Comm455/History of Journalism

Facebook, Twitter and even Youtube have provided new and exciting ways to communicate with our friends. These outlets have given people ways to communicate with people they don’t even know. A key aspect in participating in these websites is getting the alerts that someone has contacted you. These are comparable to the ringing of a phone. If the phone doesn’t ring, how can you answer it?

“	Sooo twitter stopped notifying me whenever I get mentions & new tweets. Succkkkks!
	_TweetMeAlready October 24, 2011

“	I haven’t been getting any of my mentions. Luckily i scroll down my TL
	_PrettyanPetite October 24, 2011

“	My mentions are still down. COME ON TWITTER.
	SpiritHazel42 October 24, 2011

“	Mentions not working sorry for no responses
	karlravechespn October 24, 2011

“	This is driving me nuts. I can’t get any reply’s since 1 day ago. Ugh. Help! It’s no fun tweeting when u can’t get reply’s.
	Miranda_Lambert October 19, 2011

“	Hey guys! My twitter is acting up… I’m not receiving anything… And haven’t been for 10 hrs! Hopefully it’ll be sorted out by tomorrow!
	juliannehough October 19, 2011

“	Still can’t read mentions. Be nice.
	BradPaisley October 20, 2011

“	Some users are reporting not receiving mentions on mobile applications. We are investigating this issue and will have a resolution soon.
	MobileSupport October 24, 2011

Twitter Help Center | I’m Missing Mentions and @Replies Twitter is without a doubt the best way to share and discover what is happening right now.

statuses/mentions sometimes returns empty collections | Twitter Developers We’ve had some user reports of no tweets in mentions on load. Upon our own investigation we’re seeing statuses/mentions.json *sometimes* return an empty collection. This issue appears to be random and is not consistently reproducible. In one test, we could replay the same HTTP request multiple times.

He’s dead, and everyone knows it thanks to the handy work of a few amateur videographers with cell phone cameras and AK-47’s.

The rule of former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi lasted over 40 years, and after an eight-month civil war, he was captured and killed by rebel forces.

40 years ago, political power was taken and given without certain parts of the world even knowing the details. Last week, vivid video footage of Gaddafi’s capture surfaced online immediately following his death. The news of his death spread like wildfire on web sites like Twitter and Facebook, not to mention major news networks.

As I’ve discussed in previous posts, Twitter is the new spoken news. Therefore, the issue of censorship is once again a conversation to have. Should graphic videos of Gaddafi’s death or images of his corpse laying in a freezer for everyone to watch be readily available for anyone to observe? Here’s an example (WARNING: This is a bit graphic).

British newspapers have come a long since the Licensing Act and censorship of the 17th century. In 2011 there are hundreds of newspapers in UK as well as Sunday newspapers that have taken over. In this blog, I’ll be giving you a little rundown on the top five newspapers in the UK as well as their circulation.

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Having been part of the Twitter world for over a year now, I just recently realized how powerful this social media tool it is.

Twitter helped start a revolution in Egypt. A year ago I never would have guessed Twitter would have that much influence in the world. I was just tweeting some stupid comments about something I saw on the beltway, or about how school sucks.

I’ve been starting to think about how historical events would have been so different if we had Twitter. Back from the stock market crash, war times, Watergate, even 9/11. I think investigative journalism is enhanced by Twitter dramatically.

Think about the break-in at Watergate being tweeted by a credible Washington Post writer at 2 in the morning. Even though its so late, millions of people would still be awake and could see it on Twitter. It would begin trending in a matter of minutes. It would be around the globe so fast, by the time the sun rises in Washington it’s old news.

I can’t wait for another huge worldwide story to break out through Twitter and believe me it’s coming soon. I follow enough news sources and celebrities to get some actual news, as well as some pop culture news for that day. Who needs TV and newspapers?

I used to always put Facebook > Twitter. But now I think it’s safe to say that Twitter > Facebook.

For many of us, tweeting and posting statuses is part of our everyday existences. With millions of users of social media networks across the globe, it is one of the fastest forms of spreading information. But how can our legacy live on once we pass away? TED Talks speaker Adam Ostrow explains.

The Travel Channel is a great way to see the world without leaving your living room.

The Travel Channel has a number of different programs that take you around the world, exploring every nook and cranny. One of their biggest stars is chef and host of the program ” Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” is Anthony Bourdain.

image via http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Photos/bourdain-takes-the-road-less-traveled

Bourdain originally rose to fame with his book “Kitchen Confidential.” Before this he was executive chef at the French restaurant Brasserie Les Halles. In 2005 he launched “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel and is currently filming its eight season. He has visited over 100 cities during this period. In each one-hour episode Bourdain travels to a city and explores its cuisine. I’ve personally seen him eat everything from tacos from a food stand in Mexico City to goat brains in India. He usually has a travel companion that acts as a tour guide. This person guides him through the city and is usually extremely knowledgeable about the history of the city and its cuisine. This not only gives Bourdain a lot to work with but also allows the viewer to not only watch for fun but learn something as well.

Anyone who has watched an episode of this show knows that Bourdain doesn’t hold back and is extremely straight forward with his commentary which in my opinion makes him so popular. Also, because Bourdain has such an extensive culinary background and an extremely impressive resume as a chef, he is regarded as a trustworthy source and opinion when traveling the world. What also makes the show so entertaining is the fact that anything that can happen usually does happen and this is almost always aired.

Bourdain remains as one of the more popular hosts on the Travel Channel and is just an example of how diverse travel reporting can be. No Reservations not only combines destinations and culture but cuisine, natives and American perspective.

With BlackBerry systems being down across the globe, users are left newsless. People who use their device daily are finding it difficult to adjust to life without their BlackBerrys.With the absence of their lifeline, people had to find other ways of communicating with people. They also had to (heaven forbid) use an actual computer for things like Facebook, Twitter and sending e-mails.

BlackBerry Problems Reported: Services Down In Europe, Middle East, Africa LONDON — The maker of BlackBerry said Monday that email services have been restored on many of its smartphones, after an unexplained glitch cut off Internet and messaging services for large numbers of users across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. However, Research in Motion Ltd.

“	Not used to tweeting on the actual twitter website due to absence of a working app haha. #blackberry
	hannahsophia1 October 12, 2011

“	In the absence of my Blackberry twitter, I came home expecting a wealth of mentions and tweets..but no.Not a single tweet at me..upsetting!
	AlanaMarieP October 12, 2011

“	In the absence of Blackberry, I have spent an extraordinary amount of time on twitter today..Strange that..
	Aston__Martin__ October 11, 2011

“	got so much work done in the absence of my blackberry
	fiveashleonie October 12, 2011

Robert Fisk is a Middle East correspondent for British newspaper The Independent. He is regarded as one of the most well respected and well known foreign correspondents in international journalism.

image via Wikipedia

Fisk was born in Kent, England where went to school at  Lancaster University and then earned his PhD in Political Science at Trinity College in Dublin. After he graduated he worked for The Times and then moved to The Independent where he is still now. He’s spent the last 30 years living in Beirut, Lebanon working as a Middle East correspondent.

Fisk has no shortage of accomplishments. Here are just a few of the things he’s done during his career:

• interviewed Osama bin Laden three times
• covered conflict in Portugal
• covered the Iraqi war stationed in Baghdad
• covered the Lebanese civil war (not so fun fact, same war forced my parents to leave to America)
• covered the first Gulf war
• covered the war in Afghanistan
• written five books
• won the British Press Awards International Journalist of the Year award seven times

One thing that I found fascinating about Fisk who has covered so many wars and conflicts is that he is a pacifist and has never even voted. His articles are quick to point out how the West has been the cause of much of the conflict in the Middle East, something he has received much criticism for.

For instance, the term “fisking” is attributed to American conservative bloggers dissecting his work and providing commentary. It is now used anytime an article/report is dissected paragraph by paragraph.

Fisk continues to report for The Independent, you can find a list of his articles here.

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