Norris Steps Down from NPR

Journalists must remain objective at all times. Without it, we would lose our credibility and trust from the public.

Identifying conflicts of interest isn't difficult. A football player can't cover the homecoming football game, student body president can't report on the latest developments in student government and a fraternity president can't write a story about Greek week.

The Huffington Post reported that Michele Norris of NPR's 'All Things Considered' will step down from her hosting duties while her husband joins the Obama campaign.

Norris made the only decision she could in her situation. As journalists, we must remain objective and unbiased in order to maintain our credibility.

While it is unlikely that Norris would have interviewed her own husband, he is still a part of the Obama team. For instance, a sports reporters should not cover a game if their spouse is a player on the team.

Reporters who are in these situations need to separate their personal and professional lives. The balance may come down to, as in Norris's case, choosing a spouse over work. Ultimately, this decision may seem unfair, but it was necessary for Norris to maintain her credibility for her journalistic. future.

Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Read more...

Dropping G's

Last weekend, AP reporter Mark Smith, was looked down upon for one of the hugest errors a journalist can do. Dropping letters at the end of a word. In this case, Smith had dropped the G's in President Barack Obama's speech towards African American voters.

As an example, Smith wrote quoting President Obama "Shake it off. Stop Complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. "

Many African Americans felt that this report was racist, including an African American author Karen Hunter.

Smith claims that he usually uses AP Stylebook, which does say not to use slang or dialect. Smith argues that President Obama was making an emphasis on dropping the G's, so that was why he wrote it as such.

"I believe I was respecting his intent in this. Certainly disrespect was the last thing I intended." States Smith to Mediaite.

Its very important for young journalist to not jump on Smith's band-wagon. Play it safe and always resort to the AP Stylebook when there is any doubt of whether or not you should write in a certain way.

Works Cited: www.poynter.org
Picture Cited: Creative Commons

Read more...

Reactions to Osama's Death

The night of May 2, 2011 is one that no American can forget. President Barack Obama declared, "Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden." It was with these words that the entire country erupted in shock and celebration. The media also exploded with the news, and different themes were prominent in different mediums.

Citizens jumped onto Facebook and Twitter, many praising the military for the kill and using humor. @NZAfro tweeted, "R.I.P. Osama bin Laden- World Hide and Go Seek Champion. (2001-2011). Social media websites also hosted many discussions over if bin Laden was really dead or not.

Mainstream media focused on the details of the events leading up to and during the attack on bin Laden's compound. These outlets also spotlighted on the American and global reaction to the event.

As websites like Facebook and Twitter get even more popular, it allows the average citizen to have a say in the news and what themes get covered. Collecting information from many different mediums is vital to get the entire story because there is such a variety in the coverage. Events like this help support Marshall McLuhan's famous quote, "The medium is the message."

Photo credit: Sgt. Randall A Clinton

Read more...

Top 10 Twitter Users

Who is your favorite celebrity? Or how about musican? Are you following them on Twitter? The answer is most likely yes.

1. The most popular Twitter user at the moment is Lady Gaga, @ladygaga, with 9,127,120 followers.

2. The runner up for first place is teen singing sensation Justin Bieber, @justinbieber, with 8,492,294 followers.

3. Third place is pop star Britney Spears, @britneyspears, with 7,283,609 followers.

4. Fourth place twitter is President Barack Obama, @BarackObama, with 7,215,354 followers.

5. Fifth place is held by reality television star Kim Kardashian, @KimKardashian, with 6,962,871 followers.

6. What about former twitter champ Ashton Kutcher, @aplusk? He now has fallen to sixth place with 6,507,333 followers.

7. Top 40 singer Katy Perry, @katyperry, is in seventh place with 6,469,984 followers.

8. Television host Ellen DeGeneres, @TheEllenShow, with 6,301,221.

9. Country music superstar Taylor Swift, @taylorswift13, is in ninth place with 5,795,999 followers.

10. Tenth place is held none other than Oprah Winfrey, @Oprah, with 5,467,114 followers.

All of these famous people have the blue official Twitter symbol by their names verifying that is is the actual star. A notable mention is Charlie Sheen, @charliesheen, in 34th place with 3,331,387 followers. Remember that he started his Twitter account just a few weeks back. The number of followers that he has now is incredible.

If you want to search your favorite star follow the link to see the Top 100. Remember: that the numbers might be slightly off due to new followers every minute.

Photo Credit: Via Creative Commons

Read more...

Paradox Over Internet Privacy

This past week, President Obama introduced a radical proposition that could end with the concept of Internet-communication as we know it.

On September 27, the New York Times reported on new regulations being considered by President Obama's administration that would allow national security officials to wiretap all kinds of online-communication platforms. This bill would require all Internet-based communication companies to redesign their servers and adhere to federal security measures of wiretapping laws.

Although the bill won't be submitted to lawmakers until next year, the bill is already rising doubts and criticism. Among the opposers, one of them is Christopher Calabrese, Legislative Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Mandating that all communications software be accessible to the government is a huge privacy invasion," Calabrese said.

From e-mail to Facebook and even mobile texting, law enforcement would be able to tap private communication software and track conversations in an effort to identify possible threats to the U.S., including terrorist attacks.

Furthermore, another concern brought by this bill is the possible damage to all online-communication systems in the U.S. Bruce Schneier, a security technologist, expressed his concern of the bill in a special report by CNN.

"Communications systems that have no inherent eavesdropping capabilities are more secure than systems with those capabilities built in," Schneier continued "Any surveillance system invites both criminal appropriation and government abuse."

In other words, not only will it be easier for federal security to spy on people but criminals would be more likely to do it as well, which I think defeats the purpose of increasing security measures.
Obviously, this new bill would have a drastic impact on individuals' privacy.

The free and open sharing of ideas and thoughts and the private communication scheme provided by the Internet years ago, could be seriously damaged if this law were to be approved.

Of course, security is an important issue, but will you be willing to give up your privacy for increased security?

Read more...

Is Media Spin Wearing Thin?

Matt Lauer of NBC's "Today Show" sat down with President Obama at The White House yesterday for a wide-ranging interview.

Video of the interview was shown on this morning's "Today Show."

When asked about the political polarization of America, President Obama indicated the media is partly to blame and here's what he had to say:

Frankly, it gets spun up in part because of how the media covers politics, in the 24/7 news cycle, cable chatter and talk radio and the Internet and the blogs, all of which try to feed the most extreme sides of any issue instead of trying to narrow differences and solve problems.

I absolutely agree with President Obama! I think there is much more "sensationalism" in the news than true "journalism." I think the media puts too much spin on stories and doesn't delve deep enough for the truth; the important truth. I think they too often go for the wild and outragous to sell newspapers, magazines, etc. and don't report on the most important, meaningful issues affecting our country today. There's too much high drama reported in the news!

How about you? Do you think the media's spin is wearing thin?

Read more...

Now Hiring: The White House

Millions of Americans are currently on the hunt for a job. With many businesses laying off employees, it can be discouraging when no one is hiring.

Recently, a slightly unexpected job opportunity opened up dealing with social networks. President Barack Obama recently announced that the Democratic National Committee is in the process of hiring a new "social networks manager." According to the Wall Street Journal Blogs, the "social networks manager" is responsible for maintaining President Obama's Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace accounts.

The person currently responsible for this job is Mia Cambronero. Cambronero has recently announced that she is stepping down from her position as the "social networks manager."

According to Organizing for America's, "social networks manager" job description, applicants must be "passionate about engaging millions of Americans in advancing President Obama's agenda and changing the country."

So what does it take to become President Obama's new "social network manager?" According to the job description, qualifications include having excellent writing and editing skills, being able to craft affective messages, working under deadline pressure and many more.

The job description basically expresses their need for a professional 'tweeter,' or 'status updater.' Though the qualifications are higher than the Organizing for America's job description make it seem like, there is a chance that an ordinary U.S. citizen might end up working for the President.

If you would like more information on the job description and qualifications, or would like apply, visit the Organizing for America's "social network manager" application.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/socnetsmanager

Read more...