I actually liked this play more than I thought I would. When Charley says, "Nobody dast blame this man. You don't understand: Willy was a salesman," it occured to me that professions really can kill. People are always talking about doing what you love, and I think that this play illustrates why.

Linda: "...the mind is what counts dear."

Willy has driven himself insane. Finally, his bi-polaric stance on every issue is catching up with him. In every conversation he seems to take both sides. He will proclaim Chevrolet as the best car company, and then minutes later condemn them. I think that part of this is the salesman within him -- willing to morph his own opinion in an effort to please whomever he is talking with.

This constant change of opinion has caused him lose himself. Coupled with the realization that he has more time behind him than he has ahead, he begins reliving the past and goes partially insane.

What he wants from his children, he isn't getting; what he wanted from life, has eluded him. It will be interesting to see where this play takes us.

COLLECTION

Coverage:
It Ain't Necessarily So (Conclusion)
We The Media (Intro, Ch. 1-2)
We The Media (Ch. 3-5)
We The Media (Ch 10)
We The Media (Ch 11 & 12, Epilogue )

Depth:
We The Media (Ch 10)

Timeliness:
We The Media (Ch 10)

Wildcard
Dark Days for US Newspapers

COLLECTION

Coverage:
Samuels, "Kindertransport"
Bolt, "A Man For All Seasons"
Wilson, "Fences"
Schnitzler, "Professor Bernhardi"
Schnitzler, "Professor Bernhardi" Acts 4-5
Kindertransport (SHU Production)

Depth:
Samuels, "Kindertransport" & Kindertransport (SHU Production)

Timeliness:
Kindertransport (SHU Production)

Discussions:
Bolt, "A Man For All Seasons"
Wilson, "Fences"

Wildcard
Dark Days for US Newspapers

More than a summation of the book, this statement is a prediction-- But will officials really pay attention their "everyman" constituency?

I headed to Boston over break, where I spent Thanksgiving with my girlfriend and her family. Her mother is the international editor of a major newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, and I ended up asking her about the effects of blogging, and the advent of "New Media Journalism." Her response was simply, "It will be interesting to see where blogging is five years from now." At first I thought her response to be skeptical- thinking that maybe her obvious bias for print journalism was clouding her better judgement- but realized that the lack of judgement was in fact mine.

Blogging is still in it's primordial state, and as we have seen from our (very reliable) News Writing class poll, a majority of us are still more likely to trust a print news source. In five years individual blogs may gain more sponsorship, credibility, and reader base than some newspapers. What will be "interesting" to see is whether these new "everyman" bloggers end up effecting politics and policy in the ways print media does today. Granted, this has already happened to some extent- aka the Drudge/Clinton scandal, but the best may be yet to come.

This chapter's purpose was to inform the reader how, while new media journalism is on the cutting edge technologically, legally the same laws apply. Even a blogger can potentially be sued for libel, though it is not likely. The chapter discusses media-related landmark court decisions, as well as new legislation that both supports and detracts from the "freedom" of new media journalism.

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Risky Business

Anyone in the business of publishing, whether through online or print media, must do so responsibly and with the knowledge that they can be held accountable for their publication.

"While the Net is a medium that grants great freedom, it doens't exist in a vacuum. Law applies online and off, and people who intend to practice grassroots journalism need to keep that in mind... It's important to consider some of the legal issues that have arisen in the online sphere. Libel is only one... questions include copyright, linking, jurisdiction, and liability for what others say on your site." (p.191-192)

"Online journalists are no less required to follow the law than anyone else. A blogger who commits libel may have to face the consequences." (p.192)

Gillmor uses Matt Drudge as an example, but notes how quickly Drudge set the record straight. A major advantage of Online Journalism is the "updateability," or instant editing possibility that print journalists never had. The reader no longer has to wait for the next issue to see a correction made, and can, in the case of blogs, even point out the mistake himself. In this way, blogs "advance journalistic freedom."

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Safeguards

Since online journalists can be held just as legally accountable as print journalists, what tools do they have to defend themselves?

Gillmor includes David L. Marburger's (First Amendment Law) two major principles as well as some commentary.

1) "Anyone who writes regularly on the Net about other people or institutions should try to be insured against libel."

2) "Writers 'should keep in mind who most often sues: people whose livelihoods depend on the goodwill of the public, who depend on reputation...ie: lawyers, doctors, government officials...companies.'" (p.193)

Marburger points out that most bloggers work under editors, or have specific critics. Without this "peer review" of sorts, bloggers are less likely to catch errors, or have the incentive to publish accurate reports. In class we have acknowledged that a large portion of the students are more likely to trust a print news source. This is the reason, especially when many blogs, "tend to be more about opinion than reporting." (p.194)

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Back to Legality

Opinions or "punditry" are hard to file as libel. So earlier, when Gillmor suggested that writing online is just as vulnerable to libel laws, he meant only if that source is claiming to publish unbiased news. Does this mean that a blogger can say virtually whatever he wants as long as he does so under the flag of opinion?

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Legislation Effecting New Media

The first major legislation discussed is the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Below are the applicable sections:

SEC. 230. PROTECTION FOR PRIVATE BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF
OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.

'(a) FINDINGS- The Congress finds the following:

(1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other
interactive computer services available to individual Americans
represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of
educational and informational resources to our citizens.
(3) The Internet and other interactive computer services
offer a forum for a true diversity of political discourse,
unique opportunities for cultural development, and myriad
avenues for intellectual activity.

'(b) POLICY- It is the policy of the United States--

(2) to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that
presently exists for the Internet and other interactive
computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation;
(3) to encourage the development of technologies which
maximize user control over what information is received by
individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and
other interactive computer services;

'(c) PROTECTION FOR `GOOD SAMARITAN' BLOCKING AND SCREENING OF
OFFENSIVE MATERIAL-
(1) TREATMENT OF PUBLISHER OR SPEAKER- No provider or user
of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the
publisher or speaker of any information provided by another
information content provider.

Part C essentially means that if someone posts something libelious on another's blog as a comment, the owner of the blog cannot be prosecuted. I think that this section answers one of the questions from a previous class about the accountablity of Hosting Organizations. We were discussing how Hosting Organizations have the right to eliminate any one of their clients sites without warning, but I think that this means they can't be held accountable either. Of course, this act only applies to Hosting Org's based in the U.S.

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Matters of Jurisdiction

Because the 1996 Telecommunications Act only applies to United States, it's important to examine the policy choices foreign countries are making in regard to similar issues.

In Australia for instance, the courts have determined that their citizens, corporations, and government can sue someone who's based in the U.S. or anywhere else. They likened internet publication to actual distributed publication. "The ruling was a blow to the open nature of the internet."(p.197)

I can imagine the first time the producer director read through the script. I didn't mind letting them piece together the stage directions for me.

I thought that the actors all did a good job of portraying their respective characters, though the accents were sometimes questionable.

Third, what gushes forth can take on a life of its own, even if it's not true."

These, "three new rules of public life," are important to note. But are these advancements positive or negative. I think both, but the good outweighs the bad. The fact that information is free to all, and that every cause and person is now being held before the public eye, results in a more honest society. If everyone knows that they are being watched, they are less likely to commit crimes of any kind. However, as nice as this would be-- "Fear of punishment never made man truly honest." Also, the "big brother" similarity is frightening. The third point bring up how even unfounded information-- even straight out lies-- can have an effect on people. People should be held responsible for Libel on line, but the online community is so large, and the path of anonymity so accessible, it would be hard to enforce.

Flint is so absorbed in politics, and the "political" takeover of the institution that he thinks gratitude is simply a gesture of account balancing.

This issue of concern for the cause or concern for the company keeps appearing in this text. The corporate political side is discussed by those who are concerned for the company, and those who are more concerned with treating the patients and, as Dr. Jerz pointed out, following the hippocratic oath, are left behind in the pit of minority.

I like this idea. When the author is talking about how he checked various sources and pieced together his own version of the 2000 election controversy, I took it to heart. With bloggers like Matt Drudge constantly choosing a variety of news sources, and even mediums, both local and international angles can be covered.

The book is aptly titled, because we (the people) really are the media now. With the advent of weblogs and easily accessible and changable HTML, we can choose what makes news. We, without corporate agenda, are able to create our own news, expose scandals, and be activists-- all from home.

I like where this book is going-- and the mental doors it opens.

"Professor Bernhardi" was an unusual play. It took me awhile to understand where the play was going, and the frequent use of more complex language made it all the more hard to understand.

The line above shows that both men have compassion for the unknowingly dying girl, but neither will concede to the other's proposed action. While the girl doesn't know she's dying, the priest wants to administer her "final rights," but the professor doesn't wants her final hours to be happy ones, not reminding the girl of her fate.

I wonder also about the implications of her slowly dying from a failed abortion, and how that fact may empassion the priest's desire to perform the ceremony.

A future of empty doorsteps? Dark days for US newspapers

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Here's an update (11/15/05)

Web Site to Blend Journalism With Blogs

"Some people build fences to keep people out and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you."

The whole play is about this. Metaphorically, society fenced out Troy from playing Major League baseball. In this way, Prejudices construct fences to keep people out. Prejudice begets fear, and those who are fearful construct fences to protect their own. When Troy disallows Cory from playing sports in college, he is trying to save him from the pain he experienced when his similar dreams were broken. Fences are founded in fear.

David Jump!

Wondering how we did it? Click below...

What an great foreshadowing line. At some point More's idealogy will get in the way of his generous nature.

Wolsey: "You're a constant regret to me, Thomas. If you could just see facts flat on, without that horrible moral squint; with just a little common sense, you could have been a statesmen."

The method Wolsey uses to try to get More to take his side is complex, and this line is a set up. I enjoy how More's ideological side comes through when he debates,

"Well...I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties... they lead their country by a short route to chaos."

Wolsey may be more practical, but I like More's prespective. Wolsey after all, is the enemy.