From MediaBistro's newsletter that arrived at 3:15 p.m. today:
Promotions and New Positions
Benjamin Meadows-Ingram has been named executive editor at Vibe. He had been senior editor there. (Media Bistro)
On Poynter at 3 p.m.
Vibe magazine is shutting down, say sources
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Online Journalism Awards
From the Online Journalism Association:
The deadline -- June 30 -- is almost here to enter the Online Journalism Awards, which honor excellence in digital journalism around the world. Launched in May 2000, the OJAs are administered by the Online News Association, in partnership with the University of Miami's School of Communication. The OJAs are traditionally awarded at the Online News Association's annual conference. This year’s honorees will be announced on the final night of ONA09, the Online News Association Conference and Awards Banquet, Oct. 1-3 in San Francisco.
Over the past decade, the OJAs have recognized major media, international and independent sites and individuals producing innovative work in multimedia storytelling. The Awards Committee and judges place special emphasis on entries that are original to the Web or demonstrate mastery of the special characteristics of digital journalism.
The winners are selected through a two-step process. First, a group of more than 100 journalists screen and rank the entries in each category. A panel of industry-leading journalists and new media professionals then judge finalists and select winners at the University of Miami's School of Communication.
For 2009, ONA has introduced changes to acknowledge the important role of emerging technology, the influence of the independent digital journalist and the growth of community reporting efforts. Six awards now come with a total of $30,000 in prize money, courtesy of the Gannett Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the General Excellence in Online Journalism Award has expanded to include "micro sites."
The 2009 categories are:
The Knight Award for Public Service
General Excellence in Online Journalism
General Excellence in Online Journalism, Non-English
The Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism
Breaking News
Specialty Site Journalism
Investigative Journalism
Multimedia Feature Presentation
Online Topical Reporting/Blogging
Online Commentary/Blogging
Community Collaboration Award
Outstanding Use of Digital Technologies
Online Video Journalism
Student Journalism
To enter, or to find our more about the OJAs, go
here
Not the Right Word
MRAP trucks: Afghan savior or boondoggle?
This appeared on Yahoo but the headline and story are drawn directly from the Christian Science Monitor.
.....The truck was a Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected truck (MRAP) – a 16-ton behemoth that came to be regarded as the soldier's lifeboat in Iraq, its V-shaped hull saving lives by deflecting the blast of roadside bombs.
Rummel's story points to the same success in Afghanistan. "God bless the MRAP and what it does," he says.
But the mammoth trucks are built for Iraq, where troops are fighting a largely urban insurgency on city streets. Afghanistan's insurgency is rural, and the Pentagon is in a race to completely redesign the MRAP for its new duty, making it lighter, with a beefier suspension and better off-road capabilities for troops who launch missions into fields and up hillsides – often with no roads.
The effort, however, calls into question one of the bedrock tenets of Defense Secretary Robert Gates's regime: He wants to prioritize equipment that saves troops' lives. But experts wonder if, in the process, he is saddling the military for years to come with a fleet of vehicles that can be used in only one spot on the globe.
Here's the problem. There is no suggestion in this story that this is a boondoggle.
Boondoggle, according to various dictionaries, suggests something unnecessary, a waste of money, a bit of a con:
A work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy.
a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.
–verb (used with object) 4. to deceive or attempt to deceive: to boondoggle investors into a low-interest scheme.
–verb (used without object) 5. to do work of little or no practical value merely to keep or look busy.
(Really? Only a federal project?)
Anyway, none of those usages fit this story. What the reporter finds is that the trucks are extremely costly and may be suited for only one kind of environment. Adapting them to a different environment is costly. It may not be a wise decision to spend so much on a project with limited value. But boondoggle? No.
Heads That Shouldn't Happen
From AP on Yahoo:
'Jobs killer': Democrats win key test vote on climate bill
First, there's no quote in this story at all that refers to this bill as a "jobs killer."
Second, even if there were, it does not belong in the headline unless the bulk of the story is about the effect on jobs. It is a partisan statement. Just report the facts.
Charge. Arraign. Bail.
From a story in the LA Times today about a raid on a home owned by the mayor of Bell, Calif., comes this sentence:
By what process would there be bail set without a charge and arraignment? How is this possible? I look forward to the explanation.
The two men arrested, renter Carlos Zetina, 25, and his uncle Rogelio Zetina, 49, have been released on $75,000 bail but have not been charged, according to the district attorney's office.
By what process would there be bail set without a charge and arraignment? How is this possible? I look forward to the explanation.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
It's Called Skepticism
I mentioned this previously on Twitter or Facebook or some such place, but Josh Marshall offers a roundup on how quick many media operations were to declare the Mark Sanford story over before the South Carolina governor returned home, was found at the airport by an enterprising reporter from The State, and tearfully confessed his affair.
There were far too many "mystery solved" kinds of headlines, all over the place, by publications and web sites that really should know better. When did we stop challenging political officials and start accepting anything they tell us unless some other third party spoonfeeds us another set of facts?
While we're at it, I could do with a lot less mocking of the guy's personal life. To me, the fact that the chief executive of a state vanished and without any connection to his staff, was the story. Plus the idea that yet another moralizing public figure got caught living a life of hypocrisy. Other than that, I really don't want to read the e-mails or listen to cable talking heads getting their jollies doing so. We're better than this, people.
There were far too many "mystery solved" kinds of headlines, all over the place, by publications and web sites that really should know better. When did we stop challenging political officials and start accepting anything they tell us unless some other third party spoonfeeds us another set of facts?
While we're at it, I could do with a lot less mocking of the guy's personal life. To me, the fact that the chief executive of a state vanished and without any connection to his staff, was the story. Plus the idea that yet another moralizing public figure got caught living a life of hypocrisy. Other than that, I really don't want to read the e-mails or listen to cable talking heads getting their jollies doing so. We're better than this, people.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Not Quite Right
Typo Cuts Drug Offender's Prison Term
Well. Yes, sort of. Three extraneous letters in a verdict form led to an appeal and then to a reduction in the sentence of a man convicted on drug charges.
But, as is often the case, court stories are more complicated than the headlines would indicate.
It wasn't a case of a stray couple of letters but rather that the letters involved numbers and the chance that the jury didn't understand the amount of drugs involved, which in turn affects the sentence.
The headline is eye catching, certainly, but it's a bit dishonest for what it doesn't say.
Pointing Fingers
I have to say that if one third of errors in this paper were committed by editors, something's wrong. I can't dispute this editor's figures; she seems to have researched them pretty thoroughly. But am surprised to see that she thinks her paper's reporters 'fess up quickly.
It has been my experience, at at least two newspapers, that assigning desk editors tend to point the finger at the copy desk all day until those editors come in, do the research and establish that the originating editors or reporters were responsible. It's not clear to me if she's distinguishing between copy and other editors.
I do think that a policy ought to be consistent--either you blame the individual, always, by title, or you never blame anyone. That may seem unfair in any given instance but it does reduce the finger pointing and fights over who did what.
Speaking of errors:
Some Mistakes Are More Entertaining Than Others.
Yes, they are.
It has been my experience, at at least two newspapers, that assigning desk editors tend to point the finger at the copy desk all day until those editors come in, do the research and establish that the originating editors or reporters were responsible. It's not clear to me if she's distinguishing between copy and other editors.
I do think that a policy ought to be consistent--either you blame the individual, always, by title, or you never blame anyone. That may seem unfair in any given instance but it does reduce the finger pointing and fights over who did what.
Speaking of errors:
Some Mistakes Are More Entertaining Than Others.
Yes, they are.
Over There
JD at the Engine Room blog has a good catch on tricky headline constructions. It's not quite the famous
but it's pretty good.
Russian Virgin
Lands Short Of
Goal Again
but it's pretty good.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
At Home
Regionalisms:
When I mention "tree lawns" to people on Long Island, I get a blank look. When I explain to my fellow suburbanites what they call the strip of grass between the sidewalk (where they exist out here) and the curb, they say, "the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb."
Wikipedia has a rundown. Apparently, in Los Angeles they're called parkways, though here on LI, that's a road, usually one that leads to parks and tends to be better decorated than the expressway/highway/freeway.
The Dry Garden: Replacing that lawn along the sidewalk
Lawn-busters, take note: Emily Green weighs in on the best alternative to turf for that troublesome patch of dirt between the sidewalk and the street. Here's a hint: In her view, water-sipping perennials aren't necessarily the best choice. To find out why, read the latest installment in her drought-tolerant gardening column posted after the jump.
-- Craig Nakano
By Emily Green
There may be a drought and tough watering restrictions, but there has never been a better time to tackle the knottiest problem in Los Angeles landscaping: How to plant parkways?
Parkways are now and always have been a headache. No matter who owns that strip of land between curb and sidewalk, for safety reasons, two city of Los Angeles agencies call the shots over what may and may not be done with it. The Urban Forestry Division oversees the plants, and the Bureau of Engineering handles "hardscaping," or the paved parts. But the homeowner is responsible for tending them.
Traditionally, most parkways have been planted with grass to match frontyard lawns. But under the new drought ordinances, when lawn sprinklers on parkways create run-off, homeowners face warnings, then fines.
When I mention "tree lawns" to people on Long Island, I get a blank look. When I explain to my fellow suburbanites what they call the strip of grass between the sidewalk (where they exist out here) and the curb, they say, "the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb."
Wikipedia has a rundown. Apparently, in Los Angeles they're called parkways, though here on LI, that's a road, usually one that leads to parks and tends to be better decorated than the expressway/highway/freeway.
The Dry Garden: Replacing that lawn along the sidewalk
Lawn-busters, take note: Emily Green weighs in on the best alternative to turf for that troublesome patch of dirt between the sidewalk and the street. Here's a hint: In her view, water-sipping perennials aren't necessarily the best choice. To find out why, read the latest installment in her drought-tolerant gardening column posted after the jump.
-- Craig Nakano
By Emily Green
There may be a drought and tough watering restrictions, but there has never been a better time to tackle the knottiest problem in Los Angeles landscaping: How to plant parkways?
Parkways are now and always have been a headache. No matter who owns that strip of land between curb and sidewalk, for safety reasons, two city of Los Angeles agencies call the shots over what may and may not be done with it. The Urban Forestry Division oversees the plants, and the Bureau of Engineering handles "hardscaping," or the paved parts. But the homeowner is responsible for tending them.
Traditionally, most parkways have been planted with grass to match frontyard lawns. But under the new drought ordinances, when lawn sprinklers on parkways create run-off, homeowners face warnings, then fines.
Heading Off Problems
Mashable reports on the collapse of a Brooklyn building that had been photographed by Google street view. The pic clearly shows a crack in the building.
In the late 1970s, after the collapse of the Hartford Civic Center coliseum roof, someone examining pre-construction photos found bends in the steel piled up awaiting use. No one noticed it until after the investigation began. Google and the many other purveyors of information make it easier to track back problems. The question is whether there's a way to find problems like this before an accident occurs (And this assumes the crack is a sign of impending problems.)
In the late 1970s, after the collapse of the Hartford Civic Center coliseum roof, someone examining pre-construction photos found bends in the steel piled up awaiting use. No one noticed it until after the investigation began. Google and the many other purveyors of information make it easier to track back problems. The question is whether there's a way to find problems like this before an accident occurs (And this assumes the crack is a sign of impending problems.)
Making Sense of Numbers
Doug Fisher at Common Sense Journalism makes a simple plea for clarity in reporting numbers, in this case, a drug bust.
And If You Don't Pay Your Bill...
Remember the quaint old days when people were worried about a company owning two newspapers in the same market?
These days, my local newspaper, and TV, phone and internet service are all owned/provided by one company. Which also owns several local sports teams and major venues.
It's hard to complain about someone having a newspaper and two stations in the same general market when there are at least some options. Even if it is Rupert Murdoch.
These days, my local newspaper, and TV, phone and internet service are all owned/provided by one company. Which also owns several local sports teams and major venues.
It's hard to complain about someone having a newspaper and two stations in the same general market when there are at least some options. Even if it is Rupert Murdoch.
I Blame the Bible
Lost for 12 years, a prodigal father is found
Loving friends and family embrace Eddie Dotson, who lived on an L.A. sidewalk.
Prodigal doesn't mean lost, no matter what the language and message hear from the parable of the Prodigal Son. It means wasteful.
And if you enjoy the language and literature of the Bible, here are earlier versions of that parable. It's quite a joy to read and hear.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Not To Be Forgotten
I'm glad to see there's a news organization investigating Skip Bailey's murder.
From the East Coast, at least, his murder seems to have been forgotten, though I don't know if that's a reflection of journalism today or my busy schedule.
I knew Skip at The Hartford Courant many years ago. His murder, an attack on journalism, should not be overlooked.
From the East Coast, at least, his murder seems to have been forgotten, though I don't know if that's a reflection of journalism today or my busy schedule.
I knew Skip at The Hartford Courant many years ago. His murder, an attack on journalism, should not be overlooked.
Divided We're Not
Given this, which matches results from other polls in recent days and weeks:
In Poll, Wide Support for Government-Run Health
By KEVIN SACK and MARJORIE CONNELLY
Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll
Then this next headline would seem to be off. There's nothing "divisive" about it except insurance companies and thus some members of the Senate don't like it. But it hardly splits people, does it?
Oh, and in case you're wondering why LA Times copy says "reporting from..." all the time, it's because the clowns running Tribune didn't know a dateline on a story means that that's where the reporter was filing from.
In Poll, Wide Support for Government-Run Health
By KEVIN SACK and MARJORIE CONNELLY
Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll
Then this next headline would seem to be off. There's nothing "divisive" about it except insurance companies and thus some members of the Senate don't like it. But it hardly splits people, does it?
House Democrats unveil healthcare bill
The proposal includes a divisive government insurance option, among other reforms.
Reporting from Washington -- Senior House Democrats on Friday introduced their plan for reshaping the nation's healthcare system, calling for a new government insurance option, a new mandate on employers to provide coverage and a new guarantee of subsidized healthcare for the poor.
Oh, and in case you're wondering why LA Times copy says "reporting from..." all the time, it's because the clowns running Tribune didn't know a dateline on a story means that that's where the reporter was filing from.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Look-Up Words in the NYT
Here it is in real words.
A blogger comments on what people who don't look up the words think they mean.
Ian A.T. at Metafilter listed and defined them.
sui generis - constituting a class alone : unique, peculiar (pronounced "sue I generous" or "sooey generous")
solipsistic - extremely egocentric (Solipsism)
louche - disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way
laconic - using few words; expressing much in few words; concise
saturnine - cold and steady in mood : slow to act or change : of a gloomy or surly disposition : having a sardonic aspect
antediluvian - made, evolved, or developed a long time ago : extremely primitive or outmoded (originally referred to the period before the flood described in the Bible)
epistemological - related to the theory of knowledge (Epistemology)
shibboleth - a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning
penury - a cramping and oppressive lack of resources, especially money : extreme frugality
sumptuary - relating to personal expenditures and especially to prevent extravagance and luxury : designed to regulate extravagant expenditures or habits especially on moral or religious grounds
schadenfreude - satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune
peripatetic - travelling from place to place : esp, working or based in various places for short periods
abtruse - difficult to comprehend
parlous - full of danger or risk
enervating - reducing the mental or moral vigor of : lessening the vitality or strength of
adenoidal - exhibiting the characteristics (as snoring, mouth breathing, and voice nasality) of one affected with abnormally enlarged adenoids : (not usually used technically)
feckless - ineffective; incompetent; futile : having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy
Solipsism - extreme egocentrism (can also refer to a philosophical idea)
ersatz - being an artificial and inferior substitute or imitation
fealty - intense fidelity
sanguine - cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident : a reddish or ruddy complexion : bloody : blood-red
sartorial - of or relating to a tailor or tailored clothes : broadly, of or relating to clothes
hagiography - a biography of a saint or venerated person : often used as a pejorative for uncritical or overly reverential biographies and histories.
pandemic - an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world : existing everywhere
Dauphin - formerly, the eldest son of the King of France and direct heir to the throne
antebellum - existing before a war : often refers to the period before the American Civil War
paroxysm - a sudden violent emotion or action
risible - arousing or provoking laughter : often used in a negative sense, meaning "laughable"
interlocutor - one who takes part in dialogue or conversation
swine - a pig or pigs, collectively
apotheosis - the highest point in the development of something : a culmination or climax
comity - a friendly social atmosphere : social harmony : a loose widespread community based on common social institutions : the informal and voluntary recognition by courts of one jurisdiction of the laws and judicial decisions of another (known as "comity of nations") : avoidance of proselytizing members of another religious denomination
Atreus - Atreus, king of Mycene, was the son of Pelops and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. (more info)
banal - lacking originality, freshness, or novelty : trite
profligacy - recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources
sisyphean - pointless and interminable (Sisyphus)
inchoate - being only partly in existence or operation : especially, imperfectly formed or formulated : formless, incoherent
apoplectic - of a kind to cause or apparently cause stroke ("an apoplectic rage") : greatly excited or angered
neologism - a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase
bildungsroman - a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character : a "coming of age" novel
peroration - the concluding part of a discourse and especially an oration, typically used to inspire enthusiasm in the audience
fungible - able to replace or be replaced by another item : mutually interchangeable
recondite - hidden from sight, concealed : little known or obscure
Bonobo - a pygmy chimpanzee found in swamp forests in Zaire
phlogiston - a hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning
contretemps - an inopportune or embarrassing occurrence or situation : dispute, argument (pronounced sorta kinda like "con-trah-TAH" or "cone-truh-TAH")
appurtenance - an accessory or other item associated with a particular activity or style of living
glut - overeat or eat immodestly : flood : supply with an excess of
fecklessness - incompetence; futility : indifference; laziness
posted by Ian A.T.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Public Reunions and Taste
I happened to see a video today of another one of those stories where the soldier-father comes home and surprises his child at school. Most of them are very charming, moving, the kids alternately crying and laughing but ultimately, everyone is happy.
This one was different. I won't link to it because I found it so painful and intrusive. The shot opens with the soldier walking through the classroom door and a number of adults gathered to watch this scene laughing with the joy they think the daughter will experience. But that, to my eye, isn't what happens. The shot quickly moves to the fourth-grader looking at who is walking through the door. To my eye, she looks horrified for a moment--maybe she doesn't recognize him, I'm not sure. Then she rises up, in tears, her body curled forward as she goes to him. He's not smiling, either, when he picks her up as she cries.
A TV talking head warns at the beginning that it will move viewers to tears. It did me. But I'm finding these kinds of scenes really intrusive. There's no pleasure or news value in seeing this reunion, at all, that I can see, and I question the point of showing them. The people--family, educators-- who arranged it no doubt meant well. But that kid appears to be in agony and I don't think we all need to see that. It may make good TV; it doesn't say much about our humanity.
This one was different. I won't link to it because I found it so painful and intrusive. The shot opens with the soldier walking through the classroom door and a number of adults gathered to watch this scene laughing with the joy they think the daughter will experience. But that, to my eye, isn't what happens. The shot quickly moves to the fourth-grader looking at who is walking through the door. To my eye, she looks horrified for a moment--maybe she doesn't recognize him, I'm not sure. Then she rises up, in tears, her body curled forward as she goes to him. He's not smiling, either, when he picks her up as she cries.
A TV talking head warns at the beginning that it will move viewers to tears. It did me. But I'm finding these kinds of scenes really intrusive. There's no pleasure or news value in seeing this reunion, at all, that I can see, and I question the point of showing them. The people--family, educators-- who arranged it no doubt meant well. But that kid appears to be in agony and I don't think we all need to see that. It may make good TV; it doesn't say much about our humanity.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Politics of Abortion Headlines
It's early yet and not the biggest part of the argument, but some headlines that referred to the murdered Dr. George Tiller as an "aborton doctor" are being challenged. The issue is whether that's an accurate account of the career of the ob-gyn specialist or whether it shows bias. Josh Marshall addresses the issue and finds a suitable alternative, though admittedly, he has the room to do so. A couple of bloggers caught up with the cache of Operation Rescue's Tiller Watch,
which the organization removed from its site after Tiller's murder.
which the organization removed from its site after Tiller's murder.
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