Don't Call Me Douchebag.

A CONNECTICUT HIGH SCHOOL student was barred from running for student council after she called her school's administrators "douchebags" on her personal blog.The student took the case to court, claiming her First Amendment rights were violated. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declined her case. It was shot down again this month by another federal court.While discussing the case in federal court this week, the principal testified that she...

Before You Were Born: Newpapers on Computers? Shocking!

UM, YES, SHE DID say that the dial-up modem was costing the dude $5 per hour, and it takes more than two hours to download the newspaper. And she said the street copy of the newspaper cost only 25 cents.Pure aweso...

You'll Never Ever, Ever Be Able to Report the Facts Without Knowing Them, Seeking Them and Investigating Them.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR of CNN recently spoke at Columbia University about the state of journalism after winning an Alfred I. duPont award, among the most prestigous awards in broadcast journalism. She is rather critical of the journalism currently being produced. Listen to her. Do you agr...

There's No Cheering in the Press Box.

IF YOU WERE A SPORTSWRITER and your son was a superstar wide receiver playing in the Super Bowl, could you cover the game objectively?Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals will have his performance documented and critiqued by hundreds of journalists, including his own father, Larry Sr."I understand there's no cheering," Larry Sr. told USA Today. "I'm there as an objective journalist."But over the past two years, Larry Sr. has written about his son in...

Gatekeepers of Information or Taking Sides in the War?

THE BBC REFUSED to air the video above, an appeal to potential viewers to aid the victims of Israel's three week bombing campaign in Gaza.The BBC claims that airing the video creates an air of impartiality. They fear that viewers would believe the BBC favors the Palestinians rather than Israel in the long-standing conflict.Many have protested in England, saying that by not running the video, the BBC has already sided with Israel.Would you run the video? Do you think it would reveal a bias? Or is the BBC right to pass on the segme...

Movie Ratings: Two Thumbs Down, Critics Say.

DOES THE RATINGS SYSTEM make your life easier? Or does it treat you like an idiot?Many critics - of movies, restaurants, music, whatever - have some sort of rating system that accompanies their full-length critiques of the work. The Wall Street Journal wrote about the ratings phenomena today:Even those critics who don't assign stars or grades find their carefully wrought opinions converted into numbers -- or a thumbs up or thumbs down -- and mashed...

Obama Goes to Work (But the Media Can't Watch).

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA went to work on Wednesday, one day after being sworn into office.Traditionally, the media are allowed into the Oval Office to photograph the president at work on day one. That didn't happen this year.Instead, the White House offered their own images (including the one above) to the press.Several media outlets, including three major wire services - Associated Press, Reuters and Agence-France Presse, refused to transmit the images."We...

A Few Words Shy of Flawless.

THE VERBAL STUMBLING between Chief Justice John Roberts and now-president Barack Obama during the swearing-in ceremony caused a minor controversy.The folks at Fox News questioned whether Obama was actually the president because he did not say the exact words as prescribed by law.On Wednesday, about 36 hours after becoming president, Obama and Roberts again performed the oath so as to avoid further controversy. Was Fox News acting in a biased, partisan manner when they questioned Obama's legitimacy as president? Or were they serving the role of...

Does it Matter if Most of the White House Reporters are White?

THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN to become president of the United States takes office this week. When President Barack Obama holds his first official press conference, most of the faces staring back at him will not be black.Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz says that "the relative paucity of black journalists at the White House is striking."Which raises the question: should there be greater diversity in the White House press corps because there...

The Brits Wear Bulletproof Vests in North Philly.

MOST NEWSCASTS IN PHILADELPHIA mention murders and shootings but rarely do they delve beyond the specific event.A British film crew spent time with the Philadelphia police, documenting life in the inner city ... not far from Temple.Watch the clip above, and check out parts 2 through 6. Is it good journalism? Do they delve beyond the actual events and explore the reasons why we have such poverty, crime and violence? Or is this just good footage of crazy stu...