The News About The News

Internet videos: Not just for college students anymore

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

by Peter Merchlewitz

It seems that being a news reporter just isn't enough anymore. According to Beet TV, the Wall Street Journal is now training their new employees to not only edit, but also produce videos for their online version of the paper. As of June 2008, the Wall Street Journal has trained 185 print journalists to produce such videos.

These acts of journalism in the Internet Age just further emphasizes the importance of multi-platform journalists being able to produce news through different mediums.

I can't help but give kudos to the Communications Department at Simpson for having the hindsight to update their curriculum in the direction of new journalism abilities, thus helping students gain more experience to make them become more desirable when looking for a career in news writing in the real world.

Media Madness

By: Kelsey Knutson

A recent Fox News article reported that most of the McCain coverage in this election has been negative.

The report showed that 57% of the media coverage of McCain is negative while only 29% of the media coverage for Obama is negative. Is this right? Or does it actually matter?

Statistics like these lead people to believe that certain media groups are biased one way or another to a candidate. Especially with 24-hour news coverage of the candidates and their campaigns we begin to see opinion and "not so objective" viewpoints coming into news reports. However, you get different bias' with different media outlets and stations.

For example, Fox News is considered "more conservative" where as CNN is considered "more liberal." Does this actually matter?

I say no. I say the media plays a large role in how people view candidates; however, I also feel as those people who actually care enough to watch certain news channels to listen to what is going on in the campaign are also people who know what bias' they are hearing.

People already think what they think and know what they know. Which channel or station they choose to watch (that has which ever bias it has) just reinforces already existing views.

Halloween scare

By: Kayla Miller

I was clicking on practically every link on the Des Moines Register Web site (once again) when I came across a link that I had to blog about.

Well let me ask this. What or who would you want to be for Halloween this year? A cowgirl? A pumpkin? Heck no, you want to dress up as a superhero, right? I can tell you are dying to be either a Hillary Clinton or Sara Palin superhero! Yeah, I could say that's not really what I was thinking either.

I went to search out the new and funny Halloween costumes, and I can most definitely say I ran across a "funny". I would have never thought of dressing up as a politician.

How is this news? Well, people love to see different, new, and funny things. People like me do anyway. Crazy costumes of lady politicians will make the news considering it is election year.

All I got to say to the ladies (or men-- if you choose) is if you choose to be Palin, be sure to wink and most definitely wear those glasses.

Tweeting Journalists

By: Callie McBroom

Journalists now have a new tool to use in their reporting. Twitter. This is a rapidly growing social media service that provides a way to stay connected and communicate with others quickly and frequently.

One website describes the twitter experience as "an ongoing Headline News version of what’s happening in the minds and worlds of people you know or find interesting." This can be good for helping journalists engage personally with people and spreading news quickly.

Amy Gahran suggests using twitter on beats. She says, "Beat reporters can use Twitter on an ongoing basis to give their communities a window into, and opportunity to assist with, reporting projects -- as well as spread the word about their work in order to drive online traffic and spur public discussion."

Twitter can also be very useful when combined with blogging. Which as we know as become very important to the news industry. Maybe Twitter can add to this and help out the industry even more.

Kids vote for Obama

By: Alex Jones

Nickelodeon, a popular television station for children held an election recently that only kids can get involved with.

Accessing Nickelodeon's Web site kids are able to vote for their pick in president. This year over 2.2 million viewers voted. Naming Barack Obama as the kids' choice for president.

Nickelodeon has held this mach-election for kids every election year since 1988. Viewers have picked the next president of the United States correctly 4:5 times.

Kids were able to vote online from October 12-20th. The network sees the mach-election as a chance to get kids involved and excited about the voting process. More viewers turned up this year to vote than ever before.

This process is incredibly important for kids. They are able to get involved, get informed and therefore are more aware of the voting process when they are old enough to vote.

This method also keeps the younger generations who aren't yet old enough to vote, interested. Obviously it's working, check out the voting numbers!

Where do these rumors come from?

By: Gabe Gilson

Earlier this week, my favorite football team, the San Francisco 49ers, fired their head coach Mike Nolan. The firing was not something that anybody did not see coming as the 49ers slipped to 2-5 and have been having a lot of problems offensively.

Since the firing, Mike Singletary has been named the interim coach, changing his role from the team’s assistant coach. Singletary is a good short-term fix but everybody in the media knows that he will be just that and will most likely not be the head coach at the end of the season.

Because of this, the rumor mill all over the NFL and college football is lighting up. Many people try and speculate who will be the next coach based on what makes sense. One man that makes sense to fill this void is another Mike, Mike Holmgren (side note: the NFL is filled with coaches who are named Mike. It is really odd how many there are named Mike) Of course, Holmgren says he will stay away from football next year and does not want to coach for awhile.

Another man that would be a good fit according to those in the media is current USC head coach and former NFL head coach Pete Carroll. Bad thing for the 49ers, Carroll will decline to comment on the coaching situation. This basically means he knows he is the head of a college football dynasty and will not leave there anytime soon.

Here is how easy I think it is to start a rumor like this. Bill Cowher, who is a former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, might be the next 49ers head coach. He has been out of the league for a couple years, wants to coach again, and could possibly be a good fit.

The rumor mill in the NFL is worse than any other professional sport just because of situations like this. In all likelihood, Singletary might be the coach of the 49ers next year. Is he the best fit? 49ers fans may not think so. The media might not think so but, maybe instead of formulating opinions on who the next coach might be, they could just talk about how poor my team is.

Being truthful

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

By Kellie Green

I think that it is great that the news tries to be accurate on everything that they do. In an article that I read on The New York Observer they talked about how the New York Post had earlier this month had post a statement about Michelle Obama.

The statement had said that Michelle Obama had ordered a lobster and caviar dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. However, the statement was false. Michelle Obama was not even staying at the Waldorf-Astoria.

The New York Post reported today that this was an incorrect statement and that they apologized to the Obamas and stated that they were misinformed by their source.

I think that it is great that the New York Post did this. It shows that they really care about the truth in their news. They should have made sure of the facts before the paper was printed but it does help that they tried to correct the incident in the end.

Having true statements is essential to have in articles because statements can always lead to something bigger. Like in this case, where the Obamas were being scrutinize for something that they didn't do.

Journalists should always check their facts to make sure they are true. However, if they do make an error it is great that they come out and admit it and correct it.

That's where he's getting all that money...

The Barack Obama campaign recently confirmed that members of the media would have to pay top dollar in order to cover the senator from Chicago's Grant Park on election night.

While the cheapest option (a single 2o amp circuit) is going for $165, top spenders can get all of the luxeries for a mere $1,870.

$715 will get a reporter the cheapest credentials. What the campaign fails to mention is where, exactly, that money will go.

Journalists have the right and reponsibility to bring their viewers and readers the best information they can on the eve of this very important and historical election. And by making this move, the Obama campagin is eliminating smaller news sources from the mix of those that will be covering the event.

What will Obama start putting charges on next? The Washington Monument, perhaps? This is the exact same man who says that we need to finance more government sponsored programs for the under-privlidged, yet raises more money for his own personal campaign than any other presidential nominee ever.

And this latest taxing of the press seems to bode well for the future of this country. It seems like once long ago we tried to get away from the man that was taking our forms of communication. Maybe history does indeed, repeat itself.

Rachel Maddow doubles audience

By: Erin Floro

MSNBC has a new host for the 9 p.m. prime-time hour that is doubling the cable news channel's audience. Rachel Maddow's liberal news program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," has averaged better ratings among 25- to 54-year olds than "Larry King Live" 13 nights since airing on Sept. 8.

The number of viewers has climbed from 800,000 to 1.7 million in her short time on cable television. This makes MSNBC competitive with the top leading news networks, CNN and Fox News. Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, says it usually "takes two to three years for a show to find its audience." Maddow is finding her audience almost immediately.

She accounts for her show's success on "The Countdown," hosted by Keith Olbermann. Her show follows directly after his both in time and similarity. She is retaining over 90 percent of his viewers.

Interestingly enough, Maddow doesn't even own a television and has never watched Mr. King's program or Fox News. She wants to remain original on air.

All I want for Christmas

By: Lexie Hagerty

I read this cute little article on Broadcasting and Cable about what the average consumer wants for Christmas.

In previous years, the top three choices ranked from most desired to least desired were computers (#1), "peace and happiness (#2), and televisions (#3). This year, televisions have dropped to number six, while computers still rank in the top two.

Those who said they would buy a TV, 85 percent said it would be an HDTV or at least a 40 inch screen. About 28 percent of those people said they would buy a TV simply to prepare for the DTV transition.

After learning these statistics, I think the TV is headed in the same direction that the CD and the newspaper have gone. Soon, there won't be any left and they will become an item of the past.

It is sad to think about, considering the TV was such an extraordinary invention, but I know that people will get over the loss quickly when they are introduced to new technology.

My only question is what will this new technology be like and how crazy will it be?

Colorful Reporting

Monday, October 20, 2008

By: Adrian Aitken

One of the topics this election period brought up in the early part of the campaigns was if America was ready for an African American president. I believe this to be an okay idea to focus on because whether you like it or not is a big deciding factor. Yet to report on this the reporter needs to be objective and sensible.

Quinn and Tennent are two radio talk show hosts on The War Room with Quinn & Rose who discussed Colin Powell in regards to his racial status. Rather than focusing on his achievements and advancing his race the pair talked about which race he belonged to.

At one point they agreed Powell was a white man as he served on the Bush Administration. The hosts agreed the public as a whole also thought the same way. They then moved on to stating that after Powell left he became "black by popular demand," as stated by Quinn.

Quinn and Tennent are tarnishing the media by taking such a hot topic and playing with it like play-doh. The media isn't seen in a good light as it is now, but this type of reporting does not help. I'm not sure if the radio hosts were punished by the FCC for calling Powell an Oreo, but their credibility must have taken a dive.

Anti Web sites

By: Shauna Agan

Every once in awhile there are objections to certain media outlets and the way they report certain stories. One student in China had enough disapproval with the American media that he created his own Web site.

Jin Rao, a Chinese student, created the website anti-cnn.com. This Web site is designed so he can express his concerns about the distortions in all the Western media, and not just specifically CNN.

This site generates around 500,000 visits per day. The majority of these visits are from individuals who live in China, but many are from non-China residents.

Rao believes that the Western media does not expose the facts correctly. In an interview he conducted on China Central Television, he said his purpose in creating this Web site is to inform as many individuals as possible the truth about the people of China.

Rao would like peole to know that it is the Chinese police, and not the rioters, who killed people during the Tiebetan unrest, a series of activities to protest the Chinese rule in Tibet. He says the Western media makes it sound as if the individuals are the ‘bad’ people and not the government.

Web sites like these allow individuals to express their side of the story, especially when they believe the media is not doing them justice. I think more people should speak out when they don’t think the media is presenting the stories correctly.

One similar Web site is foxattacks.com. I think more Web sites or media sources should be devoted to showing different individuals’ perspectives on how media reports stories incorrectly.
Although I do not necessarily agree with personally attacking one individual Web site, I think it is a good idea to research inaccuracies or distortions in all sorts of media and present them to the public. Many individuals are apt to believe whatever they are told from the media, so Web sites such as anti-cnn.com are a great way for individuals to show their side of the stories media is publishing.

First Amendment Issues

By: Quinn Albrecht

A Florida high school has hit a rough patch in producing a long time running student news paper. The Red and Black has been around since 1899 and currently is putting out an addition daily.

One of their writers wrote and article and printed it that the administration was unhappy with. While it was being printed, they cut the article out of all the copies of the newspaper, over 2,000 papers.

The local media has picked up on this story and is running with it. The article was about the achievement gap of white and black students at the Hillsborough High School.

The article was not run because the administration felt that the article could harm students self esteem. Where does the First Amendment come in and protect these students, don't they have a right to print this, and a right to know?

The principal felt that he had the legal right to take that article out. Also, the students involved are not supposed to talk to other news outlets about this story.

Would the administration been better off leaving this alone, of did they in fact save their students from harm.

Curiosity killed the cat

By: Katie Anthony

For this particular blog entry, I decided to do a little bit of investigating. After story two for class and hearing "TOPIC LEAD," "TOPIC LEAD," "TOPIC LEAD," over and over again, and getting frowned upon for leads that were more than 30 words, I wanted to see how true those rules stand for real journalists. Honestly, I'm grasping at any straws I can get my hands on that will help leads not suck as much for me.

The one thing I struggle the most with leads is writing a mere topic lead. Some of us don't have the creativity like Gabe Gilson does, and if you don't believe he's creative, I'm 90 percent sure he's the only student who has hyperlinked the urban dictionary in his blog.

For my investigating, I went to GoogleNews and made a collaboration of random leads that consisted of one or two leads per section (news, entertainment, sports, etc). Overall, my findings weren't what I wanted them to be. Simply put, we've been taught correctly in class.

I was hoping to find that in at least one section the leads would run over 30 words, but all of the leads were 30 words or less. In the sports section, the two leads I pulled were both under 20 words.

There is no hope for people like me who suck at leads.

In simple terms the media may be changing, but AP style is here to stay.

Racism and Presidential candidates

By; Sarah Keller

I have been curious as to whether racism would play a factor in how people vote fore the next president. I read an article from AOL news over this subject. The article did a pretty nice job of reporting. It talked about how people who are normally considered “racist” are actually thinking about voting for Obama because of his educational background and half a Caucasian ancestry.

The article did however discuss that some people who said that they would not discriminate based on the color of skin are the ones who are voting for McCain. I am really glad that this article was written. I think that it is important for people to read about how racism could affect the presidential outcome.

Racism is a real issue that is at hand and one that needs to be discussed. It needs to be known that the next president of the United States should not be elected based on the color of his skin but rather the way he can lead our country, I feel as though some people tend to forget that key detail at times.

Online magazine gets a clean 'slate'

Saturday, October 18, 2008

By: Sara Crouse

Slate Magazine is an innovation all its own. Online magazines were relatively unheard of before 1996. Then Slate was launched with the hopes of providing an easier way to get all the latest news stories.

Slate had its difficulties in the early years though. The magazine had trouble adjusting to things such as basic web layout and fundamentals of HTML.

One reviewer, Jakob Nielsen, said, “Slate is mainly a failure due to its inability to adjust to the online medium, though it sports several promising innovations and appropriate uses of the Web.”

Besides poor adjustments to online media, Slate was also lacking in its journalism foundations. The articles were simply too long for readers. Almost all stories were well over the traditional 500 word limit.

It seems Slate has adjusted since its beginnings. In fact, its internet reach has grown 175 percent since its subscription went entirely free. Slate does offer the option of a paid subscription to certain columns if you prefer them delivered to your e-mail inbox.

Perhaps the most helpful thing for readers is Slate’s design of displaying the top headlines from national papers. Slate does a great job of giving readers quick access to the top stories of the day from various papers.

Today, the articles are still long, but they are easier to navigate. Articles are grouped into sections, and even provide hyperlinks to as many as three other opinions concerning the article.

Just this weekend, Slate took another step in making its magazine even more user friendly. The website over went a redesign that now feature three top headlines. Users can take their pick.

The redesign was also necessary for Slate’s most recent adaptations to innovations in journalism. Slate now has six blogs linked to its site. Video and podcasts also display the day’s newest stories.

The online magazine has come a long way since its start in 1996.

AP losing newspaper membership

By Austin Bates

Recently, the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, among other newspapers, announced Thursday that, in two years time, it would end its contract with the AP, from whom it gets wire services from. Other companies have announced or considered similiar moves, but none as prominent, apparently, as the Tribune Company.

This got me to thinking about what the AP's future might be. Currently, the AP, among other duties, offers wire services, multi-media content, and national sports teams coverage. Non-contributing members of the AP have to pay fees to use this material, and this seems to be the chief reason why some papers are ending their contracts (the two year notice to the AP is actually required by contract).

In another report, AP's Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll pointed out that while the Tribune Company ending their contract is worrisome, this is not the first newspaper to leave the AP. Most cases have been confidential before, though.

In any case, the profit downturn for newspapers seems to be the driving force behind some of them leaving, seeking to cut costs by ending the fees some have to pay.

By all accounts, the newspapers that are leaving will do more harm to themselves than to the AP, as the AP is looking to move toward more profitable ventures in the changing landscape of journalism, and newspapers in general are still struggling with this issue.

The AP, by its nature, has more news information, more media, from more spots, more completely than any single newspaper could hope to have, since the AP is a coalition of newspapers contributing to a central source. Apparently, some of the newspapers, with the changing percentage of actual news in their papers, are seeing the AP's services as less and less important.

Still, in the end, I wonder if the newspapers won't come back to the AP several years from now, hoping to remedy a continually decreasing level of profit. I see the AP as continuing to go strong, by the blessing of sheer mass of information and services, while individual newspapers who shun the AP's services could be "left out in the cold", figuratively speaking. I know that, considering the AP is the heart of many news feed services, the writer of the book on standard newspapers style writing, and has been around since the mid-19th century, I wouldn't readily leave their services behind.

Gas Prices

By: Katie Schaefer

Gas prices are as low as they have been in months. The price for gas hasn't been under $3 since Feb.

How did prices get so high? Why are they just now starting to drop?

Gas prices were getting so high because the price of crude oil was starting to raise. The amount of crude oil available was also starting to drop.

Still, even with these two factors how can we go from gas being $2.81 a year ago to gas becoming $3.83 the average just a month ago?

Everyone can remember when gas use to be $.99. Crude oil prices kept raising and raising until we got to where we are today. A month ago gas prices were the highest average they have ever been. Just now gas prices are finally starting to drop and become affordable again.

Experts expect that crude oil will once again drop from &74.50 to $50 a barrel, which will bring the prices down below $2.50. Some places, like Indianola, has been fortunate to already have prices below this. Walmart has their gas prices at $2.39.

As prices soared we saw less and less people on the road. Even today as "low" as the prices are, people are still hesitating to take long vacations or fly anywhere. The prices of gas fluxtuate so much that people are still worried about where and how they spend their money.

With prices starting to drop, though, people need to start taking vacations now before they start to rise.

Harmful or helpful?

By Liz Tjaden

The LA Times endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president on Thursday Oct. 16. This announcement comes as the first Democratic endorsement from the newspaper and the first endorsement of any presidential candidate since 1972.

The real question is whether this “celebrity” support has any influence on the actual voters come election day.

People want to be associated with a “winner” and to be comforted by their decision. Endorsements from these stars or companies help voters feel at ease with their choice of candidate, and therefore can be very helpful.

The idea of endorsement can be compared to parodies from Saturday Night Live and shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Some argue that this form of media has no influential power whatsoever, while others feel that they actually help people define their own perceptions of reality. When they see, for instance, Sarah Palin’s actions being exaggerated by Tina Fey, it helps point out her actual flaws through comic relief and gets the viewer interested in finding out more about her.

Ultimately it depends on the individual and whether they allow these endorsements and programs to affect their choice in the voting booth come November.

Cadidate projects

By; Sarah Keller

I came across an article on MSNBC talking about products made based off of the presidential candidates. I decided that I needed to blog about it because I found it really funny. The article discussed how people are making items such as dolls, Pez dispensers with the candidate’s heads, shirts, and even Sarah Palin paper dolls and lipstick.

I found this article to be entertaining and well reported. It might not be the most important article to write or for me to blog about, but it sure was entertaining to read about how people are making Palin lipstick, glasses, and high hills.

It just goes to show that the election is becoming as much as a show and part of the entertainment industry as some movies and television shows are. One can almost compare the candidate’s fame to such things as Hanna Montana shirts and dolls. I think that the election should be taken more seriously than just making funny items having to do with the presidential candidates, but I did find the article funny and enjoyable to read, and I must admit that I did enjoy looking at pictures of the items that are being made.

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