Money. Power. Journalism.

Being a journalism major, the future of print is discussed thoroughly, if not overly so, in all of my classes. The point is exhausted. However, while making my daily visit to good.is I found a new point of view from a blogger who was discussing something Michelle Malkin of Townhall and National Review Online wrote.  

Malkin had previously "joked" about a countdown to a print media bailout. However, that may not be far from reality.  With every other industry heading down the poop shoot, is journalism soon to follow and be brought under the "quick to rescue everything" government that has shown up in the past month?

Malkin said: "How “free” can a “free press” be if it is leveraged with government funding? How free would they be to criticize other corporate enterprises seeking local, state or federal help to keep them afloat in hard times? A press beholden to the ruling class—a press that cannot stand on its own two feet and the strength of its product—is a press better off dead." 

She makes a good point but then there are the outlets of the BBC and PBS who are very much exceptions to the rule.  However, if people stopped needing the reliability of print media, which I hope and pray won't happen, I don't even want to begin to think of the consequences.  This all seems like a worst case scenario.  Yes, numbers will drop in magazines and newspapers published, but only in an Orwellian 1984 world should government ownership ever be imagined.  And if it comes to that, let us hope in those who are being educated in journalism today and tomorrow receive the knowledge to know that any thing of this sort would be a calamity. 

The Best News Is GOOD News

The creative folks over at GOOD magazine have given their website a revamp which extends beyond the magazine and includes all that is good and thought worthy.

My favorite addition, which is also my new daily habit, is GOOD News. Roger Numbers, the little blue news anchor, leads viewers through new information everyday that one most likely will not hear elsewhere but is dually worth hearing.

GOOD News brings in recording artists, scientists, politicians and people from every facet of life to help tell the day's story. It's always interesting to hear what the little blue man named Numbers has to say. And for a piece of animation, he has some very realistic facial expressions.

So, once again, the ever evolving people at GOOD are giving their readership/viewership something fresh to digest and react to. Here are some of my favorite GOOD News broadcasts:

"GOOD News: What A Week"
http://www.good.is/?p=13190

"GOOD News: McCain vs. McClane"
http://www.good.is/?p=12880

"GOOD News: John Hodgman"
http://www.good.is/?p=12782

Barack says "Bye-Bye" to BlackBerry

For many, President-elect Barack Obama embodies a youthfulness that no other president has before. Obama has taken that youthfulness to a new standard by being extremely dependent on techonologies that no other president has utilized.

Obama may be the first president to have a laptop on his desk in the oval office and during his election was never seen without his BlackBerry. Although Obama has every good intention of finally catching the presidency up withthe 21st century, aides are telling him that it may not be a good idea.

No matter how much Obama wants to continue his constant correspondance over the internet with his high-tech tools, cyberspace is easily hackable and information easily stolen. Presidents are also under harsh scrutiny and almost any information sent or recieved is public information. These are the two main reasons aides to Obama are saying his BlackBerry has to go.

I have mixed feelings on whether Obama should be able to keep his BlackBerry and other gadgets. I hadn't realized until I read this article that this could even be an issue. I would love to see Obama be able to keep typing away on his Blackberry, however I would hate it even more if something terrible happened because someone hacked into the president's private information.

Decide for yourself and read the whole article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=obama+blackberry&st=nyt

Cat Head: Making the Blues Cool Again

Roger Stolle is making the blues cool again. Stolle, a speaker at Ole Miss's journalism week shared his story of finding and falling in love with the blues. Stolle takes the otherwise forgotten stories of Mississippi bluesmen and makes them come to life again through his store in Clarkesdale, Miss., Cat Head, or the documentaries. CDs, and his other promotions.

I was very impressed with what Stolle has done and is doing in Clarkesdale. It's a forgotten and some say, dying city. The blues deserve to live on and Stolle is doing an amazing job of keeping that spirit alive.

Stolle's presentation of his movies were very impressive and what he said about Clarkesdale made me want to visit there the next time I can.

His lecture on Wednesday was especially important to me because what he is doing is similar to something I want to do. I have no real interest in the blues, but I share his entrepreneural streak. I want to bake. As laughable as that sounds for someone who is about to graduate with a journalism degree, I wholly enjoy baking, making sandwiches with all fresh materials, and I want to learn to brew a really good cup of coffee. Stolle's lecture encouraged me to do what I love and although it may not seem like it, my journalism training will help.

The Branches of Democratic Journalism

Recently, I interviewed a fellow classmate for an article assignment. I've noticed Karen Shainyan in some of my classes before having Editing (Jour 379) with him this fall and I thought I would use the article as an excuse to finally meet him.

Karen is a graduate student from Russia who is studying journalism on a fellowship. He is in his third semester studying at Ole Miss and in December, he is defending his thesis and going back to Russia.

During my interview with Karen, we began talking about the current state of Russia and how journalism is practiced there compared to America. He began telling me how all of the TV channels are very loyal to the government and the things the government wants to say. The only balanced and objective media outlets in Russia, he said, were the liberal newspapers. Sadly, these newspapers are only available to the highly educated elite class.

Writing this article and talking to Karen refreshed my memory to what a great country America really is. As a journalist, or training to be a journalist, we can say anything we want to within ethical standards. We do not have to deal with any type of censorship, but Karen says he has to deal with the worst kind, self-censorship.

Dr. Samir Husni, the chair of Ole Miss journalism department said that a foreigner once emailed him and asked him where he could apply for a license to start a publication. Dr. Husni proudly emailed him back with, "'My friend, in this country, you don't need a license. There is something called the First Amendment that gives you the right to publish whatever you want.' If [people] see nothing but those powerful 45 words that we refer to as the First Amendment, that even Congress of the United States, even the legislative arm of the country cannot do anything about and cannot touch, as we say here in the South, 'Ain't nothin' like it.'"

Dr. Husni also talked about the responsibility the journalism faculty has to educated students like Karen and how it is imperative that he be given the tools to effectuate change when he goes back home to Russia.

"The concept of freedom is definitely exportable,” Husni said. “The concept of balance and objectivity is definitely exportable. Just the mere fact that you package a newspaper, put it in a box and ship it overseas and say ‘do like this,’ that doesn’t work. Journalism is rooted in the community. They can look at all the branches that are reaching all over the world and learn from us, take some of our fruit, but they have to plant their own seeds.”

Let Your Horoscope Tell You Who To Vote For

Good Magazine recently compiled a list of the 1,565 reasons to vote in the upcoming presidential election. Reason # 1,149: Let astrology decide how your going to vote.

The article goes through the humorous findings and that the planets and stars have created for voters. The planets have aligned and according to any horoscope (found anywhere, in any publication) they are mysteriously and ambiguously correct.

"Astrologically, the polarity that exists in this election between the Republicans and the Democrats is a symbolic contest of the celestial opposition between the planets Saturn and Uranus. It’s a rather rare occurrence and will culminate around election time and last through 2009."

The people at Good not only go through the astrological repercussions of this election but each candidates personality and how the stars created Obama and McCain to clash. It was meant to happen because it was written in the stars.

Look at the whole article here: http://www.good.is/?p=12516
Or read some other reason's why: http://www.good.is/?p=12617

As always Good continues to appeal to all the reasons why people should give a damn and participate in something wholly good as voting in a presidential election.

Obama gets double boost

Presidential candidate Barack Obama got a double boost in his campaign over the weekend. Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, gave his endorsement to Obama which gives him a good chance of votership among independents. This is one more reason why I think Obama's momentum will help him continue to overshadow John McCain's campaign.

The second boost Obama recieved this weekend was through his donantions, which hit record numbers: totally $150 million this month (double of what he recieved in August. ) This is also will will also help him overtake McCain from every part of the country.

Will this push Obama through to the end? Well, it will certainly help.

Look at the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/us/politics/20campaign.html?th&emc=th

A Night At The Lyric

Contained in the white-washed brick walls of the Lyric Theatre is a historic spirit of the past that the likes of Faulkner and the last of the southern aristocrats have reveled in. But a week ago, Wednesday, Sept. 24, two recording artist gave us the history and the ghost. Jenny Lewis brought that spirit back to Oxford and Conor Oberst reminded us of the historic task at hand.

A thousand footsteps hit the floor that night and all in beat with the rose lights and bobbing heads all cast in an opaque shadow of the back lit stage. Lewis’s honky-tonk flavored spirituals and the yawns and caws of a steel guitar made the moment at hand seem far away. In reality that moment was only two days away; the first presidential debate was being held in Oxford on Friday.

The too-far-gone couples swayed and held spindly intertwined fingers and plastic cups above their heads, disregarding the sloshing golden liquid. The presence of the burly security guards was dimmed in comparison to the overwhelming melodies and chords from Lewis and her folk twang gang. The moment was slipping further away…

Before Oberst even took the stage, the moment came rushing back to Oxonians. Technicians arranging the bulky sound equipment on stage, placed a speaker cabinet with florescent tape arranged in jagged lines, which read “Obama, USA.”

Oberst and his thin form and cracking voice took the stage and soon he was reminding show-goers of the latest upset in Oxford’s debate plans.

“I feel like a lot of people in this town got their bubble burst, talking on their cell phones, saying ‘What the (expletive)’,” Oberst said from stage after a few songs. “I only have one explanation…[McCain]’s a coward!”

But the night’s finale at the Lyric ended just as debate week did. It all ended in accordance to plan: they showed up, played their part, and got out of town.

Everything's Rosey at the Palm Beach Post

Bill Rose, managing editor of the Palm Beach Post in Palm Beach, Fla. and graduate of Ole Miss, spoke to journalism classes on Monday, Sept. 8 on a return visit to the school. The first impression I had of him was that he was could have been an old school newspaper man. All that was missing was the cocked back fedora with the pencil in behind his ear and a loose fitting blazer.

He told his newspaper anecdotes and that's what he told to us, as aspiring journalist, to do. Just tell stories. But his wisdom didn't stop with that advice. He told us to read good writers (newspapers, fiction and nonfiction alike) and to learn how to write, because writing and reporting are two different animals.

"You can write a story in print like a good storyteller tells a story," Rose said. "If you can write and you can report, there will always be a job for you [in newspapers]."

Rose also told the classes about the importance of well placed and meaningful word choices and how good words "click and purr and juxtapose against each other." One of the word tricks he told was if words are used that start with "S" or "SH" then the sentence will speed up.

Most of the questions asked by students dealt with the declining newspaper industry, but Rose believes in the future of newspapers. The large number of retirees in Palm Beach secures the income of the Post, but Rose and his staff are still preparing for the future. He said niche publications and a younger generation of reporters and newspaper people will turn the industry in a new direction.

Rose may be the last of his kind, an old newspaper man, but he gave me a new perspective on the what some speculate the dismal state of journalism could be. In my opinion, newspapers aren't dying, but evolving into something new.

William Christenberry's "Site/Possession" at Ole Miss

The Mary Buie Musuem at Ole Miss is a very unassuming place to showcase a exhibit like “Site/Possession” by William Christenberry. I only knew the exhibit was centered around the Ku Klux Klan and there were guards. I was intrigued, but I thought nothing else of it until I went to visit the exhibit on Tuesday, August 26. When I walked through the curtain into the instillation piece, I immediately tensed up. Eyes in hooded cloaks stared at me from every angle and my skin crawled as if the hooded figures were actually in the room with me. I was terrified and felt as if I were suffocating. All I could think of was hate, not directed toward the KKK, but what the KKK embodied. The whole experience made me feel awful and I felt awful for the rest of the day.

One of the main things I heard about William Christenberry was that he encountered a hooded Klansmen in a courthouse and as soon as Christenberry saw the man’s eyes he turned and left as fast as he could. From that moment on, the KKK took hold of Christenberry’s life in a way that can only be described as all consuming and obsessive.

The ethical concern that struck me most is that as much as some may hate to admit it, for a true Southerner, the Ku Klux Klan is regrettably apart of a Southerners identity. Unfortunately the KKK has become a part of our lives and although it is phasing out, Christenberry has reminded the public in a very blunt way. His effort is appreciated and hard to swallow, but is it needed? I’m not saying to forget history, but somethings shouldn’t be dwelt on.

Editing At Work

Reader Questions:
How are the students picked that need mentors?
Why aren't there examples written in this story, or quotes from a student, teacher, or administrator?
Who realized there was a need for mentors and tutors? How did this effort begin?

ORIGNIAL:

A new school year; fresh resolve; renewed enthusiasm. For some. Hopefully for many. But not everyone.

There are lots of reasons why some children do not face a new school year with optimism: little home encouragement, low self-esteem, inadequate educational foundation, poor classroom achievement, no dream of the future.

Volunteers can make a difference. Volunteers are making a difference. Schools need tutors and mentors for elementary, middle school, and high school students, especially for high school students at risk of dropping out. And volunteers are beginning to respond. Due to a concerted effort during the past year, 20 mentors were recruited for Oxford High School and 25 for Oxford Middle School. More are needed. Many more. In all the schools. For example, OHS needs 25 and OMS 100.

The greatest need for tutors is in the lower grades, school officials say. They hope that the tutoring relationship might develop into mentoring. Anyone interested may apply at the district office.

REVISION:

Oxford City Schools are recruiting volunteers to be tutors to elementary, middle, and high school students in the upcoming school year.

Not all students start the year with excitement and enthusiasm and a concerted effort has built over the past year to encourage students to excel. Tutors and mentors are needed for elementary, middle, and high school students.

A need for tutors is focused on the lower grades and school officials say they hope these relationships will progress into mentoring. However a strong emphasis on mentoring is also being placed on high school students who are at risk for dropping out.

Oxford City Schools need 125 volunteers and anyone interested in can apply at the district office.

An Editing Creed

As a journalist, beliefs must be a commitment, not a set of rules that could in anyway be debatable. I commit myself to be a truth teller even when I’m the only one can see it and to show real people in real situations in real life. My responsibility holds me accountable to informing the masses and moving an apathetic public to action.