Agnew: "I Think Brooklyn is Super Obnoxious."

SEAN AGNEW OF R5 Productions, a local indie music promoter, spoke on campus last week about the Philly music scene and the coverage it receives. In case you didn't catch his visit, here are a few things that he said:

- He used to see a bump in ticket sales after the alt weeklies previewed his shows. He doesn't see that bump anymore.
- He promoted more than 300 shows in 2009. "Seeing that many bands is awful," Agnew joked. "Nobody should have to do that."
- Philly has a pretty terrible radio scene except for WXPN, he said.
- Pitchfork pretty much dictates what will be the next cool band.
- The Philly music blog he reads regularly is The Deli. He also checks out Brooklyn Vegan. Sadly, both of those websites are based out of Brooklyn.

- There is no definitive music blog in Philly, Agnew said.
- "I think Brooklyn is super obnoxious," Agnew said half joking. He was referring to all the Midwest bands who uproot, move to Brooklyn and claim hipster cred. Ick.
- Philly could have Brooklyn's music reputation if there were media documenting the scene, he said.

He also gave some background on his career:
- He started promoting shows in the 1990s because there were few places where underage kids could hear live, local music cheap.
- His first venue was Stalag 13, an old warehouse they used for illegal punk shows. There was a half-pipe in the backyard and a barbecue on the roof.
- "People used to lose their mind if the show was more than $5," Agnew recalled.
- He just traveled to Asia with Diplo. In Jakarta, 3,000 kids knew every word of every Diplo song, Agnew said.
- Sometimes, the bands he books ask to crash on his apartment floor.
- Raekwon recently performed at the First Unitarian Church. He told Agnew that he needed to pray the next day because he was cursing while performing ... inside a church.

Is Sports Talk Radio Journalism?

TONY KORNHEISER, co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, was suspended after ridiculing a fellow ESPN colleague during Kornheiser's radio show.

This is what Kornheiser (above, left) said about Hannah Storm, a SportsCenter host:

"Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today. She’s got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt … way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now.” [She's 47.] “She’s got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body … I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t … but Hannah Storm … come on now! Stop! What are you doing? … She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point."

Should Kornheiser be allowed to be critical of his colleagues? Did ESPN take the matter too seriously? Is this outburst indicative of the way the sports world objectifies women?

Does sports talk radio even count as journalism?

Do Banished Journalists Deserve a 2nd Chance?

FORMER PHILLY BROADCASTER and convicted felon Larry Mendte is back on television, doing commentaries for Tribune TV stations. Is there anything wrong with that?

For background: Mendte is a Delaware County guy and Bonner grad. He worked at TV stations across the country and hosted Access Hollywood before returning to Philly in the 1990s.

He was fired from CBS3 in 2008 (a few weeks after he visited J1111) after it was discovered that he had hacked into his colleague's email more than 500 times, leaking info from her email to tabloid reporters. He claimed he and his colleague had something of an affair. Mendte was sentenced to probation, home confinement, community service and psychiatric evaluation.

What did you think of the video?

Would You Stand On Principle and Miss a Gigantic (and Totally Staged) Story?

TIGER WOODS FINALLY spoke to the public last week, nearly three months after revelations of his sexual escapades became tabloid fodder. Woods orchestrated a press conference where he presented his statement to only a handful of reporters and cameras, took no questions, and disappeared.

When the Golf Writers Association of America learned of the ground rules before the event, they declined to cover the press conference. The 950-member organization was offered six seats for reporters who would be in the same room as Woods during the event, but they would not be permitted to ask questions. Only the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg News accepted the restrictions.

Would you stand on your principles and refuse the access? Or would you accept the ground rules as presented?

Freelance Journalism: You Never Get Praise. You Just Get More Work.

FREELANCE JOURNALISM veterans Beth D'Addono and JoAnn Greco said they wouldn't trade their careers for full-time jobs any day.

They work from home, travel, eat well and control their lives (to some extent). But freelancing isn't easy. Here are a few things that stood out for me from their visit to class yesterday:

- It can take several years to build steady work as a freelancer.
- The time between your doing the work and getting paid can be long - sometimes you'll get paid months later.
- As a freelancer, you're always thinking about the next story.
- Pitch stories about what you know - like Philly.
- One of the keys to being a good freelancer: get your work in on time and prepared as the editor originally asked. Making editors' lives easier will make you look better.

- You may want to write for Rolling Stone but you should begin by pitching somewhere more accessible. Then build up the ladder - from larger publication to larger publication.
- There are a ton of outlets - including trade publications, alumni mags, organization publications, online sites, commercial mags, etc. Don't lock into one place as your goal.
- Tailor your pitches and stories to the various publications, but retain your voice and writing style.
- Pitching is done via email these days. You need to convince editors why they should run this story, and why run it now.
- You need to build relationships with editors, and you can start doing that now in internships.
- The harder you work, the more money you earn.
- Junkets and sponsored trips, while controversial, can be ways of subsidizing your expenses.

JoAnn recently launched The City Traveler, an online travel magazine. Check it out.

What stood out for you?

White House to Photogs: No "Hello Dalai."

THE WHITE HOUSE did not allow outside photojournalists to photograph the meeting between the Dalai Lama and Barack Obama. Instead, the White House distributed the above image to media outlets.

The Washington Post and New York Times refused to publish the government-issued image. The Associated Press refused to distribute the image to their members around the world.

"Government-controlled coverage is not acceptable in societies that promote freedom," Kathleen Carroll, executive editor of the AP, told the National Press Photographers Association. "And that is why we do not distribute government handouts of events that we believe should be open to the press and therefore the public at large."

The argument is that the Dalai Lama is a controversial figure in China, where America is trying to build alliances. Uncensored images of Obama and his Holiness laughing and smiling might make the Chinese believe that Obama favors the Dalai Lama.

A similar situation happened last January when Obama was sworn into office by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in private after the two fumbled the words during the official inauguration. The White House did not allow outside photographers then, and the mainstream media largely ignored the government-issued images.

Is there anything wrong with running the above image? Is it psuedo-censorship, or a violation of the First Amendment? Or are the media outlets taking themselves too seriously?

Do You Have the Right To Bitch About Your Teachers Online?

A STUDENT IN FLORIDA was suspended after creating a facebook page about a teacher she did not get along with. The page was titled, “Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I’ve ever had."

The student was suspended for three days even though the page had been deleted. She filed a lawsuit against the principal, arguing that her First Amendment rights were violated. A federal judge recently decided that the case can go to trial.

Do you have the right to bitch about your teachers or anyone else online? Can the person written about demand the complaint be removed? Is online bitching any different than information that appears in print or on television?

What if it was you who was written about negatively online? How would you handle the situation?

The Big Story? It Snowed. No Kidding?

SOME LOCAL NEWS stations broadcast weather reports for more than ten hours per day during the snow storm last week. The newspapers were full of stories and images of the snow. Was it too much?

6ABC reported that over a two day period, they received more than 5 million page views on their website. They credited their audience submitted images (snowtographs) as a major attraction. More than 10,000 images were submitted to the site.

Is weather so important that it should dominate the news? Or is this all just a ratings grab in the middle of the winter sweeps period?

Weatherman Freak Out: Good TV or Just Odd?

IT SNOWED a lot this week. And if you've watched local television news, you've likely seen reporters standing in the snow, telling you that it snowed a lot. You've probably also seen a lot of maps, radar images, statistics, bundled up kids sledding, collapsed roofs, people shoveling and snowmen.

Watch the video above. Is it good television or just plain strange? Is he genuinely annoyed or putting on a show? If his frustration is real, should he be revealing that during the newscast?

Would You Hire a Hooker For Your Job?

A NEW YORK POST reporter flew to Nevada to spend the night with Markus, a 25-year old ex-Marine whom the Post is billing as the first ever legal male prostitute. She even paid the $500 tab for his services.

Here is a bit of her story:

“So,” Markus says after leaning over and kissing my knee, “we’re going to get undressed and then take a shower. Then we can both inspect each other to make sure there are no discrepancies.”

Minutes later, as we’re standing naked in the shower, he’s examining me like a second-rate gynecologist and nodding.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, cooing that I’m “practically” an 8 or a 9. “Everything looks great down there.”

Oh. My. God.

Is there anything wrong with the journalist engaging (no pun intended) in the story like this? Isn't it just Gonzo journalism as made popular by the likes of Hunter S. Thompson?

Or is there something sketchy about a journalist getting involved in something like this? Would you report this story?

By the way, the reporter writes that she did not have sex with the dude.

Is it Acceptable to Learn About Covering Tragedy in the Middle of a Tragedy?

A PHOTOJOURNALIST NAMED Zoriah is offering a specialized photojournalism workshop next month - in Haiti, where an earthquake recently devastated the country.

"Subjects covered will be working in disaster zones and other difficult and dangerous situations, survival and logistics in difficult environments, photograph people, working with NGO's (Non Governmental Organizations) and aid organizations, editing and digital darkroom technique and marketing and making your stories available for the world to see," according to Zoriah's website.

Half of the $4,000 tuition will be donated to an organization in Haiti.

Is there anything wrong with running this program? Is it a good thing?

Magee: Fox News Is Right Down the Middle.

KEVIN MAGEE BEGAN his college career as an electrical engineering major at Drexel. After a few days at his first college internship, he recalls, "I thought I was going to die."

Then he found the campus radio station, WKDU, and fell in love with the medium. To become further trained in broadcast, he transferred to Temple.

After stints at KYW News Radio, KYW TV, NJN, ABC Radio, Good Morning America and CNBC, Kevin now serves as the vice president at Fox News, overseeing the Fox Business Network and Fox Radio, among other duties.

Here are a few things that stood out for me from his visit to class today:

- He says that Fox does not promote conservative causes.
- Their news coverage, he says, is straight down the middle.
- Their evening programming, which is mostly talk shows, offers opinions but they make the audience aware that what they are seeing and hearing is opinion, not news.
- The audience at Fox tends to be older, wealthier and conservative.
- Bill O'Reilly is a master broadcaster, according to Kevin.
- What he does may be entertaining but Glenn Beck is not an entertainer.
- If someone at Fox says something that proves to be incorrect, the network tries to air their mistakes publicly and apologetically, Kevin says.
- Finding talent for programming is unbelievably difficult.
- "Good talent" means being engaging on air, so that people want to return day in and day out.
- Talent is magic. Some people have it. Some don't. And it's not just about physical appearances.
- As a student aspiring to a career on air, you should try one of two routes: 1. start low in a big market and elevate within the system; 2. start in a small market as a reporter and move to larger and larger stations.
- As an intern, Kevin says, you should show up on time, smile, do all the awful intern work (with a smile) and keep your eyes open for opportunities. Make an impact during your internship.
- Broadcast executives can look at your demo reel for ten seconds and know whether you will be considered for the job.
- Networking is important. Very important.
- The difference between CNBC's business coverage and Fox's, Kevin says, is that CNBC reporters try to prove how smart they are; Fox reporters try to make their audience smarter.
- Everybody is biased, he says. Everyone has baggage. The best journalists are able to put that baggage behind them when they report.
- Fox doesn't cause controversies. They shine light on them.
- Conflict is good television.
- Rupert Murdoch does not have any influence on the editorial content at Fox News.

What stood out for you?

Andersen: Broadcasting Baseball Isn't Easy.

PHILLIES BROADCASTER AND former professional baseball player Larry Andersen says that when he's calling games, he tries to find that balance between being honest and keeping his employers (the team) happy. It isn't always easy. After all, he began his on-air career with the team in 1998, a pretty dark era in Phillies history.

Anyway, here are a few other things that stood out for me from his visit today:

- He arrives at the ballpark at least three hours before game time so he can study the media notes and talk to players.
- Everything he says on air will be scrutinized by the players, fans, management and whomever, so he needs to make sure he has his facts straight.
- He is a fan but he tries to not get too excited on air. He says that he mutes his microphone sometimes so he can jump around and scream without being distracting to the audience.
- When he began as a broadcaster, he tried to act like a broadcaster. He was stiff, like a deer in the headlights. Now he tries to relax and be himself.

- Because he works for the team, he can't divulge all the crazy stuff he knows about the players. Especially not on air.
- Larry says that having training as a journalist is important for folks interested in doing play-by-play work. As a color analyst, however, his strength is his experience as a player.

- He says that there is a general lack of trust of the media from the players.
- He believes that journalists are more critical of players whom they don't like personally. "If somebody is an ass," Larry asks, "aren't you going to be more harsh when he messes up?"
- He advises young players to cooperate with the media, or else the media will be even more critical.
- When he is critical of the team or the stadium during broadcasts, he can wind up in trouble with the club's administration.
- "From what I remember, it was a blast," he says of the 1993 National League championship season. "This is how you're supposed to play. We were always talking about baseball. We didn't have a ton of talent but we played the right way."
- When Harry Kalas passed out in the broadcast booth in Washington last year, Larry gave HK CPR until the paramedics arrived.
- He says that he knows he's doing his job right when fans tell him that listening to him on air is like sitting on the back porch, drinking a few beers, conversing about baseball with a friend.

What stood out for you?