Issue Facing Journalism: How Would You Handle This Story?

A TEMPLE STUDENT WORKING on a story for MURL was allowed to interview and ride along with a young Philadelphia police officer.In the story, which focused on the relationship between the police and the people they protect and serve in the 22nd District (just west of TU), the 24-year old officer said some off-color stuff.“People in this neighborhood don’t care about each other,” the officer said, according to the article. “They’ll shoot each other...

Watchdog Journalism?

A REPORTER FROM THE Pioneer-Local in Illinois videotaped a rival reporter falling asleep during a community meeting. Then he posted the video on YouTube (above).Was it wrong for him to po...

News You Can Use (To Your Advantage).

JUST A FEW QUICK NOTES:Journalism students at Northeastern University in Boston have teamed up with the Boston Globe and crafted 11 front page, investigative pieces for the Globe over the last two years.The Philadelphia Inquirer is trying to do something similar. They are inviting students to participate in a new collegiate website, studentunion34.com, that will launch in the coming weeks. The Inquirer's collegiate site is a place where you can write,...

Comparing Media And Procrastinating.

RIGHT ABOUT NOW, you are probably thinking, "Man, I have got to get started on that dang media comparison assignment."And that means you don't have to time to find a Temple Times or Source magazine, and you have no idea when the BBC actually runs their news in America. So, you'll probably wind up writing about the Philly blog sites, Philebrity and Phawker.Browse the sites. Then answer me this: does the ad above make perfectly good sense? Or do you...

What Would You Do?

WATCH THE video above and let us know whether you think this is good journalism or voyeuristic trash.Sometimes, it is a fine line. Here is an excerpt from an Associated Press story about the program, called "What would you do?""What Would You Do?" is also a sign of changing times at broadcast news divisions. Quinones is a veteran journalist who reported about Central America for "World News Tonight" and won Emmy Awards for stories on the Congo's rain forest and the Yanomamo Indians. Now he spends most of his time on concocted social situations,...

Dude! Was That You?

ON TUESDAY, we will discuss how to determine whether a broadcast news story has been done well.Watch the video above. Is it quality journali...

Should They Be Allowed To Visit, Talk?

MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY recently invited William Ayers to speak at the Pennsylvania college, and not everyone was excited.Ayers, a 1960's anti-Vietnam war protester who was a fugitive from the law after allegedly bombing several government buildings, is now a education professor at the University of Illinois. He most recently made headlines during the presidential campaign as he served on a board with Barack Obama from 1999 to 2002.The government...

Byron Scott: "The Job is a Privilege."

WHAT DID YOU THINK of our guests from last class, NBC10 reporter Byron Scott (right) and videographer Sam Adkins (left)? Here are the things I thought stood out:- Journalists are recording history as it happens.- There is a great deal of pressure to have more information than competing newscasts.- You should always be improving your writing skills.- When you start out in broadcast journalism, you may feel like you are always working.- As a journalist,...

TU Students Are Doing It Right Now.

MATT GRAVES, A STUDENT in our class this semester, is in Texas right now covering the SXSW Music and Arts Festival for Phrequency.com.He is just one of dozens of TU students gaining valuable experience (and having a hell of a good time) while getting an education.For instance, Matt is in Texas with Tiffany Yoon, another TU student and former J1111'er. Phrequency was started by recent TU grad, Leah Kauffman, best now as the viral video maker, Obama...

Bristol and Levi Broke Off Their Engagement! Is That Really News?

AN ABC NEWS reporter performed an interview with Levi Johnston, father of Bristol Palin's child, while Johnston was sitting in a red pick-up truck.The reason to interview the 19-year old? He and Bristol broke off their engagement just a few months after having a baby together.Bristol Palin, of course, is the daughter of Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and former vice presidential candidate.Is their break-up newsworthy? And if so, is it fair for the reporter to just show up in Alaska and confront the young man while he is sitting in his tru...

While You Were On Vacation ...

.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vN4J1fC0kmWRrckwXqjqdBxz02yhCCxwqhy3UeSlBhMnR4e06AGr66zBtW5SDweX8syGOZkDpm8T67o3rHBVdxAisxXMCzJgc5Kf9xGAvkvNtpU6F5xyuyrfMb4aMgzKUtuyA5TgM2NwhM2yHs0Rp54WlD=s0-d') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;}The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10cJim Cramer Unedited Interview...

And Now, From the Makers of ...

JOEL STEIN WANTS to save journalism.The LA Times and TIME magazine columnist proposed a system where product placement would pay for the production of stories. He even got Pom Wonderful, a pomegranate juice, to pay $25,000 for a mention in Stein's TIME magazine column.Is there anything wrong with that?The makers of Pom did not require reading the story before print. So, Stein could pretty much say whatever he wanted, right? He didn't have to blatantly...

Santelli Bails Out. Stewart Tears Him Apart.

CNBC ANALYST RICK SANTELLI, who ranted live on CNBC about the Obama administration considering bailing out private individuals who were in danger of defaulting on their mortgages (see the video below), was supposed to be a guest on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.He canceled. So Stewart went off on CNBC, pointing out shallow and otherwise poor journalism from CNBC. It is a great, critical look at the med...

"If Pakistan is So Dangerous, Why Don't We Read Anything About It?"

INQUIRER COLUMNIST Trudy Rubin was asked the question in the headline while speaking in Illinois recently.And it has her concerned about whether Americans are getting information that impacts their world.After lamenting the fact that nearly every newspaper has shuttered their foreign bureaus, she notes, "The three major TV networks have practically eliminated foreign bureaus. Their international coverage dropped to a 21-year low in 2008, when they...

Seriously. Why Are You Here?

A DePAUL UNIVERSITY journalism professor asked her students why they are studying journalism when the industry is in the throws of a massive revolution. Here are a few of the students' responses:"I think we want to be journalists because it's who we are, as people," said Tina Shaerban, a budding broadcaster who moved here from Cleveland to enroll in J-school."We are willing to work for close to nothing because it is who we are," said Shaerban, 25....

BBC to Tierney: "Were You Nuts?"

BRIAN TIERNEY, the publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and part owner of Philadelphia Media Holdings (which owns the Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com) was on BBC America talking about the Inquirer's bankruptcy case."You and some of your colleagues bought the Philadelphia newspapers in 2006 when the newspaper industry was already in decline," the BBC reader said to Tierney (above, center). "Were you nuts?"Check out the video. It's fun stuff....