Obama merchandise hawked by papers

By: Erin Floro

 

After the recent election of Barack Obama newspapers are trying to make money off this historic event.  Since revenues are down at most newspapers, it sounds like a good idea to me.

 

The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times are selling memorabilia such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, and key chains with Obama’s image.  Big items now are reproductions of the Nov. 5 front page headlining Obama’s victory.  A framed edition front page with brass plating can be yours for only $299 plus shipping and handling from the NY Times.

 

After searching the LA Times Web site, I came across other items available for purchase such as buttons, dolls, clocks, and even bobble heads.  This paper reports $686,000 in sales of Obama merchandise.

 

I think this is smart of the newspapers to make additional revenue.  As a consumer I would personally buy an item from a newspaper before I would a t-shirt or souvenir shop.  These items would be of quality material and appropriate.

Read more...

College newspapers suffer from poor economy

By: Erin Floro

 

The increasing decline of print advertising revenue has hit newspapers hard all over the United States.  College newspapers are no exception.

 

The economy has nosedived so badly that papers have had to make cutbacks in such areas as frequency of issues, size of paper, and number of pages.  Other papers have had to reevaluate their budget by trimming expenses such as travel and dining. 

 

Many financial and consulting firms that normally recruit through advertising have cut back or stop doing so altogether. 

 

National companies that target college students as consumers are cutting their own costs by reducing advertising.  They probably figure a college student doesn’t have much extra money to spend on their product.  So why advertise in a college newspaper?

 

I’m sure our very own paper, The Simpsonian, has also felt the crunch.  Lets hope that it can continue to be the nations longest running college newspaper.  

Read more...

NPR's vlog

By: Callie McBroom

NPR announced the launch of a new type of blog today. It is called a Vlog, which is a video blog. Wikipedia says that vlogging consists of regular entries embedded with video or video links that also employ text and still images. Vlogs can also be distributed by RSS feeds, allowing "automatic aggregation and playback on mobile devices and personal computers."

NPR's vlog named "Open Mike" is set up on a YouTube channel called Weekend Edition.

Scott Simon, the host for Weekend Edition Saturday held his first interview with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams. Liane Hansen will soon be holding her first interview on the vlog as the host for Weekend Edition Sunday.

NPR is also asking its readers for suggestions about future guests for the vlog.

Read more...

Abusive blogs

By: Callie McBroom

Blogs have become very popular with many different people who use them for very different reasons. But now, this popularity and the tendency for blogs to be posted anonymously is causing problems.

Both John McIntire and Words at Work have recently been discussing the need to have some sort of control over what is said in blogs. This issue has surfaced because some bloggers are abusing others over the internet.

This is not only a problem for the abused bloggers, however. Annoying and abusive posts can also deter other people from posting a comment, for fear that they will receive the same treatment. This defeats the purpose of blogging.

Now the question remains, who will decide what should and shouldn't be said? And, who will make sure that First Amendment rights are upheld while protecting bloggers from unnecessary attacks?

Read more...

No job? Blog!

By Liz Tjaden

In celebration of my upcoming graduation from Simpson in a few weeks without a job, I would like to shed light on a blog that can help journalists who have been laid-off.

According to Lost Remote, a blog has been launched by Six Apart called the "TypePad Journalist Bailout Program". It allows journalists to post stories and new events. They don’t promise the blog to be a full-time replacement for a lost job, but it does provide a place for journalists to post their opinions and news in a public forum.

Plus, this service is free so people don't feel the burden of shelling out money they don't have in order to get their work out.

With layoffs and bailouts consuming the media news, it is nice to hear about people, especially journalists, being “saved” by the help from others.

Read more...

Newspapers endangered

By: Hannah Pickett

Scientifically speaking, in the animal kingdom when a species starts to trail off they go on the endangered species list, a precursor to extinction. If journalism careers were categorized the way the animal kingdom is, newspapers would be dubbed endangered.

Many small town newspapers throughout the state of Iowa, and around the nation are having to close shop. There are many different reasons for the newspaper's endangerment. Some say it's the economic crisis, others say it's the internet phenomenon. This doesn't just pertain to small town papers, however. In the past year, the Des Moines Register laid off much of its staff.

Newspapers can survive on a skeleton staff. For example, in Winterset, the newspaper staff is four people to put out a 22 page paper weekly. It can be done; it just requires hard working employees. The point is, however, if major newspapers are cutting staff, some who have worked their for many years, what does that mean to the college journalism student?

If the current jobs are being cut right now, imagine what it will be like in a couple of years when college graduates are looking for jobs. Regardless of the reasoning behind small town papers folding, right now it is a really scary time to be a journalism major with no job security foreseeable in the future.

Eventually, newspapers will probably be taken over by the internet. Until then, where are the jobs?

Read more...

Activists use Internet to get word out

By: Allison McNeal

Social activists are distributing their message to a new audience: the Web.

Nonprofit groups have recently started to construct demonstrations on YouTube and use social networking sites like Facebook to get the word out.

The different strategies the groups have implemented are the use of animated 3-D characters to protest the global shortage of drinking water and having Web companies that allow individuals to create their own charity.

WaterPartners International is one of the companies to incorporate a global safe drinking water campaign.

This company could have promoted their campaign by visually showing the effects of safe drinking water, but instead used the Internet as their means of communication.

According to Nicole Wickenhauser, a company spokesperson, said that it saved time and money by putting their campaign online and through animated, virtual characters built from actual people.

As a result, daily Web traffic doubled at WebPartners site during the campaign and also attracted support from around the globe.

With Web based activism, it encourages ordinary people to start up their own campaigns.

Another campaign that has started up is Yourcause.com.

Yourcause.com has allowed citizens to create their own charity and is similar to sites like MySpace.

According to cnn.com, "the new site allows a person to do everything a charity traditionally does [like] raise money and awareness and recruit support."

Matthew Combs, the site's co-founder, said his site designs Web pages and vets charities for people who don't have the time or expertise to do it themselves.

Other social network sites like MySpace are starting to support activists and have an "impact" page that connects users with political and charitable causes.

YouTube has also recently launched a "Nonprofits and Activism" channel for consumers.

With these new technologies, the Web has become a crucial source for nonprofit fundraising and has shown how involved Americans are.

$550 million has been donated online in 2001, and the number grew to $10.4 billion in 2007.

Online companies have shown that social activists can help reach a larger audience and that change can be imminent in the near future.

"Real change is most often accomplished by committed individuals working together for a cause they feel passionately about," Wickenhauser said. "Whether they work together virtually or in person is less important."

Read more...

Catholic priest honored by Jewish paper

By: Erin Floro

The Forward, a national Jewish newspaper, included a catholic priest, Rev. Paul Ouderkirk of Postville, in its annual list of 50 most influential people in Judaism.  The list usually includes only Jews.

Ouderkirk was honored for his work with former workers of Agriprocessors Inc.  In May, federal agents raided the company and 400 workers were arrested on illegal immigration charges.  The company is the largest producer of kosher meat.  

The 75-year-old retired priest, who speaks fluent Spanish, served the Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants who sought help after the raid.  He aided workers and their families in obtaining food and shelter.  

The editors of the paper considered the Agriprocessors controversy a top story in Judaism in 2008.

Read more...

Health web sites

By: Lexie Hagerty

An article in the International Herald Tribune reported that the Kaiser Family Foundation is hoping to start their own Web site to cover the health issues that are being pushed aside by other media who's budgets are going down the drain.

The family thinks that even with the economic downturn, their website will succeed, because of the need to stay aware of all health related issues.

I think this is a good idea. The Kaiser Web site will be a good source for any person who wants to know the latest in any health issues. The Web site also hopes to be connected to other news organizations as well.

I think that with the frightening and sketchy health issues of today, it is important for anyone to stay connected to health news. It allows people to stay aware and what to look out for, especially in this winter season.

Plus, there are lots of things that people can do to prevent the spread of diseases. Hopefully, these new health Web sites will keep people updated and not push the issues aside.

Read more...

Update your Web site!

By: Shauna Agan

Recently, an article on CNN.com was posted about the 25 best cities to find a job. Four of these cities were in Iowa. They were Ames, Iowa City, Des Moines, and Sioux City.

These figures were based on this year’s unemployment rate compared to last years and job growth.

Checking out DesMoinesRegister.com, there are many interesting articles, but none about this particular find.

It is surprising to me to find that a local newspaper that most of Iowa reads has not yet reported something this important. Four of the cities in Iowa are listed as top cities to find a job during tough economic times.

This is significant for Iowa. It shows that Iowa is doing something ‘right’ economically, but why hasn’t the Des Moines Register reported it yet?

As a local newspaper, one duty is to be aware of significant things such as these. Reporters should constantly be checking larger media outlets to make sure they have not missed anything significant.

If just one of the reporters had checked CNN.com, this story would be posted on the Web site of the Des Moines Register. Regardless of the fact that this story will more than likely appear in the Des Moines Register tomorrow, I believe it should have been reported on the Web site tonight.

This is big news for Iowa, but if Iowans follow local news via the Internet, this story is nowhere to be found. An update of the DesMoinesRegister.com Web site would be favorable.

Read more...

Who cares?

By: Adrian Aitken

The Politico published a story about the extracurricular activities that Barack Obama partakes in. They focused on what Barack does during his Sunday mornings. According to the article the president elect has missed church the past few weeks to workout at the gym instead.

I don't understand this what so ever. Shouldn't the media be more focused on what our future has in store rather than Barack's religious habits. The article then compares Obama to President Bush.

Apparently George W. Bush has also missed a few services. I cant say for the publisher of the paper but I can forgive the president for being too busy to attend church. The Politico is being too shallow in reporting during such important times in America.

Read more...

Hurricane Ike

By: Quinn Albrecht

In early September Hurricane Ike was approaching the Texas Coast in a hurry. News outlets were trying to figure out what they were going to do to keep people in the know about the breaking news.

They set up blog sites where people could post things and read up about new information about the up coming hurricane. Readership skyrocketed to new highs, sometimes even getting a million views per hour.

They also set up networks through cell phone blogging, so people could stay connected even if they did not have power. This picked up after the hurricane made landfall.

I think in the future more sites will be doing this 24/7 so that people can read the news where ever when ever. It wont take a natural disaster for them to gain the motivation to keep that up.

Read more...

Newspaper standards

By: Taylor Browning

As I was searching through the Internet for my topic I fell off track with my short attention span onto some pretty outrageous headlines. One headline in particular was Pirates' luxury lifestyles on lawless coast.

With so much information a click away and the spectrum of news being reported, it is easy to see why newspapers are still holding on. The more I thought about it, well known newspapers have become a standard guideline for news reporting, even within their own online version.

There is no need to sort through the newspaper for 'meaningful' news because there aren't links, videos and other added things to draw the reader away from what is at the heart of the newspaper.

We talked in class how there are knock-off magazines of People Magazine, because they are a standard. Maybe newspapers don't have that much to worry about in the technological world if they keep setting the bar high and maintain their standard.

Read more...

Code of Ethics

By: Kayla Miller

It's one thing to commit suicide. But it's different story when you post a video of your suicide on the internet. And of course this makes national news. Is this right?

CNNs Prime News reports that 19-year-old Abraham Briggs commits suicide live on Justin.tv last Wednesday. This suicide is now known to all viewers, and now I'm sure people aren't trying to look for the suicide video.

Is this ethical for journalists to make this national news? Think of Briggs's family. It is only making matters worse to have them know that their child's suicide is on television. I thought jouranlists were supposed to "show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage" according to the Harrower text.

To me, it is wrong to make it national news. I know if I had a child, I wouldn't want his suicide being known to everyone, even people they don't know. Next time maybe they should think twice before putting it on the air.

Read more...

Best man for the job

By: Gabe Gilson

Kansas State University has made news again in College football for a recent decision that the University has made. Three years into the Ron Prince era of Wildcat football, they decided to let their coach go and hire back the man that brought the school the greatest amount of success, Bill Snyder.

Snyder was the coach that brought the program 136 wins over his 16 year hiatus. He is also a 69 year-old white man. Prince is a 39 year-old African-American and his firing made it so there are no African-American coaches out of the 119 Division-I football teams.

On Monday’s episode of Around the Horn on ESPN, Woody Paige who writes for the Denver Post said it was an awful idea for Kansas State to bring back Snyder without even interviewing any other candidates. He also said it would be smart for all football programs to have to interview at least one minority candidate for a position as the head coach.

The media has voiced its displeasure recently about the lack of diversity in college football coaching. While it does seem like an unfair problem, it seems as if it has been blown out of proportion lately. Most colleges try and hire the best man for the job, at least I would think. Until the African-American candidates become the best person for the job, this sad trend will continue.

Read more...

Oh my God

By: Alex Jones

Where is God's place in the journalism world? For talk radio reporter it sure isn't on talk radio.

Carolyn Lewis a talk radio voice for "an especially churchy" audience was fired after a discussion about abortion. The conversation brought her to the conclusion that she was weary of anyone that claimed to know what God wanted people to do. 

For something so minor, it is surprising that she was fired. Especially in a country that promotes free speech. So where does the news draw the line? Why is religion many times, the exception? Reporters are sometimes reluctant to cover religious controversial topics.

I believe in free speech and I also believe that no topic should be taboo, religion is no exception!

Read more...

"Slow blogging" is a flop

By: Kathryn Lisk

Sharon Otterman from The New York Times wrote a story on Sunday about how today's blogging world is too fast-paced for its own good. 

Slow blogging, which was inspired from the slow food movement, argues that quality writing can take time. Just like fast food, which can be consumed occasionally yet isn't healthy on a regular basis, immediate blogs shouldn't be the only form of news for readers. 

Slow bloggers said they take their time with what they write and can spend a month or more in between blogs. They said writers from Web sites like Huffington Post, who publish up to 50 entries a day, aren't thorough enough with their work.

I understand the phenomenon of slow blogging and respect writers who examine their work and add artistic style. But little is achieved from a few bloggers fighting against others who post their thoughts on the internet faster. 

Writing about breaking news a month later makes the story entirely irrelevant. 

Furthermore, how is this issue any different than the way stories are written in newspapers? Regardless of how fast a blogger posts, news will continue to unfold. Faster blogs just mean faster news for the public. Where's the problem?

Read more...

Spiders and grapes.

By: Sarah Keller

Spiders, I absolutely hate them. I do not know what it is about them that scare me so much, if it is the way they look and all of those legs that come crawling toward me. Or if it is the fact that there are some poisonous spiders out there that could possibly bite me and kill me, though very unlikely. Whatever the reason is, I know that I hate them.

When I was looking on the internet the other day I came across an article about one of my favorite things; grapes, and one of my least favorite things; spiders. I decided to look further and read the article to see what it was about.

The article was an opinion piece by Geoff Williams from Wallet Pop. Williams talked about a woman who bought grapes from Costco, and was washing them and found a spider in them. The woman did research on the spider to find out what kind of spider it was. It turned out that the spider was a black widow, one of the most deadly spiders there are.

After reading the article it made me realize that I really should wash my fruit out before eating it like I was always told to do, but never chose to actually do. You never know what you will find in your fruit so you should be careful. The article talked about how it is more common than people may realize to find a spider in your fruit.

I think the article did a nice job of supporting both the woman’s anger at Costco for finding a deadly spider in her grapes, and a nice job of supporting Costco’s side by talking about how the grapes are organic and natural, not dripping with pesticides, because if they were the spider would have been dead. Also you cannot expect the store to thoroughly check every grape. Luckily for the lady and everyone else who may come across a black widow, the journalist said that no one had been killed by a black widow since the 1960’s. The article definitely made me think twice about cleaning fruit before eating it; I don’t want to be the one to eat my biggest fear in my favorite fruit.

Read more...

The headlines that shouldn't be

By Austin Bates

As I scanned the headlines concerning news behind the news, I came across one very short, very simple post that pointed out something very simple about a fairly simple headline: was anyone thinking about this before it was printed? The headline in question read "Ruler can't measure Johnson's impact."

Now, I'm sure that more than a few people will read that headline and think nothing of it, and when they see the snickers around them, might honestly shrug their shoulders in confusion. But chances are that the majority of those who read the headline will instantly think of something quite different and involuntarily burst into laughter at a very poorly worded headline.

In all reality, badly worded headlines of that kind of magnitude are fairly rare. Yet enough crop up from time to time for comedians to make a living off of them. Case in point, Jay Leno's "headlines" skit that he performs every Monday night on "The Tonight Show".

My point in all of this is this: how do headlines like these make it to final print without somebody stopping it and saying, "Wait a minute, you think this is appropriate?" All they would really need to do is show the headline to a young adult, and if the headline elicits a snicker or a laugh out of them when it wasn't supposed to, you know you wrote something the wrong way. In the end, the publisher of said headline could avoid quite a bit of embarrassment.

Read more...

A change for the season

By: Lexie Hagerty

I am sitting at my computer and listening to Christmas music. I love Christmas music and find that in any setting, it helps me get in to the Christmas mood.

Next, I look at my TV, where I am learning how to make the perfect Christmas meal for that anticipated holiday morning.

During the commercials, "The Twenty-five Days of Christmas" along with Christmas sales and specials are being advertised.

I get out my daily newspaper and check out the funnies, all associated with the holidays.

What is my point? My point is that in my last few blogs, I have done nothing but critique the media for its views and its way of doing things.

This time, however, I am not in the mood to do so. After all, it is the holidays and nothing is on my mind but the Christmas spirit and delightful snow days.

At this point, I want to commend the media for instilling this delight and this Christmas spirit into my everyday life. Even though, the media is everywhere and can influence anyone at any time, it is times like these, where I don't think that is such a bad thing. Thank you!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Read more...