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Do YOU Hulu?

As a busy college student and interning journalist in Washington, DC, my days and nights are often filled with important work and exploration of our nation's capital. These facts coupled with the truth that I do not have a television in my apartment sometimes makes it difficult for me to sit down at an allotted time to keep up to speed with some of my favorite shows when they go on the air. Luckily for me, I can get my dose of McDreamy at online sites such as ABC.com and Hulu if I can't sit down at a television to watch Grey's Anatomy every Thursday at 9:00 pm. 

According to Mike Musgrove at the Washington Post, more people are using the computer in place of the television. While Musgrove makes it clear through a quote by Michael Gartenberg of Imterpret that this is "not mainstream behavior," the numbers of those who are ditching cable for computer are rising.

Musgrove starts off introducing a new feature for the popular web site Hulu.

The online video service Hulu added a long-overdue feature last week: A "coming soon" page designed to give the site's millions of users a heads-up about when they'll be able to watch the next new episode of "Fringe" or "Parks and Recreation" in their Web browsers.

E-Readers: The Day Journalism Changed -- Again

A lackluster eReader marketplace is finally brewing with competition, reports Mark Kellner of The Washington Times.

After watching Amazon.com control the industry for wireless electronic reading devices over the last two years, more competitors, such as Sony and Barnes and Noble, are popping up around the marketplace, he reported.

“While the notion of electronic books has been around about as long as desktop computers have been popular, many fits and starts have fizzled in the marketplace. Both the Rocket eBook and Softbook Reader, launched in the late 1990s, attracted lots of media attention, but soft sales and low capacity of the devices – the basic Rocket eBook could hold only 10 average-size books – doomed the products, which can now be found on eBay and in flea markets, if at all.”

While some of the reporting in the middle of the story bored readers and was filled with technical details, the reporter opened and closed strong. He also did a good job of digging into the specifics of each of these new eReaders, and explaining the positives and negatives to the public.

Newspapers and the Future of McBlog

A recent article in the October edition of Newsweek speaks more to the future of journalism than most I have seen.

It simply asked the question "Is Maplewood, N.J ready for its own Bob Woodward?" a question directed at the rise of small town blogs and the trend of big news companies starting to sponsor them. 

The article, titled "Peytonplace.com," gives an intricate look at a new model of the news that might very well be coming into effect faster than all of us realize.  However, the writer, Johnnie L. Roberts, explains why this does not mean that it is all down the drain for newspapers.

Roberts explains that it is the super-local, super-specific that makes these blogs such a hot commodity, and the main reasons these blogs don't mean the end for the newspaper industry is that it is large newspapers that are sponsoring them.

Why would newspapers do that?

Social Media in the Workplace: good/bad?

I think everyone has that moment during the work day of 'Mm, I'm not too busy so why not check the facebook?' I'm sure its not a strange thought in a newsroom. In the article Social Media Going Corporate by Benny Evangelista of the San Francisco Chronicle, Evangelista reports on the recent study that putting in a quick tweet or comment instead of finishing up that paper work may be helping your creativity.

Seriously.

In the article, Evangelista coments on recent findings of several studies based on the percentages of corporations benefiting from the use of social media verse the others who 'stifle creativity' (which was 54 percent, that is, those businesses who were diminishing because access to social media outlets was not allowed). The article opens with the story of a Comcast Company employee who was recently congratulated for using twitter to better costumer relations.

"At Comcast, employee Frank Eliason took the initiative last year to use his own Twitter account to contact costumers who were tweeting about service problems. Now known as "Famous Frank," Eliason has been credited with almost single-handedly turning around Comcast's reputation. He heads of staff of 11 who monitor social networks and offer help to costumers."

White House- Fox News out, Federal Shield Laws in

Learning about shield laws in a journalism class my freshman year in college is one thing, but actually reading a recent article that says journalists are need of these shield laws today made me realize how real the issue is.  

In the staff writer’s editorial piece, "Public, press need federal shield law," of Startribune.com, an online press of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the writer’s lede is straight to the point and simple. There is enough information for the reader to understand what the article is about.

Given his in-box of international and domestic problems, President Obama probably shouldn't spend too much time on journalism and media issues. So it's a good sign that the White House focus has shifted from the foolish feud with Fox News to a media issue that really matters: A national shield law to give adequate protection to journalists who face fines or imprisonment for not revealing their confidential sources.

What Do We Lose With Copy Editors?

Hilarious. In the above, a Toronto Star editor copyedits the publishers memo announcing layoffs. It was the editor's subtle clue that the publisher could benefit from editorial aid and that outsourcing copyediting to freelancers might not be the best idea.

There's no doubt that newspapers are in trouble. Copy editor layoffs haven't gotten  much attention -- certainly not as much as the reporter layoffs. After all, copy editors are invisible by nature. They're layoffs are the unacknowledged part of the larger loss of "journalism jobs."

Unfortunately, the marketplace now eliminates journalism jobs at a rate in excess of 1,000 a month.

That's a lot of people out of work, and in the case of copy editors, a lot of people who served a valuable function to the community. What do we lose with copy editors?

Water legislation in California

I was pretty disappointed with the article by the Los Angeles Times called "Schwarzenegger signs part of water package." I was attracted to this article because it addresses water issues right here on U.S. soil, and I have researched and wrote a lot lately on global water issues. I think the idea that California is passing legislation to improve the treatment of water is a good thing, but I think this article could have been written better.

In the lede, author Bettina Boxall begins with a W5H format, where she explains the basics of who, what, when and where; the how is implied. I find this lede very boring and simply uninteresting.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went to a scruffy field in the San Fernando Valley on Friday to sign two pieces of water legislation passed earlier this week.

In class at the Washington Journalism Center in DC, we have discussed speech and event ledes. In this case, which is more of an event, I think a paraphrased quote lede would have worked better, followed by a direct quote and then a W5H. This would make the article more interesting and intriguing for readers. I think the sixth paragraph quote by Schwarzenegger would have been a great quote to use to base the lede on.

Well, you know what happens when you assume...

I feel like you would have to be living under a rock to not know the Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was a Muslim. In fact, I am pretty sure I knew Hasan was a Muslim before the final death count. Between twitter feeds, blogs, and hard news articles, Hasan's religion seems to be the only area of focus to determine why a Army Major would do this. Yet one New York Times article, "Obama Offers Sympathy and Urges No 'Jump to Conclusions'" caught my eye as something different. Here's the lede...

A Reduction in Reproduction: Good or Bad?

The human race's fertility rate has certainly seen its peaks and valleys over time. Writers for The Economist say a lower fertility rate is changing the world for the better.

Sometime in the next few years (if it hasn't happened already) the world will reach a milestone: half of humanity will be having only enough children to replace itself.

This staggering statement does a great job of summing up everything that unfolds in the following paragraphs. And the parenthetical, "if it hasn't happened already," tells us this is a phenomenon spreading like wildfire.  Since I am clearly not an expert on the subject, I thought it was okay for the population to continue to increase as long as the country was not at risk of being over- populated. Honestly I've never put too much consideration into the the long-term affects of a decrease in fertility rates.   But writers for the magazine say half the word's fertility rate will be 2.1 or below. According to The Economist, this is the "magic number" that allows a nation's population to slow down and stabilize. But what does all of this mean in retrospect?

Apparently, the move to what is referred to as "replacement-level fertility" is one of the most monumental social changes we've ever seen. Because of the decrease, traditional family life has changed forever, giving more women around the world the opportunity to get jobs and giving children the chance of going to school.

Covering the Christian Crowd?

The New York Times surprised me in it's article "Barred From Field, Religious Signs Move to Stand". The articles covers a small Georgia high school who used scripture as a part of the cheer-leading routine during football games until one parent complained.  When the school board immediately banned the cheerleaders from using scripture the crowd, not the cheerleaders,  made it their burden to continue to use scripture during the football games by wearing scripture decorated t-shirts and writing their own signs. 

The article does a great job trying to cover all sides as to why the crowd and cheerleaders find bible verses a crucial element to their football games.  In an era where I hear in journalism classes how mainstream media does not cover religion, this article finally shows otherwise.  

Healthcare Reform Deserves Better Coverage

Recently, as I was walking past a news stand, my eyes were drawn to the latest edition of Soujourners magazine.

The left-centered, Christian-social-justice magazine caught my attention because its cover story dealt with a major social issue from a moral standpoint, more specifically from a Christian perspective.

This was an  issue many Christians have struggled with, yet few Christian magazines have dared to cover for fear of stepping on toes.

The cover story, titled 'Lord, when did we see you sick?' :46 million reasons for health-care reform, is a collection of eight small articles by Jim Walis, John Dilulio Jr., Carol Keehan, E.J. Dionne Jr., Janelle Goetcheus, Rose Marie Berger, Tom Sine, and Arthur Waskow.

 Dionne asks, "How can we, in good conscience, deny health care to anyone who's sick?" To which he responds, 'we can't."

The writers then had my ears, and I was willing to listen to them make the case for why healthcare is a necessary choice for Christians.

College journalism students investigate real criminal cases in college?

If you have ever thought of being an investigative journalist while in college, go to Medill, the school of journalism at Northwestern University in Illinois. Monica Davey’s New York Times article, “Prosecutors Turn Table on Student Journalists,” talks about journalism students who have helped release 11 inmates convicted of crimes. Davey’s lede attracted my interest, however, I think that it could have been in a more simple, shorter style. First of all, it is too long. It seems as if she wanted to put all of the important information in the lede, which is good, as long as it is concise.

Secondly, her lede is a bit too complicated. At first, I had to read it more than once, because I did not fully understand what she was trying to say. The lede has too much information and confusing. 

EVANSTON, Ill. — For more than a decade, classes of students at Northwestern University’s journalism school have been scrutinizing the work of prosecutors and the police. The investigations into old crimes, as part of the Medill Innocence Project, have helped lead to the release of 11 inmates, the project’s director says, and an Illinois governor once cited those wrongful convictions as he announced he was commuting the sentences of everyone on death row.

Reporting on the swine flu

The talk of the town lately seems to be the dreaded swine flu (also known as H1N1). Since I’ve been doing a lot of local swine flu reporting lately at my internship, I’ve become interested in the way publications are reporting on it. It seems like a topic that could easily incite fear but it’s definitely a timely topic that needs to be reported.   

USA Today’s article “H1N1 flu ‘pushing hospitals to their limit’” gives an overview of the swine flu’s effect on hospitals thus far across the country. The article effectively communicates the extent of the flu’s damage and its seriousness. It begins with an up-close snapshot from Johns Hopkins in Baltimoreand goes on to say that hospitals across the U.S. are encountering the same problems: ERs overflowing and patients ending up in intensive care.

From there the article transitions to the national with a reference to Obama’s declaration of a national H1N1 emergency. Here the writer, Steve Sternberg, incorporates some statistics into his article. The numbers do a good job of illustrating the seriousness of the illness, comparing swine flu to the typical seasonal flu:

Is health still important?

In an article by USA Today titled "More kids have diabetes, fewer schools have nurses," the story of a kindergartner with Type 1 diabetes and the battle for his rights in the school system is just one example of a larger picture. Many school systems today have a lack of nurses even though there has been an increase in type 1 and type 2 diabetes among children. But because of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, school systems are required by law to provide a trained individual that can deal with special health issues such as diabetes in children.

The article starts out with a three paragraph symbolic detail lede, telling the special case of Christopher Rodriguez. Its not until paragraph five do we see the nutgraph, or the main idea of the article, and clearly understand the direction the article is going. I think a symbolic detail lede worked well for this article because otherwise, the article would only consist of statistics and explanations of the legal matters concerning the issues and the importance of nurses or trained non-medical staffers in schools.

Gov. hand-outs for journalists?

In an age where newspapers are potentially approaching non-existence, many are scrambling to find ways to keep good journalism alive. Some fear the world of the opinionated blogosphere is going to take precedence over publications that strive to follow the American model of the press--a balanced model that seeks objectivity.

Washington Post columnists Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols recently backed statements made by President Obama concerning the future of journalism.

Obama is right when he says that finding a model to pay journalists to question, analyze, and speak truth to power "is absolutely critical to the health of our democracy." He added that "Government without a tough and vibrant media is not an option for the United States of America."

McChesney and Nichols strategically use Obama's voice throughout their column--they lead with, "President Obama, a self-declared 'big newspaper junkie...' They are obviously trying to show Obama's alleged advocacy for professional journalism. And maybe he really does care about the need for a "tough and vibrant media." I would like to hope so. We certainly don't want to wind up solely with a bunch of biased, overly-opinionated blogs where the facts are often skewed or misinterpreted.

The public needs to be informed properly. And if all small-town newspapers disappear where are my grandparents and the millions of other computer illiterate senior citizens around the country going to get their news? Yes, they do love a their evening dose of NBC Nightly News with Bryan Williams, but they would be at a loss without their daily paper.

Twitter Finally Catching On With Youngsters

 

In a colossal role reversal, older generations are actually pushing young adults and teens toward a popular social networking Web site, says Associated Press writer Martha Irvine.

Twitter, which was strangely scorned by youngsters who are usually the pioneers of technology, is finally catching on, she reported.

They think it's pointless, narcissistic. Some don't even know what it is.

Even so, more young adults and teens — normally at the cutting edge of technology — are finally coming around to Twitter, using it for class or work, monitoring the minutiae of celebrities' lives.

Irvine dropped in a crucial stat line, pointing out that a Facebook user’s median age is 33, while Twitter is 31, despite a reputation that trends toward younger audiences.

In class at the Washington Journalism Center we constantly discuss how technology is changing journalism. But it’s interesting to note several ways in which it has failed, such as newspapers that try to reach younger audiences through Twitter, and how that landscape is changing.

Hype for Hyperlocal

 If anyone has been following the growing trends of news gathering in a town with vanishing newspapers, it's Tammy La Gorce. After reading her article from New Jersey Monthly, 'How News is the Future of Reporting in New Jersey', it made me want to click on a new window tab on my browser and google to see if my city had it's own hyperlocal web site.

'Hyperlocal' web sites have been popping up in cities across the U.S for a few years now; The New York Times' latest report on the trend was April of this year, and Gorce's article researched the site going back as far as 1997, from a community city web site in Maplewood, NJ.

The Real Reason Newspapers are dying?

Glad to see Columbia's got our backs here.

Tweens these days...

I’m in Washington D.C., a place where people vie for political power in the city, citizens struggle to get by in the District and students like myself are surrounded by ample opportunities to learn and explore. My newspaper internship is to be one such opportunity. Yet on a Saturday morning, I found myself on the way to covering… the 2009 Tween Girl Summit.

Now, in the interest of fairness, I have to admit that my tween-ness, when I was ages 9 through 14, was not cultivated or nurtured as it is for tweens today. I think at that time, tweens did not exist. We were still called pre-teens, and thought it was a big deal when we hit teenage status. Perhaps this is why I was less than enthusiastic about covering the event. In any case, I harbored a good deal of skepticism – all right, cynicism – about the event.

Research revealed the summit was to be a gathering of young girls, ages 9-14, for the purpose of examining “the minds, motivation and lives of tween girls, giving them a platform to share their thoughts and opinions on a wide range of subjects, and giving marketers, policy makers and parents a more thorough understanding of this enigmatic and highly influential demographic.” Um…okay.

At the Capital Hilton, where the summit was held, I encountered a mass of tween girls and a lot of   pink. The opening activities of the summit gave the girls plenty of opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions as well as speak to a panel of influential women about what was on their    minds. With the help of prompts, they shared their feelings about gun control, body image, bullying, oppression of women and “empowerment.” That seemed to be an important word of the day. The word “empower” is tame enough in its dictionary definition, but dictionary.com adds this fascinating footnote to its entry:

InkLink! What would the world look like if the internet were gone tomorrow? Read it here.

InkLink! The Washington Post has to chase a WJC student story. Cheers Seth Woods (WJC Fall 09)! And here's the next day Post.

InkLink! Found this in my junk mail box. But it's not junk. USA Today on Evangelicals missing from newsrooms. Read more here.

InkLink! Investigative report in the Washington Post today about the misuse of D.C. AIDS dollars. Read it here.

From the World of InfoTainment....

The Colbert Report's Stephen Colbert gives a powerpoint on the basics of Hip Hop/Free Style Rap Battles

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Conservative Rap Battle - Michael Steele Gets Served
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart on CNN "Fact-Checking" Saturday Night Live.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

InkLink! Nothing to do on Fall Break? 70th Anniversary Screening of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" at National Archives. Event here.

Sesame Street's Grover on Marriage

Classic Quotes from "The Office"

Ladies, Gentleman: We have a stirring event coming up tomorrow--Jim and Pam's Wedding on The Office. If Obama was on at the same time, no one would watch. But part of my tradition is that, at the start of The Office each season, I compile a list of classic quotes from The Office (see here and here).  Check out the preview of tomorrow's episode at the bottom!

Michael: I will be honest. The dating has not been going well. Look, men are visual creatures. We crave beauty. Like a piece of fine art by...any number of renowned artists. Or an arty photograph of Cindy Crawford nude. But the women I'm getting fixed up with are...blech. Not that they aren't nice, or that they don't have great personalities, it's, they just lack a certain...Crawfordness.

Dwight: Am I scared of a stupid computer? Please. That computer should be scared of me. I have been salesman of the month for thirteen out of the last twelve months. You heard me right. I did so well last February that corporate gave me two plaques in lieu of a pay raise.

Good thing I don't watch 'West Wing'....

However tempting it may be to stay in my apartment and do next to nothing (or 'watch West Wing' as my professors say...haha) on a Saturday morning, the assignments from Washington Journalism Center (WJC) make that a little bit difficult. That, and the fact that I'm in DC surrounded by dozens of public events/fundraisers/rallies...etc

Since I had yet find a story for my weekly article due date, I woke up early Saturday morning for the 'AIDS Walk Washington' fundraiser, which also included a 5k and a 'four-legged' race....for pets, of course.

Where stories go to die

News in D.C. is a funny thing. There is definitely no shortage of it. Everywhere you turn, there are press conferences, hearings, fundraisers, talks and various other events going on in the city.

So why am I having such a hard time nailing down a story?

Last Thursday, my editor at The Washington Examiner, where I am an intern, came to me with a press release and told me to go to the Alexandria Detention Center. There, the former Alexandria police chief, who retired after being arrested for a DUI, would be giving a motivational talk to the inmates. This sounded interesting, so after some brief research and an intense session with Google Maps, I went out to get the story.

After a long ride on the Metro and a half-mile hike down the road, I arrived at the detention center and took a seat in the waiting area next to a guy with a lot of camera equipment who looked like he knew what he was doing. Our waiting was rewarded with the news that the press would not be allowed at this talk, although we were welcome to stand outside the detention center and wait for the speaker to come in. I called my editor, who did not answer, and waited a bit before deciding it was time to give it up because a) the camera guy was leaving too and b) the mosquitoes were biting really badly.

Newsroom ins-and-outs

Working at the Times thus far has been pretty much sink or swim--and I certainly was not given any type of flotation device. My first week I was thrown into a major category 3 story on a child care shortage epidemic. I will spare you all the gory details, but basically D.C.'s Mayor Fenty closed a bunch of the city-run child care centers, leaving parents scrambling to find care for their kids. This is not what I was expecting my first week on the job.

I was sent out to cover an event the third day of my internship which turned out to be quite an endeavor. I went to the Wilson Building where a bunch of city activists and non-profit groups were rallying to protest the closing of the child care centers. I went around with a group of people (each one representing a different organization within the District) who were urging city council members to help keep the day care centers open. I also talked with outraged mothers who said things like, "Why isn't the mayor in jail? He broke the law!"

Up to this point I hadn't made any wrong turns which was a miraculous feat on my behalf. But my journey back took a turn for the worst. You see, the Times isn't metro accessible and it is off the highway in what some lady called "the hole." But the not so helpful woman from metro 411 told me it was possible to take a bus to a certain point and walk the rest of the way. But from what I could see she was dead wrong because I would've had to cross the freeway. So I went to a main street and tried hailing a cab--only every taxi I tried flagging down would either just wave back at me or hold their "off duty" sign up to the window. I'm sure it was a laughable site to any outsider but to me it was beyond infuriating.