Journalism and Entrepreneurship

Interesting piece on PBS today about young journalists needing to think like entrepreneurs and journalism schools failing them in that. (It talks exclusively about reporting, but I think it applies equally to strategic communication.)
I say a lot of things consistently in J202 ("accuracy isn't everything, it's the only thing" and "credibility is a fickle dance partner"), but one of the things I'll say to you often is that I'm not helping you learn to meet the bar of the professional world. I'm goosing you to raise it.
UW has an interesting entrepreneurship effort going on right now. You might want to check it out.

Coach v. Columnist

Check out this column in today's State Journal, commenting on Badger Football Coach Bret Bielema's statements on the media rumor mill. The comments posted to the bottom are also worth reading.
Who's right? Does Bielema have a point that reporters speculate too early? Or does Oates prevail with his idea that reporting is necessary and simply getting spoon-fed by the Athletic Department shouldn't be what he and his colleagues are about?

KC's News Meeting

Hi everyone. Each week I'll put in a blog entry for my "news meeting." A news meeting in a newsroom would be the session at which editors decide what's worth putting in the paper or online. TV and radio have them too. Some PR practitioners also send out "morning meeting" roundups to reporters when they try to pitch stories.
We'll use the news meeting as a way to clue each other into what's news. I'll lead off with some things I've been reading about this week and you can add comments to throw in your ideas. I'll scan the activity on Sunday nights before I write current events questions for the quiz, but I can't make any promises that all the questions will come from the blog activity. I can only say the more active you are, the more likely you'll cover everything I will.
So, without further delay, our first-ever KC News Meeting. Currently, I'm reading a lot about:
- John McCain's resurging candidacy
- a guy named Rudy who used to be a front-runner
- race and gender in the Democratic primary battle
- Suharto's death (for real reasons but also because it ties to one of the best journalism movies EVER, check out my Facebook favs for more info)
- economic stimulus package
- subprime mortgage crisis
- Super Bowl
- Yahoo layoffs
- Madison's new school superintendent
- city's first homicide of '08
What are you checking out?

A Requiem

An intriguing (and I'll admit depressing) commentary by David Simon in today's Washington Post. He charts the fall of great American newspapers, lining up with this season's arc of "The Wire" on HBO, a show he exec produces.
What does the article mean for those who want to become journalists today? (Hint: I'm far more optimistic than Simon)

Lynching is No Laughing Matter

A Golf Channel announcer made a comment about lynching when speaking of Tiger Woods and immediately apologized, which Woods and his camp accept but other activists are saying is not enough. They want her fired. But now, a Golfweek magazine editor has lost his job over how his publication covered the flap. Lots to learn in this about decisionmaking and "what not to do." A good first primer in media ethics.

Accuracy

Great tidbit in a blog post today. LZ Granderson, a writer for ESPN the Magazine, offers this response to a question:

Q: Moreso now than possibly ever, when news happens, columnists and bloggers and TV talking heads want to weigh in immediately, even if all the facts have yet to trickle out, or before the court case is finished. From the Mitchell Report to Duke Lacrosse to Sean Taylor, any ideas on how everyone can handle these situations in the future? Do we even need a solution?

When I was a cub reporter I did this news brief about this head-on car accident that left one person dead. I wasn’t careful in my reporting and falsely blamed the victim for the cause of the accident. The next day I found out I made the mistake and I just wanted to vomit. My boss, John Barnes, made my drive almost an hour south to apologize face-to-face to the victim’s family. They were hurt and tearful but still very kind to me. On the way back I pulled over and cried for about 10 minutes. From that day on, I knew the most important thing in this business it to be right. Not first. Not loudest. But right. That’s not to say I don’t make mistakes, but obviously that experience had a profound affect on my reporting and writing habits. So to answer your question, as an industry I believe we have to get back to putting the priority on accuracy above all else.

Apart from mixing up "effect" and "affect," he's spot-on.

Check out the whole interview, including Granderson's take on being an openly gay sportswriter and why "The Wire" isn't a hit.

MySpace Suicide Update

Washington Post has an excellent piece today on the MySpace suicide case we discussed at length earlier. At first glance, I must admit, I thought, "Geez, Post, you're pretty late to this story." But the piece benefits from the distance. It has a better grasp of the response than others I've read. Definitely worth a look.

Getting it Wrong in Politics

Lots of chatter right now about political reporting and the prediction debacle in New Hampshire. I tasted a different flavor in this Politico piece, so I recommend it.

Non-profit Journalism and Investigative

We spoke earlier about non-profit journalism and how to make a difference with investigative work. Here's a new piece by one of my young grads, who left a newspaper job for a post with the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks the effects of money on politics. The piece took exhaustive reporting and data analysis to show how investments by members of Congress are tied to holdings in Sudan, even despite the politicians' concerns about genocide there. The piece received an immediate response, with members divesting within hours of the reporter's calls.
My old student reports: "I've been working on it for the last five months and it might be the piece that I'm most proud of at CRP--it took months of data-assisted reporting based on our work and the Sudan Divestment Task Force's work, it's about an issue that I'm passionate about and, maybe for the first time ever, I got to see a direct impact. It's a pretty cool feeling! :)"
Makes me proud by extension. A little inspiration for your New Year. Have a good one (and a safe celebration).

Pakistan in Turmoil

Received this note from a 202er this morning:

Obviously you'll have gotten this link too or have read about this by now, but for formality's sake: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/world/asia/28pakistan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

What's the deal with Pakistan? With all the crap surrounding Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan it seems like Pakistan has kind of flown under the radar for our nation's media (and possibly rightly so considering what we have invested in the other countries). I don't know much about Pakistan and how it fits into Middle East equation, but I remember reading about it for the 202 quiz questions when Bhutto arrived and the martial law imposed by Musharraf. It sounds like Pakistan is very unstable and might have revolutionary leanings given the controversy and dynamic there coupled with the death of this popular opposition leader. I unfortunately and unbearably don't have cable at home at my parents', so do you know of any good books or articles to get me up to speed on Pakistan? This country just keeps sounding more and more interesting and I can't see it not playing a big role the Middle East vs. United States Armageddon that's brewing.

Hope your break is going well,
~Al

Here are some story links that might help with background. You're welcome to use comments to add your own.
TIME magazine had a pretty good piece before Thanksgiving when the touchy deal between Bhutto and Musharraf went to hell
Bhutto herself had an op-ed in the Washington Post in that same time, gives a bit of background and shows her political strengths
The Post's roundup of Pakistan stories is comprehensive. I especially liked the image galleries when the lawyers erupted in protest.
Of all the pieces I read in the last three months or so, Newsweek's cover stands out the most. The lead is downright chilling, given today's events.
Hope that helps!

Accuracy in Advertising

A local example of how inaccuracy can bite you. Those ads cost a pretty penny to make and to run, yet their effectiveness has been significantly diminished by the simplest of errors. Media coverage of the mistake has outstripped the attention the spots may have earned on their own.
Makes a 10-point deduction for fact errors in J202 look like chump change. You've asked me repeatedly if we had a "10 Commandments of Media Ethics," what would be the first one. I'm nothing if not consistent: in news and strat comm, above all things, get it right.

MySpace Suicide update

The New York Times has an interpretive take on the MySpace suicide case we discussed last month. And they chose to name the mother who contributed to the bullying.

Top Magazine Covers

TIME magazine is out with its Top 10 Magazine Covers of 2007 (along with 49 other lists in pop culture, news, etc.). Personally, I think they got #1 and #2 backwards. The Ahmadinejad cover on the New Yorker stopped me in my tracks when it arrived in my mailbox. I've been unable to recycle it since.
What's the best thing you read in 2007? Best design you saw? Best marketing?

AP Update

I spoke with some of you about changes coming to the Associated Press and the idea of centralized editing. Here's a follow-up story.

Interactive and Advertising

OK, I'm putting this post up at my own risk, knowing that by the time you follow the link, the digital ad will likely have changed ... but here it goes.
Apple did a digital media buy on the front page of the NYT online today. It features a sidebar ad that interacts with a banner across the top below the masthead.
We all know I'm a cardinal among the Mac faithful, but I'd like to know what you think of this ad creatively and strategically. Does it make sense visually? Would you ever play it to get the interaction to work? Does it motivate you to buy? Do you think you're part of their target? Does digital make sense here? Does a buy with the Times make sense?
And I'll pull my soapbox out one final time this semester. If you're in strat comm and not thinking about digital, you are missing the biggest boat in the ocean right now.

FCC and Cross-Ownership

Welcome back from your labors in the final project. Let's get chatting again.
Congress is highlighting an issue you should all know about by now, an FCC rule controlling ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same markets. Check out a decent summary of the issues and opinions in the Washington Post.
So what say ye? Should the government restrict this kind of ownership? Can newspaper companies survive without it? Would it benefit broadcast? Does it matter at all in a digital age? Do you know (or care) who owns the local papers and TV stations? How does ownership affect content?

Twitter?

OK, Do you Twitter?
I'm intrigued by the service but not convinced. It's like having my IM status messages available to the world (but Twitter's bug that won't allow AIM update submissions right now is thoroughly ticking me off). Does this mean I have to sound more coherent?
I can see it being uber-handy if I were still a breaking news reporter, but I'm not.
How can this tool be useful to me or will it become yet one more Facebook-esque time-suck that gives me the illusion that my busy-ness is somehow worthwhile?

MySpace Suicide -- And Us

OK, 202ers. Go back and read the previous post on MySpace and the comments to it.
One of the commenters has posted personal numbers and harsh commentary on the Drews. The commenter is anonymous (s/he shows a first name but no profile ... s/he could be in our class but also could be a member of the public following our blog).
Does this change your thoughts about the case overall? What do I do as moderator ... take it down or let it live? We talked in lecture and discussion about journalism, blogs and the space in between. What is it we're doing here? We're commenting on journalism but are our comments journalism? And what responsibilities do we have?

MySpace Suicide

A paper is taking heat for this story about a teen's suicide after she was targeted in a scheme to set up a fake MySpace character. The character was used to gather information that was then used against her socially. She killed herself about a year ago.
The story is tragic, but the paper is being criticized not for running it, but for not naming the adults involved in the fake account.
Read the piece and tell me what you think. Then read the comments posted at the bottom and tell me if that alters your view. Then go to some blogs (here's one), which have outed the offending adults, and follow the comment threads. What do those add to the equation?
I have pretty strong feelings on this one ...

Prof and Plagiarism?

A storm brewing at Mizzou, one of the country's most prominent J-Schools. A retired professor, John Merrill, wrote a column for the newspaper, which is run by the school. He used two quotes from another story without attributing them.
The paper publicly reprimanded him by taking his column away.
It's brought an interesting set of responses from ethicists and bloggers.
So is this plagiarism or something else? If it's something else, what is it? And how should it be handled? What are the "thou shalt nots" of media ethics? What are the grayer areas?