Lying A$$ Bit?h

Read more...

Political Figures Reporting the News

Recently, NBC News hired Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, as a full time correspondent who will be reporting "feel-good features."

Hiring this highly-politicized character seems to be a publicity stunt and an attempt to boost ratings. Many journalists find it ironic Clinton is being hired to report the news when she has showed the press the cold shoulder in the past, refusing to ever be interviewed.

Clinton has no reporting experience and this makes NBC's hiring of her look like an attempt to captivate audiences with the use of famous figures, not professionals, as their reporters.

Additionally, some question whether Clinton can be seen as a trustworthy news reporter. Since both of her parents are active political figures, how can she be seen to present the news without biases? Won't people always associate her views with those of her parents?

Even though Clinton cannot escape being linked to her political family members, her starting role as "journalist" will keep her away from hard-news and politics. Clinton will be covering the fluff stories.

Clinton is not the first person from a political family to enter the world of journalism. In 2009, Jenna Bush Hager, George W. Bush's daughter was hired to NBC as a reporter. Is getting these political figures worth potentially harming the credibility of the station? Or do these women have the potential to break away from their parents' legacies and create their own?

Read more...

The Babysitter's Club

If a picture is worth 1000 words, then an interview is worth an afternoon babysitting two teens.

According to an article from The Huffington Post, major news outlets are jockeying for the first interview with Amanda Knox with offers of babysitting Knox's two half sisters.

ABC, NBC, and CBS have all been questioned as whether they offered to look after the two girls during the trial.

While ABC's spokesperson replied with no comment, and NBC's and CBS's spokespeople denied the claims, Knox's father, Curt Knox, responded with a letter to the New York Post regarding the babysitting allegations. He stated in his letter that ABC and CBS provided rooms for his girls to stay in during the trial, and an NBC producer offered a room; however, he went on to state that no producer babysat his daughters.

These allegations, whether they are unfounded or not, pose a serious ethical dilemma to journalists every where. Quotes bring a human element into a story that news reporters can't do on their own.

Amanda Knox and other high-profile celebrities are people who readers want to hear from. Thus, due to Knox's interviewee status, her popularity can demand a price for her story.

Paying for an interview is unethical. If an interviewee doesn't want to tell his/her story without compensation, then it is up to journalists to compile a story using every other source at their disposal.

Although, the story may not feel as complete without Amanda Knox's quote but purchasing an interview is unethical to me. I believe that my credibility is worth more than a slumber party-sized pillow fight between babysitters in order to capitalize on Knox's passing 15 minutes of fame.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericskiff/3415034468/

Read more...

Olbermann is Olber-done

"In the mundane world of television goodbyes, reality is laughably uncooperative."

Those were some of the last words from Keith Olbermann's final "Countdown" Friday night. Olbermann, who was released from NBC Universal after being with the corporation since 2003, was grateful for the experiences he had while being host. No one is sure why the political pundit was booted from MSNBC, but there are some reports out there that make NBC once again the villain when it comes to releasing media personalities.

The release of the former ESPN anchor comes after two days after Comcast and Universal officially made their merger. Did the merger lead to Olbermann's ejection from MSNBC? A report from TruthOut says maybe. Senator Bernie Giffords now wants the merger to stop after believing that Olbermann being ousted was due to the merger.

NBC has its shadowy ways of how they oust their members. Most recently, it was Conan, now it's Olbermann to receive a pink slip. So what does NBC deserve?

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Read more...

Coping with Younger Generation Ignoring the News

Newspapers gone, journalists fired and education changed to cope with the digital age uprising.

The younger generation of the digital age has left the newspapers, and have moved to online

news. Unfortunately the question is still asked does this generation even pay attention to the online material?

The answer is no, they don't. The younger generation doesn't pay attention to news when they don't understand how it directly affects them.

Even with the news right online with quick and easy access, if the information isn't comprehended as having an affect on them, then there is no need to pay attention to the material.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So how do we help the younger generation grasp the fact that news is important? Start by making it important to them specifically when they are younger.

As shown in the video above, George Washington elementary has a third grade class that is being taught the importance ofblogging at a young age.

It can specifically be seen when the students are talking about blogging most of them post comments, and look at others comments.

Explained by some of these students, it helps them choose other books that they may potentially like to read because of others comments.

These students saw that the information 'posted by others' can benefit them and their choices of, in this case, books.

Essentially, these third graders are getting 'news' about books read by others. This could progress throughout their education to bigger news topics in the United States or throughout the World.

Whether it is print or online, as long as techniques like blogging show the younger generation how news affects them, there is a chance to grasp their attention.

Read more...

The New Mobile News

Huge name companies including NBC, Fox and Gannett Co. Inc. are combining to form a new national mobile content service.

They are using the current broadcast spectrum but this agreement allows the companies involved to provide mobile content to those who may not have originally able to access all these companies content. The services that are available to mobile phone users now are live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources and sports and entertainment programming.

The spectrum these companies are using is Fox, NBC and Telemundo and ION. The other nine companies providing content will be Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Gannet Co. Inc., Hearst Television Inc., Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., Post-Newsweek Stations Inc. and Raycom Media.

By joining together these companies will allow them to offer mobile video and and print news content to over 150 million people. The deal helps fulfill the Federal Communication Commission's initiative to reduce congestion on the nation's wireless broadband networks while offering the same amount of content to customers.

Read more...

Screw Fox, Conan Goes to TBS

Conan O'Brein surprises us again. After months of speculation that he would go to Fox after giving his last episode of the Tonight Show on NBC, O'Brein has shocked us all and will be launching his new late night show on TBS.

"The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November!" O'Brien said on his Twitter feed. "The bad news: I'll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show."

Thought the exact date has not been set for the premier, it will begin airing in November.

"In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable," O'Brein said.

One odd thing about he show is that it will be airing four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, instead of five.

His new show will be at 11 at night and push George Lopez's Lopez Tonight back an hour.

"I can't think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in," Lopez said. "It's the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy."

If O'Brein signed on with Fox, it was suspected that he would overtake his rival, Jay Leno, whose show is on NBC and cause O'Brein to bid farewell in the first place. Now that he is going to TBS, no one is quite sure what is to come of O'Brein or Leno.

Read more...

News Sources Show Bias as O’Brien Battles NBC

Msn recently ran an article detailing NBC's decision to remove Conan O'Brien from the late night time slot he has occupied for the last several months. O'Brien replaced comedian Jay Leno as the host of NBC's "Tonight Show," which has aired during an 11:35 p.m. time slot for 17 years. Leno was rescheduled to appear during prime time.

Since then, NBC decided to give Leno has time slot back, offering O'Brien the opportunity to do his show at an even later hour: 12:05 a.m. O'Brien refused and according to the article, will no longer be working for NBC.

Ironically, since news of this dissension reached the public, O'Brien's ratings have improved exponentially.

O'Brien and David Letterman have both used their shows to publicly take jabs at Leno and NBC. In contrast, NBC executives have spoken out praising Leno's character and villifying O'Brien's.

Read more...