"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." — Thomas Jefferson
The definition of investigative journalism is changing with every news story. The Cambridge Dictionary defines investigative journalism as “a type of journalism that tries to discover information of public interest that someone is trying to hide.”
If one was to think back to a time where investigative journalism became extremely prominent – it is the presidency of Richard Nixon. Two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, spent two years working on uncovering a ring of burglaries at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Their investigative journalism would ultimately bring down Nixon and many other government officials.
While the Watergate scandal had very in depth investigation and research that went into uncovering the truth, sometimes investigative journalism does not have to take as long. In fact, all one needs is an hour of the show “Catfish” on MTV to discover that one’s identity online is not always their true face.
Nev Schulman’s new book “In Real Life: Love, Lies & Identity in the Digital Age” discusses the term “Catfish” and what it means to deceive people online about who you really are. A spin-off of the popular documentary “Catfish” featuring Nev, follows his MTV Show where he helps individuals track down their online romances and helps them meet.
Book cover. Image from Barnes & Noble.
Nev’s investigation involves Google searching images, phone numbers, names, reaching out to friends on Facebook or other social media sites as well as even talking to the person in suspect; and ultimately helping the couple meet. According to Schulman, the whole process of meeting the catfish takes a week – incluing spending two days with their hopefuls (the people potentially being catfished), traveling with them to the hometown of their potential online love, meeting the person and reconvening to understand what happened.
Some stories may take journalists over a year to break, like Watergate, whereas others can take a week in real life or an hour block of a television show. Investigative journalism is changing and will continue to do so as human life progresses.
Modern technology wages war on patience and print.
Once upon a time in a pre-Apple world, patience and print were the norm. News was broadcast at certain times of day and not a moment before, human interaction was primarily face-to-face and email was the advancement in communication. Most importantly, the newspaper was read with dedication reserved for religious texts. Whether it was at the kitchen table, on the subway or in the restroom, the paper was the be all and end all of morning news consumption.
Times have definitely changed.
Today’s morning routine consists of major one-on-one time with a Smartphone, a practice that continues throughout the day. The constant alerts and breaking news notifications that pervade mobile/electronic devices stem from the culture of instant gratification and round the clock news availability. In the rare instance that a disconnect occurs, the spoiled masses grow weary with antiquated (i.e. not technology based) forms of news; patience and print wear thin. In fact, studies show that most people get the bulk of their news from the social media sites Facebook and Twitter. The morning paper and evening news are virtually obsolete—simply reduced to regurgitated facts and bland confirmations.
Despite a reassuring surge in circulation in August 2014, print journalism and newspapers are not making a comeback. They are simply too laid back for the constant rush that is modern life and news. Their transition into a thing of the past will not diminish their proven ability to convey the power of the written word. After all, it doesn’t get more legitimate or authoritative than black and white.
Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Timothy? I had not heard of her before last week. But I am sure we all have definitely heard of Johannes Gutenberg.
According to Mitchell Stephens (2007), in 1738 “Elizabeth Timothy becomes the first woman to publish a newspaper in America—the South Carolina Gazette in Charleston—when her husband, Lewis, dies on Feb. 4.”
On the other hand, Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1450.
People remember Gutenberg and think of him as a major part of history. But has Timothy gotten the same respect? I agree Timothy did not achieve as much as Gutenberg did. But she still has the right to be known because she was the first woman to publish a newspaper in America. This is a huge achievement no matter what people think.
Is it really fair that men such as Alexander the Great, Gutenberg, Julius Caesar and Marco Polo are well known? Whereas women such as Timothy are barely known of?
Any scholar, academic, philosopher and even politician can tell you that in our society today we are literally bombarded with images and information, and at a level that is unparalleled throughout documented history. Essentially, we are all jacked in to a system of words, pictures, sounds, videos and symbols that create a representational world, one where we are not only socialized but raised by society to understand and obey them. The truth is that we can’t escape it.
From birth, we are taught that the golden arches mean McDonalds, that Calvin Klein is cool, and that the American flag stands for freedom. Strictly speaking, the Wachovski brothers’ movie The Matrix is not too distant a vision from the world we live in today.
In particular, the impact media has on the psychosocial development of children is quite astonishing. It is becoming more and more important for doctors to discuss with parents what, when, and how much media their children are exposed to on a daily basis. This includes ALL media, spanning from television to music, and from video games to, of course, the internet.
For the sake of clarity, I am going to focus this blog on three main topics: learning, violence, and sexuality.
LEARNING
Media can be a powerful teacher. For instance, Sesame Street is a good example of how toddlers can become versed in valuable lessons on racial harmony, kindness, simple math, the alphabet, and cooperation through an education television format. This is a good illustration of how media can be of beneficial value to kids. Especially in some disadvantaged settings, healthy television habits can actually be a positive teaching tool.
However, watching TV can still do detrimental things to kids such as take time away from schoolwork and reading. Many researchers believe that a large number of daily, unsupervised television viewing by elementary school children can have severe and pernicious effects on academic performance, and particularly reading. Although the exact statistic is uncertain, it is estimated that most 8-10 year-olds know more about The Simpsonsor South Park than they do about any of the U.S. presidents. Is this a good thing?
Moving on…
VIOLENCE
Most researchers agree that the amount of violence on television is on the rise. According to reputable statistics, the average child sees more than 12,000 violent acts on television yearly, not excluding rape or murder, and more than 1000 studies confirm that exposure to heavy doses of television can increase aggressive behavior, most commonly in boys. These same studies also link newspaper or television publicity of suicides to an increase in suicide risk. Many sources conclude that minorities, emotionally disturbed children, children with learning disabilities, and children in distressed families are more vulnerable to acts of violence on television. Doesn’t that sound like a large portion of American kids?
Again, moving on…
SEXUALITY
Today, TV has become one of the leading sex educators in the United States. News sources report that between 1976 and 1996 there has been an almost 300% increase in sexual interactions during the family hour of 8 o’clock to 9 o’clock. The unavoidable fact of the matter is that television can expose children to sexual situations as common and risk-free, delivering and hammering home the message that these situations are okay because “everyone does it.”
Furthermore, studies show that sexual activities between unmarried partners are portrayed 24 times more than sex between spouses, while unwanted pregnancies and STD’s are rarely mentioned. Additionally, teens score the media as a leading source of info/knowledge on sex, a distant second to school sex education programs. Many people do believe that the media can influence sexual responsibility by promoting positive sexual content on topics such as birth control and monogamy. However, no empirical evidence supports this concept. So the final question we are lead to is: who (or what) is teaching our kids about sex?
And finally…
OUR CONCLUSION
In a society that is so dependent and deep-rooted in media, one must ponder the consequences and ramifications that TV, radio, video games, and the internet can have on our kids, and on each other. Does watching violence provoke violence? Do sexual situations inspire sexuality? And does the portrayal of drug use/smoking/consumption of alcohol teach kids the wrong things? No one really knows. But, people should consider one last thing before making a decision: are our children’s mental, emotional and physical health really worth the risk?
I have attached a copy of Mark Potts’ excellent Blogging Primer. Mark is a true Internet pioneer and his primer remains the best how-to-blog document I know. I distribute it with his permission.
I have attached a copy of the blogging themes (Comm455 blog themes_2014_a) we made last week. Please check it over and let me know if you have any questions.
Your first blog item is due by noon Tuesday September 9.
You will then write a blog item weekly for a total of 10. PLEASE don’t fall behind. Late items will be penalized.
If you write an 11th blog item, you will receive extra credit (3 final grading points).
You may get ahead on your blog items if you so choose (that’s advisable!).
We will review writing for the blog on Tuesday. As Professor Mack Holt says, you should write in elegant English; style and content both matter and cannot be separated.
IF you are an existing user and know your OnMason sign-on name, please email it to me ASAP and I will send you an invitation to the blog. You will be asked to confirm the invitation.
IF you are not as yet an existing user, please go to OnMason.com and follow the simple 2-step instructions. Please keep you sign-in name simple (for example, David Dorsey is simply daviddorsey). Then, email your sign-in name ASAP and I will send you an invitation to the blog. You will be asked to confirm the invitation. Thanks.
Nellie Bly, born in 1864 as Elizabeth Jane Cochran, broke barriers for women journalists in the 19th century. Bly began using her pen name after she responded to a popular column in the Pittsburgh Dispatch entitled “What Girls are Good For” that said the woman belonged in the home doing domestic chores and should not look for work elsewhere. George Madden, the editor of the Dispatch, soon offered Cochran a full-time job, in which she would write under the name Nelly Bly.
Most women at this time in the journalism business wrote about gardening or fashion, but Bly stepped out of these boundaries and wrote about issues affecting the working class. Bly resigned from the Dispatch when her articles caused controversy from the advertisers and she was re-assigned to a gardening article. She then went to Mexico with her mother and began to write about injustices taking place in the government there. With the threat of her arrest in Mexico, she returned to the United States.
Bly then moved to New York City in search of a job. She eventually find one at Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and pretended to be insane so she could investigate the conditions on Blackwell Island’s insane asylum. Bly spent 10 days at the asylum and then published a series of articles about her experiences. Bly reported that the food was ill and women were required to sit all day on straight back benches and were beaten if they moved. She also said that many women were not actually insane and were just dropped at the insane asylum by their husbands who didn’t want them. Her series of articles about the asylum were published to make Ten Days in a Mad-House.
Photo Courtesy of http://digital.library.upenn.edu.
Bly broke barriers for women journalists, especially with her journey around the world in 72 days.
The flow of communication in the modern day world can now be reduced to symbols, acronyms, and “emoticons” to convey a message many people can understand.
As of September 2011, it has been reduced yet another level lower.
Snapchat, while not widely known by the world yet, is a growing form of communicating with others via smart phones. However, it is literally only pictures being sent and received to illustrate the message.
Snapchat involves users taking photos and sending them to their friends or colleagues. These photos can last up to 10 seconds and then they disappear from your phone’s memory, motivating you to keep sending replies back and forth between 2 or more people.
Snapchat’s “Ghost” Icon
It is especially popular with teenagers ages 13-18.
While this app seems like a fun way for kids to take “selfies,” or self portraits and show their friends silly faces and poses, a concern has been brought up by parents that these may be used for “sexting,” sending provocative photos of oneself to someone else.
Most iPhone know that the phone has the ability to take screen shots, that is, capture in entirety whatever image is on the screen.
Parents are concerned that with up to 10 seconds to see the photo, people could easily save the picture in a screen shot, thus saving a possible provocative picture.
“The minute you tell someone that images on your server disappear, everyone jumps to sexting.”
– Evan Spiegel, Co-founder
His argument is that by taking away the photos forever, it encourages users to keep sending more.
“I’m not convinced that the whole sexting thing is as big as the media makes it out to be,” he said. “I just don’t know people who do that. It doesn’t seem that fun when you can have real sex.”
He did not comment on the idea of saving the photo from a screen shot, however.
So, it comes up to the people to decide what is and what is not appropriate and parents can only hope that their children are abiding by moral values and that Snapchat is nothing more than a fun new way to text your buddy about your new haircut.
Max Aitken, 1st Lord Beaverbrook (1879-1964), was a Canadian politician, businessman, and most significantly, a publisher. At the height of his career, Lord Beaverbrook was the most influential voice in the British press.
Beaverbrook’s papers had millions of readers, the most successful of which was the Daily Express, which sold 4,300,000 copies in 1960, more than any other paper in Great Britain.
Taking his patriotic duties seriously, he also helped orchestrate the consensus of the British press during Edward VIII’s abdication crisis in 1936, ultimately breaking his own rule and reporting the entire story when the king did eventually abdicate.
Lord Beaverbrook represented the height of journalistic power in Great Britain. Hailed as the unchallenged “Press Baron of Fleet Street,” it was said that he could make or break any man.
A coffeehouse has always served as a gossip harbor and one particular gossip harbor located in the middle of Arlington, VA is currently the most exciting by far that this caffeine addict has ever visited.
Northside Social has taken the concept of the coffeehouse to a whole new level. The typical coffeehouse attracts a spectrum of patrons on it’s own but add wine, live music, art shows and a generous patio and the coffeehouse of all coffeehouses is born.
Northside Social is a familiar haven for families, college students, and anyone else looking for a place to unwind or catch up with friends and/or exhibit their art/music which are equally important forms of communication.
The only issue with Northside is that it is so popular – if you could qualify that as an issue. The shop is open from 7 – 2am Thursdays through Saturdays and despite the long hours you’d be hard-pressed to find a seat for yourself and a friend.
Northside Social is an exceptional spot during the week to catch up with friends or crank out some work and offers visual and audio stimulations during the weekends. It’s a progressive little shop offering multiple means of communication and will continue gaining attention from other coffeehouses that are sure to mimic its style.
Gif is the word of the year, according to Oxford Dictionaries USA.
And yes, it is a real word.
Used as a verb to create a gif file, this word subsequently created an internet craze involving memes. Everything from ‘gangnam style’ to the presidential debates had a meme online this past year, which used the gif file type.
Although gifs have been around for over 20 years now, its popularity skyrocketed via social media.
Gifs are not a new technology, but a new internet craze.
Gifs have become such a staple of communication that major media outlets are recognizing this cult phenomenon. Newsweek complied a list of the ten best memes from the vice presidential debate.
If your vote for Barack Obama meant that you could watch Will Ferrell eat garbage, would you do it?
As the dust settles around one of the most media-saturated election seasons to date, it has become clear to many that this election would not have been the same without a few celebrity players.
Ferrell is just one of a host of celebrities who have opened up about their political standing this election season. For years, in fact, various celebrities have lent their names and faces to political candidates in hopes of swaying votes in their direction. This election season was no different, with starlets glittering amongst the crowds at the national conventions, various fundraisers, and benefit concerts, to name a few.
TheDailyBest.com recently comprised a list of the 20 most valuable celebrity endorsements to the 2012 Presidential campaign. As one might presume, all of the list makers were supporters of President Obama, save the taker of the number one spot- Donald Trump (although his title of “valuable” is certainly up for debate by many…).
Other notables included hip hop power couple Jay Z and Beyonce (ranked 9 and 8 respectively), day time talk show personality Ellen Degeneres (7), pop star extraordinaire Katy Perry (5), and the legendary actor Morgan Freeman (20)- all of whom threw their celebrity pull behind Obama.
On a side note, however, Ferrell and his “garbage-eating” ploys failed to crack the top 20.
The rankings were compiled based on several key factors: newspaper coverage rank, television news rank, online news rank, Twitter exposure rank, Google rank, total funds contributed to campaign, and total funds raised for campaign.
But, one can’t help but question, how much good do celebrity endorsements actually do for a candidate?
If The Daily Beast results are any indication, it seems like celebrity endorsements certainly do have some pull in who ends up in the Oval Office.
Local news is often forgotten in the grand scheme of the media, with so much information available. Local news, however, is an extremely valuable asset, especially during disasters. This was seen during Hurricane Sandy, as those affected by the storm turned to local news stations to learn information important to them.
According to the National Association of Broadcasters, two organizations, Worldnow and Internet Broadcasting, told the NAB that between October 28 and October 30, local television stations within the wrath of Sandy witnessed up to 10.4 million unique visitors to their websites.
“This data surrounding Hurricane Sandy suggests that local TV station websites have become an equally important source of information. It’s a broadcast-broadband world, with millions of people either tuning in to local television stations or accessing similar ‘need-to-know’ information on TV stations’ websites in lifeline situations,” said Gordon Smith, NAB president.
Americans are increasingly using their mobile devices to view local news sites during disasters. WMAR-TV of Baltimore saw a 522 percentage in traffic on their mobile page on October 29 when Hurricane Sandy made landfall.
The increase in popularity of local news during disasters shows that people will always have a hunger for the news. This is especially true when danger is present and surprises could occur at any moment.
