Is this Juicy?

I have to hear your opinions on this one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/fashion/16juicy.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=fashion&adxnnlx=1206806357-vMRPG2FS2XSd3RHzhng60w
It's a story on the Juicy Campus Web site, of which we are, thankfully, not currently a part. I visited after reading this piece and was astounded.
Where does this fit in the sphere of information? Is it ethical to allow anonymous posts? What are the social implications? What recourse do people have when they are the focus of posts?

Facebook and Tragedy

Check out this blog post at the University of Massachusetts. Be sure to read the comments below it. We've covered this terrain in 202 before, and I wrote a column about it for the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
I'm curious what you think of the practice of reporters and editors going into MySpace and Facebook profiles of people after they've died or been injured. Is it ethical? Necessary?

LA Times Hoax

The LA Times had to apologize this week, acknowledging that its controversial story on the Tupac Shakur slaying relied in part on falsified documents. The Smoking Gun revealed the hoax.
It's a valuable case for you to look at through the lens of our discussions on judging source credibility. Check out this piece in Slate and this one from Poynter on how they might have avoided falling into this trap.

Cover controversy

If you didn't catch it, we've had some chattering this week over a Vogue cover with LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen. Here's one posting, but you can Google for hundreds more.
I thought this note was a great addition to the discussion. Check out the picture comparison.
Do you think it plays to racial or sexual stereotypes? Is it offensive?

Student paper censorship

From a 202er:

Hi Katy,

I realize this is a little outdated, but this Chicago Tribune article delves into a topic you touched on in last Monday's lecture. This Illinois high school teacher was forced out of her position as advisor to her school's paper because of her decision to allow a column with profanity (and a student's thoughts on smoking and dealing pot).
Parents and the administration were outraged, yet her staff, both current and alums, back her fully. According to the article and the students, she did amazing things for the paper, so did she deserve to be fired?

Pranking in Wrigleyville

The Chicago Tribune had a little fun at the Sun-Times' expense, and some people don't like it. They don't like it very much at all. The staffer responsible defends his choices, and most coverage has highlighted it as a prank.
Is it ethical?

Political bickering

A new post from a 202er:

Hey Katy,

Thought this would be great for the blog. This CNN clip is about broadcast news anchors getting mad with each other on air over how their stations have covered the elections. I guess it shows the strains on the talking heads when they talk about the same issues endlessly!

Enjoy

KC News Meeting

What's in the news this week? I'll goose a limited list, but you do the rest. Last quiz ... but that doesn't mean you can stop reading/listening/watching.
- China and Tibet
- mortgage crisis and bailouts
- sniper fire in Bosnia
- the 4,000 mark in Iraq
- two candidates, a pastor and speeches on race

High on sourcing

Check out this piece on marijuana availability from the student newspaper at Tulane. Let's open a discussion on credibility and anonymous sourcing. Is this piece believable? What might have improved it? Do your experiences on this campus jibe with the reporting here? What would you expect of your student newspapers in a similar situation?

Interviews by e-mail

Here's a blog post by a Tribune reporter, taking another newspaper to task for declining to engage in an e-mail interview. He raises some interesting points, but I still have to say, e-mail interviews are an absolute last resort. I also wish someone would raise the issue that the subject in question is a public employee and refusing to answer questions as such should raise red flags for the citizens paying her salary. Also, his assumption that an e-mail from the president reflects her own words, rather than those of her PR staff, is naive. He should toddle through J202.
What do you think?

Making News

TA Melissa Tully sent a great piece from "Here on Earth" about making news. Go to our course podcast in Learn@UW to listen.

Spitzer and the media

An interesting column about how the media overlooked some of Eliot Spitzer's behavior as he was built into the "white knight" of Wall Street. Here's another example of the same logic. A good perspective I had been overlooking.
Also, I spoke with some of you about the issue of a political spouse standing by a fallen figure (and some of you caught my comment in my Facebook status update). I found this piece quite persuasive.

Keeping track of consumers online

Look at this story on how online behavior is monitored.
_______
A new analysis of online consumer data shows that large Web companies are learning more about people than ever from what they search for and do on the Internet, gathering clues about the tastes and preferences of a typical user several hundred times a month.

These companies use that information to predict what content and advertisements people most likely want to see. They can charge steep prices for carefully tailored ads because of their high response rates.

The analysis, conducted for The New York Times by the research firm comScore, provides what advertising executives say is the first broad estimate of the amount of consumer data that is transmitted to Internet companies.
_______
What are the ethics of this kind of monitoring? Government needs special clearance to peep on citizens (though this is far more arguable after the Patriot Act). Does it matter that it's industry watching your activities, not government? And if so, how? Does it matter that you leave a trail when you use, say, gmail?

Photo manipulation

Here's a terrific resource to expand on yesterday's lecture discussion of manipulation of images. Check it out.
But a student raised a great discussion topic via IM. Manipulation is supposedly verboten in news. What about strat comm? Swimsuit models don't really look like they appear to in ads. They've been retouched to look better. Is this OK? Do you think the average consumer understands this? Should that matter? What are the social implications of making people look better than they actually do? What are the gender implications.

Anchor vs. Reporter

Check out this snarky exchange. Can't say as I recall ever seeing anything like it.
What does this say about professionalism? What, if anything, should happen to these two staffers?

KC's News Meeting

Some highlights from the week. What are yours?
- diplomatic crisis in Latin America
- primaries the made one party's decision but not another's
- a "monster" and a campaign resignation
- jobs losses and recession fears
- killings at Jerusalem seminary
- some quarterback retired

On and Off the Record

An Obama campaign supporter has stepped down after calling Hillary Clinton a "monster." Samantha Power also writes for TIME magazine.
She tried to take the comment off the record but the publication said it as clearly on. What do you think of the exchange? Should the comment have been used?
Should TIME respond? And if so, how?

Slideshow Sample

A 202er sent this slideshow as an example of what you might do when you do this portion of your Individual Story assignment:

http://www.madison.com/wsj/media/acapella/index.html