The 'P' Word

Too bad Joe Merrill. I can understand the mentality to justify lifting quotes without proper attribution. Harmless. You would expect that the source you are using upholds journalism ethics much better than yourself. However, in the end the gossip'esque evolution of news should deter the most apathetic journalist. We are living in a time surrounded by hidden truths. Writers must remember that the public deserves at least one reliable source of news.

I thought it was really typical that Merrill became the topic of internet blogging. When policy is broken consequences should result. However, is Merrill's life open to public forum? I suppose, considering Merrill writes about others as a profession.

In the end, the public deserves to know where information comes from.

Jeo Merrill's Response

The fact that Merrill is an 83-year-old man kinda makes me sympathize. By now Merrill has a devoted audience, whose credibility judgment may not be swayed. He should not have been canned, in my opinion. His response was eloquent, avoiding squabble. I empathize with Merrill's intent, confident he did not believe he was doing anything wrong.

However, who knows anyone's true intent? There is not way to prove Merrill did not mean harm.. did not deliberately withhold information to cover up his now old and lethargic reporting skills.

Public Information

I constantly find myself musing scandalous investigative pieces, however do not know where to start. The list of places to start really fascinated me. I did not like how a majority of the websites required some sort of registration fee or credit card number. By requiring a fee, public information becomes selective, advantageous, restrictive. I was a bit intimidated by the website regarding US Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fact that people are organizing such information makes me realize the gravity of the Contractor situation. I also enjoyed playing around with one database that organizes candidate donors based on zip code. Obama seems to be collecting the majority of donations from my hometown.


interesting tidbit, related or unrelated to journalism, that I picked up in a speech path class today:

studies suggest that 77% of Americans, at any given time, are unhappy

Journalistic Coverage of Politics

The Media and Its Infatuation With Polls

Straw poll, Iowa caucus polls, New Hampshire primary polls... I do not know what any relevance polls have on the presidential nomination election, however I do know that the media loves to discuss polls and show statistics. Polls generally question voters who regurgitate what they see in the news, which is typically personal news and campaign financing. Voters questioned base their answers on information nearly irrelevant to the campaign itself.

The Nation analyzed the 2007 media campaign coverage, and 63 percent covered polls and finances and 17 percent of coverage was personal issues. Only 12 percent of coverage followed how voters would be affected by the election.

Why does the media continue to fuel the epidemic of ill informed voters?

On December 10, 2007 the top story on the NYTimes politics section was: Poll Finds G.O.P. Field Isn’t Touching Voters
As the media prints the 'opinion' of American voters, the media influences any fickle person who is in search of what they should think. Without having the NYTimes print on the front page that Republicans are not happy with the candidate options, I could have told you Republicans are disgruntled. As the media prints who is leading in polls, those who are not leading become lost in the brouhaha that is Hillary's and Obama's social life.

Maybe the media prints political nonsense to remain objective, if that is the case then I denounce objectivity. There needs to be coverage on how politicians plan to solve the problems plaguing this world. There needs to be coverage on Congress so the public can come together to push ahead towards progress.

I've been writing this response over the course of several days and realize the coverage of political figures is not the problem with political media coverage. The problem is that local politics are forever diminished by the shadow cast by federal media sensationalism. Federal level Bipartison turmoil polarizes and desensitizes the public... Nothing can be changed at the federal level. If a greater media emphasis was placed on the workings of local politics, the public will be able to organize a grassroots movement. The problem is that the public regards these representatives and senators as demigods. Yes sometimes local politics can be quiet... or is that because no one is reporting the deceptive under workings of the town councilmen that just cemented his new driveway??

My point is, as the media conglomerate grew, it inevitably grew away from the local public.

I'm not sure how to find a website to emphasis my last point, however, just compare the size of political content in The Buffalo News vs The New York Times

I agree with Joe Weiss when he says that still photos have a rememberance quality. Some stories can easily be shown via audio slideshow or video, and either medium equally affect viewers. However, sometimes still photos are able to consume a viewer better than video. We are living in a video world. When a viewer is asked to slow down and really focus on a visual and accompanying audio a deeper message can be conveyed.

Weiss almost makes the point that some audio slideshows are just too long. He says that photojournalists produce portfolios with only 30 photographs, how can a 3 min slideshow have 30 effective and efficient photos?

When making my soundslideshow I will make sure to focus on my audio storytelling and accompany my audio with photos that work with and also move with story along.

Mitt Romney and Faith in America

Well Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has decided to address his Mormon faith on Thursday in Texas. Whenever I hear religion mentioned in politics I cringe. There is no absolutely NO reason to bring up religion or clarify religion or justify religion. You believe what you believe, and I will be believe what I want to believe. The Evangelical Christian movement frightens me more than elected a Mormon into office. I do not really understand the strength of the Mormon Church in politics, however the evangelicals could potentially take over America and eventually the world. I am scared that if the evangelicals get a jump start in the early primaries and caucus' the separation of church and state will no longer exist... that rights I should be guarenteed as a women will be denied... that some faith I do not share will bombard my life.