Trying to stay a little tighter with the posts tonight, I offer you three articles to comment on. These are the final post for the month of September. Yippie!
The Wall Street Journal reported on the not-so-green side of reusable shopping bags. While I post this for the interesting facts -- especially considering we live in the Bay Area, an area known for its cutting edge green-ness -- I wonder a few things: 1. How might the media have played a roll in the questionable ethics of these bags and their marketing? Simply because something is said to be green, doesn't mean it is. 2. If the media is the watch dog for the people, why didn't it question the claims of these bags earlier? 3. Were the American people to blame? In our desire to be green, are we the people willing to follow any claim, any product just to soothe our own conscience? 4. Does any of this really matter? The American public has been lied to about far more pressing issue than this.
Wall Street R.I.P. That was the headline across the NYTimes business section today. What a story. This story explains some of the goings on of Wall Street and some explanation of what is to come. I post this not only for the content, but also the writing. What did you think of the style of this article? The opening? The playing to the American Dream and how it's over? Does this piece glorify what is going on on the Street right now, or simply try to explain how we got here?
Slate Magazine, along with many other news outlets, has started using Twitter as a way to interact with its readers. Firstly -- Twitter is a social networking sight based on micorblogging. Yes, mini itty bitty blogs. You are limited to 140 characters when commenting on anything. So, check out Slate Magazine's Twitter page and read through some of the responses about the presidential debate. Is this the wave of the future? Limiting your comments and ideas to 140 characters (that includes spaces)? Is this an effective way to get the readership involved? Or, is Twitter just another way to reinforce uneducated, slightly superficial responses from a generation already too consumed with instant gratification and brevity?
Share, comment, enlighten.
On another note -- want to do better on the current events quizzes?? Check out these podcasts from the NYTimes, particularly the one called Front Page as it summarizes the major headlines of the day. These podcasts range in length and are quite interesting and easy to listen to.
And, one final note -- Wordles are the hottest thing in design right now. Check these out from the DNC and RNC. Is there a place for Wordles in The Voice?
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Week 5
I'm not going to lie, there are oodles and oodles of articles I would love for you all to read, but I fear I would overload your lives with reading. Then again, reading is a good thing, right? So, I am going to post a few extra reads. Read, comment, share, etc. Any suggestions for readings, please let me know.
Vanishing Republican Voter
A good read about the hows and whys of a counties political leanings. And, a mention or Marin County always gets my attention.
Digital Intimacy
As one letter to the editor quoted, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, speaking to Deborah Solomon in 2005, best captures my reaction to this trend: “What’s called the dominant culture will fade away as soon as the electricity goes off.” Could that really happen? If people are only connected digitally, what happens when technology fails?
Texting & Teachers
An interesting read regarding "casual rapport" between students and teachers. If teachers are using social networking sites to keep up with students, and clearly students use these kinds of sites to network with each other, should communication via these outlets be limited or banned? Is this an infringement on the First Amendment?
This sucks!
Or, maybe it doesn't. What do you think about this work and its usage in The Voice? In mainstream media?
The death of newspapers
Really? The newspaper crisis is hitting college campuses. Does that mean the good old newspaper is not long for this world? Long ago newspapers started giving away their product for free -- a reader simply had to go on-line to get all the news. No charge. No messy fingers. Will newsprint really be a thing of the past? Is the new media blogs and message boards and social networking sites? Say it ain't so.
Obama as Other and The Power of Political Misinformation
Two good reads not only for their stellar style but also their content. Misinformation is running rampant in this election. Both sides are using comments out of context and hoping that people are listening and remembering. But how this could backfire. While many of the missteps are on commercials and in paid campaign activities, a lot of the mainstream media has been caught up in cultivating and perpetuating ideas and claims that are false. How can this be stopped? How can the average voter sift through the noise and figure out what is real and what is not, what is truth and what is not? Is the media to blame for the culture of misinformation? Or is that just the nature of politics as usual?
Vanishing Republican Voter
A good read about the hows and whys of a counties political leanings. And, a mention or Marin County always gets my attention.
Digital Intimacy
As one letter to the editor quoted, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, speaking to Deborah Solomon in 2005, best captures my reaction to this trend: “What’s called the dominant culture will fade away as soon as the electricity goes off.” Could that really happen? If people are only connected digitally, what happens when technology fails?
Texting & Teachers
An interesting read regarding "casual rapport" between students and teachers. If teachers are using social networking sites to keep up with students, and clearly students use these kinds of sites to network with each other, should communication via these outlets be limited or banned? Is this an infringement on the First Amendment?
This sucks!
Or, maybe it doesn't. What do you think about this work and its usage in The Voice? In mainstream media?
The death of newspapers
Really? The newspaper crisis is hitting college campuses. Does that mean the good old newspaper is not long for this world? Long ago newspapers started giving away their product for free -- a reader simply had to go on-line to get all the news. No charge. No messy fingers. Will newsprint really be a thing of the past? Is the new media blogs and message boards and social networking sites? Say it ain't so.
Obama as Other and The Power of Political Misinformation
Two good reads not only for their stellar style but also their content. Misinformation is running rampant in this election. Both sides are using comments out of context and hoping that people are listening and remembering. But how this could backfire. While many of the missteps are on commercials and in paid campaign activities, a lot of the mainstream media has been caught up in cultivating and perpetuating ideas and claims that are false. How can this be stopped? How can the average voter sift through the noise and figure out what is real and what is not, what is truth and what is not? Is the media to blame for the culture of misinformation? Or is that just the nature of politics as usual?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Week 4
1. Read this article from the Student Press Law Center Report. The article talks about web publishing and the rules and regulations that come with it. What do you think about the rules of web publishing? Should web publishing be held to the same standards as print publishing? Should schools be able to reprimand you/punish you for something published from home? Now school's have legislation to support discipline decisions. Will this make you think twice about about starting a Facebook forum against school policy? school issues? Is this legislation a threat to freedom of speech or a benefit to the integrity of the internet? Share your brilliance and insight.
2. Sarah Palin is all over the news, still. Read this article from the pages of the Wall Street Journal opinion section and comment on the effectiveness of the writing. It's not content reaction, rather execution and writing response that I'm looking for. Is this an effective opinion piece with viable examples and engaging language? Is the argument well stated and supported? Share your brilliance and insight.
2. Sarah Palin is all over the news, still. Read this article from the pages of the Wall Street Journal opinion section and comment on the effectiveness of the writing. It's not content reaction, rather execution and writing response that I'm looking for. Is this an effective opinion piece with viable examples and engaging language? Is the argument well stated and supported? Share your brilliance and insight.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Week 3
1. Michelle Williams is a popular actress with lots of experience on the screen and in the lives of paparazzi. She is profiled in this weekend's Arts & Leisure section of the NYTimes. This is a great example of a feature piece. How does the author delve into Ms. Williams' life and work without being too personal or too chummy with her? How would you describe the style of this piece? And is it successful in engaging the audience for the duration of the piece? What do you think of the ending? Does it work with the piece? Share your thoughts, comments, brilliance.
Read it.
2. Design, design, design. You can have the most amazing copy, but if the design isn't worth looking at, it doesn't matter. Here is a link to a page that looks at many major news outlets and how they covered Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Scroll through the pages and discuss which pages are successful and which ones aren't. Do you have a favorite? Is there a design The Voice should emulate? What are the different messages being conveyed with the designs? You can click on each page to see a larger version for a better look. Share your thoughts, comments, brilliance.
Read it.
2. Design, design, design. You can have the most amazing copy, but if the design isn't worth looking at, it doesn't matter. Here is a link to a page that looks at many major news outlets and how they covered Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Scroll through the pages and discuss which pages are successful and which ones aren't. Do you have a favorite? Is there a design The Voice should emulate? What are the different messages being conveyed with the designs? You can click on each page to see a larger version for a better look. Share your thoughts, comments, brilliance.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Week 2
1. The 2008 Presidential race is well under way, and the hottest news is McCain's running mate Sarah Palin. How exciting is it that a women is on the GOP ticket, a first in history. But, now the news that her daughter is pregnant is flooding the media. Obama said this news should not be a part of politics. McCain said he knew about this before selecting Palin. Palin and her husband even sent out a press release pertaining to this matter.
Clearly both sides feel the need to focus on real issues. When most Americans have expressed that the economy and the war are most important, and hurricane Gustav is hammering the Gulf coast, why is the media going to dig and dig and dig at this issue until we're all tired of it? If the media is supposed to be the watch dog for the American people, why pursue something that clearly has nothing to do with politics -- or does it? Might Palin's gender play a role in this? Or is the media playing to the lowest common denominator: money? Share your brilliance, insight, and thoughts.
2. John Stewart of Comedy Central fame is the prime news source for many, many Americans. While he is often times overly satiric and less balanced than a news source attempting to maintain objectivity, he is wickedly intelligent and quite passionate about politics. The end of the following article gets to an interesting point: is the media giving the American people what they want or what the media thinks the people want? We are a scandal obsessed nation, eager to watch a tragedy before celebrating something amazing, but does that mean that the media should be seeking out those scandals and tragedies rather than valuable news? As young journalists, how do you see the news coverage of major issues and the balance of information being shared? Share your brilliance, insight, and thoughts.
SF Chronicle story
Clearly both sides feel the need to focus on real issues. When most Americans have expressed that the economy and the war are most important, and hurricane Gustav is hammering the Gulf coast, why is the media going to dig and dig and dig at this issue until we're all tired of it? If the media is supposed to be the watch dog for the American people, why pursue something that clearly has nothing to do with politics -- or does it? Might Palin's gender play a role in this? Or is the media playing to the lowest common denominator: money? Share your brilliance, insight, and thoughts.
2. John Stewart of Comedy Central fame is the prime news source for many, many Americans. While he is often times overly satiric and less balanced than a news source attempting to maintain objectivity, he is wickedly intelligent and quite passionate about politics. The end of the following article gets to an interesting point: is the media giving the American people what they want or what the media thinks the people want? We are a scandal obsessed nation, eager to watch a tragedy before celebrating something amazing, but does that mean that the media should be seeking out those scandals and tragedies rather than valuable news? As young journalists, how do you see the news coverage of major issues and the balance of information being shared? Share your brilliance, insight, and thoughts.
SF Chronicle story
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)