Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Calling for change

I'm just gazing over CNN's and TIME's sites the morning after the election. There are natural, important questions being asked in headlines, like "Who'll Fill Obama's Senate Seat?" But there are three things I would like to see more of.

1. A to-do list

I'm well aware that President-Elect Barack Obama has not even been sworn in yet, but I think he made clear in his acceptance speech that there is much work to be done. Now is the time to act, as Obama has said himself and voters nationwide have shown they're prepared for by coming out in massive numbers. There's been talk about the Cabinet and political teams he's assembling and the importance of starting immediately. But what does he need to DO immediately? Which policies that he's promised to initiate need to happen first? This leads me to my next point.

2. What we journalists call a "nut graf"

We need a so-what story. A story that says what this means. We all know the race issue, and how big of a step it is to elect the nation's first black president. But what does this decisive victory mean for the country? That so many voters came out for THIS election to elect OBAMA. How valuable is that during one of the worst economic period's in the nation's history. Leading into No. 3.

3. Reaction

I walked outside around the Ithaca College campus after the networks called Obama, part-journalist, part-Obama supporter, part-student. The joy around me was unreal. Let's not even get into Oprah's tears. I called a friend, and he was beside himself, hardly able to find the words to express his happiness. Another called Obama the "JFK of our generation." I think it might be too early to say that, but the impact Obama has had already is a truly incredible thing.

This is the kind of story I'm looking for.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

It's just begun

IT IS OFFICIAL. Barack Obama is president-elect of the United States of America. It came faster than many people thought. Just a sudden flash and then there he was speaking. Students gathered around the Ithaca College campus in celebration as likely many other campuses and places across the country.

I was amazed by how quickly results came in. It seemed like the polls had just closed in a handful of states and Obama suddenly had more than 100 electoral votes, according to CNN. I watched other people around me, all glued to their computer screens. Some on NYTimes.com, others looking at CNN. I wondered if it were possible that Obama could already be at a supreme advantage so early in the night.

CNN called states earlier than other news outlets called precincts. Some people around me, like me, couldn't believe how fast the results were coming in. However, it was a clear, decisive victory for Obama. The desire of CNN to be the first to project a state for either candidate showed the news outlet's disrespect and disregard for the process and for the American people.

But media prevailed in other ways. In new, innovative ways. User-generated content on sites like YouTube displayed an audience interaction incomparable to anything before. As the Internet grows as more people's primary news source for election coverage, it will be exciting to see how independent media covers the 2012 election, the 2016 election, and even the 2040 election.

More post-election blogging to come.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Election-day chaos

That sounds comforting, doesn't it? You must be interested to read 7 Things That Could Go Wrong on Election Day. In case you're curious, this is the main story on TIME magazine's politics page. Well, at least it was when I started writing this blog post.

For some people, the main concern is who to vote for. Some haven't decided if they will vote for Obama, McCain or even a third-party candidate.

This kind of story should be giving people information about the candidates to help them decide who they want to vote for. Or information about where to vote, how to get an absentee ballot. That sort of thing. There's been so much that's been made about the youth vote, and how so many college students are more active with this year's election and a "predicted" record turnout. The story should instruct those who are voting for the first time what to do, how the process works or leading them to information about voting in their respective states.

This year, more than ever, it is so important that Americans VOTE. That needs to be the focus everywhere.

Election coverage vs. Sports Journalism

I'm an avid sports fan. Let me put it another way: I'm a die-hard all-things-Philly-sports fan. So with the Philadelphia Phillies of the World Series, not only did I get the chance to attend Game 3, but sports journalism is probably what I read most these days.

This is all going somewhere, I promise. I want to make a connection here between election coverage and sports coverage. The connection is horserace journalism. Basically, instead of focusing on analyzing players and candidates or issues and team trends, pundits often focus on predictions. Who's going to win? What will be the final score? The funny thing is, I've heard pundits make these predictions and then say, "You know, this is really impossible to predict."

Wow. That's practically breaking news in itself. But seriously, these predictions are senseless. Predictions at the beginning of the primaries that Hillary Clinton was going to win the presidential election were absurd. In sports, ESPN has all of their analysts predict who will win the World Series. I'll bet none of them picked the Phils vs. Rays. Then right before the start of the series they all predicted again the winners, and half of them are wrong after three out of a potential seven games have been played.

The media need to focus on what's in front of them. No one knows who America will win the election next Tuesday. No one is sure who will win the World Series even after three games have been played. Media should dig up and analyze facts. Even a donkey can make a prediction.

And just for good measure, this from Jon Stewart is hilarious on the candidates and their sports alliances.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

CJR calls for more

This is journalism.

I'm happy to finally be able to blog about something positive. There's a key line in this article on attack ads called "Double Negative" from the Columbia Journalism Review. It's independent media, while not necessarily at its finest, doing its job at the least.

A group called the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, did a study that analyzed all campaign ads by candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. The study placed each ad into one of three categories: positive, negative and contrast. Conclusion of the study: Both campaigns are equally as negative.

But then CJR stepped in and offered a novel idea to too many outlets, which was taking the study a step further. It's hard to blame the study itself. Based on the criteria for categories, the result makes sense. However, it fails to realistically portray the situation and truth. What's worse is the media just eat it up, which the CJR article shows with clear-cut examples.

It's just plain lazy to take a study like this and generalize. But that's what multiple media outlets are doing and CJR has called them out. In a way, that's positive.

The gaffe is yours, TIME

The headline reads, "The Screwups of Campaign '08."

Granted, it appears to be only a small article, but it actually goes on far more than a couple of paragraphs. The one that I found is titled, "McCain's 'That One' Mess," but you can click "next" and follow a seemingly endless string of others.

Why is a news outlet like "Time" paying any attention to this? Perhaps I should be asking myself the same thing. But my job is to be a media watchdog and point out problems with political coverage.

What might be worse is what lines the righthand side of the page. Underneath a head that says, "A Barrel of Gaffes," there are links to more stories.

Here are a few of them.

"A Brief History of the Flag Lapel Pin"
"Gaffes Can Be Deceiving"
"Ranking the Candidates on MySpace"

I'm not going to provide hyperlinks, because I don't want you to waste your time reading this jibberish. This type of content has no place in real political coverage.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

News 10 (Not) Now

I don't have cable TV in my apartment, and one reason is that I can't deal with the way many TV media outlets present the news. As I was flipping through channels just moments ago, I was reminded of that.

I stumbled upon Syracuse's News 10 Now program. Mind you, this was about 12:35 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It's not exactly primetime. Just as I switched the channel onto the program, a graphic came up in front of me that read, "Decision 2008." I thought that maybe I would see a segment that would talk about the issues.

I remained optimistic when the anchor came on talking about how the economy is at the forefront of conversations and speeches as Sens. McCain and Obama campaigned in swing states earlier in the day. But once the story went to footage of the candidates walking up to the podium, smiling for supporters, all hope was lost. The piece may have lasted only 30 seconds altogether. My main problem besides the short length was that we saw the candidates but never heard them. Instead, the anchor continued a voiceover about mindless fluff. Obama said this about McCain and vice versa. Let the candidates speak for themselves!

It's no secret that the amount of speaking time the candidates get in news packages has dwindled. Instead of getting minutes each, on some stations, the candidates now don't even get their voices heard unless the entire speech or debate is broadcast. They may be just repeating what we already know, but I'd rather listen to both of them than listen to some anchor who doesn't even know the issues.

Now I know why I'm watching the MLB playoffs and not the nightly news.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Worldwide Politics and Journalism

LISTENING TO Matt Mogekwu, chair of Ithaca College's Department of Journalism, and Vadim Isakov, scholar-in-residence at the college, last night was a real wake-up call.

Mogekwu comes from Nigeria, and Isakov from Uzbekistan. Both worked as journalists in their native countries despite the nonexistence of a Freedom of Information Act. They lived in countries where they could ask the most fundamental of questions without getting a straight answer. Mogekwu gave an example. He could ask how many students attend Ithaca College, but he would be denied something so simple.

He said two-thirds of the rest of the world cannot get the information we in America take for granted. Because journalists cannot get the information they need, it's incredibly difficult to hold the government accountable for its actions and words.

Isakov discussed another side of the issue. In Uzbekistan, journalists who criticizes the government immediately put their own lives and the lives of those close to them at risk. He spoke of journalists he knew that had lost their lives in simply doing their jobs. He spoke of writing a story about a woman whose children had been brutally murdered. If he gave the identity of the source, she would have been killed. If not, Isakov would have put one of his loved ones at risk.

How does this relate to the 2008 U.S. election? It's simple. In America, we have incredible power as journalists. We can ask anyone anything we want. It's the power of American journalism, the ability to ask questions. We can hold the government accountable for its actions and policies without risking our own welfare. We can hold candidates for the presidency accountable in debates. But we don't. Instead, we present attack ads instead of analyzing them. We cover the horse race instead of the issues. We briefly mention policies or bury them without discussing them.

We take the power for granted and take the easy way out, choosing balance over accuracy, afraid we might offend somebody. Because of what? Because we might put our families in danger? No. Because of the possibility of hearing some flak from one campaign complaining about unfair coverage.

Let's stop catering to the campaigns and actually do a real service. We owe it to journalists in countries like Nigeria and Uzbekistan who would do anything for the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S. They can't come here because they can't afford it. So let's send a message. Let's be critical of our government so that other countries can do the same. It's time for change.

CNN top? stories

IT'S ALWAYS a joy to go to CNN.com and look at the top stories. Despite stories on the plunder of Wall Street, obligatory police beat coverage, the election stories still manage to jump off the page.

I must admit that it's not surprising anymore, simply disappointing. It's like a father talking to his son. "I'm not angry, just disappointed." Because instead of looking forward toward tonight's debate through discussing the issues, journalists are instead as focused in as ever on the horse race.

Here are the three headlines (one of which I somehow missed on first glance) in descending order of prominence ...

- "Debate No. 2 comes as attacks increase"
- "Obama widens lead in national poll"
- "How Palin spoofs could impact election"

I don't even have to waste my time reading the stories. The second headline is pure horse race journalism, covering the race and not the issues. The third is shedding light and giving more attention to something that should probably be ignored. The first actually mentions the debate, but the "as attacks increase" part undermines the possible step forward. It barely makes an effort to report on something meaningful but fails to be the story that asks and answers the critical questions: "What questions should be asked tonight?" "Who will hold the candidates accountable for what they say?"

The debate coverage in general has been a problem. Barack Obama exceeded expectations. Sarah Palin exceeded expectations. We should have no less than the highest expectations for people running for the highest office in the land regardless of their background or experience. What will the media say of Obama tonight? Will they scrutinize him and John McCain as they should? They must.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

'McCain's Crusade Against Pork'

Read that headline twice. After, that, read the full story here. I'm not taking responsibility for it. I'm just the messenger boy.

But it's my job to keep an eye on Time magazine and the Columbia Journalism Review between now and the November election. I was cruising around on Time's Web site to try to find something ridiculous, and moments later, I found this ridiculous headline.

Election news should sell itself. Journalists should be able to dig up substantial dirt in the story so that editors can sum that up in a headline that readers want to read. I'm sick of this sensationalism. Readers want to read the real issues. They don't need to be tricked by something silly in a headline to try to get them to read a story.

Editors need to stop being lazy and use "shock journalism" to hook people in. Do real journalism. It's your job.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

9/11 Media Analysis

Lauren and I analyzed media coverage of 9/11. Read about it here.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Tragedy in Seattle

A 10-year-old boy died after being buried headfirst in a sandbox in Seattle. Reported by the Seattle Times on March 10, this story is appalling and heartbreaking. There is no reason something like this should ever occur. Though accidents happen all the time, this cannot be. The child, Codey Porter, was buried headfirst. Kids should know better than to bury a friend's head in the sand, which makes me ask, did the parents teach these kids the difference between right and wrong? An even better question, perhaps, would be, where were the parents? This wasn't at school, it was at the house of a family friend of the victim. The kids ranged in age from 8 to 10, and it appears that they were left unsupervised. This is unacceptable and tragic.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Objectivity: Impossible?

There is bias in the news. There is a lack of objectivity in many media forms and stories. Only in a utopia could we have complete and perfect objectivity all the time. There is bias when a newspaper runs one story 700 words and another 500. There is preference when a television station runs one package for a certain story and submits to a brief wrap-up by the news anchor for another.

Bias and preference will never disappear from the media, and if they need to for complete objectivity, then objectivity must not be possible. However, we must be reasonable. Objectivity is possible to an extent. Reporters can interview both sides and write a piece that solely uses facts to tell a story. They can make an effort. They need to make the effort and present the story in the most objective and unbiased way possible. If reporters do that, then they have achieved objectivity. Sometimes it's about taking that extra step, whether it's getting another source or verifying a fact. In a digital world, where speed is often more important than quality, reporters must take the time to get the story right and present it in the most objective way possible.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

A problem with the news

If it bleeds, it leads. We all know this tale too well. The top stories anywhere always seem to be related to death, crime and/or destruction. Now if the president of the United States is assassinated, that needs to be the top story, there's no question. But let's take a different example. We all remember Anna Nicole Smith's death, because the story was everywhere. The worst may have been CNN, which prides itself on its political coverage. CNN treated this story with about as much coverage as this year's primaries. What did Anna Nicole Smith do for society? She was an entertainer, a model and a TV personality. That's certainly not worth weeks of discussion after her death. What's more is that there was nothing to discuss. There was very little to the story to begin with, and the media blew it out of proportion.

I'm getting at the fact that the media need to rethink the way they value stories. A man may save a boy's life, and often that story is buried in the inside pages of a daily newspaper or even completely left out of a newscast. In a world full of problems, there are plenty of stories out there of success, of people helping each other. It's there that the art of storytelling thrives, on telling stories of people. There's no art in obsessing over the death of a model. Journalists must make the choice to do what's right instead of what's easy.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Agenda Setting

Regardless of how hard they try, mass media will always impact the way people think. Many publications and news sources attempt to stay objective in every package, podcast or headline. But it's impossible. In a newspaper, the editors will decide which stories to run, which photo to use, how many words to run a particular story. On TV, it's similar. Producers must ask themselves how long to run a package and the order of news stories in the program. Bias will be there and agenda setting as well. Editors determine what's newsworthy, which news element is more important, which angle to take on a story. Many mass media outlets are aware of the problem and will do anything they can to report a story in the most objective form as possible. They should let readers decide for themselves what to believe, but only the media can present a story to the consumer.

However, the media can make a greater effort. The media should shoot for objectivity all the time, but not lie to viewers or readers. They shouldn't hide their agenda or try to present it as something it's not. There will be an agenda with every news program and every issue of a new magazine. In an ideal world, there are no agendas, but this is not reality. The reality is that news sources can be objective all the time. They need to be.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

February source of news

While the digital world offers a variety of news sources, Google News stands among the best.

The computer-generated site compiles headlines from more than 4,500 sources around the world. It offers personalized options that puts readers in control of the types of stories they most want to see. Headlines are hyperlinks that go right to the article in the original publication. Everything is done by computer, so there is no personal bias with regards to political views or anything like that. Readers may also subscribe free to alerts weekly, for breaking news, or a number of other personal options. News alerts may be sent to e-mail or to a cell phone.

It doesn't matter how new or old the story is. Either way readers can easily find it with a simple search or a look through the site's archives, which hold stories dating back more than 200 years. The real joy of Google News is that readers can find multiple perspectives from multiple publications on the same story so they can formulate their own opinions on what's most important. The reader is in control, and the options are endless.