Disjointed Ruminations

New Orleans Mayor Run off creates controversy

2006-04-24T01:08:00.000-05:00

New Orleans current mayor Ray Nagin will face a run-off against Louisiana's lieutenant governor, Mitch Landrieu next month, for the title of mayor. As a result, many people are speaking out, arguing about a variety of aspects of the race. The number one issue, obviously, is Hurricane Katrina.

While many continue to argue about the pros and cons of Nagin's actions during and after Katrina, Nagin said that the votes thus far tell the truth. Currently, Nagin is ahead of Landrieu 39 percent to 28 percent according to an International Herald Tribune article. One has to remember, though, that many New Orleanians are out of pocket right now; in fact, they are scattered across the United States. It will be tough to know who should really win.

L.A. Times Blogger loses blog for using false web name

2006-04-24T00:53:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles Times business columnist Michael A. Hiltzik lost his blog last week when it was revealed that he has been using fake web names to post on his blog and other websites for years. According to a New York Times article, the L.A. Times said that Hiltzik's actions violated its ethics guidelines, "which requires editors and reporters to identify themselves when dealing with the public."

This brings up the interesting question: can a newspaper really censor itself when it comes to blogs? Even if a paper reads everything that a reporter publishes on a blog, the web leaves so many loopholes -- this instance being a key example.

Employers utilize facebook

2006-04-17T14:01:00.000-05:00

The drama around Facebook continues to grow. It seems that everywhere I turn, people are debating the pros and cons of the site, touching on such subjects as privacy, child safety and connectivity. One interesting article that I recently came across was on the University of Alabama's Orange and White story titled "Think Before You Facebook." Apparently, future employers have caught on to the Facebook craze and have begun reading students' profiles before hiring them. The article warns students to protect their profiles, but I do not think that many of us will. I guess this just proves what a changing world we live in and the potential hazards the web can pose.

Blog used to characterize killer

2006-04-17T13:40:00.000-05:00

My computer has crashed and erased my postings twice yesterday, so let's try it on a different computer. Over the past year or two, law enforcement and media alike have been looking to a suspect's blog, myspace account, facebook account, etc., in an attempt to know more about the accused. The most recent example of this phenomenon is Kevin Ray Underwood, the confessed killer of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin. In an AP article, the writer uses Underwood's blog postings to characterize him: "The man...joked about cannibalism on his online diary, discussed the effects of not taking his anti-depression medication and mentioned "dangerously weird" fantasies."

While I understand that both law enforcement and the media need resources to help them with suspects, I am a little perturbed that they are looking to things like blogs for their answers. Blogs, as many of us know, are not always truthful, begging the question of whether these sites should even be used or released into the public as concrete evidence.

Couric job change spawns sensationalism at its finest

2006-04-10T00:35:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest stories right now (surprisingly) is Katie Couric's job change. Come September, the bright, shining face of "Today" will take on the role of anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News." While I applaud her career move, I can't help but be slightly annoyed by the media's constant focus on her gender. As Jeff Jarvis put it: "There has been so much attention paid to Couric as a woman rather than as a professional that I think it risks becoming condescending and even sexist."

While Couric's move is a wonderful achievement for both women and journalism as a whole, by the media making such a big deal out of her move to CBS, it doing little more than characterizing her as a novelty act instead of the accomplished journalist that she is. And in the end, when we take a moment to get away from all of the hype surrounding the fact that she's a woman, all that's left of this story is a newscaster with a new job.

TV news link for CJ in the works in U.K.

2006-04-10T00:06:00.000-05:00

CJ and MSM may be one step closer to converging in the United Kingdom if the cell phone company 3's venture goes according to plan. Right now, 3 is talking with ITN and Sky News (two British news companies) in hope of using CJ to accompany news bulletins, according to a Guardian Unlimited article. With the constant changes in mobile technology, it is becoming clear (especially in Europe) that citizens are equipped to cover events that professional reporters can sometimes not get to.

"Clips from the public definitely add to the story," said a spokeswoman for Sky News in the article. "The best you can get is TV footage that tells the story. The next best thing is citizen journalism where the cameras have not yet arrived or have not been."

3 currently runs a service that allows citizens to send in their clips (SeeMe TV), which has already at a million downloads a month. I think 3's venture is incredibly smart; a combination of CJ and MSM would tap all of the resources out there and give citizens a more thorough spread of news. As we saw in the London bombings in 2005, there are times when professional journalists simply can't get the job done without the help of citizens. Although the article did raise questions over accuracy, 3 responded with plans to fact check. Stations that run the clips should also be very clear that the images are from CJ.

Technorati Tag: Citizen Journalism

Citizen Journalism Story: 40 Acres Fest

2006-04-03T01:43:00.000-05:00

I decided to do a photo essay of 40 Acres Fest for my Citizen Journalism Story. Primarily, I focused on how the event brought UT's diverse population together to celebrate school tradition and unity through its multitude of booths, games and concerts. You can see my photo set at this link, or you can view it as a slideshow here.

Enjoy!

Washington Post Blogger Busted for Plagerism

2006-03-27T00:36:00.000-06:00

Conservative Washington Post blogger Ben Domenech resigned Friday after accusations of plagiarism began to circulate amidst the blog community. With the availability of information on the web, sites like the liberal blog Daily Kos said finding holes in Domenech's postings were child's play.

"We don't possess any remarkable skills, we just exercised a little skepticism, some open-minded curiosity, and a bit of industriousness."

Domenech, however, did acknowledge the accusations on his blog Red America, arguing some of the charges are dead wrong; Executive Editor Jim Brady quickly retorted with a post of his own on the blog, claiming the paper had no knowledge of Domenech's behavior. In the end, while Domenech can argue all day that he didn't lift phrases from other sites, it's going to do him no good. If you are going to write online, you have to know that your level of accountability goes up tenfold because any reader can plug your words into a search engine and check you out. Maybe we can weed out our Jayson Blair characters faster this way.

Blog Up For British Samuel Johnson Prize

2006-03-26T22:50:00.000-06:00

An anonymous Iraqi woman has become the first blogger to be nominated for Britain's prestigious literary award the Samuel Johnson Prize. Under the pseudonym Riverbend, the 26 year old university student from Baghdad has been chronicling "three years of occupation and bloodshed" in Baghdad Burning since August 2003. The blog has been published in book form, but a spokeswoman for the £30,000 book prize said that there was nothing in the rules to disqualify non-fiction published "solely online, provided it was in English," according to a Times Online ariticle.

I'm really into books and book publishing as a whole, so news of a blog being considered noteworthy by the literary world was extremely interesting to me. While I was quite shocked initially due to the industry's tight reign on literary propriety and genres, with the creation of online books and such, I am not surprised that blogs are being looked at in a new light these days. I'm very excited to see what else is recognized; a merging of blog readers and book readers could be an exciting thing.

Oscar Blogging

2006-03-06T00:08:00.000-06:00

In light of this class, I decided to watch the Academy Awards a little differently this year-- with a blog. Instead of sitting on my couch, bored out of my mind while technical awards are given out, I had a great time reading Globeandmail.com's commentary. I had no idea how fast bloggers were; this site had huge commentaries up in what seemed like seconds after an award was given out.

On a side note, it's a total shame that Brokeback Mountain and Transamerica didn't take home anything substantial. Although, I couldn't help jumping around my room when I found out that Reese Witherspoon took home best actress. What can I say, I love media.

Technorati Tag: Academy Awards

China Government Goes Blog Crazy

2006-03-05T21:00:00.000-06:00

It's amazing what you'll find when you peruse the internet for blog-related media. According to an AP story, China has set up blogs (known as "bo ke" in Chinese) for its parliament and its companion advisory body members to boost public interest this week. Although only eight of more than 5,000 delegates have been approved to post their comments, many more are said to have turned in applications. This is surprising for a country like China, both because of its strong governmental control and lack of technological advancements. Could this is a sign that the country is moving with the times and maybe, just maybe, is loosening its grip on its citizens?

Although some of the blogs are said to be little more than pictures of political get-togethers with women in lingerie and alcohol flowing, others such as Zhao Lihong's blog say they want to discuss some of China's most pertinent issues. I'm interested to see where this goes.

Technorati Tag: China Blogs

America takes Silver in Figure Skating

2006-02-24T10:19:00.000-06:00

Since the beginning of this year's Olympics, I have been glued to my TV; after living in Norway for so long, I can't help but be enthralled by winter sports. While I followed many competitions closely, the women's figure skating comp. was my event. Yes, Michelle Kwan wasn't going to be there, but I had faith that Sasha Cohen could produce a great program. Her short program was beautiful on Tuesday, almost flawless, but last night she came just short of the gold, falling on her first jump. Ironically enough, though, Cohen's top competitor Irina Slutskaya of Russia also fell and ended up with the bronze. The New York Times reported that she was so crushed she threw her medal in her locker after the competition.

In the end it was Japan's Shizuka Arakawa that took home the gold, winning her country's first medal at this year's games. While she skated wonderfully, I can't help but feel disappointed by the performances. I really wanted to see a magnificent program; after all, this is the Olympics. But, it was still fun to watch. I guess I'll just have to wait for 2010.

New Yahoo Project Falls Flat

2006-02-24T09:23:00.000-06:00

Backpack journalist and controversial blogger Kevin Sites has teamed up with Yahoo to form "The Hot Zone," an interactive news portal that uses "honest, thoughtful reporting" to provide readers with the "truth" in America. Building off of his original project Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone, the reporter vows his information to be far more valid than MSM, as he will traverse the U.S. to find real stories and publish them on his interactive site.

While the concept has generated quite a buzz, many worry Kevin Sites' blogging history has ripped him of his CJ title. As Sites' former friend and BoingBoing co-editor Xeni Jardin put it in an LA Times article:

Several years ago, I introduced Sites to the world of blogs, collaborating with geek friends to launch kevinsites.net. I helped him publish his firsthand impressions of the Iraq war as a not-for-profit project. But as the war heated up, Sites' employer, CNN, forced him to shut down the blog. Sites later joined NBC and videotaped the shooting by a Marine of an unarmed Iraqi. As a way to explain why that piece of truth mattered, he reopened his blog.

Like others before him, Sites has been trying to mesh CJ with corporate journalism and market it as underground reporting. While it's a grand concept, it's dishonest because, when you get down to it, the work is little more than a flashy aggrandized news outlet for stories the MSM already covers. The whole point of blogs and CJ as a whole is to provide unedited content without a gatekeeper present.

NBC battles YouTube

2006-02-19T23:06:00.000-06:00

While p2p sharing networks such as Kazaa (which focus primarily on music) have come under recent scrutiny by record execs for copyright infringement, thus far video sharing networks have largely been spared... until now. Earlier this month, NBC Universal responded to a popular SNL sketch posted on YouTube, asking the free video-sharing site to "remove about 500 clips of NBC material from its site or face legal action under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act," according to a NYTimes.com article.

Living in such an accessible world these days, it came as an initial shock to me that YouTube was being targeted for copyright infringement. With these networks and open sourced material, information and media alike are largely at our fingertips. Is it necessary to target sharing sites or, as mentioned in the article, can big companies take VH1's lead and work with sharing sites to promote their material?

Technorati Tag: YouTube

What is citizen journalism really worth?

2006-02-19T21:36:00.000-06:00

On journalism.co.z a, Harber (a journalism and media studies professor at the University of the Witwatersrand) examines the pros and cons of citizen journalism today. While he does acknowledge its role, even agreeing with many points made by Johncom, his primary attitude towards the concept is somewhat sour, urging his readers to question the validity of citizen journalism as a whole.

Siting natural disaster coverage examples (such as the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina), Harber acknowledges the work done by the public, but then jumps right into the reasons why it is not to be trusted. "It also allowed for a range of hoaxes and rumours, which spread like wildfire on the net. ... More than ever, we need real professionals who know how to find, check and double-check the facts, how to fill out and give balance to reports, how to present them quickly and in an accessible way and — most of all — who are accountable."

While it's true that, when left up to the public, journalistic integrity is not what it should be, Harber fails to recognize the fully potential of public journalism. He claims that it should only be a supplement to real journalism, but what about the instances when the media couldn't be present at all and citizens took over and presented the news (such as the tsunami)? Instead of picking apart citizen journalism and trying to categorize it, allow it to stand on its own and let the public decide what's valid and what's not.

Technorati Tag: Citizen Journalism

Muslim cartoon scandal reaches a whole new low

2006-02-12T17:06:00.000-06:00

Like many, I hoped the Muslim Cartoon ordeal would die down and people would attempt to debate their religious differences with words instead of violence; how naive I was. With the creation of anti-Semitic cartoons on the Arab-European League's website, I fear that this fight has gone too far... way too far. Unlike the original cartoons that were (although wrong) juvenile and lackluster, the League's cartoons (published Feb. 6) are vile and disgusting; one even depicts Anne Frank in bed with Hitler. I truly don't understand how this group can request fair treatment if they retaliate in such a substandard manner.

" In our cartoon campaign we do not endorse any anti-Semitic, homophobic or sexist stands. All we are trying to do is to confront Europe with its own hypocrisy using sarcasm and cartoons. We will therefore continue our sarcastic campaign in the days to come and we will not be intimidated by the ridiculous law suite that was filed against us in the Netherlands." I'm sorry, but this statement doesn't sound any better than a playground retaliation. Now I in no way endorse the original Muslim cartoons and I don't pretend to understand what effect they had on the Muslim community as a whole. I simply think that if this whole debate is over free speech and respect, all parties should exude those qualities instead of trying to "educate" the other side through catty remarks and poorly thought out attempts at revenge.

Technorati tag: Muslim Cartoons

The Open Source Revolution

2006-02-12T16:24:00.000-06:00

Over the past few weeks, I have slowly realized that technology's impact on society does not end at Road Runner, Windows and iPods; beyond the surface lies a whole other world of advancements at our disposal. Searching for more information, I found the article "Open Source Everywhere" in Wired Magazine, where writer Thomas Goetz delves into the idea of open sourced information. When I first heard of open source, I figured it was simply a way for techies to share their source code and build other programs. I had no idea that everyone from cancer researchers to environmentalists are using it to contribute to their respective fields.

Biologists have embraced open source methods in genomics and informatics, building massive databases to genetically sequence E. coli, yeast, and other workhorses of lab research. NASA has adopted open source principles as part of its Mars mission, calling on volunteer "clickworkers" to identify millions of craters and help draw a map of the Red Planet.

But, with open source's popularity rising, one has to question the future of copyrighted information and privacy as a whole. While it is true that open source lends collaboration and unique opportunities for advancements, are we willing to give up the concepts of ownership and personal progress for the good of the whole? While entities like the open sourced online encyclopedia "Wikipedia" may prove beneficial, I can't help but question where the line should be drawn for open sourced information as a whole.

Technorati tag: Open Source

Censorship and American Media

2006-02-06T07:59:00.000-06:00

Today it was reported that four people died while protesting the largely debated Danish cartoons of Mohammed. The deaths are only one of many violent acts carried out by Muslims defending their prophet. Originally published in a small Norwegian Christian newspaper outside Denmark, the cartoons depict the Muslim prophet in less than a fair light; one even has him wearing a bomb-shaped turban. With such an uproar over cartoons, many of today's thinkers are questioning free speech and its role in the world.

Newspapers all over Europe republished the pictures last week, saying they were defending freedom of expression. America, though, refuses to publish the images, calling them offensive. Jeff Jarvis, the well-known blogger, had this to say about the issue:

Should American journalists be publishing these images in solidarity with European publishers? Or would that be pandering? Or are those images part of the story that need to be seen to understand? Is there a right to see them, a journalistic responsibility to include them in reporting?

Are American journalists at large disregarding their key role of informing the public in fear of hate speech or even violence? And for that matter, do the images even need to be published to accomplish good journalism? With the obvious line between American and European media being drawn, one has to wonder whether cautious or "risky" journalism is the right way to go.

UPDATE
Technorati tag: Free Speech, Censorship

BBC Editors to Enter the Blogosphere

2006-02-05T13:37:00.000-06:00

After poking around the web today, I cam across an article on journalism.co.uk that peeked my interest. Apparently, BBC Interactive is planning to launch an "editor's blog" in the near future which will give readers/viewers unique insight into the various decisions editors make and the reasons behind them. Spawning from the already popular From the Editor's Desktop by Pete Clifton, the blog is to serve as a link between the news and its consumers. According to the article:

The editors' blog will help the BBC to fulfill its obligation to be more open and accountable to its audience, said Mr Clifton, now head of BBC News Interactive.
"This is a step change for the BBC," he said. "It's a different world: we're more open about what we do. Even if we get it wrong it's good to have the conversation about why."

With so many questions surrounding the media's political leanings and intentions, maybe a blog is the way to go. Not only would the public be able to get to know their local gatekeepers but communicate with them as well. Through the give and take relationship a blog fosters, a new age of media may be on the horizon if this trend picks up.

The Mystery of Podcasts

2006-01-30T08:15:00.000-06:00

In an attempt to learn more about this podcasting business (yes I'm technologically challenged), I traversed the New York Times' Technology News section online and came across the wonderfully quirky David Pogue. Within a three minute amusing video complete with mock podcasts 'Cooking on the Radio' and 'Let's Go Curling,' he managed to pose a fairly serious question: what are journalists to do with this new form of media? Let's face it, random radio shows are not exactly the easiest to follow, especially when there are thousands to choose from. Are podcasts, like blogs, going to be largely ignored because they are personalized public media, or will there begin to be a shift in what we consider 'media' as a whole? It will be interesting to see how journalists adapt.

Oprah vs. The Memoir

2006-01-30T07:39:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, America's beloved tycoon Oprah sent a jolt through the publishing industry, censuring memoir author James Frey on live TV for an hour an a half for embellishing his NY Times Bestseller "A Million Little Pieces." Since she was quite the cash cow for Frey, promoting his book tirelessly through her widely-followed book club, it is understandable that she was unnerved when the accusations by the Smoking Gun proved to be, in fact, true.

But, as Frey picks up his pieces (no pun intended), where does the publishing industry go from here? Let's face it, the validity of a memoir has been badly tarnished at best. Ramifications can already be seen: Chicago Sun-Times columnist Tom McNamee is facing a hard-hitting barrage of questions post-Oprah concerning his upcoming memoir. With the very public realization that memoirs teeter on a fine line between reality and fiction, is the next step fact checking line by line each piece of non-fiction put on the shelves as journalists do? Let's hope not and let creative prose stand on its own, fiction or reality.