Embracing our freedoms--Part two

There haven't been many stories coming out of Beijing showing China in a negative light. As we discussed in class, we certainly aren't hearing about the air pollution or their controlling government on NBC's television coverage.

I did read a story today written by Clifford Coonan, where journalist John Ray was nabbed by police, taken to a restaurant where he was held on the ground and his equipment confiscated. This occurred when Ray was covering a pro-Tibet protest in a park less than a mile from the games.

I wrote about embracing our freedoms once before. Each article I read like the one referenced here and in my previous posting bring me back to that concept again and again.

I have the opportunity to be at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to watching history be made. But, I'm also looking forward to watching people practice their right to free speech. I may not like what all the protesters have to say, but I can't imagine living in a place where no one is allowed to do so. Can you?

Perhaps that is why these articles from China where the freedoms of the press and speech are suppressed jump out at me.

News taken for granted?

Imagine reading about crimes in your local newspaper and not knowing if they occurred in your neighborhood or not. This happened over the last few months in Buffalo, N.Y.

According to the Associated Press article, the police department removed information such as location of incidents from the computers used by reporters. The article didn't say exactly how long this has gone on, but stated that this occurred in recent months. Residents and the local paper voiced their concerns and the mayor, Byron Brown, ordered the police to start providing the crime information again.

This is another example of information we receive from our news outlets that more often than not we take for granted. I know I get comfort in knowing that most crimes I read about didn't happen close to where I live. And when they do, I certainly want to know about it!

Help communities stay informed

Future journalists, it's time to get your creative juices flowing. The Knight Community Information Challenge is accepting proposals now through Sept. 15. Come up with a creative way to use media and technology to keep your community informed and engaged and if chosen you may win a matching grant for your community foundation.

According to the news release, the challenge is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which promotes excellence in journalism worldwide.

It's refreshing to know that there are organizations helping to support media and keeping people informed...a nice change from newspapers announcements of budget cuts and shutting down the presses.

The One--Prophet or President?

Michael Shaw, a clinical psychologist and publisher of BagnewsNotes, analyzes visual media to interpret and understand what subliminal meaning may be found behind the photos and political ads we see each day.

I thought that this posting was pertinent with the discussion on typography last week in class.

Although there are other points made in this analysis of two political ads, one from the Obama campaign and the other from McCain's, the focus on typography relates to McCain's ad, The One. The first part of the video uses a similar font to what is used when printing the Bible. There are plenty of religious connections made between the print shown and the accompanying visuals. Near the end, the font style changes to a contrasting sans serif style when the viewer is asked if Obama is ready to lead.

I think that the Roman serif font really helps make the message of the ad complete. The contrasting sans serif at the end, helps the viewer understand that there is a change in voice from what is purportedly Obama's voice to what is then McCain's voice.

I knew at some level that there is a lot of thought that goes into putting together ads, but I hadn't looked at it at the deeper level of analysis I read on the BagnewsNotes.

Another Option For Getting Our News

We recently discussed Jacque's blog in class regarding the concerns over the future of print news. Will newspapers continue to be delivered to our door or picked up at a newstand or are they going the way of the internet?

It looks like we may have a third option. This article ,by Claire Cain Miller, talks about a different approach to save the newspaper; cellphones. Verve Wireless provides technology to newspaper publishers so they can provide news on people's cell phones.

The chief executive of Verve Wireless is Art Howe who owns 50 papers and was a reporter. In the article Howe is quoted saying, "Mobile is actually a better way to reach people than print or even Web. It's versatile, immediate, travels and is just as compelling--if it's done right--as a Web site or a printed page."

I'm a bit skeptical but it may be that old habits die hard. I can't imagine reading an entire paper on my cell phone. I'd much prefer to sit back and literally open the paper. But, it looks like I'm the exception. According to Miller, thirteen million people use their phone to read the news today.

Today, I'm Embracing Our Freedoms

I read an article today on the International Freedom of Expression eXchange web site that made me pause and think about the freedoms we have in the United States that some other countries don't.

The article brings to our attention the harassment journalists from Hong Kong are experiencing. In multiple reports, journalists covering pre-Olympic ticket purchase incidents were harrassed, detained and had their film confiscated.

A second article tells of a reporter who was intercepted by police and forced to turn over all photos taken during a protest by investors in Beijing over alleged embezzlement by the President of the China Commodity Spot Exchange.

These articles reminded me of the stories coming out of Tibet and Burma where the government did everything possible to suppress the people's protests and information getting out to the rest of the world.

I can't imagine being a journalist working in those environments. More importantly, I don't want to find out. For me, this was another small glimpse into another government that I'm happy we don't have.

Our freedoms are precious. The negative feelings I have when journalists error in publishing information is miniscule compared to what I'd feel if we didn't have the freedom to report, read and watch what we feel is important and newsworthy.

I have a button that reads, "Ignore your rights and they'll go away." After reading these articles I not ignoring, I'm embracing.

Inaccurate Articles Hurt

On July 8, Charles McGrath published an article in the New York Times about a popular video on YouTube starring Matt Harding dancing in 69 different locations around the world. You may have seen it yourself as it has had more than 7 million hits since it was added on June 20.

The article was nice. It was informational, timely and had a human interest point to it. But, it had errors. According to Harding in his blog posted July 8, McGrath misspelled the composer's name, provided an incorrect date on the second video Harding created and incorrectly described a scene in the video as a geyser when it was really a waterfall. McGrath described Harding as "doughy", which after watching the video I'd say is not an accurate description of his physique. From Harding's blog, it looks like the desciption hurt some feelings, too.

Even these small errors can harm a newspaper's reputation if it happens too often. Worse yet, before the internet, readers may not have caught these errors. But with the popularity of blogs and internet journalism, these errors are brought to the public's attention quickly.

This is a good example of the importance of fact checking and choosing words carefully for an article. McGrath's story isn't on a subject that one would consider of grave importance to the world, but it does show that journalists (or their editors) still need to do diligence with ensuring they are publishing an accurate high quality story.