It's so easy to ridicule TV news, especially the cable variety, but it raises the fundamental question of what one might call "the ethics of balance." Who wants a meal that's all dessert? Maybe that should be: Who needs a meal that's all dessert, no matter how much they want it?
Gresham's law: Bad money drives out good.
Shakespeare's law: A little more than a little is by much too much.
Robertson's law: A fool and his liberty are soon parted.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Exploritorium Looking for Sr. Science Writer
Love dissecting frogs? Do you know what H20 stands for? Then check out the senior science writer position at the Exploritorium. A friend just forwarded it on to me.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/jobs/SrScienceWriter-Mar07.htm
http://www.exploratorium.edu/jobs/SrScienceWriter-Mar07.htm
Friday, March 23, 2007
I have officially entered blog-dom
Hi Dr. Robertson and USF-ers,
In two weeks, I will start my new job as an assistant editor at a very successful San Francisco-based fashion blog, Fabsugar.com. I am leaving Citysearch because my job was a contract position and the pull of a permanent job was much too strong. Plus, I could never say no to fashion. The startup company, Sugar Publishing, has a dozen other sites, including Popsugar.com, Teamsugar.com, Dearsugar.com, Fitsugar.com, Yumsugar.com and more. Check them out if you're interested.
Now, I don't know whether or not my new position will make me a journalist or just a "blogger," but frankly, I could care less because I'm going to be doing what I love and am going to get paid well to do it. That means more to me than titles.
In two weeks, I will start my new job as an assistant editor at a very successful San Francisco-based fashion blog, Fabsugar.com. I am leaving Citysearch because my job was a contract position and the pull of a permanent job was much too strong. Plus, I could never say no to fashion. The startup company, Sugar Publishing, has a dozen other sites, including Popsugar.com, Teamsugar.com, Dearsugar.com, Fitsugar.com, Yumsugar.com and more. Check them out if you're interested.
Now, I don't know whether or not my new position will make me a journalist or just a "blogger," but frankly, I could care less because I'm going to be doing what I love and am going to get paid well to do it. That means more to me than titles.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Breaking News
George Sanchez's series on the questionable use of gang contracts in local high schools won second place in the annual Associated Press Executives Council's contest honoring best news writing and photography. George's series won the Fairbanks Award (public service) for reporting that had an impact benefitting the community
More as details become available.
More as details become available.
Wiki vs. Truth: Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves?
It's always a challenge to educate students -- and the rest of us, too -- about the strengths and weaknesses of Wikipedia. This is how the journalism ethics class is tackling that issue.
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Beat Goes On
From the SF Chronicle story about the South by Southwest Interactive Festival:
During SXSW, as the festival is known, bloggers copiously wrote synopses of the talks, often with their own take. Podcasters performed a similar service with audio. Vloggers, shorthand for video bloggers, made increasingly sophisticated news episodes for a range of Web sites.
Everyone with a camera -- or even a cell phone -- uploaded pictures to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket. The Internet crackled with posts, commentary, stories and episodes, delivered to people's
inboxes via RSS readers.
"I walked into the conference and saw the press suite and said, 'Forget that.' The press suite is the entire place," said panelist Jose Castillo of Johnson City, Tenn. "We're in an age when anybody can be a journalist. I take pictures, and suddenly I become an outlet."
And later in the story:
A range of newer tools even added to the experience. People could go to news aggregators like Digg to see what the top stories were. They could check blog aggregators like Technorati to read the latest comments in the blogosphere. They could send instant messages to large groups via Twitter, a new technology that allows people to make instant networks with friends via their cell phones.
Digg, Technorati and Twitter are based in San Francisco, along with Flickr, Photobucket and scores of others, helping to cement the city's status as the home of new media. It seemed this week that all the coffeehouses in San Francisco must have emptied out, sending their patrons to the Texas capital.
During SXSW, as the festival is known, bloggers copiously wrote synopses of the talks, often with their own take. Podcasters performed a similar service with audio. Vloggers, shorthand for video bloggers, made increasingly sophisticated news episodes for a range of Web sites.
Everyone with a camera -- or even a cell phone -- uploaded pictures to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket. The Internet crackled with posts, commentary, stories and episodes, delivered to people's
inboxes via RSS readers.
"I walked into the conference and saw the press suite and said, 'Forget that.' The press suite is the entire place," said panelist Jose Castillo of Johnson City, Tenn. "We're in an age when anybody can be a journalist. I take pictures, and suddenly I become an outlet."
And later in the story:
A range of newer tools even added to the experience. People could go to news aggregators like Digg to see what the top stories were. They could check blog aggregators like Technorati to read the latest comments in the blogosphere. They could send instant messages to large groups via Twitter, a new technology that allows people to make instant networks with friends via their cell phones.
Digg, Technorati and Twitter are based in San Francisco, along with Flickr, Photobucket and scores of others, helping to cement the city's status as the home of new media. It seemed this week that all the coffeehouses in San Francisco must have emptied out, sending their patrons to the Texas capital.
Anna Wintour Hates Blogs!
Well, not really. She just doesn't want her Web site to be thought of as one.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03162007/gossip/pagesix/blogged_down_pagesix_.htm
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03162007/gossip/pagesix/blogged_down_pagesix_.htm
Friday, March 09, 2007
ira glass on storytelling
ira glass on having good taste, overcoming the gap between your own good taste and your own not so good output, and doing lots and lots of work. five minutes and nineteen seconds of smart advice. [found via the x degree]
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Writing about the Dead with Respect
Something else from our Journalism Ethics class.
After 9/11, the New York Times decided to do a brief obit for each of those killed at the twin towers that day. It turned into Portraits of Grief, a remarkable mosaic of pain and loss and catharsis.
Here's the link. I'm not sure if the portraits are behind the subscription wall or not. I hope not.
Click on the Reporters and Editors video for sense of the effect the creation of these pieces had on those who wrote and edited them.
After 9/11, the New York Times decided to do a brief obit for each of those killed at the twin towers that day. It turned into Portraits of Grief, a remarkable mosaic of pain and loss and catharsis.
Here's the link. I'm not sure if the portraits are behind the subscription wall or not. I hope not.
Click on the Reporters and Editors video for sense of the effect the creation of these pieces had on those who wrote and edited them.
Friday, March 02, 2007
coverage of the car accident at USF
folks, here is a short list of growing media coverage of the terrible car accident at USF. if appropriate, please add links to any other stories and blog entries in the comments.
cbs5.com
kcbs
nbc11.com
sf chronicle
the bicycle diary
cbs5.com
kcbs
nbc11.com
sf chronicle
the bicycle diary
Are Bloggers Parasitic?
Romanesko has already done the work, so:
Online Journalism Review
The charge that blogs are "parasitic" bothers Robert Niles, and he's been hearing it a lot at forums attended by newspaper journalists. "To me, it's a poorly informed insult of many hard-working web publishers who are doing fresh, informative and original work. And by dismissing blogs as 'parasitic,' newspaper journalists make themselves blind to the opportunities that blogging, as well as independent Web publishing in general, offer to both the newspaper industry and newspaper journalists."
The charge that blogs are "parasitic" bothers Robert Niles, and he's been hearing it a lot at forums attended by newspaper journalists. "To me, it's a poorly informed insult of many hard-working web publishers who are doing fresh, informative and original work. And by dismissing blogs as 'parasitic,' newspaper journalists make themselves blind to the opportunities that blogging, as well as independent Web publishing in general, offer to both the newspaper industry and newspaper journalists."
Thursday, March 01, 2007
This Internship Has a Friendly Face
The student would be working at CNET with distinguished USF grad Jessica Dryden-Cook.
Intern
Intern
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