Journalistic ethics: Do they exist?

By: Hannah Pickett

Two weeks ago, the newspaper I write for published a leading front page story titled "It's an Obama Nation!" regarding President elect Obama's nomination. The article centered around my editor's political Republican-based views.

One week after the article was published, a former Winterset resident wrote a letter to the editor expressing her disgust with the article's content saying that such a biased piece of work combined with the lack of taste in the headline belonged on the opinion page, rather than being passed off as fact on the front page. In her letter, she also mentioned that she was in attendance at Grant Park in Chicago when Obama gave his speech election night.

My editor chose to use her eyewitness experience only when publishing the letter to the editor, leaving out her sentiments of disgust with the paper.

After seeing this, the woman decided to purchase an ad space to express her frustration with the paper and to print her letter to the editor-unedited. The publisher heard about it and edited her ad space. Since it was an ad, a proof was sent to her and needless to say she was very upset.

After much arguing between the publisher, the woman-who turned out to be a corporate attorney, and the paper's lawyers, the decision was made to just not run the ad at all. The publisher would only run it if he could cut all the bad stuff about the paper from it, and the woman didn't want that.

I realize that the publisher and editor have the final say on what is printed and what is not, but my question is about ethics. Newspapers are supposed to have integrity and some type of work ethic. Regardless of your political standing, where was the sense of ethics when my editor decided to cut this woman's letter to the editor to serve his own needs? Is there any type of law or punishment for editing a letter to the editor or editing the content of a paid ad space?

Read more...

Free Expression Tunnel

By: Katie Schaefer

Graffiti is never something that I have got into, but for some it's a way of life. Some have grown up in parts of towns where all a person does is write on walls with spray paint.

At N.C. State University an incident occurred dealing with just that: spray painting. Four students painted racist messages on the Free Expression Tunnel on campus. Racism is already not a good thing, but the messages were specifically about Barack Obama.

The First Amendment states that we have the right to free speech, but how far is too far to stretch this Amendment?

The Supreme Court ruled that when yelling fire in a crowded theater a person is not at fault when there actually is a fire. If there is no fire, then that is where the problem and Oliver Wendell Holmes comes in.

Going back to the racist comments, though, why would people say and paint these things on the wall? Obviously they are probably thinking these thoughts, but what good is it going to do when they are spray painted on a wall?

It's not going to make the remarks more hurtful. I don't know what the students were thinking when they proceeded to write the comments, but maybe they thought by writing them it was going to cause more pain to Obama.

Read more...

Let the bashing begin

By; Sarah Keller

It is inevitable, comedians are going to be on the lookout for Obama to screw up, to say something or do something dumb or embarrassing. Then the comedians will start cracking jokes about him and never let him live it down. It may take a little more time to find something to make fun of with Obama than with previous presidents, but comedians are pretty sure that it will happen sooner or later, and once it does they will be relentless.

According to an article from MSNBC, it talked about how comedians are going to start looking for jokes to crack about the president. I think that it is sad that comedians are anticipating making fun of the president of the United States. Why must comedians bash our president?
According to the article they believe that it is going to be more difficult to find good material about Obama because he is well educated, and speaks very properly and wisely. It was easier to make fun of past presidents because of things such as Clinton and Monica, or just the fact that Bush said and did really dumb things.

“ When Barack Obama officially takes over on Jan. 20, he will not only assume duties involving the economy, health care, national security and many others, he will also be given the solemn task of providing this nation’s wisenheimers with stuff at which to make cracks,” the article said. I think its unfortunate that this type of thing happens, but the article is correct it will happen sooner of later, no matter how unimportant or immature I believe it to be.

Read more...

Blogging was a significant aide for Obama

By: Kathryn Lisk

Even though the election has passed, the media is still examining how each party ran their campaign. Many look at the tactics of both candidates and debate what did and didn't work. 

One of the biggest topics in campaigning this year has been the use of the Internet. Claire Cain Miller from the New York Times wrote a story about how President-elect Barack Obama used the Internet to his full advantage when campaigning. 

One of Miller's sources went as far as saying that the Internet was the sole reason Obama won. From using YouTube, blogs and other Web outlets as a free form of advertising, he was able to reach his audience.

 In fact, as of Nov. 6, 6.7 million people had watched his acceptance speech on YouTube.

As we've discussed multiple times in class, the media world is changing immensely. People no longer get their information from newspapers or the nightly news. Instead, people browse the Web. 

By utilizing the Internet, Obama was able to capture the young vote he needed to win. 

The way future candidates run their campaigns has been forever changed. Thanks to Obama,we can all say hello to the World Wide Web.

Read more...

General Electric conforms to blogging society

By: Allison McNeal

Blogging is a cultural phenomenon, and many companies want to get on board with this new technology.

General Electric Company recently started changing the way it communicates with the Wall Street Journal by using a company blog called GEReports.com.

This blog allows the company to share information with investors, send out press releases, and investor briefings.

According to reuters.com, GE intends for the blog to be a way of providing investors with additional information, not to replace other modes of disclosure.

"This is a tough environment, a lot of misinformation in the marketplace," GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said. "This is just a fast and simple way to punch through it and to make sure that you tell your story in a simple and engaging way."

The Securities and Exchange Commission ruled this summer that other U.S. companies may use their Web sites to distribute market-sensitive information.

Companies like Wal-Mart and Boeing Company have started to implement blogs as a way of communicating with customers, investors, and employees.

GE tested out this new communication tactic by using the blog to tell investors of its planned $2 billion in cost-cutting measures next year at GE Capital.

The company did not decide to issue a press release because it wanted to release the information directly to the Web site, where it would be faster access for consumers.

Even though blogs are an efficient way to convey information, there are some technical handicaps.

Some investors are concerned with disclosing information on market-sensitive news because some investors may be at stake.

GE's shift allows investors and journalists to seek out news rather than having it delivered to them.

Disclosing developments on the Web makes the information available to all readers at the same time, while professional channels serve their paying customers called professional traders.

Howard Anderson, professor of entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, said that blogging will help out GE's company image.

Anderson expects more companies to follow GE's lead in reaching out directly to markets.

"People follow GE whatever they do," Anderson said. "Even if they're dead wrong, they follow GE."

Read more...

Looking back to look foward

by Peter Merchlewitz

As many of you know, the media world is in a transition age, changing from newspapers and newscasts, to the Internet and streaming video to get our news nowadays. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we should forget all that we learn as news reporters from using an older medium.
In John McIntyre's You Don't Say, McIntyre interviews 2 of his colleagues from the American Copy Editors Society, Doug Fisher and David Sullivan, and their thoughts about mixing old and new reporting to get a desired outcome.

"Professor Fisher’s frustration:

[A]s I have gone around making a presentation on how to use new digital tools to stay connected, the response in some newsrooms and at conferences has been tepid at best in many cases and downright hostile in others (along the lines of how am I supposed to do my job with all this, to which I often have wanted to respond, this is going to be your job, dammit)."

"Mr. Sullivan’s frustration:

Too many journalists think the reader's pleasure is irrelevant, that the reader picks up the newspaper either to be instructed or to sit in awe of the literary talent being presented in it. In short, too many journalists are too full of themselves to succeed in the 21st century, when a newspaper needs to focus on what its readers want, since the readers' choices of what to do with their time seem limitless. That is the challenge for young journalists of the 21st century, who I hope will save us all."

So the challenge is twofold. We have to master the new technologies, both to acquire useful information and to convey it in the form in which readers prefer to receive it, and we have to do some hard thinking about who those readers are and what they are interested in reading.

Read more...

College newspapers online

By: Callie McBroom

MediaShift reports that some college campuses have come a long way in going online. Still many others have a long way yet to go.

Bob Bergland, a professor at Missouri Western State University, found that 36 percent of a random sample of college newspapers had no web presence at all.

Online journalism can be problematic for college newspapers because of lack of funding. Additionally, campus readership of the printed product remains high compared to industry standards.

Another problem for college papers is an ever-changing staff. Student journalists graduate quite frequently, and new ones take their place. These replacements might not have the same skills as a graduating journalist.

MediaShift references San Francisco State University, University of Washington, and Eastern Illinois University as examples of good online formats.

This story leads to the question, "How far away is the Simpsonian from going online?"

Read more...

MVP? No, Give Them An Oscar

By: Kelsey Knutson

It's nothing new to see all-star athletes give all-star performances - acting performances. 

According to a New York Times article NBA stars put on high quality acting performances on the court. Driving to the basket and letting out yelps and screams, trying to get the attention of officials. 

The game's biggest stars are among some of the names being thrown around by officials for Oscar performances - Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James. 

According to Bernie Fryer, former NBA player and official that now oversees officiating in the league said, "Anytime anybody goes to the hoop they yell or scream."

Players say that trying to get the call to go their way is just a part of the game. However, many officials are getting tired of it and the players are just setting a bad example for younger kids. 

These NBA stars are just finding another reason for publicity and the media is feeding into it. The sports industry has always been in line with the entertainment industry, and the whole business feeds around the media coverage. 

The show is getting old and nobody even cares anymore - so they need to stop doing it. 

The game needs to be about the game, about the competition, and about winning. Not about the press coverage and you're image. 

Keyon Dooling, a point guard in the NBA had this to say, "It used to show that you were being aggressive. Now, its more so that you can get a foul. If you're a good player and you yell, that'll get you a whistle. But if you're an average player - you need to pick your body up and get back on defense."

Read more...

Broadcaster trampled getting the story

By: Erin Floro

 

The frenzy and excitement at the conclusion of a recent college football game nearly cost Bob Brooks his life.  Fans trampled the Cedar Rapids radio announcer after Iowa upset third-ranked Penn State in Iowa City after a last second field goal.

 

The 81-year-old Brooks has been in broadcasting for 67 years and says this is the first time something like this has happened to him.

 

After being helped back on his feet, he made his way to the locker room.  After all, he had some interviewing to do.

Read more...

Listening in

By Kellie Green

People are always interested in the news no matter how they get it. In class we have been working on radio reporting our news instead of the newspaper format. Is live recordings of news going to take over print version?

When ever you are online reading an article you usually see the symbol that looks like a little microphone next to the text. Usually that is the recording of the text so that people can hear it.
While browsing through the The New York Times online I came across more than a hand full of these just on the first page.

Live recording is very important to have for people who have troubles reading but it seems that no one wants to read anymore. People are watching TV or listening to the radio instead of reading about the news.

It may seem that internet is taking away from newspapers, which in a post I did previously I said I believed, but now I think that TV, radio and internet are going to push newspapers out of the way. People would rather hear they news now instead of read it.

Read more...

Jumping the gun

By: Jessica Hartgers

Gun sales are going through the roof, according to WHO TV News at 10. Dealers, suppliers, and customers can't get their hands on enough machinery.

Citizens are in a panic after the recent presidential election, announcing Barack Obama to be our president-elect. Obama is known for being unpredictable on his voting in office regarding gun laws, and citizens are worried the future president will take away our rights to own fire arms. The panic has caused gun sales to go through the roof.

The coverage of this story that aired on WHO put panic into many people, and it should. It is uneasy to think that individuals are rushing to gun stores to buy whatever fire arms they please and are stalking up on bullets and ammunition. Do people really plan on using these fire arms or are they just making these purchases to despise our future president?

Individuals have the right to bear arms, but they should be educated about their piece of equipment and understand the consequences that could come out of it.

Read more...

Top stories

By: Jessica Hamell

One of KCCI’s leading stories tonight was about how a flamingo escaped from the Blank Park Zoo. They reported that the flamingo had flown away and was later caught on the Blank Park Golf course.

I don’t get why this makes big news. It is not threatening to anyone around Des Moines. Although it is something that doesn’t happen very often birds do fly away.

I have barely heard any news about how Iraq is in the process of potentially signing an agreement that the U.S. troops all be out by 2011. Why would the News not take this story and run. I find it a very compelling story that Iraq thinks that they are ready to lead their own country.

The Iraq story is more effective on people around Des Moines that a flamingo escaping. Maybe I am biased because my brother will be going to Iraq but a War should make bigger headlines.

Read more...

Ex-priest requests trial be moved

By: Erin Floro

 

An 85-year-old former priest, James Janssen of Davenport, has asked his perjury trial to be moved from Scott County.  He is accused of lying to a court in April 2006, testifying under oath that he did not transfer assets to a nephew. 

 

His lawyer cites publicity in recent years of Janssen’s accusations of sexually abusing minors as being an issue.  Prospective jurors would probably know of these charges and have an opinion formed of the former priest. 

 

With the extensive news coverage today by different forms of media, I bet it would be hard to escape public knowledge of any high profile case unless you live under a rock.

Read more...

Men denied press passes sue NYPD

By: Erin Floro

 

Three men are suing the New York Police Department, claiming they were denied press credentials without much explanation in 2007.  Each had possessed one in the past.

 

Now all are working for nontraditional or online news outlets and claim they have been unfairly denied credentials for this reason.  They feel their 1^st Amendment right of freedom of speech and of the press is being violated.

 

Two kinds of credentials are issued.  One is a working press card for full time journalists covering breaking news on a regular basis.  The other is a press identification card for those employed by “a legitimate news organization” that don’t normally cover breaking news.  The first one allows the journalist to cross police lines at emergencies and the second one doesn’t. 

 

We can’t really have everyone who claims to be a reporter crossing police lines; it would be too chaotic.  Who should be considered legitimate?  Criteria used for issuing badges seem a little vague.  Maybe this lawsuit is what it will take to change it.  

Read more...

No, our world is not coming to an end

By: Shauna Agan

When reading through the newspapers and internet news, it seems as if every headline is depressing. Sometimes I think the world is coming to an end just reading the headlines.

On CNN.com, headlines read, “What if we don’t bail out Big Three?”, “Obama struggles with lobbyist promises” and “Hunger among U.S. children skyrockets”. This is just to name a few.

Similarly, on MSNBC.com, readers view headlines such as, “Strapped for cash, many raid nest egg” and “Experts warn of water shortages by 2080”.

Although there are obviously other headlines that are not negative or depressing, it just seems lately that most headlines are depressing. The headlines seem as if our world is continuously going downhill with no hopes to turn around and run back uphill.

Most headlines deal with the bailout plan, our economy, or families who cannot make ends meet. A headline can say a lot about how our world is doing.

It might be the case that most current events are misfortunate things that are happening, but if all stories do is depress readers, people won’t want to read the news anymore.

Reporters have a duty to go searching for positive stories as well. Even if most of the news happening is depressing, it is refreshing to hear something positive about our world every once in awhile.

No, our world is not really coming to an end, but a reassurance would be nice.

Read more...

Journalists decide pop culture

By: Sara Crouse

Hype about an upcoming movie or TV show can often lead to increased viewers. In fact, in most cases the advertising and marketing hype prior do generate better ratings.

Journalists flock to the scene locations of the 'biggest' shows, and get inside tips from the cast members. Journalists hope the inside information on the ‘most-watched TV show’ is the news viewers and readers alike want to hear.

Entertainment Weekly magazine recently published a great article on why certain shows get publicity over others, and why critics/journalists chose to pay specific attention to particular TV shows. With his/her own best interest in mind, a journalist will publish the story closest to the hearts of the people.

Whether that story is about the true life of an ordinary person with some sort of gut-wrenching twist, or the extravagant ‘one could only hope for’ life of a privileged young adult, it matters what people watch.

Well what were journalists thinking with their recent trend of interviewing the stars of the TV show Gossip Girl over the stars of One Tree Hill?


Perhaps journalists thought the plot line of upscale New York prep school teenagers would be more appealing to pop culture than the lives of straight-out-of-college young adults just trying to find their way in the real world.

Whatever the reason, recent news articles and marketing campaigns have been highly geared towards generating interest in Gossip Girl. Little has been heard of One Tree Hill since its early years in 2003-2006.

Gossip Girl related items and stories can be found everywhere in department stores, while One Tree Hill is a little harder to find.

Yet 3.6 million viewers tune in on Monday nights for One Tree Hill , while only 2.2 million viewers take the time each week to watch Gossip Girl.

Journalists may have it wrong this time about which story is news even if it is soft news.

Read more...

Switching careers

By:Quinn Albrecht

Many people have found it difficult to maintian their job in journalism. With so many things changing in the fields of journalism people must change to keep up.

Many newspapers have websites as well as putting out print editions. They do this so that people can get the news whenever they might need it. This is a great way for newspapers to stay busy. But they are having trouble, because they are moving to new media structures.

They are hiring outside of the news writing to get journalists. They are getting people from TV stations to help with production.

TV stations are doing a very similar things, getting journalists from newspapers to help write stories to the web.

This is just another step in the ever changing media structure of the world we live in.

Read more...

Please feel free to comment

By Austin Bates

I was interested recently by a blog post at Lost Remote dealing with comment sections on website articles, especially concerning television and newspaper related websites. For the most part, I agree with the what the author, Don Day, says about comments. Ironically, though, the bulk of the conversation and discussion about comments on websites occurs in the comment section of the blog post.

I have to say that my experience with what I've seen and done in comment related sections is very similiar to what was talked about in Day's blog. Comments for an article or topic tend to vary between being intelligently written and with well made points, to being pointless, mindlessly agressive attacks on other people. The worst situation is when such debates begin well-intentioned enough, and then just devolve into flame wars.

It seems that the content of such comments sections largely depend on the demographic likely to consume the article that goes with the comments section. Obviously, if the article concerns something to do with the younger generations, you can expect it to be filled mostly with uneducated hate speech and flame attacks. With articles that are more geared to older generations, they tend to be considerably more controlled and intelligent. Typically, as well, it seems, the larger the audience to which a particular website appeals to, the more likely they are to receive a lot of negative, pointless comments.

But what about the usefulness of such sections, as Day and the commentators below his post ask? I have to say I agree with some of the commentators on this: while comment sections can become wildly off-topic and inappropriate, they ultimately serve as important public forums. Those with the paper might pick up leads and inside information into other stories or future stories through comments posted about an online article. But if nothing else, comment sections can serve as they were intended to serve: as a means of feedback for how well the story was received, and thus, as a means of improvement for the article.

In the end, I believe that online articles would be fine with or without comment sections, though such sections add a level of interactivity and contribution that readers of hard copies might not otherwise have. Ultimately, it might be better for any online article to have comment sections, whether they are used or not, in order to ensure that that option is open to readers.

Read more...

Sacrifice from change

By: Katie Anthony

Almost directly following my last blog (in which I so nicely told people to suck it up and deal with the changes), I got a call from home.

My dad, who is an electrical engineer, has been in Germany since Monday for work. This isn't unusual however because he's normally out of the country once every three or four months (if not more).

On top of his travels, he also has daily conferences with France and Germany to keep in touch with the prototypes and adaptations going on overseas.

Well, the phone call entailed my dad telling me that he won't be traveling nearly as much anymore. Why? Because the Germans decided they didn't "need or want to see him."

Rude? Kind of. But I was intrigued, so I asked him to explain it to me. All of the companies he's working with (there are too many to list) have come to the conclusion that they can get all of the "attention and motivation" they need/want through their daily video conferences.

While I realize that it's communication in general, I saw this change as a sort of representation for the changing media.

People are going to conclude (most likely), that they don't "need or what to read newspapers anymore," because they can get all of their information from the internet or from the television.

I also took time to just sit down and reflect over these changes. I think that sometimes, we get so focused on the media changes (granted, that's what we're blogging over), that we forget that everything is changing-not just the media.

Read more...

The blame game

By: Katie Anthony

It seems that every day we're reminded of the constant dwindling numbers of newspaper circulation.

So, needless to say, when I read the title, "The Latest Death-of-Journalism Spat, Condensed for Easy Reading!" it caught my attention.

Craig Stoltz, summarized the futile blame game that took place between Jeff Jarvis and Ron Rosenbaum.

What were they fighting about?

The fought about who they can point the finger at as to why print journalism (newspapers specifically) is dwindling down to (eventually) nothing.

Yes, we all know that the media industry is changing. And yes, we all see newspaper numbers slimming down.

However, what is blaming someone or something going to do to make anything better? The answer? It won't do anything.

C'mon guys, there's no use crying over spilled milk. I'm sure you could find more productive things to argue about.

Not to even mention the things they could be doing with their time (writing new stories, brainstorming new ideas) instead of bickering about something that they can't do anything about.

So, suck it up and deal with the changes, or find a new job. Sadly enough, that is the reality.

Read more...