KC News Meeting

In the news this week?
- Barbara Lawton out
- Abdullah Abdullah out
- some guy named Brent coming to play a game in Green Bay
What would you add to the list?

A focus group in action

Check out this focus group on TV news in Kansas City. Be sure to double-click each image to watch the video of the viewers. Their responses astounded the reporters and editors who watched.

What are your reactions?

Pay to play or a panel of experts?

Check out this effort by a local TV station to sell participation in its Web site's list of "experts."

Is this "pay to play," forcing sources to cough up money in exchange for coverage? Or is it a legitimate way to sell advertising?

On hair

Check out this post:

http://mije.org/richardprince/good-hairquot-tv-set

How much of ourselves do we surrender when we try to look like we're "supposed to"? How hard is it to stand up?

McCain and media

From a 202er:

http://mashable.com/2009/10/15/meghan-mccain-twitter/

Even though she herself is not a politician, should Meghan McCain be held to a standard in communications/social media?

HNTP (How Not to Photoshop)

Major kerfuffle lit up the blogosphere this week when a horrifically altered image of a model appeared in a Ralph Lauren ad. It gave rise to two key questions:
1. Had RL done the Photoshopping to make this woman look circus-freak thin or was it the work of a prankster? (RL ended the intrigue and offered a mea culpa today.)
2. Could RL, as copyright owner, demand that ISPs take down blog posts critical of the image under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A few blinked but others didn't.
Let's tackle both in discussion.
What are the social implications of digitally altering subjects' appearances? How much is too much? What factors prompt these kinds of manipulations? What are the ethical lines?
Do you infringe another person's copyright when you post an image for purposes of criticizing it? Should Blogger have taken down the image? Should Boing Boing's ISP have done the same?
What, if any, are the lasting implications for the RL brand?

Spirit of cooperation

From a 202er:

As I was reading the news this morning this opinion article from the NYT caught my eye. In light of decisions being made on how to proceed in Afghanistan, I feel like the public gets caught up in thinking of ALL Muslims as extremists. I've certainly caught myself in that trap, but this article shows that there are Muslims who want to work with the West for peace and that the extremists are the rarities. Why is it that popular media do not publish more articles prescribing cooperation?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703298004574457452301729982.html?mod=djemITP

FTC Sets Endorsement Rules for Blogs - washingtonpost.com

FTC Sets Endorsement Rules for Blogs - washingtonpost.com

Federal action on the issues we raised with payments to bloggers.

Here's another take on it.

Apple to Woolworths: Your New Logo Is Too Apple-y

Apple to Woolworths: Your New Logo Is Too Apple-y

How close is too close in design? What are the legal implications, such as trademark infringement? What are the ethical implications, such as using someone else for inspiration vs. direct copying? Most designers openly admit using other work to inspire color selection, form, lines, etc. How inspired can you get before you're ripping someone else off?

Google Wave & Journalism

From a 202er:

Hi Katy,

My friend at Purdue just posted this link on my facebook wall and I find it fascinating, especially since this week we begin the interview process. I thought it would be an interesting article to show the class/put on the blog.

Check it out

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/09/google-wave-collaborative-journalism.html

Social media and the workplace

Here's another blog post from a 202er:

I found this article (http://mashable.com/2009/09/29/effigy-video/) a few minutes ago and I though it brings up a good question: should we be judged in the offline world by content that is found online?

Thanks

Social media and an infamous "poll"

A blog submission from a 202er:

Hi Katy,

I apologize for the lateness of this email, but today in another one of my classes we were talking about this story and I thought for sure it would be up on the blog today, but it wasn't. Someone started a facebook poll asking if President Obama should be assassinated!! The questions it poses are many. First of all, should this be considered a threat to the President of the United States by the person who started a poll?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33060855/ns/technology_and_science-security/

Just thought you might be interested in sharing this with our class,

Dan

Ethics and information

What was that she said in lecture about information having a "shelf life"?

Jeff Fisher questions Ch. 5's ethics on 'exclusive' report | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

When I discuss ethics, I often try to frame it in terms of the forces that move us to make bad decisions. I'm going to come right out and say it: using file footage from an unrelated interview question in this way was a bad decision. What kinds of forces would have made the reporter and producer do this?

Celebrities, privacy and ownership

McSteamy Vid Lawsuit? It’s a Copyright Beef - Media Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com
When do celebrities have the right to control dissemination of their own materials? I would have guessed this case to be brought on privacy grounds, so I'm surprised by this novel approach.

Lose tweets sink fleets

Another set of newsroom guidelines on social media use by staff.

Brands and trust

Business Week's global brands issue has an excellent piece on marketing and trust. It's well worth a read.
Also check out their ranking of the 100 best brands. Interesting insights.
What is the balance between a company's obligation to consumers and to shareholders? What social responsibilities do brands have?
For instance, this is "Go Big Read" time, where hundreds on campus are reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and its indictment of food marketing. Kellogg's is Business Week's 34th best brand. What is its obligation to feed children nutritionally valuable products? If they build the brand and make shareholders money by marketing sugary cereals, is that OK? Why or why not? How can consumers influence large brands?

False identities in cyberspace

Had a fascinating chat with a 202 lab this week on social networking identities and journalism ethics. We dove into the tough question of "how accurately does your Facebook profile portray you?" If something happened to you today, would your profile adequately cover your life for purposes of a news story or obituary? Mine wouldn't.
Are social networking profiles real? Or are they more of a "performance space," where you try to be things you're not? Do we only put part of ourselves online?
And what happens when they're purposely manipulated? A new libel case arose this month in Illinois, where four high school students are accused of creating a fake and defamatory Facebook profile for a student athlete. Read the complaint. Harmless kid prank or ruinous to reputation?
Social networking hoaxes are not new. Recall the MySpace hoax linked to a teen suicide.

What should your J-school give you?

Lots of talk these days about journalism programs and how they are (or aren't) adapting to new media environments. I won't bore you again with my take on how YOUR journalism school foresaw coming media changes in launched J202 as a multimedia-rich course waaaaay back in fall 2000.
But much of this talk boils down to technology. I thought this was an interesting take on what else you should demand from you communications education.

Internet Manifesto

Check this out and really read each of the items in the manifesto. What do you think of this? How have "old media" companies approached the Internet? How has that approach served them? What is the value of seeing something as an opportunity, rather than a threat?

"Hit man" journalism

Here's the full piece covered in your most recent "On the Media" podcast. It raises excellent ethical issues. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/media