Obama: Health care anger not race-based

By: Bobby Reese

President Obama has said this past week that he believes the people who have spoken out against his plan for health care are outraged by "the proper role of government," and not by racism. This is a big deal because for the first time in the history of our country we have to worry about people being against the President's agenda's and policies because of his race. Obama knows that is how things work as well. "Absolutely. Sometimes they vote for me for that reason, sometimes they vote against me for that reason." Obama's Presidency has been very unique so far because of his race, but he still tries to stick to the political side of things.

However, President Obama thinks that more people are starting to concentrate more on the issue instead of skin color. I also believe that over time more people are starting to put race aside and starting to find their true feelings about Obama because of the way he wants to run the country. Earlier this week when Obama was addressing congress Republican representative Joe Wilson shouted "you lie!" to the president. And it is always interesting to wonder if race is a key reason for such outbursts. Never has a representative had such an outburst against a president before Obama. Former President Jimmy Carter believes that the comment against Obama was because of race. Obama still believes that it is all about the politics at this point, and all he can do is keep moving forward and trying to push his policies through.

Read more...

Michael Jordan redefines Hall of Fame

Michael Jordan is one of, if not the most, recognizable sports figures to ever live. From his Banned Jordan I shoe to his "tell me commercial," whatever MJ did became cool.

Through his career, the ultra-competitive Jordan used his doubters to fuel his competitive fire and become the best basketball player to play the game. Jordan won every individual award, set new records, and won six NBA titles during his time in the NBA.

So when Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 11th, 2009 we shouldn't have expected anything else but for him to re-write the books again. Jordan freely called out all of his doubters, joked with them, and thanked them for their inspiration. His speech has been criticized by some and praised by others, but Michael was just being Michael.

Jordan is a rare breed, he's just Mike and it just so happens that everything he does becomes trendy or cool. So when Jordan recapped his career during his speech I watched in awe at his charisma, passion, and competitiveness. What else can we ask of each other or our kids than to be yourself no matter what the press or doubters say?

Read more...

Trust in News Media Falls to New Low in Pew Survey

By Laura Reid

According to recent research, trust in news media is declining. Those surveyed said that the news is becoming more inaccurate and reporters are becoming more biased in their stories.

Credibility in the news world was up in the 80s and 90s, but the surveyers have said that the news media are not getting the facts straight. These research came from being asked the same questions that were presented to the surveyers in the past decades.

Negative opinions about the news have grown, but the Democrats have jumped the most in their dislike of how the news is being portrayed.

The news industry has really been hurting and I think this is just adding to it. But I think this is a big component for the continuing decline of newspapers. Without trust in the news, there would be no point in trying to expand readership. Without accurate reporting, why would anyone want to believe a reporter, whether it is in print or online? Maybe the newspaper companies should focus on accurate news reporting before complaining that their readership is down.

Read more...

Star Tribune to Charge for Vikings Coverage

By Zach Jevne

The Star Tribune, of Minneapolis-St.Paul, will begin charging to view some of its content online in a few weeks, including "Vikings Access", one of the site's biggest draws. This will be the first time since 2002 the newspaper has walled off content and charged for it.

Terry Sauer, the assistant managing editor for digital, says that they will begin charging "in a few weeks" and that the monthly fee will be about "the cost of a cup of coffee."

Back in 2002 the site offered a "Purple Plus" package, which allowed readers to get stories, commentary, and live chats, for $30 a year. It was unsuccessful, by financial standards, as they only got 1,000 subscribers.

Part of the blame for lack of interest in 2002 was a brutal 6-10 season, which started out 3-10, according to then-editor Ben Welter.

So will fans be more likely to pay for premium coverage in 2009? Sauer hopes so.

"We know die-hard Vikings fans can't get enough information, but I think casual fans will find it a pretty good deal, too. We feel better situated with a superior Vikings product to give our readers a good reason to sign up."

The problem that they may face will be the free alternative sites where fans can get football information. Their hope is that the "die-hard fan" will prefer their local coverage of the team compared to other sites. But even that might not be enough for people to pay extra to view "Vikings Access".

Welter says, "There are too many other free alternatives to almost all the content we produce - even when we enhance it with exclusive material."

It may also help that many consider, especially in Minnesota, that the Vikings are potentially a very good team, with high hopes for the playoffs. They have the league's top running back and the signing of Brett Favre last month only made fans more excited. I can't help but wonder if Brett Favre and the team's potential were the deciding factors in the decision to charge for "exclusive" coverage.

I have to think that the Star Tribune is hoping for a huge season from the Vikings this year, even more so than in the past. If they have a winning team, fans will be much more interested in getting all the information and coverage that "Vikings Access" has to offer. They may even be willing to pay for it.

Read more...

Newspapers Soon Extinct?

By: Amy Johnson

In a recent interview with Rupert Murdoch, chairman and major shareholder of News Corporation, says he can see the day where newspapers will be gone and electronic databases will take over.

It could take 20 years to displace newspapers, “but I do certainly see the day when more people will be buying their newspapers on portable reading panels than on crushed trees,” says Murdoch.

It makes perfect sense. It would cost less money and eliminate the need for printing presses and paper. A vast majority of the United States' citizens already go online to read their daily news. Having the local newspaper available via the Internet or a cell phone seems brilliant.

The Wall Street Journal is one of the only newspapers in the United States that has been successful in charging for an online subscription. A plan to start charging non-subscribers a mere $2 every week has been put into action while those who already have subscribed will only pay $1.

One question is this – how are small town newspapers going to handle this? Not every small town is going to find this online newspaper feasible; the equipment needed may be too expensive and finding people who are familiar with computers may prove to be more difficult. Will this be the end to small time newspapers? Only time will tell.

Read more...

Student killed in fight at Florida school, officials say

When it comes to our childrens safety, especially in schools, officials need to take extra precautions. School is a stressful environment and kids knowing they are safe is a big issue that needs to be addressed. When school administrators become lax on security like they were in Florida, stressful environments lead to negative outcomes. This was the case when two students got into an argument, one student pulled a knife and stabbed and killed the other one. As far as safety is concerned kids in schools technically have no rights. The main reason is to ensure a safe stable environment for kids to learn. If a kid goes to class every day afraid of what may heppen to them they will not do very well. Simple things like metal detectors, that cost money and better training for teachers so they can identify problems before they begin would help make the environment safer.

In this story the media has kept all names quiet, and they should because both of these individuals were minors. They reported on the facts but were careful to respect the privacy of the familys and school officials involved, until at least, a later point in time when that information can safely be revealed.

Ryan Fuerstenau

Read more...

The Comeback of Traditional Media

By Ryan Franker

The traditional media should be making a comeback. A lot of people would pick a career in the media, because it was a secure field, and it was one that could make you some money. If you happened to get into the media before the Recession, then you did see the money, that people always talked about that was associated with people in the media. But, now media is one of the worst industries to go into.

Media was once very wealthy, people would start subscribing to different sources of media every year and that would keep the money coming in. Another reason the media was wealthy is because banks trusted these industries and were very comfortable to lend money to these industries in broadcast licenses, cable franchises, and print mastheads.

The internet wasn't really the reason to the decline in the media, but it did moderately decline the amount of other ways people were getting their media; it was the recession, since people stop subscribing and banks were being very conscious on who they were going to lend their money too.

According to some technology entrepreneurs, financiers, and retailers they believe that it is possible for the media to basically "re-boot" themselves, and start over again. But the companies that do the best when they "re-boot", will be the ones that have a strong brand and digital product. The media companies do need to invest into a good running website, because if they don't have a good running website it will hurt them even more because it isn't the greatest.

Read more...

Cops: No arrest imminent in Yale killing

Bobby Reese


Cops have confirmed that they have made no arrests this week after a young women named Annie Le was found dead in a wall in a University lab basement. Le was found dead the day that she was planning on getting married to Jonathan Widawsky. The police have ruled Widawsky out as a suspect, but according to Yale's president Richard Levin said that "police have narrowed the number of potential suspects to a very small pool because building security systems recorded who entered the building and what times they entered." The cops have been interviewing people all week on this matter and still have not managed to make an arrest.

Earlier in the week the media claimed that the cops had somebody in custody for the murder but it was later on clarified as a rumor. Other news reports say that the cops had a suspect fail a polygraph test and has marks on his body. This is a unique situation because most people don't think of Yale as a school of violence. There were a lot of security cameras in the building where the body was found and cops have spent a lot of time questioning people who work in the building. I think it is a very sad story considering the day of the wedding all of these events took place, but with the proper investigating the culprit should be brought into custody.

Read more...

Unexpected Advertisement in The New York Times

By Brianna Carlson

Over the past weekend, an unreliable and unknown person put a nasty advertisement onto The New York Times' web site.

As people looked at the site, the advertisement would take over their computer. The visitor's screen would fill with an image that seemed it was scanning for a virus.

The users were told they needed to buy a certain antivirus software to fix the problem. The software ended up being no good. It is unclear to how many users were affected.

As of now, The Times is working with law enforcement to find the criminal. They are also working on ways to make the site have new policies so this kind of thing will not happen again.

This issue is becoming a bigger problem. Since the internet is becoming widely used, more than just The New York Times are having issues. Computer criminals are recently known to attack online ad systems.

Read more...

New York Times Reporter Saved, Two Dead

By Tessa Leone

Britain speaks out to defend its perilous rescue mission executed last Wednesday in northern Afghanistan. New York Times Reporter, Stephen Farrell was kidnapped after his hasty decision to enter uncharted territory on Saturday. Farrell's Afghan assistant and a British commando were killed during the raid.

The orders were authorized by the British defense and foreign secretaries. Critics question the considerable risks that were taken to rescue the reporter and the casualties that were lost in the endeavor. Claiming that options of peaceful negotiations and possible ransoms were not well explored.

The British New york Times reporter is now safe and was unharmed in the raid.

Read more...

Simpson College Says School Will Work Will Students As They Report Symptoms of H1N1

By: Bethany Christenson

Jim Thorius, vice president of student development, says Simpson College will work with students to help keep H1N1 under control. Simpson now has an web reporting form for students to help keep symptoms under control. If they fill out the form and realize that they have multiple symptoms they can call or fill out a sheet and turn it into health services.

They are encouraging students to go home for at least 24 hours, but if travel is not possible they can provide them with an isolated room within their residence hall. Roommates can also move out of their rooms temporarily during this time and can be provided with an alternative room.

Thursday Simpson reported a student with symptoms consistent with those of H1N1. This is the first case reported at Simpson.

Read more...

Missing Yale Student Found Inside a Wall

By: Mallory Tandy

The remains of who investigators think is Yale graduate Annie Le were found at 10 Amistad Street inside a wall. Le was 24, and was supposed to be married today. Le was last seen entering the Amistad medical research building on a Yale security camera around 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Police are still working to remove the body from the wall and are calling it a homicide. College is a place of learning and fun, to know such brutal acts can happen at such a well known college is astonishing and quite frightening. Should college's make improvements in security? Are Simpson College students safe?

Read more...

Mark Briggs

By: Chris Mars

Mark Briggs has a mission to help journalists adapt to new media and puts a focal point on what the viewer wants out of media. In one of his blog posts, Briggs reflects on how a news media organization should focus on creating an 'insanely great' news web site to attract new revenue.

As we see a growing trend in news companies using sites like twitter to reach readers it becomes apparent that the content in Briggs' blog is useful. He reflects on Bernard Lunn's scorecard, called "Six Milestones from 30 Seconds to 3 Years."

These milestones can measure the growth of the web site and set goals to keep customers or viewers coming back to reuse services. Put yourself in the reader's shoes, what would you want out of a news media website? Here is what you would want the reader to say...

30 seconds: “I get it.”
3 minutes: “I’ve used it and still get it, and it has not annoyed me yet.”
3 days: “I find this really useful or fun.”
3 weeks: “I am raving about this to other people.”
3 months: “I couldn’t imagine not having this, and I’m boring my friends telling them about it.”
3 years: “How weird to see this on Oprah.”

The functionality of these milestones can bring a sense of direction back in this fast paced, whirlwind media. Its easy to get caught up in the endless possibilities on the web but these milestones serve as a guideline to building a functional service for users.

With the competition lurking just a click away, focusing on what the user wants has become the key issue in building an 'insanely great' news web site.

Read more...

Obama says he expects 'good health care bill'

By: Bobby Reese

President Obama believes he has convinced congress to pass the new health care bill. When Obama addressed congress he said that he was open to new ideas. He told the republican party which opposed his plan that he believes that they can compromise and come up with a plan both parties can agree with. Obama has made it clear that he will install a health care plan but this is big news because he is willing to work with the republican party if they can support him.

Obama has made it clear that he does not think the plan should be about a left or right push from all of the lawmakers. He thinks the plan is not for just the benefit of the democratic party but for the country as a whole. I think that Obama has brought up some good points and I am getting a little more used to the idea the more I hear about it. Obama has good intentions and believes that this plan will help americans live their lives better.

Over 47 million americans do not have coverage. This new plan will help cover more Americans and will help a lot of people. I think that whatever has been going on lately has not been working, so what is the problem with trying something new?

Read more...

Pay to Read the News?

By Ryan Franker

Four big companies sat down with the Newspaper Association of America. They are trying to find a way on how the online newspapers can get money from their online articles. But charging the readers is the biggest concern the newspapers have. The reason the newspapers are wanting to start charging their readers is because the journalism business is struggling really bad right now with trying to keep up with the technology and their readers. Making their readers pay to read articles online would be one way to make sure that they are getting some money in from the articles that are being written.

If you think about it, you have to pay to read a hard copy of the newspaper, so why not charge that same amount online, and you can read the paper for a whole day?

Google has come up with a way to charge people for reading the articles on Google News. Google like the idea of having an open media source, but they don't want it to be free. They have proposed a idea of Google Checkout. The reader would have to sign in to access the newspaper or articles. The payments that could be done is a basic subscription to the newspaper, or a micropayments, which is you pay per article that you would like read.

Read more...

Advertising on Twitter?

By Michelle Zimmerman

Twitter is becoming increasingly more and more popular around the world and as any other company it would make sense that the owners would like to make a profit. Therefore to remain free for the members they needed to look into other options such as advertising.

It is important to Twitter that they remain a site that is merely focused on members communicating being that communications between members is the entire purpose of the site. If there is any type of advertising it will remain in small quantities and not override the motive of the company.

Facebook and Myspace are prime examples of other social networks that use advertising to maintain free memberships. Being a member of both of those networks I among other users dislike the amount of advertising that occurs all over the sites. There is constantly something flying across the screen and almost retracts me from continuing the use of the site.

Hopefully Twitter continues to keep their objective in mind and does not overflow the community of the site with advertisements because it possible they will lose supporters.

Read more...

'Tis The Season To Stay Healthy!

By Keri Waterhouse

Things as simple as a hand shake, a small peck on the cheek, or a friendly hug can help get one into trouble during this terrible flu season. The scary "swine flu" or known now as H1N1 has traveled it's way around the world and infected more than a quarter-million people and has caused more than 2,800 deaths.It's a scary thing to think about. We all get that nasty bug called the flu, so no one really thinks about it.

I remember when I first heard about the swine flu last May. Everyone was freaking out about it. It was in Texas and out of the U.S. Some people even cancelled their flights to go on vacations. To me it wasn't that big of a deal. I never thought it would actually get near me. When reading about the synptoms you would think you just had the common flu. The symptoms include; fever (100F/37.8C) or greater, sore throat, cough, headache, body aches, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea. The way things are spreading is by washing your hands after sneezing or coughing, touching your eyes or mouth, kissing, touching others that are sick, or just not taking care of yourself.

I never really thought anything of this sickness until I came back to campus this fall and we were told that students at neighboring colleges had confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, and told us that it probably wouldn't be long and that virus would find its way onto our campus. Sure enough, a week later it did. Simpson had its first case of the H1N1 virus last week.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/13/france.kiss/index.html

Read more...

Soldier detained in contractor's shooting death

As far as this one goes a civilian contractor was killed at a military base in Tikrit, Iraq. Apparently a U.S. soldier was detained in connection with the death of the contractor but so far no names have been given out. This one kind of makes you think about how well trained the military really is. Discipline is key for the army so you would think that if something like this happens it would be an accident. however when they say that they detained a soldier it really begs the question about how our soldiers morale and discipline could be waning when there is no end to the militaries occupation of Iraq. Check it out here http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/13/contractor.death.soldier.held/index.html and tell me what you think on the topic.

Ryan Fuerstenau

Read more...

Cronkite Remembered, Media Critiqued By Obama

By: Amy Johnson

Walter Cronkite was one of the most influential people in the realm of media. An anchorman for the CBS Evening News, he was often called “the most trusted man in America." The media and world of journalism has come a long way from having a journalist that America can trust.

President Obama paid respect to the late Cronkite recently, who died this past July.

He stated that “ 'the most trusted man in America' -- wasn't bestowed upon him by a network or advertising agency, but earned through decades of painstaking effort."

It's true. Many Americans that were fortunate enough to watch Cronkite nightly had a voice they could trust. He told the news exactly like it was. In comparison of the serious news that Cronkite reported on in years past, today's journalism has gone soft. Celebrity scandals and reports on the intimate, personal lives of people through the United States have taken over the front lines of the news.

What will it take to get back to the investigative journalism that Cronkite so skillfully mastered? It is tough to say. Perhaps getting back to a way of journalism where reporters don't have to stay neutral and unbiased because of fear they'll be fired. Or maybe it is such a thing that the internet and television has taken over, showing more and more soft stories such as the "Jon and Kate Plus 8" scandal over those with more substance; or perhaps it is America the people's own fault, loving the softer stories more than those that actually impact their own lives.

Read more...

CNN Proves Journalism is Still More Reputable than Internet and T.V. Reporting

By Taylor Finch

Friday morning, Sept. 11, CNN stirred up the news by announcing that the Coast Guard was trying to fend-off a suspicious vessel on the Potomac River. All morning, CNN proceeded to show video clips and make breaking-news reports on what they assumed was an issue, as well as other news stations, including Fox News, following suit.

Concerns escalated when flights were delayed at the Regan International Airport, due to the story. Washington, D.C. police, officials, and even the Pentagon had no idea of what was going on. Despite this being the anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, CNN presented a story that, once again, had the nation thinking there was an emergency situation about to replay eight years later.

All stories came to a halt when the Coast Guard announced nothing serious was happening. They were just going through a "routine and low-level" Coast Guard exercise. The Coast Guard also said that they felt the need not to notify anyone of their exercise because it was so routine and was not intended to affect anyone. And, when CNN did call them to confirm the story, the Coast Guard told them there was no need to report anything.

CNN realized they were wrong, but ended up blaming it on the Coast Guard for performing such exercises on that particular day. CNN also attempted to defend their mishap by saying that it would have been "irresponsible not to report what they were hearing and seeing" on the videos and unencrypted radio chats, that were not meant for the public to hear anyways.

Coast Guard Vice Admiral John Currier says that now they will be more careful with the press. This is just a reflection of how reporting bad or false news is becoming a growing problem in American media, with all of the news stations trying to always be the first to report big news stories. Because of this, Journalism is made to look even better and will hopefully always be a dependable source to come to for the "real" news.

Read more...