Strib Layoffs

Another 202er supplies a post. (Have I mentioned how much I love you guys?)
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Hey Katy,

Here's an article on WCCO (Minneapolis) from today. Looks like the Star Tribune is laying off people in their print department. Tie into the Cap Times?

http://wcco.com/business/star.tribune.job.2.651035.html
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This was a part of the conversation I'm hearing at the multimedia conference I'm at this week. Job losses are nothing new in newspapers right now. The interesting, and disconcerting, element to this one is that these are involuntary layoffs, not voluntary buyouts. At papers like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that have been cutting staff, the cuts to date have been voluntary and accompanied by a severance package. These cuts are not anything pretty, but they're a grade above a layoff.
So here's what I want to know from you: does this scare you? If you want to go into journalism, how does this time feel for you? I gave a speech last week to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association titled, "Why It's a Good Time to Want to Be a Reporter Even Though Everyone Says It Isn't" (and incidentally, the subtitle was "Yes, They Pay Me to Teach People to Be Concise"). Why do you think I'm optimistic?

What's Your Candidate?

Great blog addition from a 202er this morning:
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Hi Katy,

I found this story through the NY Times and it reminded me a lot about today's lecture and the several Mac vs. PC examples we heard today. I thought you might find it interesting how these technologies are becoming representations for entire genres, demographics, styles, etc. and how one writer used them to contrast Obama and Clinton in this article.
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What do you think? Do the styles of the two platforms fit the styles of the two candidates? And then what would John McCain and Mike Huckabee be? We've talked about branding in marketing. How are the candidates brands faring in your opinion?

Reporting and Airline Security

Curious what you think of this case. A reporter in New Zealand followed up on a story on an in-flight stabbing aboard an airplane by boarding a flight with a knife and a fake gun in carry-on luggage.
What are the ethical implications here? How do you weigh the risk the move posed against the public benefit of pointing out holes in the security system? Should the reporter be prosecuted? Or was this exactly what journalism is supposed to do?

Fark

Just got this msg with a link to share.

Hey Katy,

I thought you'd enjoy this site. It's called Fark.com, and it pretty much takes some of the biggest absurdities from the media each day from a ton of outlets - in print, online, and broadcast. It is especially critical of poor writing and bad leads - quite timely for our class! They've even published a book with some of the site's best findings called, "Its Not News It's Fark: How Mass MEdia Tries to Pass Off Crap as News."

Enjoy!

http://www.fark.com/

Rachel's Thread

Hi Vallens Lab. I'm so sorry you got snowed out yesterday. We're going to have to shaft your Discussion Arena chats this week and next to plug in the media analysis presentation that got scrapped yesterday.
I'm starting this thread to give you a way to comment and post ideas about the Discussion Arena readings for this week and next. Have at it!

Holy cats

If you want to see the biggest breaking story in Madison media in a long time, check this out. You may not know much about The Capital Times, but this is huge.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the move.

Cool Innovation

A few years ago, I happened to stumble across a site called chicagocrime.org that brought together mapping and data on crimes in Chicago. I found it downright thrilling as a former crime reporter because it gave people access to information both broad-based and hyper-local. I had always felt constrained by paper, ink and time, never able to tell my community all of what was going on and where. This site struck me as a fascinating extension of journalism.
So I was beyond bummed when it went offline last week ...
... But thrilled that its creator, Adrian Holovaty, launched a new project that takes the original model many steps forward. Dubbed "EveryBlock," the project gives users access to data well beyond crime. Want to know if a restaurant in your neighborhood has been inspected? It's there. News stories covering your block? Got that too. Even Flickr photos.
Go in and surf around in it. They're EveryBlocking now in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
Then tell me what you think. Is it a site you'd use in your own city? What's your opinion of the interface? What other kinds of information would you use?

KC's News Meeting

What news stories are you monitoring this week? Here's a start on mine. Post yours via comments.
- Super Tuesday
- horrific mall killing outside Chicago
- Britney in crisis
- economic stimulus
- Kenya
- salary for our new chancellor
- umm, what's that? snow in our forecast? get outta here!
And while you're at it, think about how these kinds of stories play to the communication values we discussed in lecture. Britney and prominence. Kenya and conflict. Which have the greatest quantitative impact? Qualitative?

Super Bowl Ads

So we didn't have much time to chat yesterday about the advertising bonanza that is the Super Bowl. Which ads did you like? Which did you hate? Which do you think have the greatest effect? And what about the Richard Simmons spot ... was it insensitive?
More on ads. It's Super Tuesday. What are you reading about candidates' ads? I'm getting a lot of that kind of traffic on Facebook, especially notes about this piece in support of Obama. Curious how this is playing with your generation.

Moderating Posts

An interesting column by the Chicago Tribune's public editor, Timothy McNulty. A public editor is sometimes called an "ombudsman" at a news organization. They're designed to be readers' representatives on a host of issues involving what goes in the paper and why. The New York Times has a particularly interesting public editor right now, Clark Hoyt. He's ruffled a few feathers, which has been fun to watch.
What do you think of McNulty's point? Should online reader posts be moderated? How can you relate this to your media use? Ever put a "shout out" in the Herald?

Acceptable Lingo or More Morbidity?

OK, you chimed in on Britney Spears. Now check this one out. Is it acceptable for journalists, especially talking heads on broadcast, to refer to tomorrow's primary battle as "Tsunami Tuesday"?
Sensitivity also matters in advertising and public relations (check out the pieces for this week's Discussion Arena).
I have my own view. What's yours?

Well-Prepared or Morbid?

What do you think about obituaries prepared in advance? Reporters recently revealed that AP has a prepared obit for Britney Spears, speaking to the darkness she's recently been through. But the vast majority of obits in the can are for people in their 70s or older.
What does it say when we prepare text in advance of the death of a woman in her 20s? Should an obit merely cover a career or should it speak to the larger context of a person's life? Should it speak to her troubles or is that trampling a person's grave?

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.