April 2006 Archives
Roy Peter Clark's essay "The Line between Fact and Fiction" addresses objectivity in journalism, a subject I've discussed before. He notes that while being objective is what people expect a journalist to be, subjectivity is inevitable. "The best journalists can do is to offer multiple frames through which events and issues can be seen." Clark says there are basic principles and guidlines, however. He provides three -- "Do not add, do not deceive, and be unobtrusive." These are important and simple guidelines, but Clark also talks about the modern media moving towards "infotainment." Reporting the truth to the best of a reporter's knowledge does not mean that they will wisely choose their content. We see more and more screaming headlines and scandal stories in the media today, none of which necessarily have misleading information. Clark also may have provided his opinion on appropriate and newsworthy content in his essay.
Roy Peter Clark's essay "The Line between Fact and Fiction" addresses objectivity in journalism, a subject I've discussed before. He notes that while being objective is what people expect a journalist to be, subjectivity is inevitable. "The best journalists can do is to offer multiple frames through which events and issues can be seen." Clark says there are basic principles and guidlines, however. He provides three -- "Do not add, do not deceive, and be unobtrusive." These are important and simple guidelines, but Clark also talks about the modern media moving towards "infotainment." Reporting the truth to the best of a reporter's knowledge does not mean that they will wisely choose their content. We see more and more screaming headlines and scandal stories in the media today, none of which necessarily have misleading information. Clark also may have provided his opinion on appropriate and newsworthy content in his essay.
I just got this e-mail from Pres. Boyle's office.
I am very sorry to inform you of the death of Mrs. Marcia A. Pietrala, Public Services/ILL Librarian at Reeve Library, on Thursday, April 13th.
Marcia started the Reeves Library weblog.
Visitation information follows.
Hey, I'm trying to get in touch with any graduating seniors who've managed to find employment before graduation, in order to ask some questions for a news feature article. If you are such a senior (or know one I could speak to), and could contact me at the email address below (or leave your own here in a comment), I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Chris Ulicne
cecil.chris@gmail.com
Daily Record - Parsippany - Seven Parsippany students suspended for MySpace accounts
Seven Parsippany High School students will serve 5-day suspensions starting next Monday for setting up two MySpace.com accounts filled with photos and "vulgarities" about classmates and teachers, Interim Superintendent James Dwyer said today.
The Petition had a greater response than Karissa and I could have hoped, yet I am struck with a feeling of inadequacy with the administration dismissing the petitions. Could we fight harder for an explaination to authoritative stubbornness? As students, faculty, and those staff (that did not sign for concern of reprimand), develop a united Seton Hill, it becomes unclear who the Administration administers to. Hopefully we will have the chance to address this further and more indepth in an e-mail to all students. I hope everyone enjoys a reflective Easter.
Wired has an interesting article that focuses on one particular case, but offers an overview of other incidents:
Wired News: Lying Through Their TeethIn an era where media fraud has become easier to catch and diffuse, the media is itself a victim of fraud or exaggeration, perhaps more often than it would like to admit. From a fake press release that caused Emulex's stock to tank in 2000, to 2004's toothing scandal and the recently revealed faked stem-cell research results, hoaxes happen. And sometimes, those that are uncovered retain their status as truth for a long time.
We wrote it, you signed it, and so many of us supported it.
The petition in support of having Easter Monday off so that students wouldn't have to spend Easter Sunday on the road, away from their families instead of observing the holiday that is the basis for Christianity, was presented today to the administration. Stephan Puff and I collected nearly 450 signatures of students and over 20 signatures of faculty in support of our proposition.
As one may expect, the schedule is not being changed. Please know that class will be in session on Monday, April 17th. If you are one that must travel a great distance to get back to the Hill, you are advised to talk to your professors about your situation to find a resolution.
Some have claimed that this was an oversight in scheduling that was done far in advance. Some claim that we are required to go to class because of a compulsory number of class days for each day of the week. Some claim that this isn't a problem.
Students of Seton Hill: thank you for all of your support, personal stories and sentiments, and willingness to come together for a good cause. It's amazing what kind of response you get when something that affects so many people is given attention.
Let's hope that this is something that never needs addressed again.
I’m putting together a proposal for a panel or perhaps a set of computer poster-papers. Would you like to co-present a paper about your SHU blogging?
Lippman compares the role of a journalist to be, in many cases, like the role of a baseball umpire who must call a game that is played with no rules, positions, or scores. Lippman wrote this is an essay that was written in 1922 however. While I still believe much of what he writes about the imposibility of complete objectivity in journalism is true, there seem to be more tools today that allow a reporter to call a fairer game, so to speak.
First, the accuracy of surveys, which usually have a plus-minus error of no more than a few percentage points, is a great way to accurately guage public opinion. Also, Lippman used the example of a workers strike to show how a reporter must decide whether or not the workers in a strike operate in sub-par conditions or if they are being unreasonable. Today, unlike, I'm sure, in 1922, there are definite standards for these types of situations defined by the government and unions. A third reason journalism is somewhat more objective today is simply the wider array of perspectives involved in making the news. Lippman stated that "a relatively few number of men," determined the news. Today, with the advent of the internet, women and minorities in journalism, more people weigh in on what he read and see. Even Joe Schmoe with a blog can put in his two cents on the World Wide Web.
CFP: Virtual Reality in Real Life 2006 (Online Conference) | Kairosnews
VR@RL seeks participants interested in investigating the intersection of rhetoric and new media. The conference seeks to provide a forum for scholars working in this emerging area of inquiry, to address common problems in research and teaching, and to uncover fruitful points of connection. Fundamentally, the conference will address new media as it exists now and as it is emerging as an embodied, material concern.
Topics might include:
* new media in technical and professional writing programs
* new media in first-year composition
* the rhetoric of blogging and podcasting
* the impact of technology on theories of writing
* rhetoric and composition’s disciplinary future in new media
* new cultural practices and communities related to new media
* copyright and intellectual property
We are particularly interested in presentations that will make use of new media formats including screencasts, video, audio, and, of course, hypertext.
Newspapers and media outlets should be completely unbiased and, with maybe the exception of the editorial page, keep their noses out of politics. This is the general consensus of the public today. Print and broadcast media are constantly accused of having a liberal bias, or if you are a paper like the Greensburg Trib or an outlet like Fox News, it is a conservative bias that concerns people. And of course all major media sources are suspect because of their dependence on advertisers. Much of this is the subject of Helen MacGill Hughes' chapter "From Politics to Human Interest," from her 1940 book News and the Human Interest Story. Hughes discusses the evolution of newspapers from a vehicle of political parties to the big business enterprises they became 60 years ago, when the article was written. Before newspapers were funded by advertisements, political parties put out their own papers. This was not seen as a conflict of interest -- in fact Hughes notes that people did not trust papers that claimed to be unbiased. The political papers isolated the common man however, which allowed for the birth of news that wasn't all serious and political. These newspapers claimed no party affiliation and were funded almost exclusively by ads. So which is better for the public, an openly biased paper or a paper claiming to be as unbiased as possible? I don't know the answer, although I think the reader needs to be somewhat responsible for seeking news from established and reputable sources. The problem with our current system of big business media is that monopolies control too much of what the public sees.
... and now you get errors when adding new entries?
This is a very common problem. It's a shame the MT system doesn't tell you what you should have done first in order to avoid this problem, and the error message you receive doesn't help you solve the problem at all. But it's easily fixed. This version is for MT 3.2.
Students hope Mideast video game will produce insights, investors - OhmyNews International
The complex choices facing leaders in the Middle East have long confounded observers. But two graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University are hoping their video game based on the conflict will help players find solutions _ and raise capital for their new company.
[...]
But will a video game focused on a sensitive geopolitical standoff attract both players and investors? Proponents of so-called serious games, an emerging genre of interactive games that tackle real-world problems, think so. But major video game makers, while applauding such efforts, are wary of investing in them.
Wired News: The Best Internet Spoofs
"It must be true. I read it on the internet." Au contraire, mon frere. Internet hoaxes have been around for as long as the internet itself, and we never run out of people willing to fall for them.
Some are so clever that it's easy to be taken in. Others are so patently ridiculous that you should probably slash your wrists for falling so easily. Here are 10 of the best.
