Thursday, May 5, 2011

Final Blog Post

For my final blog post, I will comment on the company presentation that I think is the most viable in today's society.

In my opinion, the most viable and well presented independent media organization is the travelingtrue.com by Becky Webster. Basically, the website provides users with all the information that they could ever possibly need in order to plan a trip for a family of five that will be both fun and sustainably conscious.

This is an extremely relevant topic because there is so much concern about sustainability and reducing your carbon footprint. It is also a viable company in our economy because even though we are still dealing with a financial crisis, people are still going on vacations, and what better way to enjoy your vacation than by helping out the local economy at the same time?

Becky presented her idea in a very well thought out and organized manner. Her budget presentation, ideas for marketing, and budget proposal not only made sense but convinced the "board members" that she was very invested in the subject and would be a well organized business partner.

This site fills a void that is apparent in our society today. It fills the niche of the aware traveler, and it promotes the positive side of traveling sustainably. I think this was the best presentation of the class, and is also the most viable option.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Evenhandedness

Lets take a look at Jim Lehrer's NewsHour from this FAIR article:


"Public interest groups accounted for just 4 percent of total sources. General public—"person in the street," workers, students— accounted for only 14 percent, while current and former government and military officials totaled 50 percent of all sources.

Male sources outnumbered women by more than 4-to-1 (82 percent to 18 percent). Moreover, 72 percent of U.S. guests were white males, while just 6 percent were women of color.

People of color made up only 15 percent of U.S. sources. African-Americans made up 9 percent, Latinos 2 percent, and Asian- Americans and people of Mideastern descent made up one percent each. Alberto Gonzales accounted for more than 30 percent of Latino sources, while Condoleeza Rice accounted for nearly 13 percent of African-American sources.

Among partisan sources, Republicans outnumbered Democrats on the NewsHour by 2-to-1 (66 percent vs. 33 percent). Only one representative of a third party appeared during the study period.

At a time when a large proportion of the U.S. public already favored withdrawal from Iraq, "stay the course" sources outnumbered pro-withdrawal sources more than 5-to-1. In the entire six months studied, not a single peace activist was heard on the NewsHour on the subject of Iraq.

Segments on Hurricane Katrina accounted for less than 10 percent of all sources, but provided nearly half (46 percent) of all African-American sources during the study period. Those African-Americans were largely presented as victims rather than leaders or experts: In segments on the human impact of the storm, African-Americans made up 51 percent of sources, but in reconstruction segments, whites dominated with 72 percent of sources; 59 percent of all African-American sources across Katrina segments were general public sources. "

So either we are being lied to or the rest of the population has no idea what even handedness is. hmm. Interesting.

I would much rather have a news organization tell me that they were going to support one political slant as opposed to the other so I could at least have the ability to understand the slant and take that information for what it is.

In the UK, residents have to pay to watch television with a TV License Fee. This way, they can decide exactly where they want their money to go. I studied abroad in London for five months and did not have the opportunity to watch television in my house because I did not pay the fee, but my friends who did paid the minimum for five basic channels. In the UK they are very upfront about what political slant (if any) their news outlet is going to take, and you can listen to the news from a million different stations and political slants. The more you watch and listen, the more you can form your own opinion and make a well-informed decision.

I'm not quite understanding why we haven't done this in this country..

Public Broadcasting?

For as long as I can remember, public broadcasting has been the one station I was allowed to watch. I did not watch cable when I was child- we simply did not have cable. I grew up watching PBS with Arthur and the concert series on the weekends. What I've come to find, and what has become a most devastating realization about my childhood, is that even PBS has accepted gifts from political parties.

This is most disappointing. I vaguely remember watching Arthur and then all of a sudden there was a commercial for something (which I didn't understand at the time) which somewhat resembled a political ad. Well, my suspicions have been confirmed in this article, which notes that PBS accepted a gift from the GOP and FCC- "permission for public broadcasters to commercialize some of their new digital channels."

Well that just doesn't sit well with me. The reason we did not pay for cable when I was a child was so that I would not be exposed to blatant political support and corruption and would be able to make my own decisions without the influence of colorful ads and pretty music.

If even PBS is commercializing, who can we possibly trust?

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Transparency is the new objectivity

In an article on Joho, the blog, about transparency being the "new" objectivity, the author says "The problem with objectivity is that it tries to show what the world looks like from no particular point of view, which is like wondering what something looks like in the dark." I have never had an simile resonate so much with me as that sentence. It hits the nail squarely on the head, and I think it is a sentiment that should be more widely understood.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hyper Local News

Today in my news editing class we skyped with Amanda Gillooly, editor of the Canon-Macmillan Patch.com site. I had heard of Patch.com briefly in passing or in other classes, but it had always slipped my mind to look it up or look into what it was all about.

I was surprised to find out two things: one, that it was a hyper local site that has locations all over the country, is run by one editor and a bunch of freelancers, and reports on news in its specific "patch," and two, that is was owned by AOL.

The first question that was asked of her was whether AOL had any control over what was published by their particular Patch. Amanda said that she had never once had a problem with AOL not liking the material she was writing, nor did she think that she would be covering material that AOL would care so much to advise for or against.

It was interesting to me that something that appears so independent would actually be owned by AOL, but then again we all thought Huffington Post was entirely independent too...

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Homeless Inspiration

Yesterday we had a speaker, Mark Hovarth, come in to our multimedia class to discuss his path from homelessness to getting off the streets to founding his website, Invisiblepeople.tv.

Invisiblepeople is essentially a documentary website where Hovarth travels the country documenting the homeless people that he meets in order to get their story and have others hear it.

Previously a TV production manager in LA, Hovarth discussed how the life of drugs and alcohol eventually drove him to the streets. Sick of that life, he worked to get himself off the streets and back into a 3 bedroom home. But he never forgot the life he had once led. He took it upon himself to get the message out to the world that homelessness is a serious problem and what the government is doing right now just simply isn't enough.

He started another website, We Are Visible, in which he details how to set up a gmail account, a twitter, a facebook and how to blog so that they can get their stories out and their voices heard.

The most amazing thing about this is the fact that one of the twitter accounts is currently run by a homeless woman. In this age of technology, it is still possible for homeless people to be connected on the internet, even if they don't have the money to feed themselves or live in a house or shelter of some sort. This is what Hovarth is banking off of. YouTube gave him their home page on August 22, and he got millions of views.

This is the type of indy media activism that needs to grow stronger. It is in this way that he is affecting change, one person at a time.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Refreshing Perspective

On Tuesday, we had a guest speaker in class, Legal Insurrection founder and blogger William Jacobson. The law professor at Cornell University started this conservative blog as a small forum to express his views with friends and family. Eventually, it was picked up and linked to by slightly larger blogs, and through some networking efforts, Legal Insurrection has become one of the most recognized conservative blogs.

The visit was an incredibly refreshing one. I must admit I was slightly nervous that we would hit a nerve with the differences in political opinion floating around the room, but it was actually one of the best presentations I have heard.

Something I really appreciated was the fact that he was very transparent with why he does what he does, especially on the financial front. I also really appreciated that he both understood and respected the fact that most people in the room were liberal or left-leaning, and expressly stated exactly what he wrote about and why.

He mentioned that he would not purposefully bash a right wing person if they did something that was not in their political favor as he would a left wing, he would simply not mention it. I respected that because he was completely honest with us, and if we are honest with ourselves, we can admit that this is how all media people work, whether we like to admit it or not.

Overall, I truly appreciated the visit and feel like I have gotten a good perspective from the other side of the political spectrum, which was, as I have aid, incredibly refreshing.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Torn Apart

I was shown this story in the San Jose Mercury the other day. It is a fascinating multimedia package about undocumented immigrants in the US and the struggles they face when their families are torn apart when parents are deported.

The most fascinating thing about this website is that it has both a video, a full length story, and two audio clips from interviews with people on either side of the story.

This type of project is something you would expect to see on a more independent news site, one that has no bottom line or corporate sponsor to own up to, so it was surprising to see this on a regular mainstream news outlet.

It refreshing to be able to both read and visualize a story, especially one of this importance and relevance. Having the multimedia aspect gives the story impact and purpose, which is something that the media could greatly benefit from today.


Point for Indy Media

In a recent article about Talking Points Memo and how they received the George Polk Awards, it is absolutely amazing that one journalist who had started out just as most bloggers do (at home, late at night, probably downing some caffeine-related beverage), could grow to the point where he could hire an entire staff and cause so much ruckus as to be recognized by what is essentially the Golden Globes for journalism.

The list of accomplishments goes on:

"The winners include Leila Fadel, the Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, a 26-year-old woman who reports from some of the most dangerous regions of Iraq, as well as journalists who peeked under Vice President Cheney's veil of secrecy, toxic river pollution in China, unsafe cribs, infant mortality in Mississippi, the Blackwater scandal, human rights abuses in Burma, healthcare scams, and the courageous work of Oakland's Chauncey Bailey, who was slain as he investigated drug dealers in his hometown."

The most notable thing is that these accomplishments were made during a time when the industry was thought to be taking a turn for the worse. In the past few years, journalism has taken on a completely different meaning, and in many cases that means it has almost completely transformed in all aspects, including dissemination. TPM is a perfect example of how one person could take the change for good instead of bad, and make something truly important about it.

Hands down, it is one of the most influential blogs on the internet today, and has absolutely had the most significant effect on the government and society.

We Are Visible

I was recently introduced to this website, We Are Visible, which is essentially a social network for homeless people. Their slogan, "Sign Up, Speak Out, Be Seen," is their mission for the site. The site aids homeless people who do not have the money to pay for rent, etc., but do have money to access the internet or phone service to connect with others to have their voice heard and to get their story out there for others to hear and hopefully do something about.

Under the "Why Social Media?" tab, there are stories from contributors about how they have made connections with people across the country and across the globe who did not realize they were homeless at first.

One quote was especially interesting: "People aren't used to the 21st Century Homeless People, who have laptops and mobiles and even money in the bank!"

The site allows you to follow the contributors on Twitter, friend them on Facebook, and follow their blogs, which facilitates their progress in having their voice heard.

The site walks you through signing up for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and setting up a blog and then the next steps have the contributors send their message out to the world.

This is a fascinating new idea that really found its niche and is doing quite well.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

First Amendement Rights

I just stumbled upon this article in my research and wanted to share it- a comprehensive view of historical indy journalists and why bloggers should enjoy their first amendment rights.

Should Bloggers Be Covered By the First Amendment?

"Anyone who engages in reporting – whether for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, or blogs – deserves equal protection under those laws, whether the news is delivered with a quill pen or a computer."


Big Brother's Looming

In an article in New York Times on the purchase of the Hartford Advocate by the Hartford Currant, Big Brother has resurfaced.

Similar to the purchase of the Huffington Post by AOL, the concern of this particular purchase is that these two publications are everything the other isn't, and the new ownership will now have an impact on the type of coverage and style, not to mention slant, of the each of the publications.

In journalism 101, you learn that the purpose of the journalist, the fourth estate, is to function as a check on the other three balances of power. The more publications there are, the more views are covered, and more checks are put on the politics in charge.

With a very strong Big Brother feel, media has developed into a shard monopoly and children of those monopolies. Most people are unaware of the fact that companies like Disney and ABC are owned by the same conglomerate. More importantly, most people are unaware of the hierarchy of news media, particular television news.

Because there is a level of ignorance on this issue, it is easier for media conglomerates to feed slanted information to the masses, all the while entirely undetected.

Makes you stop and think about what information you are getting, doesn't it?


Blogger's Rights

In a recent article by Sieon Roux at the Oregonian, "Bloggers might be excluded from Oregon's executive meetings," Roux discusses how certain city councils, like that of Lake Oswego, do not have any legislature on the legal rights of bloggers as either journalists or citizens.

Oswego may define news organizations as "institutionalized," "well-established," and producing at least 25 percent news content.

This is ridiculous. It is an arbitrary decision that, if decided upon, would greatly restrict the dissemination of pertinent news information to the general public in that local area. This is against a journalist's first amendment rights, and, in this day and age, bloggers just happen to be journalists.

Judson Randall, President of Open Oregon, discussed how it is nearly impossible to define what exactly news is and who could

"The policy also raises new and troubling questions because it attempts to use content and "news" to determine whether a media organization is legitimate, said Judson Randall, president of Open Oregon.

"'Who defines news?' he asked. 'If somebody writes a column, is that news? Is there information in there that is newsworthy you wouldn't consider news? There's all kinds of shades in there. If I were a city council, I wouldn't want to be in a position to decide that.'"

With the same concerns that surfaced when television came into being and the future of radio seemed uncertain, it is clear that the future of print journalism is facing the same concerns, but in light of this situation, it seems backwards to prevent the new media from having access to the same information that an apparently dying breed has access to.

In the independent blog Lorell on Wordpress, she states that "Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy, and Internet bullies shouldn't use the law to stifle legitimate free expression."

Because there are an abundance of independent journalists with blogs and access to internet-based media with which they can make their pieces viral, the online consensus is that bloggers have the same right as "professional" journalists.

Wait one second. Do you know how many "professional" journalists have turned into indy bloggers. Furthermore, what exactly is a "professional" journalist and who is to decide? Is it their credentials, their title, the status (or lack thereof) of the publication where they work?

The answer is clear. In a world of citizen journalism, everyone is a journalist. However, it is the moral integrity and talent of the journalist that determines their credibility and the "professional"ism. Those who prove themselves should be awarded the same rights as "professional" journalists, and it is absurd that this is even still a discussion.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Grassroots Fundraising

In the article "His Fans Greenlight the Project," Glen Greenwald is able to raise $267,892 in just 10 days for his idea for a movie, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers." At the time, the movie had not been created or funded in anyway. By simply utilizing his fan base and list of emails, he appealed to his audience members and familiar names to help him fund a movie that would have an incredible impact on the November elections. He broke down the costs into numbers that people could understand: "4000 people giving $50 each. We'll put everyone's name in the credits." He promised names in the credits and just like that he was funded.

This story is somewhat shocking, but not all that surprising in today's world of immediacy. It gives hope to those independent journalists who are looking for a niche, or who may have already found a niche, and are simply faced with the obstacle of funding their ideas.

Starting an independent project is an obstacle in itself. Besides the obvious trials and tribulations that come with developing a plan of action, a cohesive project proposal, and answering the ever-important "why does anyone care" question, finding a niche and someone to fund your project is an enormous feat.

Strengthening Independent Media, "a multi-year initiative of the Salzburg Global Seminar, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Global Forum for Media Development, which aims to bring greater strategic focus and coordination to the field of independent media development around the world," focuses much of its energy on helping independent media sources find funding and raise awareness about their outlet. It is organizations like this that greatly aid the progress of independent media.

But if you took the Greenwald approach, you'd probably get more money quicker. Keep that method in your back pocket for later use.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Who IS a journalist?

Who is a journalist? Does anyone even really know?

For many people, a journalist is someone who went to a prestigious communications school, received their communications degree, and has had years of experience at a journalistic institution.

For journalists, a journalist is someone with a certain sense of moral and journalistic integrity who has an innate curiosity about the world and the desire to inform the public of necessary information and to be a part of the fourth estate.

Chris Daly, BU professor, blogged in 2005 that: "Recently, for example, Los Angeles Times media critic David Shaw argued that bloggers should not be considered journalists because they have no experience, they have no editors, and they have no standards."

First of all, who is to say these bloggers have no experience? Many times bloggers are quite experienced journalists who simply do not want to work for the conglomerate media anymore. Blogging is a forum for them to maintain their loyal audience while be able to publish important information free from bias.

Secondly, is there a standard police watching the blogosphere? I think not. If someone is active enough to be blogging frequently about things that actually matter to society, it is most likely they have some sort of standard that they are following.

In a 2005 Slate article, Jacob Weisbergs says that: "Even before the advent of blogging, the issue of who qualified as a journalist was a tricky one. Were the pamphleteers of the American Revolution journalists? Was Mark Twain?...Today, a limitless number of people with no institutional backing can establish themselves as reporters, analysts, or commentators, abide by whatever rules they prefer, find audiences of varying types and sizes, and perhaps even earn a living....These days, freedom of the press is available not just in theory but in practice to an unlimited number of individuals."

Yes, there are endless numbers of bloggers with no education, and no "institutional backing." Yes, they can abide by whatever rules and standards they choose.

BUT- this is the epitome of freedom of the press: the ability for a person with an innate curiosity and journalistic integrity to discover and disseminate news to the masses in an unbiased way.

So, I ask you. Who is a journalist?


Thursday, February 17, 2011

History Truly Does Repeat Itself

On July 13th, 2009 the Huffington Post reported that the Chinese government, in reaction to the deadly riots that broke out in Xinjiang, shut down the internet and mobile phone service, blocked Twitter and its Chinese equivalent Fanfou, deleted updates and video from social networking sites, and offered traditional journalists the opportunity to come into the area.

Amazingly, this article proves that history truly does repeat itself. Not only in the case of Iran, but more recently in Egypt, where all technology communication was shut down as tensions rose between the masses and the government.

Huffington has a good point when she says that you don't have to be where the action is to bear witness to what is going on. At the same time, you could be right in the midst of all the action and the turmoil and "fail to bear witness."

There is something to be said for independent and "new technology" media that the government feels threatened enough by their coverage of certain events that they completely and totally destroy their access. Clearly, these independent journalists are pushing the envelope.

The question is, why would China have prevented this new media but allowed in the traditional media?

They thought they could spin the traditional media news.

Earth to China: once something goes online, it is there forever, no matter how hard you try to delete it. The second something goes viral, everyone knows about it. There is no spinning independent media.


Monday, February 14, 2011

A breeding ground for disinformation?

Any news article that contains the phrase "roundly denounced the Web as a breeding ground for disinformation" is cause for concern.

The article "As Web Challenges French Leaders, They Push Back" in the New York Times, discusses the lawsuit brought against a 50 year old woman who published a comment about an apparent lie a member of the ministry said.

It is never as apparent that in America we have so much internet freedom than when we compare it to foreign countries. For example, Nicholas Sarkozy "receives a nightly report detailing the day's online chatter." Well, if you ask me, this is just absurd. First of all, the entire purpose of the media, corporate or not, is to be the fourth estate, the watchdog, the check that balances every other check. With this institution, they are dissolving the the watch dog media down to obedient lap dogs.

Probably the most infuriating part of this article is the quote: "“The Internet is a danger for democracy,” said Jean-François Copé, parliamentary chief for the governing party, the Union for a Popular Movement, in a recent radio interview."

There are no words to describe how ignorant this statement is. Further, there is a quote in the story about how the transparency of the media is the "beginnings of totalitarianism." Absurdity.

This society, this world as a whole, NEEDS the media, independent or otherwise. The sole purpose of the media is to watch out for its citizens. While I will wholeheartedly agree with the school of thought that corporate media is entirely biased and not performing as it should, I will go ahead and say that we are ever so luck to have so many independent media outlets who still understand the true purpose of why journalism exists. It is these outlets that will save our democracy.

Sorry, Mr. Sarkozy, you're going to have to get used to transparency.


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Leap Frog Journalism

In this world of fast-paced, high speed everything, tensions are rising between the old media and the new in the epic battle of the corporate ladder climber versus the instant celebrity.

Throughout history, climbing the journalistic ladder from copy editor to reporter/writer to editor was the just the "way it was done." No one questioned it and journalists accepted that they would have to work their way up in order to become somebody. Flash forward to the time of bloggers and citizen journalism, and you have yourself a whole new ball game. No longer do journalists have to pay their dues and bide their time in order to be a recognized reporter. They simply set up a blog, publish their opinion and wait for the moment when they will blow up on the independent journalism scene.

Once they do, tensions rise and the competition between old media and new media flares up again.

A perfect example of this "citizen journalism over takes old media" phenomenon is the story of Tavi Gevinson, the 13-year-old author of the blog Style Rookie. In true rags-to-riches style, this little blogger has exploded on the fashion journalism scene, and ruffling a few feathers along the way. Given front row seats at the fashion shows of Marc Jacobs, Rodarte, and many others, Gevinson is not making many friends in the traditional media. For those who have work 20-plus years to secure those seats, the fact that this little girl has leap frogged her way into their position does not sit well.

For those of us who are looking towards independent media as an outlet for our journalistic talents, this is just the pick-me-up we need. For all those times that we are told there is no future in traditional media, there are ten times as many opportunities to create our own media. We simply have to look "up" to bloggers like Gevinson for inspiration.

Who knew that one day you would be able to leap frog your way through (and in some ways defeat) corporate journalism? What a great day.