Should You Publish Military Secrets if They Seem Questionable?

IN CLASS TODAY, WE TALKED about a New York Times story that revealed a military strategy to place "bait" in certain areas where potential insurgents would find them.After placing the bait, American snipers observed the area around it, a military official told the newspaper. “If someone found the item, picked it up and attempted to leave with the item,” he said, “we would engage the individual, as I saw this as a sign that they would use the item...

Satire and the Race for the Oval Office.

WHILE JOURNALISTS hold on to the old ideal of objectivity, entertainment television runs with the political satire (like the SNL clip above). Is it fair for folks like Tina Fey to mock Sarah Palin? Should David Letterman be punished for spending more than half of a recent show making fun of John McCain?By the way, the real Katie Couric interview with Sarah Palin is bel...

Is It Good Journalism Or Ugly Racism?

FOX29 INVESTIGATED a tip that an aide to city councilman Wilson Goode was abusing her position. The tipster said that the aide regularly arrived hours late to work, and frequently left early.When the FOX29 reporter asked the aide - who earns $90,000 per year - about the allegations, the aide said that the reporter was a racist. The aide actually held up signs during council session accusing the Fox reporter of being in the KKK.Watch the video by...

Does This Offend You?

THIS COVER was recently honored as one of the best mag covers of the year by the American Society of Magazine Editors.Since the majority of you weren't offended by the "Douchebag" headline, I doubt you guys would be bothered by a line pointing to the former New York governor's crotch with BRAIN in bold caps. Anyone? Is this good journalism?(Click here to see this year's top cover finalist...

Are You Offended by "Douchebag?"

THE BALTIMORE SUN'S free daily paper featured a cover story about "Douchebags," with 56 ways to tell if you are one. Apparently, some people were upset to see the word displayed so large and prominent on the page, which was fronted in newspaper boxes all around Baltimore.Is there anything wrong with running the word on the cover in 48 point, bold type like th...

Can Photographs Have Influence?

FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER Jill Greenberg was hired to shoot images of John McCain for the Atlantic Monthly magazine.Greenberg, a hard-core Democrat, decided to create images of McCain that portrayed him as old and sinister. She lit him with a harsh light, and shot the image from low, creating deep shadows and intensity.Is that wrong? Should she have made him look good, maybe retouched his red eyes? Or is it her job of the photojournalist to present...

That's Crazy ... But Is It News?

A 22-YEAR OLD WOMAN was driving the wrong way down interstate 476 in Delaware County and she crashed into oncoming traffic. A 63-year old woman was killed. The Philadelphia Inquirer's story included these details:O'Neill (the 22-year old driver) is the sister of Sean Owen O'Neill Jr., who was released from juvenile detention in June after being held in the August 2006 shooting death of his friend. O'Neill Jr. hosted a party without adult supervision...

In Lieu of Newspapers, Use Craigslist?

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE censored a paid obit that ran in the paper. The family of Ken Swanborn submitted an obit with the final line, "In lieu of flowers, please vote Democratic."The paper refused to run that line. A woman on the paper's paid-death-notice desk told the Chicago Reader, "If it's considered discriminatory or offensive, they take the line out."Do they have the right to do th...

Media and The Law: What's Right?

DURING THE RECENT political conventions, several reporters were arrested. Watch the video above. Was there justification for the arrest in this case?An Associated Press photographer from Philadelphia was arrested while covering an anti-war protest in Minnesota. Several others were picked up there as well (see the video below) and then released later in the day without charges being filed.Before you react, process the information. A good journalist will recognize multiple sides of the story. Did the police feel threatened? Were they abusing their...

Can Journalism Harness Social Media For Good?

NEARLY ALL OF THE students who have taken the survey I requested you take said that they use facebook.It is an amazing tool, really, far more than just a way to pass the time. Why? Because you actually learn about your friends, their passions, their interests and what they're doing online.And now with Twitter, people have the ability to update their friends of their activities every second of the day.The New York Times Sunday Magazine explores the...

GOP vs. The Media Elite

ONE OF THE REPUBLICAN talking points that is being repeated over and over again at the Republican National Convention is that the media are a bunch of elitists.I love it. Don't they read the papers? Media job layoffs are announced almost daily. Elitists? The average starting salary for a 2008 grad who actually finds work is $32,000. If you can find a job, that is.Is the media showing their elitism by pointing out that there are only 36 African American...

Gossip Mongering or Good Journalism?

RUMORS HAVE FLOATED for months that GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin is not the mother of the 4-month old she claims as her own. Some have speculated that Palin's 17-year old daughter (above, right) is the real mother.What do you do with that rumor? Do you investigate it as a journalist?The folks up in Alaska didn't touch it:“I heard that rumor a long time ago,” said Pat Forgey, political reporter for the Juneau Empire, a few hours after Palin’s statement...

Blatant Self-Promotion: Your Teacher is a Journalist.

PEOPLE SAY JOURNALISM is dying. Newspapers are going away, TV news is a joke and magazines are watching advertising dollars disappear.And yet here you all are. Studying journalism. Your parents must be so excited.Well, I, for one, don't believe the industry is dying. It's simply changing. And that makes this the most exciting time in history to be an aspiring journalist. For real.If you want to read more, click here to read my story about "Why I...

The Oldest Journalism School Could Lose Their School Newspaper

THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their journalism school this year, the country's oldest journalism program. But their school newspaper, the Columbia Missourian, is suffering from the same problems that newspapers across the country are facing: declining revenue and loss of readership. The staff is considering merging with another newspaper or going to an online only version.Would it be a big deal to lose the print...