The Press's Knight in Shining Armor

Good news to college editors and reporters! Press

+paid content has joined together with Knight Foundation for the opportunity for 50 college newspapers to install a content meter on the newspaper's website for free.

Included with this offer, Knight will pay the setup fee and Press+ will charge it's normal 20% commission.

The main focal point is for college students not to be charged for admission to their schools' newspaper, but to get an outside community to the school to read these articles and donate money if they like the article.

Right now Knight and Press+ have a target audience, which consist of: parents, alumni, and people generally keep up with college news.

I think this article is very important, especially since I am a soul believer that the community should embrace the college's community. With this new tool, young journalism students will have the opportunity to get their work out easier and to more people.

Picture: creativecommons.org

Article: Steve Myers/ poynter.org

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A New Phase: Social Networking

With today's youth communicating less through the traditional use of face-to-face communication, it has become immensely more important for the journalists to be online.

Furthermore, the more I immerse myself into the world of journalism, the more I realize the necessity of social networking and social media outlets--such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkdin--but more importantly, the power of these outlets.

When the Internet was created so few years ago, I doubt it's inventor imagined the shift it would bring about for modern day communication and present day journalism. With the Internet and the power of social media sites, anybody and everybody can be a journalist, all one has to do is create a blog or a Twitter feed that is popular enough.

Nevertheless, there are positives and negatives to every great development. When reading an article by The Wall Street Journal's Digital Network, I discovered something very alarming, there are sites specifically tailored to monitoring social networking. While this appears to be a great invention, and in context I would agree, it is disheartening to know that it was necessary to create a site for parents to monitor whether or not their children's reputations are being damaged or if they are being cyberbullied. With an increase in the everyday American wanting to contribute to what is presented as news--or to simply posting things online to be noticed--it is definitely time with these new advancements, for journalists to find the news and present it as objectively as possible (in order to help the public sift through the limitlessness of online "news").

However, while social networking may be difficult for some, it is not all bad. Journalism can and will greatly benefit from its existence if used properly. In an article by the Associated Press, it demonstrates how quickly social networking is reaching beyond teens and is being utilized in many different settings. The article talks about how social media companies are "friending" politics. And, while this may not seem like a positive to many, it does further demonstrate the magnitude of what social media is capable of.

Journalists everywhere are already ahead of the game utilizing social media to its full potential and providing news to the world because of it. Those who aren't, it's time you step up your game quick or get left behind.

Photo Credit: creativecommons.org

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The Sideline Reporter

Sideline reporting has become a constant in the sporting world with almost all sports having at least one or two. There is no glory in sideline reporting and it is a position often met with annoyance from coach and fan alike.


While there are both male and female sideline reporters, more often than not females dominate the airwaves. I guess a pretty smile and a cute face offsets the fact that this position is as useful as a kick to the head.


The most iconic fail when it comes to sideline reporting, at least in my mind, is the halftime interview. It's comparable to a deer being caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.


Interviewers stop a coach as he makes his way to the locker room and ask him an onslaught of ridiculous questions. How do you plan to win? Why did you choose to play that player? Any ideas for the second half coach?


Bear Bryant, a former University of Alabama football coach, was famous for tearing sideline reporters apart and here is an almost comical interview during halftime of one of the games he coached in.


Listen to the questions the reporter asked closely and see that this job is about as worthless as your high school guidance counselor.

Even if the reporter had asked intelligible questions she was fated to get one of two answers.

1. We have to play better to win.


2. We're playing pretty damn good, I think we'll win

While I may be opening a can of worms I think sideline reporting is yet another way for the media to exploit women and keep them from the upper echelon of sports broadcasting.

Ever noticed that women are left to freeze on the sidelines while their male counterparts sit comfortably in a booth? To me this reads as a big middle finger to women looking to make it in the sports world.

It's as if the sports world is mocking a woman's ability to report on sporting events. It's sad that this is the fate that female sports analysts may be doomed to.

Most do their homework and are very knowledgeable about their respected fields. However, women don't seem to garner any respect when it comes to sports reporting.

In the end the female sideline reporter is a poor attempt at giving women a chance in the sports broadcast world. They simply serve as eye candy and offer no intelligible insight into the sport they are reporting about.

Women are just as competent as their male counterparts when it comes to sports reporting. It is disgraceful how women are used in the sporting world and they deserve more respect than they are given.

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iCloud Takes Over iTunes

iTunes has always been a great resource for songs. iTunes only cost 99 cents per song and keeps you away from illegal downloading. However due to a recent technology called iCloud, iTunes is now getting the cord cut from Apple and moving towards higher technology.

iCloud has 200 new features which will keep you busy for more than a couple weeks. Of the 200 new features the most proud features Apple offers is a notification center, reminders, and iMessage. All three features work together to create a line of access between multiple devices.

iCloud not only out does iTunes by offereing easier access to music it also provides e-books, backup, and document storage. You can also access iCloud through your iPhone which makes iCloud more available.

iCloud does offer many great features but some critics argue that Apple was also the inventor of MobileMe which was an epic fail. The good news is that iCloud has the feature iOS 5 which is a more promising upgrade and Apples soulution to the MoblieMe problem.

Another problem critics raise deals with PhotoStream. PhotoStream captures pictures and backs the picture up by iOS 5 so you will never lose a picture. However, the only time you can use PhotoStream is when you have internet access or Wi-Fi.

iCloud is recommend mostly to Apple users or providers. Windows won't get much from iCloud because most of the remarkable features are used through Apple products.

The big picture comes down to iCloud being more available. Instead of hooking your i-pod up to the computer to buy songs you can do it cordless through iCloud. The songs from iCloud will transfer over to your iPhone making them available in your phone and i-pod.

Technology is continuously updating and changing so keep up with the latest creation from Apple and become a member of iCloud. Start using this creation today to make life easier.

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Keeping Up With the Citizens

Who ever said journalists are so special from everybody else? The political analysts sure aren't. Not with Google in charge.

That's because Google's Politics & Elections blog is making it easier for ordinary citizens to become political analysts for the rest of the world. Jake Parillo, part of Google's Politics & Elections team, announced on Monday that the team is asking for citizens to use Google's tools- Google Insights for Search, Google Trends,and Google Correlate, for example- to help the Google team discover political or election trends across the country.

People now have the ability to research and analyze their own political stories. But will they make use of it? Will these tools become commonplace with the average family? Hard to tell. Poynter.org reported last month that out of all the time people spend on the internet, only 2.6 percent of it is spent on current events or global news (22.5 percent of their time is spent on social media websites, and 35.1 percent is spent on website types not specified in the survey, including- yep- pornography). Google's bet seems to be that customizing political coverage for the average Joe is what will make people pay attention to the political world swirling around them, but the real question is whether citizens will put in the extra effort.

One thing is clear, though: if journalists plan on competing with the serious amateur news sources these days, reporters should be the first to dive in to this new technology.

Photo by Danny Sullivan/Creativecommons.org

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Journalism Organization Blossoms to Inspire Students Worlwide

I recently read an article about an interesting organization I'd never heard of. Youth Journalism International is an organization that was founded by a husband-wife team in 2004 that received non-profit status in 2010.

Their website serves as a news blog, but they also instruct many students. They send out ideas and topics to a huge e-mail list-serv and students participating develop stories of their own. What they write is then published on the blog.

Students cover everything from local to international news.

I think this organization is a fantastic idea and has the possibility to shape these students futures. It's teaching them how to be citizen-journalists, but they are learning many different aspects of writing. They are learning how to gather the news and report in one of the most interactive forms. I also think its great because the ideas they receive via e-mail encourage them to report and learn about something they otherwise might have never paid attention to.

I've had a lot of different opportunities open for me during college to experience something similar, but I wish I would have been a part of this during high school to start my practice early.

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A recent article I read on the New York Times website shared a story about a group of high school students taking part in a unique journalism opportunity. They are students serving probation in the San Francisco Juvenile Justice system, and will doing a semester long internship to explore many aspects of journalism, including starting their own newsroom and producing hard-copy products. Here, I discuss several points I found important about their experience and interview Simpson College journalism students to see their take on the story.

< href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KrsLZY9s&o=av3e >

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